Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has told Ahmadiyah followers to obey the law, despite the fact that both they and their properties came under attack on Friday morning.
"There might have been something wrong in the region. We must promote discussion to settle these kinds of issues. But the Ahmadis must also obey the law," he said on Friday at the State Palace.
Suryadharma was referring to the 2008 Joint Ministerial Decree banning members of the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) from propagating their religious beliefs.
A group of vigilantes attacked an Ahmadiyah mosque called Baitul Rahim in Babakan Sindang village, Tasikmalaya, West Java. The attackers reportedly threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the mosque, leaving shattered glass and destroying praying facilities.
The attack came after another group of people sealed the mosque. They claimed Ahmadiyah followers were not allowed to conduct prayers in the village, but Ahmadis continued to do so.
Suryadharma said he had not received a complete report on the incident. When asked why attacks against minorities kept happening in the country, Suryadharma said, "legal offenders must be charged and the Ahmadis must leave their defiant beliefs."
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said the West Java Police were investigating the incident.
Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi also said he had not received a comprehensive report on the Singaparna incident, but suggested the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) might have been involved in the attack, following reports saying the attackers wore symbols attached to the hardline group.
Gamawan said the government had warned the FPI twice on the latter's violent acts. "More large-scale violence carried out by the FPI would mean that the organization would be eligible to be frozen," he said.
When asked for comments, FPI spokesman Munarman said, "Why do you always accuse us? Why don't you ask for my comments on when FPI members were intimidated in Palangkaraya recently?"
Munarman was referring to an incident at the Tjilik Riwut Airport in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, in February, when FPI members who had just arrived were blocked by locals who did not want the hardline group to settle in their city. (mtq)