'We have never had serious problems due to our beliefs'

'We have never had serious problems due to our beliefs'

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has declared Ahmadiyah to
be haram (forbidden). Several Muslim groups have also demanded
Ahmadiyah to close down its activities. Ahmadiyah chairman Abdul
Basyith talked with The Jakarta Post's Tiarma Siboro and Hera
Diani about the issue. The following is an excerpt from their
conversation.

Question: There are growing demands for the banning of
Ahmadiyah. What will you do to survive?

Answer: I regret the radicalism showed by certain groups
against us, and also the awkward stance of the government in
dealing with the violence we are facing now as I believe that the
violence will affect all sectors here, especially politics and
security. Just see what happened in Pakistan or Afghanistan,
where small groups of hardliners can force their will on others
and claim their actions to be in the name of the whole country.

We see how these groups have waved religious issues as their
banners. A similar situation is also currently happening in
Indonesia. I don't see that Ahmadiyah is the end of their (the
hardliners) goals. We are just like a stepping stone for their
next goals: political destabilization. And the government must be
aware of this and deal with the issue.

MUI condemned Ahmadiyah for not spreading Islamic tenets
because the group does not recognize Muhammad as the last
prophet. What do you say to this?

We have been living in Indonesia for almost 80 years and we
have never found serious problems due to our beliefs. We
recognize the Prophet Muhammad, who spread Islamic sharia around
the world. What makes us different is that we believe that the
Messiah -- of whom Rasullulah had promised to be delivered for
all of us -- has come, while other Muslims are still waiting for
the Messiah.

And we acknowledge the Messiah as the one who later on spread
our beliefs. Just like Christians who also acknowledge Isa
Almasih (Jesus Christ) as their Messiah.

But still, we have the right to call ourselves as Muslims. We
are devoted to the five pillars of Islam and also the pillars of
faith. No one can claim that we are non-Muslims, neither the MUI
nor the United Nations.

No one can ban others from professing certain beliefs. No one
can ban others from not professing certain beliefs. No one can
even ban evil from tempting humans. It is the basic right of all
mankind. Does the MUI have the right to judge us for not
professing to be Muslims? How can they take over the rights of
Allah?

Can you name other pre-dominantly Muslim countries that have
put pressure on Ahmadiyah followers?

In Pakistan, in Bangladesh, we are facing pressures, and we
believe the policies have been motivated by political interests.
Just like the late Pakistani prime minister Ali Bhutto who once
refused to recognize Ahmadiyah followers as Muslims only after he
faced pressures from his political opponents. Learning from the
situation, I can say that religious matters have never been the
main issues surrounding Ahmadiyah. It is merely political
matters, the state's matters.

If the government fails to curb this violence and continue to
allow certain groups to take the law into their own hands, we
will only witness more violence. My concern now is why has the
MUI issued a fatwa that grants legitimacy to certain groups to
commit violence towards others? Such radicalism only exists in
countries with poor law enforcement.

In countries with good law enforcement, such as Malaysia or
Singapore, we find no harm against Ahmadiyah followers. We are
confused with the state interfering in matters of belief. Instead
of interfering in our beliefs, why doesn't the state focus on
combating crime or declaring war on drugs or providing low-cost
education?

Has Ahmadiyah temporarily frozen its activities following the
rising violence against the group?

We continue our activities. We still hold prayers even though
local administrations at several places, such as in Kuningan,
West Java, have locked up our mosques for what they call security
reasons ... It's ridiculous.

We have been here since the 1920s and have no record of
security violations. We promote peace. We are against violence.
Why we are banned from holding Friday prayers in the mosques that
we built with money out of our own pockets? Some of the mosques
have even been vandalized by the groups who claim themselves to
be representatives of Muslim people. Some of our followers have
also been intimidated.

What do you expect from the government to do?

I want the government to provide freedom for all of its
citizens to profess their beliefs. Freedom of expression. Freedom
of unity. These are basic human rights.

In the worse scenario, what if the government upholds MUI's
fatwa?

If the government bans us from living here, then where should
we go? We (will have to) ask the government to provide a place
for us. If the government can't leave us in peace here in
Indonesia, then we want to seek protection abroad. But it must be
understood that the country must grant freedoms to profess
certain beliefs or even to be an atheist.