Bandung scholar defends freedom of religion<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Two years ago, before the recent attack on the Muslim Ahmadiyah
\ngroup, 230 members of the \"Prophet Hut\" Christian sect were
\nforcibly removed by police from a church in Bale Endah, Bandung.<\/p>\n
After dispersing the group, police arrested and sent to trial
\nthe sect's leader, Mangapin Sibuea, who was later sentenced to
\ntwo years' jail after being found guilty of denigrating
\nChristianity.<\/p>\n
The sect, which was outlawed in 2000, had quietly continued
\nits religious activities. It is one of some 120 faiths and
\nreligious sects that are still banned in West Java.<\/p>\n
\"We issued that ban in order to prevent a religion
\n(Christianity) from being besmirched,\" said Teten Setiawan, the
\nchief of the intelligence and social affairs division of the West
\nJava Prosecutor's Office.<\/p>\n
Teten said the division was still closely monitoring 13 non-
\nbanned religious sects, including the Indonesian Ahmadiyah
\nCongregation (JAI), the group that was attacked in Bogor last
\nweek when it tried to conduct a religious service.<\/p>\n
Ahmadiyah, which began in Pakistan in the 19th century, is a
\ncontroversial offshoot of Islam, with followers believing in the
\nliteral resurrection of Jesus Christ and the existence of another
\nprophet, Gulam Ahmad Khan, after traditional Islam's last
\nmessenger of God, Muhammad.<\/p>\n
Teten said monitoring the group was necessary to ensure public
\norder.<\/p>\n
Other non-traditional religious sects could be found in
\nCianjur, Sukabumi, Bogor and Kuningan, he said.<\/p>\n
However, Sunan Gunung Djati Islamic Institute lecturer Affif
\nMuhammad, an expert on modern Islamic thought, said banning
\ngroups and unnecessarily monitoring their followers was a
\nviolation. People should have the right to practice their
\nreligion without fear of persecution, he said.<\/p>\n
There was nothing wrong with the growing number of faiths and
\nreligious groups in the country.<\/p>\n
\"One thing that people are not supposed to be allowed to do is
\nto force other people (to abandon their faiths) or to impose
\ntheir faiths on them; certainly not if they resort to violence.\"<\/p>\n
Affif regretted that the differences between faiths and sects
\nhad intensified in recent years, something he blamed on a narrow,
\nbigoted view of religion.<\/p>\n
He called on the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) to step in
\nan manage the conflicts responsibly. \"MUI must disseminate the
\nidea that people should accept the differences among religious
\nsects and different faiths. It should also work to promote
\nconcepts of religious pluralism within society.\"<\/p>\n
The idea of religious tolerance should also be taught in the
\nnation's schools, he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bandung-scholar-defends-freedom-of-religion-1447893297",
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