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Another hard-line group implicated in violence
Fervor: Members of several hard-line groups including the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) and the Council of Indonesian Jihad Fighters (MMI) protest at a rally against Ahmadiyah in Baciro, Yogyakarta, in 2012
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Fervor: Members of several hard-line groups including the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) and the Council of Indonesian Jihad Fighters (MMI) protest at a rally against Ahmadiyah in Baciro, Yogyakarta, in 2012. (Tempo/Survo Wibowo) (FJI) and the Council of Indonesian Jihad Fighters (MMI) protest at a rally against Ahmadiyah in Baciro, Yogyakarta, in 2012. (Tempo/Survo Wibowo)
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span class="inline inline-none">Fervor: Members of several hard-line groups including the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) and the Council of Indonesian Jihad Fighters (MMI) protest at a rally against Ahmadiyah in Baciro, Yogyakarta, in 2012. (Tempo/Survo Wibowo)
One hard-line group allegedly involved in violent acts in Yogyakarta is the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI).
Among the more recent incidents was the attack on a sealed Pentecostal church in Pangukan, Sleman, by local residents after the church was reopened by members of the congregation for religious activities.
A local community leader named Turmudzi alleged that he received help from several mass organizations, including the FJI, to stop the congregation.
The FJI's leader, Abdurahman, was seen with Turmudzi on Wednesday at Sleman Police headquarters.
The group was launched in November 2011 and, ironically, is headquartered near the Kasihan Police station in Bantul, Yogyakarta.
'We have some 150 members in Yogyakarta and some 500 supporters,' Abdurahman claimed. The group even apparently has an official website and Facebook page.
The FJI's flag is black, showing a Koran framed between two swords. Its motto is 'live a noble life or die as a martyr'. Among its objectives are improving the morality of members, upholding sharia law and improving people's understanding about Islam.
The group has recently been in the media for protesting against the presence of minority Shia Muslims in Yogyakarta, against the Adiyuswo Easter celebration for the elderly in Gunungkidul and against Christians opening a house of worship in Baciro.
Members of the group also allegedly assaulted Gunungkidul Interfaith Forum activist Aminuddin Azis.
'We did it in Gunungkidul because there were efforts toward Christianization,' Abdurahman was quoted as saying.
The FJI, however, has less than cordial relations with the infamous Islam Defenders Front (FPI).
Members of both groups traded insults and threw stones at each other during the trial of local FPI chief Bambang Teddy in 2012 on charges of assault and defamation.
