A welcoming ceremony for visiting guests attending the inauguration of a local leader turned hostile at an airport in Sintang, West Kalimantan, on Thursday after the host group rejected a Muslim cleric in the entourage.

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deputy secretary Tengku Zulkarnain, who traveled along with Dayak Culture Council (DAD) leaders from Pontianak, was rejected by a group of people after he had just arrived at the airport to attend the inauguration of a local head of the DAD. The cleric was turned away because he had allegedly insulted the Dayak.

Zulkarnain stood at the airplane’s doorway ready to disembark when the reception group from DAD, who were wearing Dayak traditional clothes along with mandau (traditional daggers), blocked his way, preventing him from disembarking the plane.

DAD said in a statement that they rejected Zulkarnain because he allegedly insulted the Dayaks by allegedly calling them kafir (a derogatory Islamic term for non-believers) who could not go to heaven.

The Dayak people embrace folk faiths, including the Kaharingan.

“The people of Dayak do not hate MUI. We have just rejected a particular individual, in this case MUI deputy secretary Tengku Zulkarnain, for insulting the Dayak tribe,” the group said in a statement.

The group said they had seen Zulkarnain’s sectarian and vitriolic remarks on the internet.

Zulkarnain is also alleged to have connections with the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI). A large banner brought by the group read: “FPI, a mass organization that is against Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, should be disbanded because it has disrupted peace in Indonesia”.

Due of the incident, Zulkarnain and two of his colleagues could not leave the airport. They eventually flew back to Pontianak at 10:30 a.m.

Samson, a local resident who witnessed the incident at the airport, said Zulkarnain’s plane landed in Sintang for about 40 minutes before flying back to Pontianak after all the Sintang passengers got off.

“The rejected person just observed, but he did not get off,” Samson said.

Zulkarnain told The Jakarta Post that he was shocked to see a group of approximately 30 people, who were wearing Dayak traditional clothes and carrying mandau, suddenly blocking his way.

“They said I came there with FPI members. How come? I came there on behalf of the MUI. I was invited by the [Sintang] regent and the region’s MUI branch to be a speaker in a mass prayer,” Zulkarnain said.

He also denied having insulted the Dayak.

“It’s a lie. I never said anything like that. Just check my social media accounts. Prove it,” he said.

West Kalimantan Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suhadi SW said the group initially arrived at the airport to welcome DAD West Kalimantan leaders from Pontianak.

“The group learned that Zulkarnain had also arrived that day and so the group moved to oppose his arrival,” Suhadi said.

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