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espite being banned and dissolved, the Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) remains a serious threat in the eyes of the government. Three of the movement’s top leaders have recently been detained on charges of blasphemy and treason.

Founded in January 2012, Gafatar is not a religious organization, but more akin to a cult movement that tries to seek an alternative pathway to the divine for its estimated 55,000 followers throughout the country by synthesizing the teachings of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

Although often labeled an Islamic-sect, Gafatar promotes a rural communal life that focuses mostly on social and economic programs. Gafatar organizes its own schooling system, and so most of its follower’s children do not join ordinary schools. It is headquartered in Jakarta with branches in all of the country’s 34 provinces.

The government officially banned the group in March this year following the issuance of joint decree SKB No. 93/2016 by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Home Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry. The ban was issued in order to prevent ex-Gafatar members from spreading the movement’s doctrines, which are deemed to represent a deviation from Islam.

The decree prohibits Gafatar’s former leaders and followers from arranging activities to spread its teachings to the public. Its former leaders and members are also prohibited from arranging or participating in any activities that can deviate from “true” Islamic values.

It also obliges all former leaders as well as regular members to uphold public peace and order. Any violation of the decree comes with a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Three of Gafatar’s top leaders — Ahmad Musadeq, Mahful Muis Tumanurung and Andi Cahya — have been detained by the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) since Wednesday on blasphemy and treason charges. Mahful and Andi have been registered as directors of the Gafatar central office and Ahmad Mussadeq has been labeled the organization’s spiritual leader.

“The detention is for the sake of the three individuals,” said National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar at his office on Thursday. “It is to protect them from negative reactions from locals who oppose their teachings”.

Boy emphasized that the detention was also intended to make sure that the investigation ran effectively.

The police will detain the three Gafatar leaders until June 13, according to the warrant letter.

The head of Bareskrim’s general crimes division, Brig. Gen. Agus Adrianto, signed the letter and said the police had detained the three following complaints from locals, citing a local named H. Muhammad Tahir Mahmud who filed a report on Jan. 14 accusing the three men of blasphemy.

Agus said the police had questioned witnesses in Banten, East Java, Kalimantan and Yogyakarta, and declared the three leaders blasphemers based on the statements.

He added that the police had also confiscated evidence comprising several documents, holy books and brochures promoting the Gafatar organization.

But legal representatives for the three Gafatar leaders quickly rejected the police’s explanation, condemning the arrest as illegal.

Fati Lazira from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) said the police had never offered up any real evidence during the process.

According to Fati, none of the police’s investigators came to the houses of the three leaders to actually search for evidence.

He questioned the argument that detaining the three was for the sake of an effective investigative process, saying that Ahmad, Mahful and Andi had always complied with the police’s requirements.

“They have always cooperated during the process. How can the process be ineffective if the three individuals are cooperating?” Fati asked.

“It is clear to us that the detention is merely to satisfy public demand. It is subjective and baseless,” he said.

Gafatar came into spotlight early this year after newspapers in Jakarta and Yogyakarta reported that several missing persons had joined the group. Some of the members sold their assets to move to Kalimantan to run self-sufficient farms.

A violent mob attacked one of Gafatar’s farms in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, in mid-January and intimidated other members in East Kalimantan, forcing them to return to their hometowns and abandon the farms.

The government later dissolved the organization and forced the members to join “reeducation camps”.
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