Minister of Religious Affairs M Maftuh Basyuni said Sunday that the government would not issue a Presidential regulation to disband Ahmadiyah, as demanded by many Islamic organizations.
Speaking before thousands of Muslims at Alquran boarding school in Sukabumi, West Java, Maftuh Basyuni said the government had issued a joint-ministerial decree to address the problem of Ahmadiyah in Indonsia, and that's enough.
"The joint-ministerial decree has been issued, and now they demand a presidential decree (to ban Ahmadiyah," the minister was quoted by Antara as saying.
The joint-ministerial decree bans Ahmadis from spreading their teaching, but stops short of disbanding the organization.
Maftuh Basyuni said the government had no legal ground to disband Ahmadiyah.
He also said that those demanding the disbandment of Ahmadiyah had no strong argument themselves, as both the holy Quran and hadist or Prophet Muhammad sayings did not allow Muslims to force other people to profess Islam.
Ahmadiyah's religious activities, however, have not been disrupted despite the government's ban on the sect from spreading its teachings
Ahmadiyah was founded in Pakistan in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be another prophet in Islam after Muhammad. The sect is banned in Pakistan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and has come under attack in a number of countries, including Bangladesh and Indonesia.
There are approximately 200,000 Ahmadis in Indonesia. (rid)
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