Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram
A noted Muslim cleric said Saturday that residents of Lembar district, West Nusa Tenggara, had no reason to clash with the group Jamaah Salafi.
The chairman of the West Lombok Indonesian Ulemas Council, TGH Mahally Fikri, said an incident between residents and group members was regrettable. He said the residents had no reason to object to the group, because Jamaah Salafi's beliefs are recognized in Islam. ""That means what they're doing is essentially based on the Prophet Muhammad's hadis,"" he said, referring to the traditional collection of stories relating to the prophet's words and deeds.
Mahally said this was the fourth such incident, but he did not directly blame Beroro hamlet residents for rejecting Salafi members.
He said residents might be offended by Salafi's preaching methods. ""West Lombok residents still respect their traditional culture. The Salafi can preach but if they have different opinions from the local people, they don't have to directly express it,"" Mahally said.
He said the council has repeatedly warned Salafi members there to be sensitive to the local culture and traditions to prevent future clashes.
Some 50 members of Jamaah Salafi in Beroro hamlet were forced out of the area on Friday afternoon. Residents dragged Salafi's leader out and forced him to sign an agreement saying the group would not return to the hamlet.
No casualties were reported in the clash but West Lombok police were still guarding the village on Saturday.
The residents said they were upset by the loud preaching coming from Jamaah Salafi's mosque after the Friday prayer.
""We've repeatedly warned them not to use a loudspeaker for their preaching so as not to offend others,"" said resident Nur Hasan.
He said the residents asked the village head to call Salafi's leader to talk, but the discussion did not lead to an agreement.
Angry residents then went to the Salafi mosque and dragged its leader out. Arriving police officers prevented any further violence.
Deputy Chief of West Lombok Police. Comr. Radjo Harahap said Saturday the police were still guarding the village to prevent unrest. He added that two Salafi members had sought shelter from the police.
No one was arrested in connection with the clash.
Radjo blamed the confrontation on a misunderstanding between the residents and the Salafi members, saying the group did not inform residents that they would be preaching.
He urged Salafi members or others to alert village officials when they were going to hold religious or cultural activities. ""That way if there's any objection from residents, such activity can be postponed or moved to another place,"" Radjo said.
This is not the first such religious clash in the regency. In a previous incident, angry residents forced Ahmadiyah members out of their villages and damaged and burned their houses.
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