Sect leader, followers arrested<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a move that many saw as unnecessary, Jakarta Police declared
\non Thursday Lia Eden and 32 of her followers suspects for
\ndefamation of religion a day after members of the cult were
\nforcibly evacuated from their headquarters on Jl. Mahoni in
\nSenen, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Another 15 people also evacuated from the house by the police
\nto prevent a clash with local residents on Wednesday were not
\nnamed suspects because they were just participants in the
\ngathering at the headquarters.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police Insp. Gen. Firman Gani added the police would
\ncharge members of the cult, known as Salamullah, under Article
\n156a of the Criminal Code on religious defamation.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, however,
\ncriticized the move saying that the authorities should hold a
\ndialog with the group to straighten things out.<\/p>\n
\"If they are considered a heretic group then the authorities
\nshould hold a dialog to clear things up instead of arresting
\nthem,\" he said during a discussion on freedom of religion in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur said the government should leave religious affairs to
\ncivil society as it was not the government's concern.<\/p>\n
He proposed that a new institution with clear-cut jurisdiction
\nbe set up to determine if a religious teaching was a heresy or
\nnot.<\/p>\n
Many of the residents in the neighborhood even acknowledged
\nthey did not know, or at least did not care about the presence of
\nthe cult headed by Lia, who was previously known as Lia
\nAminuddin, located at Jl. Mahoni No. 30.<\/p>\n
Neighbors only become aware of the group after Lia, who claims
\nto be the Holy Spirit, distributed flyers to her neighbors
\nannouncing that the house had become the Kingdom of God or Eden
\nPalace on Dec. 5.<\/p>\n
Several other flyers, including a clarification on a report
\nthat the cult's teachings were heresy and an invitation to
\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the house, were also
\ndistributed to houses in the neighborhood several times after
\nthat.<\/p>\n
\"They never bothered or intimidated us before. Sometimes Lia's
\nfollowers went outside and we met them. However, they recently
\nbecame active distributing several flyers to us. We just don't
\nlike the content of the flyers. They should have kept their
\nteachings to themselves,\" Firdaus, 40, whose house is only 20
\nmeters from Lia's place, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said that they considered Lia and her followers strange
\npeople with a different way of thinking.<\/p>\n
Lia's flyers, however, were responded to by members of the
\ncongregation of nearby Meranti Mosque, which also distributed
\nflyers condemning Lia's teachings as heresy, and asked residents
\nto join a gathering in front of Lia's house on Dec. 30.<\/p>\n
Lia, who this time claimed to be God's messenger Gabriel,
\nresponded with new flyers on Dec. 25, threatening to take the
\nlives of the Meranti Mosque's committee members if they held the
\ngathering.<\/p>\n
The flyers invited residents to gather in front of her house
\non Wednesday to see what kind of people were there in the house.<\/p>\n
\"We were just very curious in the beginning. But as more
\npeople came, many began to shout and boo at them. I think it
\nwould have ended up in violence if the police had not come
\nquickly,\" Rahman, 30, another neighbor said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sect-leader-followers-arrested-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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