Witness testimonies favor suspect in Monas attack

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 10/09/2008 9:29 PM | Jakarta

The trial on the Monas attack case turned in favor of radical Islamist group head Rizieq Shihab on Thursday as most witnesses testifying against Islamic minority sect Ahmadiyah.

Rudi Satrio, a lecturer on criminal law at University of Indonesia, testified that Rizieq, leader of the Islam Defender Front (FPI) could not be charged with inciting violence.

“He was only propagating against Ahmadiyah and was not provoking the FPI members to do crime,” he told the Central Jakarta District Court.

Rudi also said that a leader of a demonstration was not responsible on any violence of the rally participants.

Rizieq is charged with allegedly masterminding an attack on a rally promoting religious tolerance at National Monument (Monas) park on June 1 held by National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB).

Some 70 activists attending the rally were injured when allegedly attacked by FPI adherents.

Prior to the attack, government dubbed Ahmadiyah heretical and told the sect to stop their activities.

Other witnesses, Amin Yakub, Vice Secretary of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), and Amin Djamaluddin, chief of the Islamic Research and Study Institute (LPPI) said that FPI was right in its stance against Ahmadiyah.

Yakub said that MUI has proposed for Ahmadiyah to be banned as it was against Islamic teachings and that its philosophy was contradictory to the Koran. The sect, he said, should be eliminated because it was misleading and it could create public unrest.

MUI had delivered two edicts in 1980 and in 2005 in disagreement with a government decision to sanction a legal body status to Ahmadiyah.

“(Furthermore), there are 144 Islamic countries that reject Ahmadiyah because its philosophy is against Islam," Amin said.

Munarman and Machsuni, leaders of Islam Troop Command (KLI) and Islam Defender Troop (LPI), both FPI proxies, respectively, also gave their testimonies in favor to Rizieq.

They said that Rizieq was not involved in the attack and their group came to Monas to join a rally against government policy to increase oil prices, and not to join AKKBB event.

“At the time, I was in charge as field coordinator to guard the Hizbut Tahrir (another Islamic group) mass on their march to rally at the state palace," Munarman said.

He said while on the way to the state palace, some participants of the march took a sudden turn back to Monas and attacked the AKKBB activists, who were shouting out mocks.

Ahmadiyah was founded in Qadian, Punjab, India, in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to be the mahdi -- a figure expected by some Muslims to appear at the end of the world.

The sect entered Indonesia in 1925. Some Ahmadiyah followers in the country believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the last prophet after Muhammad, while some others consider Mirza to be a reformer. (ast)

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