Jakarta – The Surabaya District Court sentenced 10 men to six months in prison over their roles in a violent rampage in Jember, East Java, that left a popular Islamic boarding school and mosque badly damaged last year and strained ties in a district embroiled in a deep-seated rivalry between two Islamic leaders.
"The Surabaya District Court has handed down sentences to the defendants in the destruction case in the Puger conflict," said Mujiarto, the general crimes division head of Jember Prosecutors Office, according to the state-run Antara News Agency. "All have been given six months imprisonment."
The prosecution initially demanded at least two years in prison for the defendants. The office immediately filed an appeal with the district court, adding that the six-month sentence was too lenient.
The Sept. 11 violence was reportedly the latest boiling over of a decade-long dispute between two Islamic leaders that has become steeped in religion baiting and accusations of jealousy.
Ali al-Habsyi, the head of the Darus Sholihin Islamic boarding school, has long been at loggerheads with Muhdor al-Hamid, an Islamic leader from the neighboring Tanggul subdistrict. The rivalry took a turn when Muhdor accused Ali of being a Shiite Muslim because he quoted from Shia texts during sermons.
Both Ali and the prominent Shia organization Ahlul Bait Indonesia (ABI) have refuted the allegation. But the denials have done little to calm tempers in Jember or head off anger at Ali's plan to lead his community on an Independence Day parade through Puger Kulon village.
The parade's permit was revoked twice before it was finally held nearly a month after Indonesia's Independence Day celebrations concluded. As the school paraded through Puger Kulon, residents from Tanggul stormed the school, damaging classrooms and a mosque while police stood watch.
Ali's followers, angered by the destruction of the school, attacked a local fishermen and vocal critic of the school in a savage revenge beating. The men set Eko's fishing boat on fire before turning on the man. He later died of his injuries at an area hospital.
Seven people have been arrested in connection with Eko's death. That case is still ongoing at the Surabaya District Court, where they each face up to eight years in prison.