Mob damages minority sect mosque

Mob damages minority sect mosque

Responding to last week's ransacking of an Ahmadiyah mosque, Indonesian authorities warn that violence will not be tolerated.

Government officials are promising a thorough investigation and legal action after a mob attacked and ransacked a mosque used by the minority Ahmadiyah sect just before Friday prayers (April 20th)

Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said West Java police were handling the case and that legal action would be taken against those responsible.

"Violence is not allowed. Whoever did this will be dealt with," Djoko told reporters outside the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday, according to a Kompas report.

Separately, Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi ordered local police to thoroughly investigate the attack.

At least 80 people broke into the Baitul Rahim Mosque in the Singaparna subdistrict of Tasikmalaya, West Java, about 260 km southeast of Jakarta. They damaged the roof, broke windows, and burned the carpet and prayer mats, police said.

No one was reported injured in the attack, which took place around 10 am on Friday and lasted 20 minutes.

Firdaus Mubarik, an Indonesia Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) spokesman, told Khabar Southeast Asia, that the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) carried out the attack.

"This is actually not the first attack that happened to Ahmadiyah Mosque in Singaparna because they also did it on April 12th," Firdaus said."The attack began when they handed a letter of objection regarding use of the mosque," he said.

Although Muslim-majority Indonesia is a secular country where freedom of religion is protected under the constitution, some religious minorities in recent years have been targeted by hardline Islamist groups.

Such groups say the Ahmadiyah sect, which follows the teachings of a 19th century religious figure from India, should be banned. Regional governments have placed restrictions on the sect, and the central government in 2008 issued a decree restricting Ahmadis from spreading their beliefs.

A spokesman for the West Java Police, Senior Commander Martinus Sitompul, denied allegations by the JAI that the local authorities failed to step in.

"It is not true we let it happen without any prevention," he told Khabar. "As a notification [of plans to deliver the letter] had been given to us, we deployed our officers to prevent any violence that might occur. But during the handing of the letter, [the] Ahmadis said something which was provocative and we tried to prevent the violence which occurred," he said.

Awid Mashuri, deputy secretary general of the FPI, denied the group's involvement amid reports some mob members were carrying FPI flags or dressed in the group's trademark white and green.

"It was Singaparna neighbouring residents that attacked the Ahmadiyah mosque. It is because the Ahmadiyah congregation has broken the agreement for not holding any activities anymore in their mosque," he told Khabar.

"If there were FPI accessories worn by any of the mob, it does not mean that they are FPI members because they might just buy accessories from the shop," he said.

If FPI involvement is proven, the group could be banned, because it has already been warned twice over use of violence, Home Minister Gamawan said.

"Another [incident of] big-scale violence by the FPI would meant that the organisation is eligible to be frozen," The Jakarta Post quoted him as saying.

Ahmadis’ Holidays Plagued With Fear in Indonesia

Ahmadis’ Holidays Plagued With Fear in Indonesia

Not all Muslims celebrated Idul Fitri with jubilance and excitement. For members of the Ahmadiyah minority sect, this year’s celebration is marked by heartache and fear.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that approximately 600 Ahmadis in Sukadana village in West Java’s Cianjur district had been banned from using their mosque for prayers.

“Ahmadiyah followers in Sukadana village were told by the village chief that they could not use their own mosque to hold a Idul Fitri prayer in case of a possible attack by the residents,” Firdaus said.

“For us, this is a threat.”

Instead, Firdaus said the group had to hold its prayers inside an Ahmadiyah Islamic school as guards from Cianjur kept watch.

Similar threats were also aired against Ahmadis in Makassar, who were recently attacked by assailants from the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

“Even though our mosque was damaged by the FPI on August 13, thank God we could hold Idul Fitri prayers in our own mosque peacefully this morning wthout any disturbance,” Irza Rasid, an Ahmadi from Makassar, told the Globe.

