Indonesia: Another Ahmadiyah Mosque Sealed in West Java

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In Tasikmalaya, a mob of 400 hard-line Islamists stormed Sukamaju village, overpowering local police and attacking the homes of Ahmadiyah members early Saturday morning.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Farouk Arnaz & Vento Saudale | May 7, 2013

West Java’s persecuted Ahmadiyah Muslim sect suffered another blow on Tuesday as Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers shuttered a mosque in Depok amid complaints from community members.

The mosque, located in Sawangan, Depok, was first sealed two years ago, Depok Satpol PP secretary Slamet A. R. said. The agency resealed the building after local residents complained to Depok administration that Ahmadiyah members began holding prayers at the mosque, which also served as a headquarters for the local Ahmadi community.

“The seal was probably removed by members of the Ahmadiyah,” Slamet said. “We’re currently sealing [the mosque] again to prevent public outcry, which will lead to anarchic acts.”

The province’s Ahmadiyah community have been barred from teaching others their beliefs in West Java. The group, which has been labeled a “deviant” sect by Islamic officials, have long been the target of mob violence and attacks by Islamic hard-line organizations.

In Tasikmalaya, a mob of 400 hard-line Islamists stormed Sukamaju village, overpowering local police and attacking the homes of Ahmadiyah members early Saturday morning. Dozens of homes were damaged in the rampage, prompting calls from National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to arrest those responsible.

West Java Police detained two men who were allegedly involved in the violence, charging both with destroying property while participating in a riot. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“Both of them are local residents living in a village near the crime scene,” National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said on Tuesday. “Our investigators are still trying to find out the motive.”

The men will be questioned as police search for others involved in the attacks, Agus said.

“They threw things at [Ahmadiyah] houses and an Islamic school in the Ahmadiyah village,” Agus said. “This case will be developed [to find other suspects] for the sake of law enforcement.”

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, who has been accused of supporting hard-line organizations, spoke out against the beleaguered Muslim sect on Tuesday, telling the Indonesian newspaper Kompas that life would be better if the Ahmadiyah disappeared.

“Of course we want religious tolerance to go properly but the Ahmadiyah have committed a violation by spreading a deviant belief,” Ahmad said. “The problem will disappear if the belief disappears.”

Amnesty International called on the Indonesian government and the Ministry of Home Affairs to reopen at least four of the mosques sealed by West Java authorities in the past month. The human rights watchdog urged the central government to repeal local bylaws that threaten the freedom of religion, stating that these regulations “have been used by local authorities and radical Islamist groups to justify discrimination, intimidation and attacks against them [Ahmadiyah] in many parts of the country.”

The Indonesian government has failed to protect the rights of religious minorities, the statement said. Amnesty International urged the government to push police and the military to protect the rights of all Indonesians.

“The closures of four other Ahmadiyah places of worship in a month come amid ongoing attacks, intimidation and state discrimination against religious minorities in Indonesia,” the statement read. “Despite commitments to tackle religious intolerance, the Indonesian authorities are failing to protect religious minority groups and to revoke laws and regulations which are discriminatory and violate the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”

Religious intolerance is on the rise in Indonesia, where increasingly vocal hard-line groups seemingly operate with tacit support in regions like West Java, according to rights groups.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has come under fire for failing to address the surge in religiously motivated attacks. Incidents like Saturday’s rampage occur with alarming frequency in Indonesia and the majority of perpetrators are rarely brought to justice.

The president continues to be championed as a crusader for tolerance abroad, where he recently received an award from the New York-based Appeal of Conscience Foundation for his work promoting tolerance in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

The Human Rights Working Group and the Setara Institute blasted the interfaith organization for failing to investigate government officials’ claims of tolerance.

“This award seems to be based in ignorance about the conditions in Indonesia, where in the last few years discrimination and violations in the name of religion against minority groups such as the Ahmadiyah, Christians, Shiite and Bahai and their followers have taken place,” read a letter issued by the Setara Institute.

“As an institution of a high reputation, we do not understand how Appeal of Conscience could award it without any detailed verification of the reality [in Indonesia],” the statement continued. “We demand that the Appeal of Conscience review and cancel the awarding of the ‘World Statesman Award’ to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.”

Yudhoyono’s presidential team denied the criticism, explaining that the president was actively involved in promoting interfaith dialogue abroad.

“The intolerance cases should not blind the eyes of the commentators from seeing the many progresses in building Indonesian values under President SBY,” Teuku Faizasyah, a member of Yudhoyono’s international relations staff, said on Monday.

Meanwhile, in Depok, Ahmadiyah community leader Mubalig Saefuloh told the press that he would abide by a local ban on holding prayer services.

“I accept this and in the future will no longer perform activities together,” Mubalig said after Satpol PP resealed his mosque.


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