Ahmadiyah worried about security<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Members of Ahmadiyah have voiced concern over their security
\nduring the Idul Fitri holiday on Thursday and Friday, following a
\nseries of attacks on Ahmadiyah owned mosques and properties by
\nparties who view the group as a \"deviant Islamic sect\".<\/p>\n
Many Ahmadiyah members are worried they will be unable to
\nperform Idul Fitri prayers safely at their own mosques.<\/p>\n
\"We have just secured verbal permission from local authorities
\nto perform Idul Fitri prayers in our main mosque in Parung
\n(Bogor, West Java),\" Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation spokesman
\nA. Mubarik Ahmad said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"But the authorities told us that only local Ahmadiyah members
\nliving near the mosque would be allowed to join the prayers
\nthere. So how about our followers elsewhere? Where will they
\npray?\" Mubarik asked.<\/p>\n
He said each year at least 1,000 Ahmadiyah members gathered to
\nsay Idul Fitri prayers at the group's main mosque. This year,
\nwith the restrictions placed on the group, only about 200 members
\nwill be able to pray at the mosque.<\/p>\n
\"During the fasting month of Ramadhan, we have been performing
\nour evening prayers at our own homes. We cannot go to our mosques
\nfor fear of more attacks against us. Now we are worried we will
\nnot be able pray together on Idul Fitri in our own mosques,\"
\nMubarik said.<\/p>\n
Ichwan Syam, secretary-general of the Indonesian Ulema Council
\n(MUI), which has declared Ahmadiyah \"heretical\", called on
\nmembers of the group to take part in Idul Fitri prayers at public
\nmosques.<\/p>\n
Ahmadiyah should abandon its \"exclusivity\" by praying at
\nmosques with other Muslims, he said.<\/p>\n
\"If they are Muslims, they should perform their Idul Fitri
\nprayers in public mosques like members of Nahdlatul Ulama and
\nMuhammadiyah. They do not need to put up Ahmadiyah banners at
\ntheir own mosques,\" Ichwan said.<\/p>\n
In July, thousands of people attacked Ahmadiyah's headquarters
\nin Parung, forcing its members to leave the area. The Bogor
\nauthorities later sealed off the group's compound to avoid
\nfurther violence.<\/p>\n
The attack was condemned by some Muslim leaders who attributed
\nit to the MUI's fatwa against Ahmadiyah.<\/p>\n
Other Ahmadiyah properties across the country were also
\nattacked, including incidents in Cianjur, West Java, and Lombok,
\nWest Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
The MUI considers Ahmadiyah heretical because it embraces
\ndifferent tenets from mainstream Islamic groups.<\/p>\n
Ahmadiyah claims to have 200,000 followers in Indonesia, where
\nit was established in 1953. The group does not believe that
\nMuhammad was the last Prophet, instead teaching that Ahmadiyah
\nfounder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the final prophet.<\/p>\n
\"Since our group was established in Indonesia, we have not
\nbeen bothered by any other group. But this year we are not even
\nsure we will be able to perform our Idul Fitri prayers,\" Mubarak
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
With assistance from the Jakarta-based Legal Aid Institute,
\nAhmadiyah filed a complaint with the UN High Commissioner for
\nHuman Rights on Monday about the loss of freedom for minority
\ngroups in Indonesia to profess their faith.<\/p>\n
In the complaint to the UN commission, the institute also
\nextended complaints from the Indonesian Communion of Churches
\n(PGI) over attacks on its churches and other houses of worship by
\nMuslims.<\/p>\n
The secretary-general of the PGI in Jakarta, Chevrolet
\nLumbantoruan, said about 60 Christian houses of worship in West
\nJava had been forced to close their doors or were destroyed by
\nMuslim extremists.<\/p>",
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