Ahmadiyah mosques destroyed in attack
Ahmadiyah mosques destroyed in attack
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Hundreds of people in West Java vandalized on Monday night
houses, mosques and cars belonging to members of the Indonesian
Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), a Muslim group whose teachings
differ from the central tenets of Islam.
No casualties nor injuries were reported in the attack.
West Java Police said on Tuesday the vandalism had been
localized to Campaka district in Cianjur regency, some 100
kilometers southeast of Jakarta, which is home to hundreds of
Ahmadiyah followers.
The attackers, mostly from the neighborhood and the nearby
Darul Rahman Islamic boarding school, destroyed or damaged four
mosques, 33 houses and four Islamic schools, and set fire to
three cars.
The mob of Muslims dispersed after the 90 minute attack at
around 9 p.m.
West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Edi Darnadi said the Cianjur
Police had arrested 48 people in relation to the attack.
Five of them, he said, had been declared suspects. They have
been identified as Deni Hidayat, 35, Yopi Suhendar, 32, M.
Yohadi, 35, Dani Hamdani, 27 and Nurdin, 22.
Darul Rahman boarding school head Muhammad Hardian Nawawi, who
is believed to have led the attack, is being questioned by the
Cianjur Police.
The attack was the latest against Ahmadiyah, which has been
branded a heretical group by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)
through its fatwa issued recently.
In 1984, the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a circular
to provincial offices across the country, declaring that
Ahmadiyah was misleading and against Islam.
The group believes that another prophet, its founder Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad, came after Muhammad, the last prophet of God in
Islam.
In July, thousands of people attacked the Ahmadiyah compound
in Parung, Bogor, West Java, in a protest against the group's
teachings.
The attack was condemned by Muslim organizations and leaders,
who said that faith differences must not be resolved with
violence.
However, nobody was arrested for the Parung violence.
Ahmadiyah has existed as an organization since 1953 and now
has about 200,000 members.
The West Java Police chief said the Cianjur authorities
had been slow to settle the conflict between Ahmadiyah and local
residents, which he said had caused accumulated rage and
destruction.
West Java Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Ahmad Abdi said
the Cianjur administration had met on Sept. 5 with local
residents and Ahmadiyah leaders.
During the talks, the Ahmadis had been told to halt their
activities but had ignored the demand.
"Despite the MUI's fatwa against Ahmadiyah, the attack was a
punishable crime -- and punishment was needed to avoid similar
attacks in the future," Abdi said.
Meanwhile, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan appealed for
tolerance and restraint for the course of the police's
investigation.
As of Tuesday evening, Ahmadiyah's West Java leader, Abdul
Wahab, could not be reached for comment.