Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Having previously called for the blood of Ahmadis, the Islamic Defenders Front on Tuesday suggested that peace with the sect was possible only if a critical requirement was met – its banishment.
Habib Rizieq Shihab, who heads the hard-line group known as the FPI, has said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must issue a decree banning the minority sect outright.
Rizieq has said that the issuance of such a presidential decree would pave the way for putting an immediate stop to attacks that have been launched against Ahmadis in provinces across the country.
"If such a presidential decree is issued, we shall persuade our brothers and sisters in the Ahmadiyah to return to the teachings of Islam," Rizieq said on Tuesday. He was speaking following a meeting with leaders of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
"What we want is this: ban Ahmadiyah. Prohibit the spread of Ahmadi teachings," he said. "Let us persuade them to return to the true teachings of Islam. If the Ahmadiyah are left alone like they are today, there will be far more bloodshed among the children of this nation.
"No one can stop Muslims from stepping up to straighten out the akidah [fundamental points of faith]."
Rizieq said the FPI and similar organizations had been disgusted by recent incidents of violence against the Ahmadiyah.
He said the public was being misled to believe that a decree banning the sect would open the door to mass killings of Ahmadis, or genocide on the scale of the 1965 killings of members of the Indonesian Communist Party.
"We pledge to avoid any violence in dealing with the Ahmadiyah. We will not allow the decree to be manipulated [to sanction genocide]," Rizieq said.
MPR deputy chairman Hajriyanto Thohari said the assembly respected the FPI's opinion about a new presidential decree, adding that the meeting raised questions about the current belief that the FPI was behind the religious violence.
Hajriyanto also promised to forward the FPI's suggestions directly to the president.
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Sumanjaya, who attended the meeting, said he supported the persuasive and nonviolent approach of dealing with the Ahmadiyah advocated by the FPI. "Please use good words. If we use our fists, then other fists will rise up to attack us," he said.