Ahmed Mushaddeq leads the new Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect. The sect has been described as deviant and blasphemous by the country's powerful Muslim organisation, the Indonesian Ulema Council because it promotes an alternative view of Islam.
Presenter: Linda LoPresti. Speaker: Professor Azyumardi Azra, President of Indonesia's State Islamic University
Azra: Their sect claims to be originally come from Islam but they introduced a very different kind of teachings of Islam. In fact they do not recognise the prophecy of Mohammed for instance, so that creates problems.
Lopresti: There are five pillars of Islam, the praying five times a day, compulsory contributions to charity and for the pilgrimage to Mecca as well as the obligation to fast.
Azra: Yes.
Lopresti: They don't believe in those five pillars?
Azra: They don't believe in those five.
Lopresti: And I understand that the leader of this sect Ahmed Mushaddeq has declared that he is the new prophet?
Azra: The new prophet, yes. Of course Muslims would not have any objection if he introduced a new religion without referring to Islam, but the problem of course is that he does refer to Islam, but at the same time he does not adhere to the principles of Islam.
Lopresti: So how many followers do you believe this sect has? How widespread is it, in Indonesia?
Azra: We don't know exactly but the police said it's something like 30,000 to 40,000 people across the country.
Lopresti: Who is it attracting?
Azra: Mostly young university students, unemployed young people.
Lopresti: Why do you think its particularly attracting those people?
Azra: I think because of the social and cultural crisis now in Indonesia, because we are not really settled yet because of the big changes not only in politics but also in other field of life, in terms of social and cultural life. In our social life we have a lot of problems. We have a good number of unemployed people and also we have a problem of the future of students. Students can graduate but sometimes they cannot find jobs.
Lopresti: So while Indonesia continues to have these kind of social problems, do you believe that these kind of sects will continue to mushroom?
Azra: Yes, I believe so. As long as we still have problems in our economy, in our culture and social life and then there will be more and more individuals claiming themself to be a new prophet, to be a savior, to be a messiah and things like that.
Lopresti: And isn't there a danger there of a very significant religious split in Indonesia which could get quite violent?
Azra: It could be, but now of course the police have been able to contain the anger of the people, especially the hardliners, because hardliners also love to take this kind of event for their own advantage.
Lopresti: Do you also believe that this phenomena – these new sects that continue to grow in Indonesia, is it also a sign of increased religious freedom in your country?
Azra: According to the Indonesian constitution we respect the freedom of religion, so now there are six religions recognised by the state, that is Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. But there will be a problem if there are new religions claiming to have their origin in a particular religion while at the same time they do not adhere to the principle of the mainstream or established religion. It could create problems, anger and probably also some violence among the adherents of the established religion.