Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Activists in Aceh on Wednesday protested a local Islamic council's recent edict accusing a cleric in South Aceh district of blasphemous teachings.
The Care for Sharia Civil Society Network (JMSPS), which comprises several human rights groups, including the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Apik), said the Aceh Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU) issued its blasphemy edict against Teungku Ahmad Barnawi late last month.
The coalition said the edict had prompted the South Aceh district administration to close down Barnawi's Al-Mujahadah Islamic Boarding School in Sawang, forcing students to be sent home and putting its teachers out of work.
"Barnawi does not know the reason his teachings are deemed blasphemous, because the MPU's edict does not specify why," JMSPS spokesman Affan Ramli told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
"If [the MPU] does not revoke [the edict], we will file a lawsuit, because there is not a single law or regulation that gives the MPU the authority to judge whether someone is blasphemous or not."
Affan said he suspected the edict was linked to a land dispute between Barnawi and local villagers. "There are people saying that Barnawi never conducted Friday prayers, but this accusation was never proven," he added.
The chairman of the MPU, Ghazali Mohammad Syam, could not be reached for comment on the matter.
The activists argued that the edict could ignite anger in the predominantly conservative Muslim province of Aceh, paving the way for violent action against Barnawi and his followers.
In November, three people affiliated with a purportedly heretical religious group led by cleric Tengku Aiyub Syahkuban were slain by an mob in Bireuen, Aceh.
The incident occurred after a mob of hundreds arrived at Aiyub's home demanding that he and his cohorts stop an ongoing sermon. The mob burned down Aiyub's house, killing him and a man named Muntasir in the process. Another man, Mansur, also died in the ensuing violence.
"Clerics are supposed to guide society and mediate differences in religious views – not issue a blasphemy edict like this [that will] almost certainly lead to violence," Affan said.