South Sumatran groups voice support for Ahmadiyah ban

Khairul Saleh ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Palembang   |  Mon, 09/08/2008 10:54 AM  |  Headlines

Various groups in South Sumatra have expressed their support for the provincial administration's controversial ban on Ahmadiyah activities.

Acting Governor Mahyudin banned the allegedly heretical sect Monday, saying Ahmadiyah is incompatible with Islamic teaching.

Following the ban, Mahyudin was summoned by Home Minister Mardiyanto on behalf of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) demanding the ban be revoked.

Some community leaders have called on the provincial administration to carry on with the ban despite the summons, detecting what they see as an ambiguity in the central government's stance toward the sect.

"We support the governor's decision, which is firmer than the central government's indecisive stance," said Sodikun, chairman of the South Sumatra chapter of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI).

Clerics will accompany Mahyudin in his meeting with the president, Sodikun added while speaking at a press conference at the MUI's provincial office on Saturday.

Islamic organizations in South Sumatra are expected to ask the president not to annul the governor's decree, to avoid insulting residents of the province.

In addition, the South Sumatra MUI will most likely request a presidential decree dissolving the Ahmadiyah sect.

The Ummat Dignity Advocacy Team's Bahrul Ilmi Yakub disagreed with a statement made by the YLBHI's Adnan Buyung Nasution that the South Sumatra administration lacks the authority to ban Ahmadiyah, saying Adnan was wrong.

"If Adnan disagrees with the decree, he should file a judicial review against it, as it is a follow-up to the joint ministerial decree issued on Ahmadiyah," Ilmi said.

Meanwhile, president of the Sriwijaya University Student Body Aang Kunaifi said Ahmadiyah's defilement of Islamic teachings was a much more important issue than the potential legal basis of the gubernatorial decree.

"Acknowledging another prophet and another holy book is enough to ban Ahmadiyah," he said.

"It's true we have to respect their human rights, but we must also preserve Islam's purity."

Ahmadiyah's senior ulema Sufni Zafar Ahmad said the sect has yet to receive a copy of the gubernatorial decree.

"We Ahmadis in South Sumatra are also Muslims who abide by all the tenets of Islam," he added.

"Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the founder of the Ahmadiyah sect and not a prophet. We believe in Allah, Prophet Muhammad, the Koran and Hadith."

Sufni also said the Tazkirah was not, in fact, a holy book -- as has been alleged -- but a work written by Mirza based on ilham or divine inspiration.

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Vinque (not verified) — Tue, 09/16/2008 - 1:11am

"It's true we have to respect their human rights, but we must also preserve Islam's purity."

How many people will be suffering under this bare sentence the next years??

What a tolerance we will see??

How many death, poorness and so on....

But remember: "What is actually new? What did he bring on? Except for the sword?"

Malik Khan (not verified) — Thu, 09/11/2008 - 8:44am

In Response to Jon, your comments are very narrow-minded and illiterate, let me correct you to the basic fact which is that it was not the West who invented Technology it was actually the Japanese and Chinese, you only purchase these goods by making money from Muslim Oil. I think you need to get your facts right before wrongfully mouthing off your in appropriate comments.

In terms of what Islam brought to the human development, I can state many important things which Islam brought, however I will only mention a handful because otherwise you might see it as an Insult; these are as follows; fundamentally Human Rights, Animal Rights, Education, Maths, Poetry, Science, Belief and constructive ideas and etc. Now, I can also pose the same question to you and will find that the West only brought War not only in their own regions like Europe but also in Asia. The Western society is full of aggressors, hence the reason they are invading Muslim Countries only to gain money making resources such as; Oil and Gas. In addition, the 'West' brought GREED AND WAR, Oh and PROSTITUTION, GAMBLING, DRUGS and UNNATURAL RELATIONSHIPS; everything Bad is associated with the West.

P.S; I could mention IRA and other Christian Terrorist organizations which can tarnish the whole Christian society, but I am not so narrow-minded like you....

Jon (not verified) — Mon, 09/08/2008 - 7:20pm

This shows you that islam is afraid of everything, when you are a liar you are more likely to be afraid then if you walk in the truth. Muslim are dictator born they cant accept anything not in the line of there believes.Islam is a danger to human developpement and crowth. They want to live like 100 of years ago and nothing else is oke well what has islam done for human kind? as muslim invented anything constructive? I mean how funny all the fanatics (real muslim) scream that the west is bad, but drive away in a car invented by the west, call up or blow up bombs with hand phones also invented by the west. I mean everything today was invented by western society. All good muslim should stop using anything made by the kafirs and only use what as been created by the muslims. It means no TV no electricity nothing only a bunch of camels in a tent with a game of backgamon or sorry that was invented by the arabs before islam so thats problaly also banned.

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