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ReligionAsia

Attacks on Ahmadiyya minority in Indonesia during Ramadan

August 2, 2011

While Muslims in Indonesia have peacefully begun fasting for the month of Ramadan, followers of the minority Ahmadiyya religious group fear hatred and violence.

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A police guard stands next to a damaged Ahmadiyya house in Indonesia
Image: AP

A spokesman for the minority religious group, Firdaus Mubarik, said, "The extremists say this is a holy month, everything must be pure and sacred. So, we, the Ahmadiyya followers, must be cleared out."    

"For us, the fasting month does not mean there will be peace for us to perform our religious obligations. On the contrary, there are more opportunities for Muslim extremists to mobilize and incite people to attack us," he added. According to Mubarik, last year's holy month saw Ahmadiyya homes and places of worship destroyed by angry mobs.  

The 'unwanted' minority

Days before this year's Ramadan began, Indonesian authorities ordered the Ahmadiyya community in Samarinda city on Borneo Island to close their place of worship following complaints from members of the mainstream Sunni Muslim faith.  

Hundreds of hardliners from the Islamic Defenders Front rallied on Saturday at the presidential palace in Jakarta demanding the Ahmadiyya be outlawed altogether.  

Local and international human rights groups have criticized the lenient punishment given to the ringleaders of a mob attack on Ahmadiyya followers in Cikeusik village, western Java, earlier this year.    

Back in February, around 1,500 extremists descended on a house occupied by a handful of Ahmadiyya members. They stoned, beat and hacked their victims to death before destroying their property.    

A 17-year-old, who was caught on film repeatedly smashing a victim's skull with a stone, was sentenced to three months in jail for assault leading to death, incitement, and destruction of property. The suspected leader of the group was also sentenced to six months imprisonment, but the court did not charge him with murder or manslaughter.  

No charges pressed

The unprovoked attack was filmed by an Ahmadiyya member who is now under police protection. Prosecutors claimed the minority group provoked the violence by refusing to give their property to the mob. The state did not charge any of the perpetrators with murder. Instead, it produced what Human Rights Watch described as an “almost laughable” list of minor infringements.   

"We're in a state of emergency regarding freedom of religion," said Hendardi, an activist at the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace. He added, "Last week's court ruling not only failed to have a deterrent effect for the offenders but will encourage the violators to carry out more attacks against minorities in the coming days."  

Differing perceptions

The United States and the European Union have expressed strong misgivings, but Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said nothing about the sentences.  

The religious affairs ministry has also claimed the sentences were the result of a fair trial and rejected allegations that the police had failed to properly investigate the crimes. Spokesperson for the ministry, Zubaidi said, "As an executive body, we cannot interfere in the legal system ... Whether the sentences are light or harsh, how it's perceived is relative.    

The Ahmadiyya movement was started by the reformist theologian Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908). Born in the Punjab province in what was then British India, the preacher claimed to be a "follower prophet" ("Zilli Nabi") and a messiah, which the Ahmadiyya also equate with a "Mahdi," or one who is guided by God. As such, his followers believe he received "revelations" from God. Other Muslim communities reject his claim. The conflict between these groups and the Ahmadiyya can be traced back to this time. 

The Ahmadiyya claim 500,000 followers in Indonesia, where the group has existed isince the 1920s. However, the community is not recognized as part of official Islam in Indonesia, and followers are designated "non-Muslims."

According to analysts, the root cause of the conflict is a government decree promulgated in 2008, which says Ahmadiyya followers can be jailed for tarnishing Islam but stops short of banning the movement. Critics say the law is ambiguous enough to spark religious conflict.

Report: Manasi Gopalakrishnan(AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Grahame Lucas

Editor's note: This article has been amended since its initial publication to provide more context on the Ahmadiyya community.