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On date of Idul Fitri celebration, Ahmadiyah to follow govt
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Close ties: Ahmadiyah followers engage in small talk in the back yard of Al-Hidayah Mosque in Depok, West Java, which was sealed by the city administration on June 3.
(JP/Supriyono Hemay)
T
he Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) has said it will follow the government in determining which day they will celebrate the Idul Fitri festivities.
The move aims to show the Ahmadiyah’s cooperation with the government as good Indonesian citizens, a JAI official said.
“We have always followed the government’s decision on the start of the first day of Ramadhan and also the fall of Syawal 1 to celebrate Idul Fitri,” JAI spokesman Yendra Budiana told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The Religious Affairs Ministry is scheduled to hold a meeting to determine the exact days on which Idul Fitri is celebrated at the ministry office in Central Jakarta on Saturday.
Yandra emphasized that the Ahmadis needed to be respected and accepted as normal Indonesian citizens because their rituals are similar to those of other Muslims, including members of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah – Indonesia’s largest Islam organizations.
Followers of Ahmadiyah have long faced discrimination in the country, with the group being declared a deviant sect and not part of Islam. In the latest development, an Ahmadiyah mosque in Sawangan, Depok, was sealed on June 3.
“Although our mosque has been sealed, people continue to join as new congregation members. We just recruited a new member in the last two weeks," Yandra said. (yon/ebf)
