Jakarta – Hundreds of interfaith activists rallied here Tuesday demanding the government protect religious freedom and drop a plan to outlaw the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Islamic sect.
A similar protest was staged by an alliance of different groups in Yogyakarta. Both protests rejected the ban proposed by an official interdepartmental board which had labeled the sect as "heretical". They urged hard-line groups to stop attacking Ahmadiyah, and the government to take religious intolerance seriously.
Representatives of the National Alliance for Religious Freedom and other organizations gathered in downtown Central Jakarta to reject the recommended ban.
They marched from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to the National Monument with Ahmadiyah followers and non-Muslims joining the demonstration.
Protesters stopped at the United Nations mission and some were received by officials of the international body. Some of the banners read 'stop religious fascism" and 'stop violence in the name of religion".
Speaking at the rally, moderate Muslim scholar Siti Musdah Mulia warned the nation against the growing influence of "robed thugs" and strict Wahabist interpretations of Islam.
"The government should not disband us. Why don't they punish and disband the hard-line groups who attacked us? I don't understand this," Ahmadiyah protester Nur Hasanah said. She said Ahmadiyah members would continue to practice their faith despite the planned ban of the minority sect.
Nur also said they urged the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) not to push the government to outlaw the sect. "We hope this rally will make them reconsider their recent recommendation. We will keep struggling for what we believe in. The show must go on," Nur said.
Christian priest Johannes Hariyanto said he joined the rally "as an Indonesian... (who was) very concerned about Ahmadiyah."
"This is about religious freedom and the state must protect it," he said. "The government should cancel a decree to outlaw the sect because it could lead to more violence. If they go ahead with it we will take legal action," Hariyanto said.
Separately, presidential advisor Adnan Buyung Nasution said such a decree would not be issued in the near future as the government needed more time to finalize it.
"There are still principal differences of opinion in this issue," he said after attending an interdepartmental meeting at the State Secretariat to discuss the draft decree.
"The state or the government should not interfere too much in religious affairs. Every citizen has the right to believe in and responsibility to face God," added Buyung, who is a prominent human rights lawyer.
Hard-line and radical Muslim groups however have lauded the anti-Ahmadiyah recommendation and demanded an immediate ban on the sect.
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, the Islamic Forum (FUI) staged a demonstration Tuesday outside the governor's office, demanding the immediate disbanding of Ahmadiyah because its activities deviated from mainstream Islamic teachings.
"The sect members obviously acknowledge Mirza Gulam Ahmad as a prophet (after Muhammad) and this is absolutely wrong. We also condemn Mirza Gulam as a liar," protest coordinator Sutardi said.
To prevent any possible attacks on local Ahmadiyah members during the protest, police guarded the Mataram Transito House where they have been taking refuge after previous violence.
Tensions have increased since the Bakor Pakem proposed the ban. Recently, a Muslim mob set fire to an Ahmadiyah mosque in Sukabumi, West Java.
The Ahmadiyah issue has raised questions among moderate Muslims and human rights campaigners over Indonesia's image as a moderate and tolerant Muslim country which constitutionally guarantees religious freedom. (trw)
[Desy Nurhayati and Panca Nugraha both contributed to this story from Jakarta and Mataram respectively.]