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