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Ahmadiyah could be 'tarekat'
The government is very close to making a decision -- as demanded by several Muslim organizations -- to ban Ahmadiyah
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The government is very close to making a decision -- as demanded by several Muslim organizations -- to ban Ahmadiyah.
A few weeks ago, Ahmadis were brutally humiliated and harassed by people who call themselves Muslims. It is very paradoxical that the house of God that was build by Prophet Muhammad's followers was destroyed by Muslims.
Ahmadiyah, which was born in India, came to Indonesia around 1924. At that time, Indonesia was still under Dutch colonization. Some Indonesian figures became members of the sect. For about 83 years, the Ahmadiyah of Qadian and Lahore has existed in Indonesia. Today its members number more than 600,000.
The Indonesian government formally acknowledged Ahmadiyah in 1953.
Today, the destiny of Ahmadis in Indonesia depends on the government policy. If the judicial steps continue, all Indonesian communities on all levels should consider the following points.
First, whoever they are, Ahmadi people are victims. It is assumed that they are harmed materially, mentally and spiritually. Their suffering should be addressed. As victims, they should receive some help from others, particularly from Indonesian Muslims, because they are not criminals. Their physical and psychological traumas are not simple diseases; therefore recovery in all aspects should be prepared.
Second, the government -- in this context the National Police -- has to assure Ahmadiyah members that their own bodies, wealth and all public assets (particularly mosques and schools) will be protected from Muslim attacks. The Ahmadis are Indonesian citizens who have the same rights as others who believe in different religions and beliefs.
Third, we should remember that Ahmadiyah people here have connections with the Ahmadiyah international network. Therefore, the government needs to strengthen foreign diplomacy in anticipating international response. This newspaper reported recently that some Ahmadiyah members have expressed plans to seek political asylum abroad.
There are some steps that should be understood comprehensively.
First, theological disagreement should not be the sole reason to justify disbanding Ahmadiyah, because Indonesia is not an Islam-ruled country. The important issues in Indonesia today are not Ahmadiyah but Indonesian Muslims' morality, environmental issues, corruption and the future of Indonesian democracy. Therefore every Muslim has to take care of the problem.
Second, dialogue should be used not to determine and to justify the rightness or wrongness of religious interpretations, but to look for common platforms that engender new enlightenment toward a better future Indonesia in connecting with diversity and multiplicity.
Third, the state must be able to protect Ahmadiyah's public assets.
Fourth, a special team should be formed of academics, politicians, businessmen and NGO activists.
Whatever it is, phenomena like Ahmadiyah in Indonesia also occur in other religions. For the Indonesian context, it is very possible the Ahmadiyah phenomenon could be considered a spiritual path (tarekat) movement, like other tarekat that have existed in Indonesia for hundreds of years.
Like JAI's members respect for Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, if we look deeply most members of Indonesian tarekat have to respect their guru or mursyid (spiritual master) more than lay people. Like in Ahmadiyah, in tarekat there is baiat (spiritual testimony). The baiat can be performed only by the member of tarikat.
The writer is director of the postgraduate program at Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. He can be reached atiskandar_yogya@yahoo.com