“Unfortunately, we could not stay longer to gather and celebrate Idul Fitri among the Ahmadiyah congregation because we did not want the FPI to come and attack us,” he added.

Last month, FPI members attacked the Makassar office of the JAI, where Ahmadis had planned to hand out food and groceries to the surrounding community.

“The FPI often conducts raids on Ahmadiyah activities without any coordination with the police. Not only did they carry out raids, but also threats and intimidation towards us.” Irza said. “It needs to be understood that we do not want to fight back ... because we have our own motto, which is love for all, hatred for none.”

The JAI has recorded more than 160 cases of violence against Ahmadiyah communities in the last 10 years.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Ahmadis have been living in a rundown shelter for nearly six years after their village was attacked and ransacked by mainstream Muslim groups.

“We have lost our land, we have lost our homes. Some have even lost their lives, but we are thankful for we have you, Allah,” Ahmadi children sang after the community performed their Idul Fitri prayer on Wednesday.

Many cried as some 50 children sang the song remembering the violence that drove them away from one village to the next, destroying every possession that they owned.

More than 250 Ahmadis took part in the prayer, occupying a tiny room in the middle of the abandoned Transito building. The ceiling showed signs of collapsing on to the congregation, which had to use makeshift prayer mats made from recycled newspapers and torn sheets of plastic.

Community members prepared a simple chicken stew and rice cake.

“I know they are nothing fancy, but they remind me of home,” 58 year-old Siti Kalsum said.

Setara Accuses Police, Courts of Engineering Ahmadiyah Verdicts

Setara Accuses Police, Courts of Engineering Ahmadiyah Verdicts

The lenient sentences handed down to the killers of three Ahmadiyah followers were the result of “manipulated” legal proceedings, which began when police launched their preliminary investigation, a human rights group said on Monday.

Police limited the scope of the investigation and distracted the core issue to the point that Ahmadiyah members were blamed for the Feb. 6 attack, when they should have been recognized as victims, the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy said.

“Instead of providing justice for the victims and getting the facts surrounding the incident, police constructed a story in which Ahmadiyah followers provoked the mob to attack them,” said Ismail Hasani, a researcher at the institute.

Police were too busy to defending their reputation, he said, to launch a fair and professional probe into the case.

Ismail said that during the incident in Cikeusik, Banten, officers were present at the scene but said they couldn’t control the mob or prevent them from assaulting the members of the minority Islamic sect. In order to avoid accusations of criminal negligence, he continued, police argued they had asked the Ahmadis to flee but the call was ignored.

From that point on, right up to the point the court verdicts were read, the Ahmadis were blamed for the attack, Ismail said.

Police arrested and charged 12 suspects in relation to the attack. Despite facing sentences of up to 12 years in jail, prosecutors recommended prison sentences of between five and seven months for the defendants.

On the other hand, prosecutors recommended nine months in jail for Deden Sujana, the head of security for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), for allegedly provoking the attack.

The Serang District Court sentenced the attackers to between three and six months in jail, with the judge saying repeatedly that the Ahmadiyah members triggered the violence.

“We cannot blame the judicial system itself for the result because it might have been manipulated by the law enforcers, from the police to the prosecutors and the judge,” Ismail said.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Setara’s deputy chairman, said sectarian conflict would soon become a daily occurrence unless the government took serious measures against extremism.

“The main problem here is that there is no significant regulation to deal with the perpetrators of sectarian conflicts, especially if the perpetrators are coming from an Islamic group led by influential clerics,” Bonar said. “In such cases, law enforcement officials are hesitant to take serious action.”

According to the group, there were 99 sectarian conflicts or attacks in 13 provinces during the first half of the year. West Java experienced the most clashes, with 30 incidents.

“There were three major attacks in February, including in Cikeusik, Temanggung [Central Java] and Pasuruan [East Java],” Ismail said.

A violent mob burned down three churches in Temanggung, demanding that a Christian man be sentenced to death for insulting Islam. Also in February, hundreds of people set on the Yapi pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, which was accused of spreading Shiite teachings, injuring four students.

