US 'deplores' religious killings in Indonesia

A shocking video of the lynching shows the Muslim fanatics armed with machetes, sticks and rocks screaming "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) as they set upon their victims in a wild frenzy.

A Mpb of 1500 attack ahmadiyya members, killing 4 - Photo AFP

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: AFP / Google News
By AFP | February 8, 2011

JAKARTA — The United States on Tuesday condemned an outbreak of bloody religious violence in Indonesia which has left three people dead and several churches badly damaged.

The violence erupted on Sunday when a 1,000-strong mob of Muslim extremists attacked members of the minority Ahmadiyah sect in West Java province.

A shocking video of the lynching shows the Muslim fanatics armed with machetes, sticks and rocks screaming "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) as they set upon their victims in a wild frenzy.


In a separate incident on Tuesday, more than 1,500 Muslims went on the rampage in Central Java, setting two churches alight and ransacking a school, after a Christian man was sentenced to five years' jail for blaspheming Islam.

The group wanted him punished with death.

"The United States joins the vast majority of Indonesians in deploring the violence in Indonesia directed at members of the Ahmadiyah community that resulted in the deaths of three people and the wounding of several others over this past weekend," US ambassador to Indonesia, Scot Marciel, said.

"We also note with concern the recent church burnings in Central Java."

Human rights organisations have urged Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to do more to combat intolerance in the majority Muslim country of 240 million people.

The ambassador said Yudhoyono's condemnation of the Sunday's incident confirms Indonesia's "commitment to the rule of law".

"We encourage the Indonesian government to continue to foster tolerance and protect the rights of all communities," Marciel said.

President Barack Obama visited Indonesia in November and praised its "spirit of religious tolerance" as an "example to the world".


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