T

he police have arrested the leader of the At Tijaniyah sect and evacuated 138 of its members following attacks on the group on Sunday in Cisalopa village in Sukabumi, West Java.

The evacuation was carried out by police officers and Indonesian Military (TNI) troops, West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul confirmed on Wednesday.

Police evacuated members of the minority Muslim group after local residents attacked them and burned down their homes in apparent retaliation for the death of Edin, a leader of a local mass organization, who was allegedly killed by the sect’s leader, Sumarna.

Religious Affairs Ministry spokesman Zainuddin Daulay said on Wednesday that officials were still on vacation for Idul Fitri and had not had a chance to investigate the violence.

Zainuddin said that the ministry would turn the case over to external experts, such as the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), if the conflict stemmed from a religious cause, as the ministry did not evaluate religious doctrine.

“The [external] leaders will then determine whether the teachings are in accordance with the mainstream or not,” Zainuddin said.

The ministry would be ready to “guide” those who were found deviating from mainstream Islam, he added.

Separately, MUI chairman Amidhan said the council had not declared At Tijaniyah a heretical sect, although its Sukabumi branch had previously done so.

“If it is true that the sect has been teaching its followers to not perform dawn prayers and Friday prayers, then the sect meets the criteria for a heretical sect that were set by the council. According to mainstream Islamic teachings those prayers are mandatory,” Amidhan told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The council would investigate the sect and any heretics would be “guided” toward mainstream Islamic teachings, Amidhan said.

“The MUI is obliged to state whether a sect is heretical or not, to prevent it from being followed by other Muslims in the country,” he said.

Contacted separately, Hendardi, the chairman of the Setara Institute, a human rights watchdog, said that the violence directed at minority groups has been triggered by the government’s unwillingness to guarantee freedom of religion.

“Indonesia has thousands of sects and religions” and the majority had no right to condemn others, he said.

Zainuddin said that if the attacks were motivated by the death of Edin, then the ministry would coordinate with the police to determine who had the authority to resolve the conflict.

Amidhan said that those who committed violence had to be prosecuted, calling on the police to stop local residents from assaulting the sect.

A survey compiled by the Setara Institute showed that there were 244 cases of religious violence in the nation in 2011, most of which targeted minority groups such as Ahmadis, Shiites and Christians.

This year alone, there were 129 cases of violence against minority groups.

Hendardi said that minority groups could be protected if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono showed leadership.

“He usually only expresses his concern but never undertakes any significant action to guarantee the freedom of expression in this country,” Hendardi said.

“A weak government causes certain groups to think that they are more powerful and righteous and that they have the right to attack other group that have different opinions than theirs,” he said.

Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was concerned about the attacks on the sect.

Eva said that the nation’s largest Islamic organizations, including the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, should build a bridge between all Muslims in Indonesia to spare them from victimization at the hands of extremists. (cor/nad)