Friday, May 2, 2008
Government Can’t Drop Ahmadiyah Ban: VP
Source: The Jakarta Post
Desy Nurhayati and Adianto P. Simamora

Despite mounting pressure, the government cannot simply cancel a joint ministerial decree to outlaw the “heretic” Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah, the Vice President said Friday.

“We cannot just drop the proposal. There are many aspects to consider,” Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.

“The decision will have many religious, social and political ramifications.

“We should consider them very carefully, so as to take the most appropriate measure.

Furthermore, we need to consider the legality of each option,” Kalla said.

The deputy secretary to the Vice President and a Muslim scholar, Azyumardi Azra, said Kalla would not intervene in the decision on Ahmadiyah.

“I just asked him and he said the ‘ball’ is not with him,” Azyumardi said in a text message to The Jakarta Post.

A ban on Ahmadiyah, which was declared “heretic” by the Indonesian Ulema Council, will “benefit certain religious and political groups”, he said.

The religious and home affairs ministries have completed drafting the joint ministerial decree on the ban, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said.

“It will be publicly announced at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Home Ministry,” he said in Magelang, Central Java, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The decree does not require presidential consent because it is within the three ministries’ authority, Hendarman said.

Many moderate Muslim scholars and human rights campaigners have warned hard-line Muslims would renew attacks on Ahmadiyah if the government goes ahead with its plan to ban the sect.

Earlier this week, a group calling itself the Jamaah Al Mubalighin Communication Forum set fire to a mosque belonging to Ahmadiyah in Parakan Salak village in Sukabumi, West Java.

Several days earlier, Ahmadiyah mosques in Garut and Bogor, West Java, were attacked by radical groups.

At Ciaruteun village in Bogor, Ahmadiyah members voluntarily closed their mosque to prevent possible attacks by Muslim extremists.

After questioning 50 witnesses, Sukabumi Police have detained 12 suspects allegedly involved in the Al Furqon mosque incident.

The police are yet to find the masterminds behind the incident. Their investigation indicates the attack was carried out spontaneously.

The National Commission on Human Rights is planning to file its recommendations on the issue to the government.