“Those three major clashes in February actually triggered more attacks in March and April,” he said. “Our reports show there were 24 incidents of religious violence in March and another 24 in April.”

Most of the incidents involved destruction of places of worship, accusations of apostasy, discriminatory regulations toward minority religions and forced conversions, particularly of Ahmadiyah members, the group said.

In March, 33 Ahmadiyah members living in Bogor decided to convert to mainstream Islam, following the wave of attacks and intimidation against sect members.

Activists Cry Foul at 'Lenient' Prosecutors in Ahmadiyah Trial

Activists Cry Foul at 'Lenient' Prosecutors in Ahmadiyah Trial

Rights activists expressed outrage on Thursday over the light jail terms sought for suspects in the deadly attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Banten in February, saying such leniency would not deter future violence.

“There is a lack of seriousness from law-enforcement officials in handling sectarian clashes, and this could pose a danger to national unity,” said Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy.

His remarks came shortly after prosecutors at the Serang District Court in Banten recommended sentences of between five and seven months for 12 defendants accused of having a role in the Feb. 6 attack in Cikeusik subdistrict. Three followers of Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect, were killed in the attack and five more were seriously injured.

“The seven-month demand is really weak,” Bonar said. “This was because the prosecutors saw the case as a spontaneous incident instead of a systematic attack.

“More than that, pressure from outside groups during the trial was also a factor in the weak sentencing demand. The state failed to provide adequate protection for prosecutors and judges during the trial.”

He was referring to the defendants’ vocal supporters who have crowded the courtroom throughout the trial.

Bonar said trials involving sectarian clashes needed the same high level of security provided for terrorism cases.

The prosecution was also criticized by activists for failing to charge the defendants with incitement of hatred, which carries a heavier maximum punishment.

“The prosecutors didn’t prepare the sentencing demand based on the evidence and the magnitude of the crime,” said Haris Azhar, the executive director of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

“They should have seen this as a very serious case because [the attack] occurred because of hatred spread by certain groups of people,” he said.

“It is clear to see that there is a lack of courage and ability on the part of the prosecutors to bring the hatred issue to trial, while [inciting hatred] is a very serious and important issue.”

The defendants have been charged with crimes ranging from provoking violence to assault. Still, the lesser of the charges, provocation, allows punishment of up to six years in jail.

Meanwhile, prosecutors have said the sentencing recommendation was light because the group of 25 Ahmadis involved in the incident was believed to have played a part in provoking the attack.

Prosecutors said the evidence showed members of the banned sect not only provoked the riot, but also filmed it and distributed the videos.

Sentences of seven months were sought for 10 defendants, while sentences of five and six months were sought for two others during the marathon hearings in Serang, the capital of Banten.

Ahmadiyah Decree Triggers Violence: Amnesty Int'l

Ahmadiyah Decree Triggers Violence: Amnesty Int'l

Amnesty International called on the government on Wednesday to revoke the decree that bans Ahmadiyah members from proselytizing, saying the regulation was one of the primary causes for an increase in religious violence in the country.

Saman Zia-Zarifi, director of the Asia-Pacific program at the Amnesty International, said the time had come for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to get serious about tackling religious violence in the country.

“I had an open and frank discussion with the National Police chief, Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and church groups in Indonesia,” Saman said. “We urge Indonesia to fulfill its obligation to protect its citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, in line with the Indonesian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The 2008 joint ministerial decree needs to be revoked. The country should not intervene in people’s religious choices.”

The police, Saman added, needed to publicly reiterate their commitment to protecting the rights of all Indonesians, regardless of their religious beliefs.

“The Indonesian police must ensure the trials of those who commit violence in the name of religion are free from intimidation toward victims, witnesses and their lawyers,” he said.

Last month, the Religious Affairs Ministry held a national dialog on the minority Islamic sect, where the 2008 joint ministerial decree featured in discussions.

