The Al-Misbah mosque, located on Jalan Pangrango inside the Jatibening housing complex, has been sealed three times by the Bekasi government since February 2013.
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| Bekasi Mayer, Rahmat Effendi (middle) holds extremists as friends and mentors |
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Camelia Pasandaran | April 12, 2013
The Bekasi administration says they will only open the sealed Ahmadiyah mosque in Pondok Gede if the congregation agrees to let the local government select an Imam and preacher for the mosque’s Friday prayers.
Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman from the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), told the Jakarta Globe that they refused to accept the request during a discussion on Thursday between the Bekasi government and members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah sect.
“Of course we don’t buy it, it is the same as giving away our faith,” Firdaus said on Friday.
But Firdaus said that they would not object if the Bekasi government wanted to educate them on religion.
“If ulema from the Indonesian Ulema Council [MUI] or from the Religious Affairs Ministry came to the Ahmadiyah mosque and taught us the right Islamic teachings according to their version, it won’t be a problem for us,” Firdaus explained. “But if they’re telling us what to do and not to do, it is unacceptable.”
The Al-Misbah mosque, located on Jalan Pangrango inside the Jatibening housing complex, has been sealed three times by the Bekasi government since February 2013. In the latest case on April 4, the Bekasi government put iron sheets around the mosque to prevent the congregation from entering, as well as blocking the exit for around 30 Ahmadis who were still inside at the time.
The government has refused to open the seal with the Pondok Gede Police in Bekasi supporting the decision, forbidding members from going in or out of the mosque.
Firdaus explained that they had to reject the government’s offer as they did not want a repeat of “Operation Sajadah” (“Operation Prayer Mat”) in West Java in 2011, where members of the Ahmadiyah sect were forced to embrace mainstream Islam.
“That time, the West Java government, hand in hand with the West Java military confiscated Ahmadiyah mosques in Bandung, Cianjur and Majalengka by firstly taking over the role of Friday prayers’ Imam and preacher at Ahmadiyah’s mosques," Firdaus said. " This is also what the Bekasi mayor wants.”
Read original post here: Ahmadiyah and Bekasi Government Fail to Ink a Deal to Reopen Mosque
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