Jakarta – Ahmadiyah spokesman Ahmad Mubarik says authorities must not force Ahmadis to leave Islam because they are part of the religion.

"We have been officially recognized since 1953. We are part of Islam," Ahmad said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday.

He added that many Ahmadis had dedicated their lives to the betterment of Indonesia, including hero Arief Rahman Hakim and national anthem creator W.R Supratman.

Other famous Ahmadis had become legislators, regents, a state-enterprises director and high-ranking military officers, he said. Ahmad said there were up to 500,000 Ahmadis living across Indonesia.