Govt condemns group's attack on Ahmadiyah

Govt condemns group's attack on Ahmadiyah

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government condemned on Saturday an attack by members of
Indonesian Muslim Solidarity on the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Congregation
(JAI) on Friday afternoon.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla promised to investigate the case,
which is another worrying sign of rising religious radicalization
in the world's largest Muslim country.

"We will question both sides," Kalla said after a ceremony on
Saturday morning.

Conveying his condemnation of the attack, the Vice President
urged Indonesians not to resort to violence in dealing with
differences of faith.

"We condemn the act. Differences of faith should not be
resolved through violence," Kalla said.

Minister of Religious Affairs M. Maftuh Basyuni also urged
people "not to take the law into their own hands".

However, he said he would study the teachings of JAI to
determine if they were heretical, as claimed by a number of
groups including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which issued
an edict declaring the teachings of Ahmadiyah forbidden.

About 10,000 people attacked the compound of the JAI on
Friday. This was the second attempt this month to force the
congregation from the compound, known as the Mubarak campus, on
Jl. Raya Parung in Bogor, West Java. Some 500 JAI members have
left the area.

The attackers damaged several buildings and set others on
fire. Police were able to lead the JAI members safely out of the
complex.

The campus looked quiet on Saturday morning, SCTV reported.
Police only allowed JAI members back into the complex to collect
their personal belonging.

Ahmadiyah was formed in Pakistan in the 19th century. Its
followers believe that Ghulam Ahmad Khan, who founded the group,
was a prophet who came after the Prophet Muhammad, whom
mainstream Muslims believe was God's final messenger.

Ahmadiyah is little known in Indonesia and there are only an
estimated 200,000 followers in the country.

The People's Alliance for Freedom to Implement Religions also
condemned the attack, calling it "an act against civilization".

The alliance called on the government to ensure justice was
done in the case.

Dawam Rahardjo, a member of the alliance, said the attack
against the JAI was a violation of human rights and the country's
Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of religion.

Acts of intimidation and aggression against religious groups
or individuals by "other devotees" have been increasing in number
over the past several years.

Experts have called on the government to act swiftly to
protect the people's right to freely follow their religion. Some
have suggested the government also acknowledge other religions
and beliefs outside the existing five recognized by the state
under the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Muslim scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla said that MUI's
edict against Ahmadiyah provided "legitimacy" for people to
attack the congregation.

"The MUI should also be held responsible for the attack and
reported to the courts," said Ulil, who in 2003 was condemned by
a Muslim group, which issued a death sentence against him, for
publishing an article criticizing the conservatism of some Muslim
leaders.

Ulil urged the MUI to revoke the edict.

The MUI has said it would not revoke the edict, which was
issued in 1980, insisting that Ahmadiyah's teachings were against
Islam, but also condemned Friday's attack on the Ahmadiyah
compound.