Masked men burn two mosques in Kuningan<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
At least six witnesses have been questioned by police after an
\nunidentified group of people set fire to two musholah (small
\nmosques) in Kuningan regency, West Java Police chief Insp. Gen.
\nEdi Darnadi said on Friday.<\/p>\n
No injuries were reported in the incident, which took place at
\naround 9 p.m. on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The At-Takwa and Al-Hidayah mosques -- both located in
\nManislor village, Jalaksana district, belong to the Ahmadiyah
\nsect, which adheres to an exclusive, extreme brand of Islam.<\/p>\n
Edi said the witnesses in question were local villagers, and
\nadded that the Kuningan Police were investigating whether
\noutsiders had played a role in the attack.<\/p>\n
According to Edi, the witnesses told police investigators that
\nthe attackers consisted of a group of more than 10 masked men who
\narrived in a minibus.<\/p>\n
He said the police had not been aware of any signs of
\npotential unrest before the arson attacks.<\/p>\n
\"There had been an agreement among local residents (and the
\nAhmadiyah followers) not to disturb each other,\" Edi said after
\nFriday prayers at West Java Police Headquarters in Bandung.<\/p>\n
Tension between the sect and local villagers is widely
\nbelieved to have triggered the conflict.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the Kuningan regental administration had issued a
\ncircular banning religious ceremonies in Ahmadiyah mosques.<\/p>\n
However, the Ahmadiyah followers have allegedly been defying
\nthe ban and holding religious activities in the mosques since the
\nstart of Ramadhan on Oct. 15, particularly tarawih (non-
\nobligatory evening prayers).<\/p>\n
The Al-Hidayah mosque was also attacked ahead of Ramadhan in
\n2002 in a protest against the Ahmadiyah sect's presence in
\nManislor village.<\/p>\n
The Ahmadiyah strain of Islam is messianic in nature, with its
\nfollowers believing in the future coming of Prophet Isa, or the
\nmessiah, something that is anathema to most Indonesian Muslims.
\nFollowers of the exclusive group refuse to pray under prayer
\nleaders from other Muslim groups.<\/p>\n
However, Edi Darnadi said he did not rule out the possibility
\nthat the latest attack was caused by some other factor besides
\nthe long-standing dispute among the Manislor villagers.<\/p>\n
He ordered the Kuningan police to thoroughly investigate the
\nincident so as to ascertain the motive and prevent unrest from
\nspreading to neighboring villages.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/masked-men-burn-two-mosques-in-kuningan-1447893297",
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