T

he Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has yet to clearly state its stance over the upcoming declaration by the National Anti-Shia Alliance at the Al-Fajr Mosque in Bandung, West Java, on Sunday, even though human rights activists have strongly condemned the plan.

'€œI have not received any information about the declaration,'€ MUI deputy secretary-general Amirsyah Tambunan told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

MUI West Java chapter secretary Rafani Achyar had a similar answer: '€œWe were not invited and will not take part [in it],'€ Rafani said.

'€œWe'€™ve just found out about this [declaration]. We have no idea if they have a permit to hold the event [...] I think it'€™s the local authority'€™s business,'€ he added.

Banners and posters for Sunday'€™s anti-Shia declaration have been seen across Bandung for the past week. It is expected that as many as 100 ulema from across the country will attend the event.

The head of the National Anti-Shia Alliance, Athian Ali, told the Post that the declaration was part of an agreement made at the National Ulema Meeting and the 22nd Indonesian Islamic Ummah, held by the Indonesian Ulema and Ummah Forum (FUUI) in Bandung on April 22, 2012.

The FUUI has repeatedly called on the public to be wary of the Shia beliefs. Athian said that ulema grouped under the alliance had agreed to protect the public from the heretical teachings.

'€œThey [Shia followers] do not bother us so much, but we are trying to protect [non-Shiites] so people will not get dragged [into the Shia beliefs],'€ Athian said, adding that the organizing committee had obtained a permit from the police to hold the event.

However, West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. M. Iriawan said that the police had not received any information on the event.

'€œThere is no permit [for the event]. If they do not hold a permit, we will take the necessary action,'€ Iriawan said.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan confirmed on Thursday that he would not attend the event.

'€œI should have an attitude that maintains a conducive environment in West Java, so I have decided not to attend,'€ he said in Bandung on Thursday.

Similar to the West Java MUI, Heryawan, refused to reveal where he stood regarding the declaration, saying that every Indonesian had the right to expression as long as they did not pose a threat to security.

In 2012, he issued a statement guaranteeing the safety of all religious groups, including the Shiites in West Java following the Sampang tragedy, which led to the death of some Shia followers.

Meanwhile, human rights activists said that the movement would further spread hatred.

'€œOur stance is firm: We condemn the movement because it'€™s a form of new sectarianism, which will [fuel]conflict,'€ Ahmad Fuad Fanani of the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity told the Post on Friday.

Rather than holding such a hard-line movement, he added, the government, who is responsible for the protection of all its citizens regardless of religions, should provide a platform for both Sunni and Shia sects to communicate and avoid turbulent thinking among religious believers.

Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy deputy chair Bonar Tigor Naipospos lambasted the movement, calling it '€œhate speech'€ toward a minority group that the government should protect.

'€œWe strongly reject the movement. Hate speech is a crime, as stipulated in Criminal Code Article 156 on the statement of hostility and humiliation of a particular group,'€ Bonar said.

He said that if the declaration was not prevented the movement would degrade religious harmony.

Separately, People'€™s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Sidharto Danusubroto called on the government to comply with the 1945 Constitution and protect minority groups.

In Indonesia, Shiites are a minority Muslim sect compared to the dominant Sunni community.

The persecution of Shia followers has escalated over the past few years. In December 2012, people burned the houses of a Shia community in Sampang, Madura, East Java, forcing more than 160 Shia followers to take refuge in Sidoarjo, around 100 kilometers away.

Some were even forced to convert to Sunni beliefs if they wished to return home.

So far, the MUI has yet to be clear about its standpoint. Rafani once said that he could not ban Shia although personally he objected to some Shia teachings, particularly those under the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Association (Ijabi), led by scholar Jalaluddin Rakhmat.

'€œAfter all, the Shiites are still considered Muslims,'€ Rafani said.

Meanwhile, according to Athian, there are at least three objections to Shiite teachings. First, the Shiite community considers the current Koran to have been corrupted. Second, it says that only Shiite clerics hold the ultimate authority to interpret the hadiths (teaching of Muhammad). Third is Shiite contract-based marriage, where marriages can be performed to their own preferences.

'€œThis could be used to legalize prostitution,'€ Athian said.