The Indonesia Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) declined to attend the event. They complained they had too little time to prepare and only received four seats at the conference.

The results of the dialog are expected to be used by the government to decide on the fate of the sect and the controversial 2008 decree.

Meanwhile, a regional leader of one of the groups accused of leading attacks on Ahmadiyah followers, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), said he did not condone violence against the group.

“Ahmadis are human beings. They have families,” Bambang Teddy, head of the FPI in Yogyakarta, said on Tuesday. “The way to diminish the influence of Ahmadiyah is not with violence.”

However, Bambang said, Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono was running out of time to issue a decree banning the activities of Ahmadiyah in the province. As a special region, Bambang said, the sultan should be able to make a decision independent of the central government.

If the sultan did not respond soon, he said, the local branches of the FPI would coordinate with FPI headquarters, led by Habib Rizieq, who has previously advocated violence against the sect.

“I’m worried that a war could break out against Ahmadiah in Yogya. I don’t want Yogya to be unsafe,” Bambang said.

Jail Demand for Ahmadi Accused in Knife Attack

Jail Demand for Ahmadi Accused in Knife Attack

Bogor. Prosecutors on Monday demanded a nine-month jail term for defendant Ahmad Nuryamin, an Ahmadi accused of wounding a 15-year-old boy last October.

Nuryamin in previous trial hearings told the Cibinong District Court that he had panicked and accidentally stabbed Rendy Apriansyah.

Rendy was believed to have been part of a mob of some 200 people who on Oct. 1 burned and looted homes, schools and a mosque in Cisalada village, home to about 600 followers of the Ahmadiyah.

Prosecutor Nuraeni Aco told the district court that Nuryami was guilty of violating the 2002 Child Protection Law. “We believe that our sentence demand is appropriate. The mitigating factors include the fact that Nuryamin has never been convicted of any crime and he admitted to this crime,” Nuraeni told the hearing presided by Judge Eddy Wisono.

Nuraeni added that the defendant needed to pay Rp 60 million in fines or spend a further three months in jail.

The 35-year-old Nuryamin had previously argued that as a farmer, he carried a knife every day and that the victim had bumped into him in the confusion and darkness during the attack by a mob of mainstream Muslims on Cisalada. He said his knife had still been in its sheath at the time of the alleged attack. The trial was adjourned till Mar. 21.

The sentence demand comes a day after the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia, or JAI, accused police and military officers in West Java of coercing Ahmadiyah members to renounce their faith, through intimidation and bribery.

Safwan Adnan, head of the West Java branch of the JAI, had said that on Friday, 40 police and military officers from Bandung, accompanied by members of the West Java branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), arrived at Ahmadiyah’s Mubarak Mosque in Bandung.

“They said they wanted to lead the Friday prayers,” Safwan said.

“They were showing off, trying to prove that they had managed to convert followers of Ahmadiyah,” he added.

The Ahmadis had rebuked the group.

On Monday, human rights organizations, including the Human Rights Working Group and the Legal Aid Foundation, called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration to investigate whether the Indonesian Military (TNI) were forcing Ahmadis to convert into Islam.

Police, Military ‘Intimidate’ Bogor Ahmadis to Convert

Police, Military ‘Intimidate’ Bogor Ahmadis to Convert

Police and military officers in West Java have coerced Ahmadiyah members into renounce their faith through bribery and intimidation, two groups said on Sunday.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesia Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said he had received reports from Ahmadis across West Java that police and military officers had been visiting their homes, asking them to sign sworn statements renouncing their faith.

The allegation comes on the same day that a group of 40 demonstrators broke into an Ahmadiyah mosque in Cipeuyeum, West Java, and burned the group’s religious books.

“Police were there. The mob did not destroy the mosque or clash with the Ahmadis,” said Asep Isamudin, head of the JAI in Cianjur district.

“They burned the books and the Korans because they believe Ahmadiyah is in violation of the joint ministerial decree and the recently issued gubernatorial decree banning the activities of the sect in West Java,” he said.

