Masked men burn two mosques in Kuningan

Masked men burn two mosques in Kuningan

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

At least six witnesses have been questioned by police after an
unidentified group of people set fire to two musholah (small
mosques) in Kuningan regency, West Java Police chief Insp. Gen.
Edi Darnadi said on Friday.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which took place at
around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

The At-Takwa and Al-Hidayah mosques -- both located in
Manislor village, Jalaksana district, belong to the Ahmadiyah
sect, which adheres to an exclusive, extreme brand of Islam.

Edi said the witnesses in question were local villagers, and
added that the Kuningan Police were investigating whether
outsiders had played a role in the attack.

According to Edi, the witnesses told police investigators that
the attackers consisted of a group of more than 10 masked men who
arrived in a minibus.

He said the police had not been aware of any signs of
potential unrest before the arson attacks.

"There had been an agreement among local residents (and the
Ahmadiyah followers) not to disturb each other," Edi said after
Friday prayers at West Java Police Headquarters in Bandung.

Tension between the sect and local villagers is widely
believed to have triggered the conflict.

Earlier, the Kuningan regental administration had issued a
circular banning religious ceremonies in Ahmadiyah mosques.

However, the Ahmadiyah followers have allegedly been defying
the ban and holding religious activities in the mosques since the
start of Ramadhan on Oct. 15, particularly tarawih (non-
obligatory evening prayers).

The Al-Hidayah mosque was also attacked ahead of Ramadhan in
2002 in a protest against the Ahmadiyah sect's presence in
Manislor village.

The Ahmadiyah strain of Islam is messianic in nature, with its
followers believing in the future coming of Prophet Isa, or the
messiah, something that is anathema to most Indonesian Muslims.
Followers of the exclusive group refuse to pray under prayer
leaders from other Muslim groups.

However, Edi Darnadi said he did not rule out the possibility
that the latest attack was caused by some other factor besides
the long-standing dispute among the Manislor villagers.

He ordered the Kuningan police to thoroughly investigate the
incident so as to ascertain the motive and prevent unrest from
spreading to neighboring villages.