JP/5/AHMAD

JP/5/AHMAD

Mob attack strengthens Ahmadi's faith

Yuli Tri Suwarni
The Jakarta Post/Bandung

"Love for all, hatred for none."

It was this simple verse that attracted Ahmad Bakir, 69, to
become a devotee of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI)
when he was young. The verse is a motto of Ahmadiyah teaching, to
which he was introduced by his grandmother and mother.

Ahmadis, as devotees are called, believe in the resurrection
of the Prophet Isa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), in the
hereafter. They also believe that the messiah is Hadhrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), from Qadian, a small village in Punjab,
India, who establish Ahmadiyah in 1889.

"It is only a minor difference. While most Muslims are still
waiting for Imam Mahdi (the Messiah), we believe that Prophet Isa
has arrived. Why is it a big matter if we think a step in
advance?" Bakir, a father of five, whose entire family follows
Ahmadiyah, told The Jakarta Post.

He was sitting with several elder members of the sect
translating the Koran into Sundanese in a rear room of Mubarak
Mosque on Jl. Cikutra in Bandung, which acts as the JAI center in
West Java.

Bakir says Ahmadiyah prohibits violence against others and
followers are expected to resort to patience and prayer to
counter differences. He says Ahmadiyah has spread Islamic
teachings peacefully in Europe and the United States.

With pride, the members told the Post the Baitul Futuh Mosque
in London was one of Ahmadiyah's biggest mosques in the world and
could accommodate about 10,000 people.

Bakir said he had never encountered any major problems
practicing his faith in Indonesia, until last week when a mob
attacked JAI's Mubarak campus in Parung, Bogor.

Bakir strictly adheres to Ahmadiyah teachings, including the
rule that members must marry other members and mass prayers must
only be led by an Ahmadi imam. His five children are married to
fellow Ahmadis.

"Unfortunately, after the attack, we no longer feel safe as
citizens," said Ahmad Anwar, 75, an Ahmadi from Cianjur who now
lives in Bandung. He was introduced to the teachings in 1947. The
former soldier from West Java's Siliwangi Command said he was
introduced to Ahmadiyah by the first preacher from India who
brought the teachings to Indonesia in 1925, M. Rahmat Ali.

During the early stages when he first began to follow the
teachings of Ahmadiyah in Cianjur, neighbors thought he was a
Christian because he believed in the resurrection of Prophet Isa
and began to avoid him.

But he was committed to the teachings. People's aversion to
the group strengthen his faith and he brought up his five
children to become devout Ahmadis, one of them now living in
Australia.

According to the group, tens of thousands of people in
Indonesia follow Ahmadiyah spread in 300 branches throughout the
nation.

The sect was established in Bandung in 1948 and their mosque
was constructed on Jl. Sapari in Bojongloa, south Bandung.

"Like other citizens, we do not keep exclusively to ourselves.
We have policemen, soldiers and bureaucrats who are Ahmadis. We
observe the start of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri based on the
government's decision," said another Ahmadi.

A common scene at Ahmadiyah mosques is women Ahmadis
performing Friday prayers, which is not common at most mosques in
Indonesia. However, the group is now more cautious about its
activities for fear of an attack similar to the one in Bogor last
week.