Ulemas Council does about-face on jihad

Ulemas Council does about-face on jihad

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) defied
President Abdurrahman Wahid's stern warning against a holy war,
expressing its sympathy for the cry invoked by Muslim
demonstrators for a jihad to defend their brethren in Maluku.

In a statement issued on Saturday, MUI also called on Muslims
throughout the country to foster unity, cohesion, solidarity and
vigilance against any kind of trick and stratagem by certain
groups who are anti-Islam.

The tone and spirit of the statement, which was signed by
chairman H. Amidhan and secretary-general Nazri Adlani, departs
from the stance taken by MUI earlier this week, according to the
Antara news agency.

In the statement, MUI strongly condemned what it described as
the brutal massacre of Muslims and innocent children, the raping
of women and the destruction of dozens of mosques and prayer
houses in Maluku by extremists in collaboration with foreign
parties.

The Islamic scholars characterize the massacres as barbaric
and cruel actions in blatant violation of human rights, all of
which constitute the persecution of Muslims.

MUI has accused the government of being halfhearted in dealing
with the violence and of condoning the arbitrary torture of
Muslims in the eastern Indonesian islands.

"We strongly urge the government of President Abdurrahman
Wahid and Vice President Megawati to act quickly and firmly
against those responsible for the violence," MUI said.

Thousands of people have been killed on various islands in
Maluku since the sectarian violence erupted early last year.

Thousands of extra soldiers have already been sent to the
islands to prevent further sectarian clashes.

MUI has also lambasted the National Commission on Human Rights
for its indifference toward the brutality against Muslims in
Maluku, urging the government to dissolve the commission.

"We urge the government to dissolve the National Commission on
Human Rights and other non-governmental organizations because
they are clearly working for foreigners and defending only the
interests of foreigners," MUI added.

This stance is a change from earlier this week, when the
leaders of MUI criticized the calls for a holy war in Maluku,
warning that a jihad would only worsen the bloodshed.

Umar Shihab, a co-chairman of MUI, was quoted as saying on
Wednesday that he was against a jihad if it mobilized thousands
of people to take revenge.

Shihab said he considered a holy war to be a sin.

But he said it would be a different matter and something that
would be allowed if Muslims were to fight against the
provocateurs who had fomented the sectarianism in Maluku. The
violent clashes in Maluku have killed more than 1,500 people
since early 1999.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Abdurrahman rejected calls for a
jihad in Maluku, warning that stern measures would be taken
against those going to Maluku to fight.

On Saturday in Medan, North Sumatra, a Muslim group opened a
post to collect donations for Muslims in Maluku and to register
volunteers willing to fight a jihad in the eastern islands.

Syamsul Qomar, chairman of the Forum for the Defense of
Muslims, was quoted by Antara as saying that volunteers who
wanted to fight in a jihad would be provided with facilities and
funds.

Qomar made the announcement to a mass gathering held by
thousands of Muslims in Merdeka Square in the North Sumatra
capital on Friday in a show of compassion for Muslims in Maluku.

The gathering was also attended by Governor Rizal Nurdin and
Military Commander Maj. Gen. A. Affandi.

Separately, the military said on Saturday that there were no
reports of fresh violence in Maluku and fewer people were engaged
in mass mobilization.

TNI spokesman Col. Panggih Sundro reported that during recent
house-to-house searches for weapons in Maluku, many people
voluntarily surrendered their weapons.