Primus Dorimulu & Camelia Pasandaran – Just days before a provincial election, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan has signed a deal with the hardline Islamic Defenders Front in which he has reportedly agreed to ban the activities of the minority Islamic Ahmadiyah sect if he is reelected.
But analysts said the act would likely backfire on the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidate, with moderate voters shying away from him in Sunday's poll.
"If the media blows this up in the coming two days, it will help solidify support from the hardliners but he will be abandoned by moderate groups," University of Indonesia political analyst Andrinof Chaniago warned.
"The number of moderate and tolerant groups is bigger in West Java compared to the small number of vocal groups that share the views of the FPI [Islamic Defenders Front]," he said.
Ahmad signed an agreement with the FPI in which he reportedly agreed to implement a gubernatorial decree that would ban Ahmadiyah activities in the province. Ahmad was also said to have agreed to issue Shariah-based bylaws.
The agreement was signed in Bandung on Thursday by Ahmad and West Java FPI chairman Abdul Qohhar NZ al-Qodsy.
Last year, Ahmad threatened to suspend the FPI's permit to operate if it continued to ignore his warning about attacking Ahmadiyah mosques.
Andrinof said that although there are many fanatical groups in West Java, education and migration to big cities have changed the attitudes of many people toward religion.
"He [Ahmad] misunderstood the anti-pluralists and only sided with one interest," the academic said. "He could have still accommodated the hardliners even without inking a deal. He violated the messages that he delivered during his own campaign about unity."
Ahmad denied that he agreed with the FPI's request to issue Shariah-based bylaws. He said he only agreed to maintain an "Islamic environment," which he defined as promoting the ethics and worship practices of Muslims.
"I didn't agree to [issue] Islamic-based bylaws as reported," Ahmad told BeritaSatu.com on Friday.
He acknowledged meeting with the group, saying that as provincial leader he was obliged to meet with a wide range of organizations, including the FPI.
Ahmad said he respected the country's mantra Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) and the Constitution, in which the state guarantees religious freedom.
He said that in his five-year term as governor, he had sought to strengthen democracy in the province. "I fought for every citizen so that they could be equal before the law, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or race. I also respect human rights," he said.
He said maintaining an Islamic environment did not mean reducing the rights of people from other religions to express their faith, and the Islamic environment in West Java already existed because the majority of the population is Muslim.
"Because the requests were like that, I agreed. But remember, as a state official I have the obligation to protect all citizens as mandated under the Constitution," Ahmad said. Ahmad is currently polling first or second in surveys by opinion assessors.