Firdaus said at least seven Ahmadis previously residing in the village of Leuwisadeng, located some six kilometers from Ciaruteun Udik, the scene of an attack on Friday that damaged houses owned by Ahmadis, had relocated to Bogor.

“They were intimidated into signing a statement,” he said. “They feared for their lives.

“The village administration head also informed them that if they insisted on remaining Ahmadis, it would be difficult for them to get their ID cards processed, and to get their children an education.

“The Ahmadi villagers were also offered up to Rp 150,000 [$14)] to renounce their beliefs.”

Safwan Adnan, head of the West Java branch of the JAI, said that similar tactics were occurring in Majalengka and Tasikmalaya, both in the province.

He said that on Friday, 40 police and military officers from Bandung, accompanied by members of the West Java branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), arrived at Ahmadiyah’s Mubarak Mosque in Bandung.

“They said they wanted to lead the Friday prayers,” he said. The Ahmadis, he added, rebuked the group.

“They were showing off, trying to prove that they had managed to convert followers of Ahmadiyah,” he said.

Muhammad Isnur, from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, said that Ahmadis in Ciareteun and Leuwisadeng were rounded up on Saturday.

“They were briefed by the Bogor Police, officers from the regional military command and the village’s ulema, among others, on the contents of the new gubernatorial decree,” he said.

Even though the decree itself is unconstitutional, he said, the Ahmadis were advised to obey.

“The Ahmadis can move out if they don’t feel safe,” he said. “The preaching at mosques has gotten worse — there are calls to kill, attack and hang the Ahmadis.”

Bogor Police Chief Dadang Rahardja said “the good news” is that seven of the Ahmadi villagers who were attacked on Friday “will declare themselves Muslim, and they decided this by their own will.”

He denied that police officers had intimidated Ahmadis. “It was only socialization. We will not force them because faith is about human rights.”

Bogor Mob Attacks Ahmadi Homes After Noon Prayers

Bogor Mob Attacks Ahmadi Homes After Noon Prayers

Bogor. Members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah sect came under attack again on Friday when a mob vandalized four of their homes, prompting warnings by rights groups that the persecution of the group was worsening.

The attack on the houses in Ciaruteun Udik village, Cibungbulang subdistrict, took place after Friday noon prayers.

Bogor Police Chief Sr. Comr. Dadang Rahardjo said the incident occurred when a group of seven Ahmadis, two of them women, were conducting noon prayers at the home of an Ahmadi elder, Dayat.

He said other residents grew suspicious of the activity and, soon after noon prayers at the mosque, began gathering outside the house and hurling rocks at it.

“There were about 50 to 75 people, presumably locals,” Dadang said. “They destroyed parts of the roofs and windows of four houses.” He added no one was injured in the incident and police deployed 160 personnel to restore order. However, no arrests were made.

Dadang refused to call the incident an attack, insisting it was merely a case of “rock throwing.”

“There was no attack, it was just some villagers throwing stones at the houses of Ahmadiyah followers,” he said. “Not so many Ahmadis lived there, maybe around 10 people,” he added.

However, Firdaus Mubarik, an Ahmadiyah activist, said he had received a report that the local mosque had issued a call for residents to “damage the Ahmadis.”

“And it wasn’t limited to throwing rocks at the houses,” he said. “Some people reported they were chased by the attackers.”

Firdaus said the Ahmadiyah mosque in Ciaruteun Udik had previously been destroyed by locals in 2005, forcing the members of the minority Islamic sect to worship at home. “The houses of Ahmadis that are located near the main road are also often pelted with rocks,” he said.

Ciaruteun Udik is located two kilometers from Cisalada village in Ciampea subdistrict, where the homes and mosque of a community of 600 Ahmadis were attacked last October.

Ismail Hasani, a researcher from the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said it was regrettable the police had refused to recognize the attack as yet another incident of persecution against Ahmadiyah.

