Mr Syaiful Uyun, a senior cleric for the group in West Java, noted that ever since a gubernatorial decree banning the Ahmadiyah was issued in 2011, acts of violence towards the congregation have escalated in the region.
Source/Credit: Today Online
By Today Online | July 21, 2014
JAKARTA — Every night during Ramadan, Mdm Enok Juhanah, 63, performs the “tarawih” — a special prayer only performed during the Islamic holy month — at her mosque in the West Java district of Ciamis.
Some two dozen men, women and children have gathered for the same purpose this night, sitting at one side of the small Nur Khilafat mosque’s terrace. The building was sealed off by the local government just two days before the start of Ramadan.
Although Muslims can and do pray at home, many like Mdm Enok choose to pray at the terrace in an act of defiance — sometimes at their own risk.
Mdm Enok is a member of the Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim group that has been accused of blasphemy by Sunni Muslims and subjected to countless acts of violence, intimidation and discrimination.
For many Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is meant to be a time of peace, a chance to sideline earthly worries and focus on the spiritual, but this is hardly the case for Indonesia’s Muslim minority groups such as the Ahmadiyah.
“We were banned from performing our prayers inside (the mosque), but the ban does not say anything about the terrace,” said Mr Dadan Andriana, a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation’s (JAI) Ciamis chapter.
But there is still the risk that hardline groups may feel provoked and decide to attack the congregation, Mr Dadan said.
Mr Syaiful Uyun, a senior cleric for the group in West Java, noted that ever since a gubernatorial decree banning the Ahmadiyah was issued in 2011, acts of violence towards the congregation have escalated in the region.
“In Tasikmalaya, an Ahmadiyah mosque was taken over. In Tolenjeng (another mosque) was burnt and destroyed. In Sukapura, they also burnt and ransacked (a mosque) and in Banjar they sealed (off a mosque).”
“Every time we hold a communal prayer, such as the Friday prayer or Quranic recitals, we are always attacked by a group of people,” said Mr Nanang Ahmad Hidayat, the head of the JAI’s Singaparna chapter. The local Ahmadiyah mosque was last attacked in June 2007 and since then largely abandoned.
According to religious freedom advocacy groups, cases of religious intolerance have been on the rise since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took office in 2004. The Setara Institute recorded 371 cases of religious violence, intimidation and discrimination in 2012, up from 299 cases in 2011. The Wahid Institute recorded a similar increase, from 184 cases of religious violence in 2010 to 274 in 2012.
According to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), there were 20 cases of houses of worship being closed or attacked in 2012 and 17 cases where religious gatherings were attacked or disrupted.
Mr Dadan said since the Nur Khilafat mosque was sealed off last month, the congregation has repeatedly requested a meeting with Ciamis district head Iing Syam Arifin, but to no avail.
The JAI suspects the decision was influenced by the Islamic Defenders Front, a hardline group notorious for its attacks on religious minorities.
The JAI has called on Komnas HAM and the Indonesian Ombudsman to weigh in on the closure and demand an explanation from the district chief.
In Tasikmalaya, the local Ahmadiyah congregation feels it is safe enough to hold regular communal “tarawih” prayers at its Al Fadhal mosque. All 700 people in the village are Ahmadis, providing some security. But worries still linger.
In May last year, the village was attacked by a mob of 150 machete-wielding men, who damaged 24 homes as well as the village’s main mosque.
Just as unperturbed by threats and the growing hatred toward his community is Mr Hesti Rahardja, a Shia and chairman of West Java chapter of the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Congregation (Ijabi).
He said Shias in Bandung continue to carry out religious activities this Ramadan, including breaking fast with orphans and the poor or holding religious discussions, despite several hardline groups in Bandung forming an Anti-Shia Alliance two months before Ramadan.
Last November, several Shia groups in Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Yogyakarta and Jakarta were harassed as they tried to celebrate Ashura, the Shia Day of the Martyrs. In Bandung, several hardliners blocked the entrance to a building where the Ashura was scheduled to take place, forcing the local congregation to find another venue.
“I really hope our next president will uphold the Pancasila (national ideology), the Constitution, Bhineka Tunggal Ika (national motto of ‘Unity in Diversity’),” said JAI cleric Uyun. “The government should only facilitate, not interfere with people’s beliefs. Deeming someone blasphemous or righteous should be left up to God.” THE JAKARTA GLOBE
Read original post here: Not all is peaceful during month of Ramadan
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"La kum deeno kum walay ya deen" your religion for you and my religion for me says in the Qur'an. Has the Indonesians forgotten that mainly they are Muslims and what the Quranic teachings are?
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