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)