Ahmadis mark somber Idul Fitri

More than 100 followers of the oppressed Islamic sect Ahmadiyah performed Idul Fitri prayers along with their children at a shelter in Transito building in the West Nusa Tenggara capital Mataram on Friday.

Grief was in the air, but they did not shed many tears.

The Ahmadis embraced each other with smiles and laughter and shook hands at the conclusion of the prayer and sermon conducted by the sect’s advisor, Maulana Nasiruddin, under the watch of 10 police officers.

This year marks the fifth Idul Fitri the Ahmadis are celebrating away from their homes after angry mobs forced them out of Ketapang hamlet in Lingsar district in West Lombok regency on Feb. 4, 2006. Since then, 36 families have been living in the shelter.

“We are celebrating in the shelter again but we’re grateful we could complete the fasting month of Ramadan and celebrate Idul Fitri. We know there’s a new, better life for us later,” Sarim Ahmad, one of the Ahmadis, told The Jakarta Post.

“All these years, we’ve been living in shackles. We want the government to be clear. Allow us to return home or at least recognize us as citizens with rights. The central, provincial and regency administrations seem to have forgotten about us.”

The refugees, mostly farmers, do not have identity cards. The West Lombok and Mataram administrations declined to provide them with the cards, making it difficult for them to get access to healthcare services and programs for the poor.

In his sermon, Maulana said Idul Fitri was a joyful moment, especially for Muslims who had completed their obligations during Ramadan.

“There is no need to be sad, except for those who failed to perform their obligations during Ramadan,” he said.

He also called on Ahmadis to be patient and grateful despite the measures taken against them by the authorities.

The top Ahmadiyah official in the province, M. Jauzi, said not much had changed for the sect’s followers in Mataram.

He said the situation became confusing when Religious Affairs Minister Surya Dharma Ali recently called for the sect to be broken up.

“People have the right to make an opinion or issue a statement. But for a minister, such statements should provide guidance for all,” he told the Post.

He said a ban would violate a joint ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah. In the decree, the government prohibited Ahmadiyah followers from promoting the group’s teachings, but stopped short of banning them despite the Indonesian Ulema Council’s edict, which declares the group heretical.

“The joint decree has not been fully implemented and yet the minister called fo rus to be banned. Many here in the shelter are worried about renewed acts of violence against them following the minister’s statement.”

Followers of Jamaah Syattariyah in the West Sumatra regency of Padangpariaman celebrated Idul Fitri on Saturday, a day after Muslims in the rest of the country observed the Islamic holiday.

The imam of the group, Ali Imran, told Antara news agency that leaders of the group assembled on Friday to observe the moon in Koto Tuo in Padangpanjang, Agam, Pesisir Selatan and Sijunjung. Thousands of followers witnessed the ritual to determine the date of Idul Fitri.