City to fight deviant sects

City to fight deviant sects

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta's Security Agency (Bakorstanasda
Jaya) will form a special team to protect the capital from
deviant sects which can harm the peaceful life of religious
community.

"We will form this special team to be called Satgas Ulama
(special team for Islamic scholars) to hamper the presence of
deviant sects which could bring separation in the religious
community, especially the Moslem," chief of Bakorstanasda Jaya AM
Hendropriyono said.

Hendropriyono made the statement here on Thursday in a lecture
attended by around 250 Islamic clergymen of Jakarta, Bogor,
Tangerang and Bekasi.

He said the special team will consist of security officers and
those from the prosecutor's office and officers from other
related agencies under the supervision of Bakorstanasda Jaya.

"Besides, religious leaders and officials from the Jakarta
chapter of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) will be involved
in this team," Hendropriyono added.

He said the special team is urgently needed since he has seen
indications of the existence of deviant sects in the capital and
its surrounding areas.

However, he did not specify when the team will be set up.

Recently, Islamic leaders and scholars in the country have
urged the government to ban an Islamic sect called Al Arqam since
they consider that the sect has deviated from Islam.

The sect, however, has reportedly quietly grown in the
country.

The authorities in Malaysia has banned the sect. (als)