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Thousands protest to ban Ahmadiyya sect in Indonesia
09 Jun 2008 07:20:03 GMT
 Source: Reuters
JAKARTA, June 9 (Reuters) - About a thousand hardline Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the presidential palace on Monday to urge the president to disband a sect branded by many Muslims as "deviant".

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to decide on the fate of the Ahmadiyya after a government team tasked with monitoring religious groups recommended it should be banned because the sect's teachings deviate from fundamental Islamic tenets.

Ahmadis refuse to accept the Prophet Mohammad as Islam's final prophet, and say their founder is a prophet and messiah.

The group has been the subject of heated controversy after Indonesia's Ulema Council, the country's Islamic authority, branded the group "deviant".

The protesters -- who called themselves "United Muslims' Action to Disband Ahmadiyya" -- shouted slogans such as "SBY, be clear in banning Ahmadiyya".

Yudhoyono is popularly known by his initials, SBY.

"Today is the beginning of our fight. We are ready to die for the Ahmadiyya sect's dismissal," said Abdurrahman of Indonesia's Muslim Forum (FUI). "If SBY ignores us, we will bring him down."

An unnamed speaker urged all Muslims to unite to support a ban. "There's only one word, disband Ahmadiyya. To all of you who feel that you have faith in Islam, (you) must support the disbanding of Ahmadiyya."

The latest protest comes after an attack by members of FPI, well-known for its attacks on bars and nightclubs in Indonesia during the Muslim fasting month, on an interfaith rally in Jakarta, which provoked an outcry among moderates.

Moderates in predominantly Muslim Indonesia have criticised the government for not taking a tougher stance on militant Islamic groups after several recent incidents in which places of worship were damaged and individuals intimidated.

Outbreaks of violence over religious issues have become more common in recent months, particularly over Ahmadiyya. Militant Muslim groups have attacked mosques and buildings associated with the sect.

Analysts say Yudhoyono, whose coalition government depends on the support of some Islamic parties and who is expected to seek a second term next year, should have been much tougher in cracking down on groups that incite violence.

Yudhoyono has been accused of indecisiveness in other major policy areas as well, a criticism likely to repeated by his opponents in the 2009 campaign. (Writing by Olivia Rondonuwu, Editing by Sugita Katyal and David Fogarty)


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