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ozens of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) youth mobbed an Ahmadiyah secretariat office and mosque in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Saturday.

The group tried to drive away Ahmadis and demanded the local administration disband Ahmadiyah.

Ahmadiyah has come under attack in recent years from Islamic hardliners who believe that Ahmadiyah is a heretical version of Islam.

Police officers, who had been deployed in the area since Friday, attempted to secure the area.

The FPI called for the Ahmadis to leave the premises and for a halt to all their activities.

The angry youths, dressed in FPI style with white robes and hats, then vandalized a plaque at the office and the walls of the Ahmadiyah mosque on Jl. Anuang.

They also burned a poster of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who Ahmadis consider their prophet.

The Indonesian government has been searching for a way to resolve the Ahmadiyah issue following attacks on Ahmadi homes and places of worship in various parts of the country. So far, no resolution has been achieved.

The FPI youth were led by Habib Reza bin Muhfyn. They dispersed after about an hour, but soon returned, saying they would not leave until all the Ahmadiyah members present, who had sought safety in the mosque, were removed from the site.

The police, led by South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Johny Wainal Usman, attempted to evacuate the Ahmadis from the mosque, located adjacent to the secretariat office. Most of the Ahmadis vigorously opposed their evacuation.

Dozens of Ahmadiyah followers insisted on staying in the mosque and locked all the doors.

Ahmadiyah secretariat caretaker Jamaluddin said Ahmadiyah did not disturb followers of other religions. There was no reason for them to leave, he said.

“We will stay here because this is our home. We do not have any problem with the FPI or any other groups. We are not afraid,” he said.

The South Sulawesi Police later forced the Ahmadis to evacuate amid the heightening tension.

Police officers broke the lock on the mosque at 9:15 p.m. and removed all the people present, including 25 women and 11 children. They were taken to the Makassar police station in two vans and a truck.

Some Ahmadiyah members reportedly managed to flee through the mosque’s back door.

The previous day, FPI members had gone to the Ahmadiyah secretariat and warned them about possible actions against them in the future.