Mob vandalizes Ahmadi mosque in Cianjur

No one was injured when a crowd of about 50 people vandalized a mosque used by 200 members of the Ahmadiyah minority Islamic sect in Cipeuyeum in Cianjur regency, West Java, on Friday morning.

“The incident took place at around 8 a.m. No one was at the location. They broke down the fence behind the mosque to enter and then smashed roof tiles, glass panes and a television and ransacked the library. There were no casualties,” local Ahmadiyah congregation leader Hafid said over the telephone on Friday.

The police previously told him that demonstrators planned to protest at Nur Hidayah Mosque on Friday, Hafid said, giving 200 members of the community enough time to find places other than Nur Hidayah Mosque to hold Friday prayers.

Hafid, however, asked why the police did not act to prevent the attack.

“We regret the destruction because we built the mosque by ourselves,” Hafid said.

Separately, Cianjur Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Tri Heriyanto said that the mayhem occurred because the mob arrived before his planned visit to the mosque to remind the congregation of a provincial decree banning the propagation of Ahmadiyah’s beliefs.

“The community earlier reminded the congregation not to hold Friday prayers at the mosque, but they apparently broke the promise. They have been holding Friday prayers at the mosque for three consecutive weeks,” Agus said.

Ahmadis have endured persecution in several countries where mainstream Muslim followers have accused them of heresy.

Several provincial administrations in Indonesia, including the West Java administration, have banned the sect, citing “security reasons”.

Meanwhile, critics and rights groups have lambasted the central government for knuckling under to violent Muslim hard-liner groups and failing to use the police and the legal system to ensure the freedom of religion for minority groups.

Regarding the vandalism, Agus said that the police would search for the perpetrators. “We protect every Indonesian citizen,” he said.

While some alleged that the Islamic Reform Movement (Garis) was behind the violence, the hard-line Muslim group’s central executive board head, Chep Hermawan, claimed that he was unaware of the incident.

“I regret the incident. We were unaware of the incident. We also don’t wish to be blamed for the incident,” Chep said.

“We were certainly not involved in the vandalism. Instead, we are involved in the reformation of Ahmadiyah members to return to the right track. We will provide them jobs if need be,” Chep added.