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Thousands of Indonesian Muslims call for Ahmadiyah to be banned
The Associated Press , Jakarta | Sun, 04/20/2008 7:12 PM | National
Several thousand Islamic hard-liners protested Sunday in Indonesia's capital, calling for the banning of a Muslim sect they consider heretical.
A crowd of white-clad woman, children and men chanted, "Disband Ahmadiyah!" at the downtown National Monument. Police estimated about 3,000 people participated in the noisy, but peaceful demonstration.
Ahmadiyah was founded at the end of the 19th century in Pakistan, where it is banned, and conservative Muslims claim it was devised by British colonialists to divide Muslims.
The protest came days after a team of prosecutors, religious scholars and government officials said the sect "had deviated from Islamic principles" and recommended Wednesday that it be outlawed.
Ahmadiyah, believed to have 200,000 followers in predominantly Muslim Indonesia, has also faced persecution in other Muslim countries. Its followers insist it should be considered part of Islam.
Cholil Ridwan, a cleric, told the crowd at the National Monument that Ahmadiyah recognizes an Indian prophet, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in addition to Prophet Muhammad. He urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to disband the group.
"We call on the government to seize their assets and ask all followers and members to disband and to return to Islam," he said.
Ahmadiyah spokesman Syamsir Ali said the group will resist attempts to break it up.
The government should not get involved in religious matters and the president should not bend to "the demands of anarchists who merely want to turn this country into a Shariah state," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, referring to a country governed by Islamic law.
Indonesia is a secular country, with a long history of religious tolerance. But in recent years, a hard-line fringe has grown louder and the government -- which relies on the support of Islamic parties at the House of Representatives -- has been accused of caving to it. (****)
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The Reader (not verified) — Mon, 05/05/2008 - 2:28am
Salaams
Im not an Ahmadi but i dont think there is any point in banning the group. If they really want to expose Ahmadi's then why dont they hold a debate or give proof's to show they are a deviant sect.
Shahid Badruddin (not verified) — Tue, 04/22/2008 - 7:39pm
Be it in the times of Prophet Moses (AS), Prophet Jesus (AS) or Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the true followers ALWAYS faced persecution from the so called mainstreams. Same is the situation now when the next true Prophet of Allah appeared, his followers face similar persecution. This shows the truth in the claims of Prophet Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS).
Who gets to decide upon another individual's faith? Just as the other factions of Islam combinedly declare Ahmadies as "Non-Muslims" so can the Ahmadies declare others as "Non-Muslims".
So it would be wise if everyone simply practice their own faiths and not cause inconvienience to others. The groups who are making these demands should realise what they are getting into. They must reconsider keeping in mind what happened to those who tried creating problems for the Ahmadies in Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, The Primier of Pakistan under whose leadership the community was Banned in 1974 met a very disgraceful end, both his sons died misteriously and everyone knows what recently happened to his daughter Benazir Bhutto. And then General Zia tried his best to curb the Ahmadiyya growth and met a very painful end.
Where as the number of Ahmadies even under such hardship is growing rapidly in Pakistan and in the rest of the World.
Unlike other sects in Islam, Ahmadies do not resort to violance in retaliation, instead Ahmadies call upon the one true God to come to their aid via prayers. This is because Ahmadies still believe in the true meanting of the word "ISLAM" i.e. "Peace and submission to Allah". Ahmadies live by the motto "Love for All, Hatred for None".
For more information about ahmadiyya visit www.alislam.org and www.thepersecution.org
Shahid Badruddin,
Software Engineer,
Bangalore India.
Fazil Jamal (not verified) — Mon, 04/21/2008 - 1:05am
The ongoing campaign to ban the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community underscores the challenges facing the nation in protecting human rights, in forging a secular identity and strengthening the spirit of democracy and rule of law.
The political campaign obviously seeks to discredit the teachings of the Ahmadiyya Community and to call attention to the “danger” faced from this intrinsically peaceful sect of Islam. It is worth recalling that freedom of belief and peaceful association are fundamental human rights of all Indonesian citizens, guaranteed by the Constitution itself and no citizen can be denied the latter right on the ground of his or her beliefs. Any thinking citizen would agree that as a religious order, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has every right to preach and propagate all of its doctrines and beliefs, irrespective of the fact that it may or may not confirm to the beliefs and practices of the other denominations in Islam. Instead of displaying sectarian intolerance and moral bankruptcy, the orthodox leadership would do well to engage the Ahmadi Muslims in a theological, civilized, intellectual debate and thereby show a modicum of respect for the faith, intellect and convictions of ordinary Muslim citizens and others.
The sectarian politics of religious mobilization and its current manifestations will have divisive implications for the country's plural future. Clearly, banning the movement to prevent its spiritual appeal or declaring it a non- Muslim minority to stop its growth is NOT the business of a secular government. Leaders of the country and conscientious citizens would do well to reflect over the politically disastrous, and socially divisive legacy of Pakistan's experiment with the criminalization of the Ahmadiyya sect. Social scientists and political analysts have, in recent times, traced the growth of Muslim extremism and cultural intolerance in Pakistan to the divisive politics of Anti- Ahmadiyya rhetoric.
What is at stake is the very notion of human rights and rule of law in a secular democracy. Extremists and right wing Muslim orthodoxy should not be allowed to dictate the future of Indonesian identity. Perhaps, even more importantly, what is at stake for practicing Muslims is the very meaning of being a Muslim in our times. After all, the Holy Qur'an explicitly states: “Let there be no compulsion in matters of faith”. Islam's plural character and legacy of religious tolerance needs to be defended, ironically enough, against an 'orthodoxy' that claims to represent it!!
Fazil Jamal,
Fox International Fellow,
Yale University, USA.
Rusjdan Abu Duha (not verified) — Sun, 04/20/2008 - 9:33pm
Dear Editor:
As a respected newspaper you ought to present facts and save your opinions in your op-ed. Those who want to ban Ahmadiyya and declare it deviant in Indonesia include two large moderate traditional Muslim organizations,ie NU and Muhammadiyya. Even PKS, known as a moderate muslim political party has also supported the ban of Ahmadiyya. In fact, Ahmadiyya is an issue that most Muslim organizations agreed upon, with the exception of very small but militant liberal fringe.
Secondly, people are free to choose their faith as long as they do not hijack other legitimate faiths. The quarrel between followers of Ahmadiyya and Muslims at large originates in Ahmadiyya's claim being a legitimate Islamic teaching. What constitute Islamic creed is well known.
Someone who denies the existence of Saints is definitely against the very creed of Catholicism. Therefore, the Catholic church will take action against those 'Catholics' who deny sainthood. However, Catholic church will have no problem for those heretics if they called themselves non-catholics.
This is the issue with Ahmadiyya. As long as they declare themselves being non-muslims, there will be no problem. They can call themselves Ahmadist, full stop.
Third, good journalistic practise presents both sides of the story, and let your readers to think and decide for themselves. Otherwise, you will end up insulting the intelligence of some readers.
Yours,