C

an we call the rampaging mobs and the negligent policemen, who allowed the Ahmadiyah people to be terrorized, real Muslims?

Do they know the contents of the Koran and do they arrange their lives in order with its content? Do they know that Surah As-Syuara 183 says, '€œAnd defraud not people by reducing their things, nor do evil, making corruption and mischief in the land.'€

Those Muslims, the ones who consider themselves moderate, devout and abiding by the laws of the Creator '€” those that pray five times a day, fast in accordance with regulations, are able to recite Koranic verses fluently and wear the approved Muslim garb '€” remain silent and do not speak out vehemently or act against the atrocities committed by these radical Muslim thugs against the Ahmadiyah.

By being self-centered people and standing idly by while the rights of fellow humans are violated, they are actually instrumental in destroying the '€œgood'€ kind of Islam, '€œthe religion of peace'€.

 I sincerely applaud liberal scholar Ulil Abshar Abdala and former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, for defending the human rights of the Ahmadiyah people. They are true Muslims indeed and I salute them wholeheartedly with all my respect.

So many ustadz (teachers of Islamic religion) appear on TV channels and elsewhere, fluently spouting florid phrases of the Koran and advising their enthralled audience to lead impeccable lives as Muslims, and yet not a single one of them has had the guts to defend the oppressed Ahmadiyah people. I am sad and disappointed to see them so eager to '€œplay it safe'€.

In my eyes, they are nothing but hypocrites and cowards, putting the good memory of the Prophet Muhammad to shame.

Tami Koestomo
Bogor