Cianjur administration to ban Ahmadiyah sect

Cianjur administration to ban Ahmadiyah sect

Antara News Agency, Jakarta

Having their mosques and houses destroyed is apparently not
enough punishment for members of Ahmadiyah Congregation. Exactly
a week after their property was vandalized by hard-line Muslims,
Ahmadiyah members will face another bitter reality: Ahmadiyah's
teachings will soon be banned by the Cianjur local
administration.

The plan to legally ban Ahmadiyah from the regency was
disclosed on Monday by Cianjur Regent Wasidi Swastomo.

Speaking to the media, Wasidi explained that a meeting had
been held recently between the Cianjur administration, the chiefs
of police, military officers and prosecutors in the regency, and
it was agreed upon to ban Ahmadiyah activities in the regency.

"The decree to ban Ahmadiyah will be issued within one or two
days," said Wasidi, as quoted by Antara, the government news
agency.

The ban comes a week after hundreds of Cianjur residents
vandalized at least four mosques, 33 houses and four cars
belonging to Ahmadiyah members in the area. The attackers were
mostly Muslims in Cianjur and students from Muslim boarding
schools near the Ahmadiyah complex.

Forty-eight of the group were arrested after the violence, but
only 12 have been named suspects. The police are now building the
case files.

Meanwhile, Wasidi, who has spearheaded the implementation of
Islamic Law (sharia) in Cianjur, stated during a press conference
that the religious ban was aimed at curbing controversial
religious teachings that create conflicts. By banning Ahmadiyah,
it would help prevent potential conflicts between Ahmadiyah
members and people who disagree with them in the future, argued
Wasidi.

The regent added that Ahmadiyah's teachings should be banned
as they were heretical. Ahmadiyah differs from mainstream Islam
because the members believe that the last prophet of Islam was
not Muhammad, but Mirza Ghulam Achmad, who founded the sect in
the 19th century in Pakistan.

According to Wasidi, the plan to ban Ahmadiyah has already
been strongly supported by other local leaders, including
mainstream Muslim leaders and the military commander.

Wasidi did not go into detail about whether the ban would lead
to an outright eviction of Ahmadiyah members from the regency. He
also refused to say whether the Ahmadiyah members would be jailed
if they continued their religious activities in Cianjur.