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Protection sought for Ahmadiyah in Bangka
The Ahmadiyah Muslim group has urged the government to protect its followers from being expelled from their homes in Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung province
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he Ahmadiyah Muslim group has urged the government to protect its followers from being expelled from their homes in Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung province. They have called on the government to initiate further dialogue to create mutual understanding between conflicting communities.
'The government should protect the rights of citizens and promote dialogue among people, instead of getting involved in the conflict and making it worse,' Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) spokesman Yendra Budiana said on Sunday.
Yendra said the Bangka regency administration had recently issued a letter urging Ahmadiyah followers in Srimenanti subdistrict, Sungailiat district, to convert to the mainstream Sunni teachings of the Indonesian Muslim majority or face expulsion from the regency.
The letter, dated Jan. 5, also stated that JAI was forbidden from spreading its teachings in the regency.
The regency's decision outlined in the letter was based on a meeting with the Religious Community Harmony Forum (FKUB) on Dec. 14, last year. The meeting was attended by the leaders of the local chapters of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah, the Bangka Police chief, the district chief and a representative from JAI.
In the meeting, the Bangka police chief and the district chief all called for the expulsion of Ahmadiyah followers.
Yendra said Ahmadiyah followers, numbering roughly 100 in the subdistrict, would not leave their homes and would continue to conduct dialogue with the local administration and other related parties.
'It's not about the number. It's about their rights as citizens. The government should protect their rights,' he said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Sunday urging the Indonesian government to immediately intervene to protect members of the Ahmadiyah from intimidation and threats of expulsion.
'Bangka officials are conspiring with Muslim groups to unlawfully expel Ahmadiyah community members from their homes,' said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. 'President Joko Widodo needs to immediately intervene to uphold the rights of the Ahmadiyah and to punish officials who advocate religious discrimination.'
Members of Bangka Island's Ahmadiyah community, which comprise just 14 families, told Human Rights Watch that the expulsion order followed months of harassment and intimidation by government officials, police officers and representatives from Muslim groups. The Ahmadiyah identify themselves as Muslims, but differ with other Muslims as to whether Muhammad was the final prophet. Consequently, some Muslims consider the Ahmadiyah to be heretics.
Indonesia's Ahmadiyah have been under threat since June 2008 when the government of then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a decree ordering the Ahmadiyah community to 'stop spreading interpretations and activities that deviate from the principal teachings of Islam'. Those who violate the decree can face up to five years in prison. Following the decree, militant Islamists launched several violent attacks on Ahmadiyah followers including an attack in Cikeusik in February 2011 in which three Ahmadis were killed.
During Yudhoyono's decade in power, militant Islamists, with the complicity of local police and government officials, forced the closure of more than 30 Ahmadiyah mosques.
Indonesia's constitution, specifically articles 28 and 29, guarantees freedom of religion.
