Camelia Pasandaran & Ethan Harfenist – More than 30 Shiites in Sampang, East Java, have reportedly been forced to embrace Sunni Islam after they were faced with the prospect of having their homes burned down if they refused.

Andy Irfan, the chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence's (Kontras) Surabaya chapter, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that since Oct. 24, Sunni leaders have visited the houses of 15 Shiites and have made them sign an agreement which states that they voluntarily agreed to embrace Sunnism.

"In the second batch [of conversions] on Monday, nine more Shia men were forced to sign the pledge. They represented their wives, as well," Andy said. "Since the first incident, a total of 33 people have been converted."

Back in August, a mob of 500 Sunnis attacked a group of Shiite students and teachers, leaving seven injured and two dead from both sides. Following the attack, more than 200 Shiites were relocated to the Sampang sports center to escape the violence. Those Shiites who were forced to convert were still living in their homes at the time.

"On paper, it appears that they were converted to Sunnism voluntarily, so they were not reprimanded physically. However, they were psychologically intimidated," Andy remarked.

In addition to coercing the Shiites who remained in their homes to convert, religious figures in Nangkernang village in Sampang stated that Shiites still seeking refuge in the sports center were welcome to return to their houses so long as they accepted Sunni Islam as their religion.

Andy commented that the government should issue a statement declaring Shia Islam as an acceptable branch of Islam that is not blasphemous.

"The government has been abstaining [from action] and has done nothing to foster tolerance among Indonesians," he said. "Those living in conflict-ridden areas are hardly exposed to information from outside their regions and get most of their information from religious leaders. The government should instead make people aware that Shia Islam is not heretical. People should live in harmony with Shiites."

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Shiite-majority nation, was in attendance at the Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday and was photographed with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shaking hands and smiling.

Indonesia has maintained a good relationship with Iran despite such religious clashes taking place in places like Sampang.