“Rock throwing is an attack and should not be ignored,” he said. “During the Cisalada incident, the police also called it a clash.” He said the Ciaruteun Udik incident was a consequence of the anti-Ahmadiyah bylaws implemented in West Java.

“We fear this is going to get worse,” he said.

Nurkholis Hidayat, executive director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), also lambasted the attack.

“People will interpret such bylaws as a prohibition of any Ahmadiyah activity,” he said.

“This is an invitation to attack the Ahmadis, whatever they do.”

Last week an unidentified group of people exhumed the body of an Ahmadi in Bandung and left it abandoned in the graveyard shortly after his burial.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan this month announced he had issued a decree banning the activities of the sect in the province, following a similar move by the authorities in East Java to ban Ahmadiyah from openly displaying its attributes or spreading its faith.

Man Testifies He Joined Ahmadiyah Attack Last Year 'to Be in The Group'

Man Testifies He Joined Ahmadiyah Attack Last Year 'to Be in The Group'

Bogor. A villager told a court in West Java on Wednesday that he only joined a mob that attacked an Ahmadiyah Community in Bogor last October because he wanted to be part of the crowd.

Imam Tamawi told the Cibinong District Court that he had no idea why the mob burned down an Ahmadiyah mosque, schools and homes in the village of Cisalada.

The resident of Pasar Salasa village in Ciampea was testifying at the trial of the three men accused of inciting violence and destroying property in Cisalada, home to about 600 members of the besieged Islamic sect.

The defendants are Dede Novi, 18, Aldi Afriansyah, 23, and Akbar Ramanda, 17.

"I actually had no idea what they were going to do that night, but I just wanted to join them because they were so many of them and they were all walking togethe and heading somewhere," Imam said. "I joined and ended up in Cisalada.

"I also started to throw the stinesm even though I actually had no idea why they were attacking the [Ahamadiyah] mosque in Cisalada. I felt I was part of the group."

In response to a question by prosecutor Aji Sukartaji, Imam said that while he was pleating stone at the mosque, someone in the mob throw a molotov cocktail, but he didn't see who was responsible.

"I could tell it was a Moloto cocktail from the sound it made. But I am not sure who threw it because it came from out of the crowd in front of me." he said.

Matsuki, an officer from the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), provided Wednesday's hearing court with an account of what happened prior of the attack.

A resident of a neighboring Kebun Kopi village, Matsuki, told the court that a group of 30 men had arrived at his home and asked if the Public Order Officers planned to tear down the Ahmadiyah Mosque in Cisalada, which they claimed was in violation of the law.

Matsuki said the men left his home upset because he could not provide them with the answer they wanted to hear.

"They were disappointed with me. I told them that I had no authority to really say anything." he told the court.

"They came to ask about the administration's plan to tear down the Ahmadiyah mosque" he said.

"I am only an Satpol PP officer and I was in no position to give them a definite answer. Tearing down or sealing off a building requires an officer order."

Matsuki told the court that after the men left his house, they headed west toward Cisalada.

"I had no idea that they would attack Cisalada after they came to see me," he said.

"I was actually surprised that they wanted to talk to me. To my understanding, they had already had a meeting with officials from the local administration to discuss the matter of the Ahmadiyah mosque. I don't know what they came out of that meeting. "

The court heard another witness, Dede Suryana, who told the hearing that he had seen and could identify two of accused attempting to burn down the mosque.

"Dede Novi was trying to burn some of the books in the mosque, including the Koran using matches, and Rama [Akbar Ramanda] was trying to destroy the roof of the mosque," Suryana told the court.

During the hearing, the protesters outside the courthouse could be heard shouting anti-AHmadiyah slogans, including "Destroy Ahmadiyah, destroy Ahmadiyah, they are not Islam!"

Following the hearing, supporters of the defendants headed for Cisalada and appeared to be prepared to attack. Police in the village, however, were able to prevent any violence and detained five people.