Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – A group of people reportedly burned prayer mats, carpet and sarongs from Fathurrahman Mosque in Jambidan village, Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.
"We learned of the act on Monday morning," said M. Juweni, a community neighborhood unit head in the village, on Wednesday.
The mosque is located on the second floor of a building belonging to the south Banguntapan branch of Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah. The building has several rooms, some of which function as a meeting hall, playgroup and daycare facility.
"On Sunday afternoon, we saw the gazebo in front of the daycare facility had been set ablaze. Locals rushed to the location and extinguished the fire but they did not know that prayer mats, carpets and sarongs had been burned inside the mosque," said Juweni.
Police have examined the scene of the alleged crime. Muhammadiyah leader Syafii Maarif and members of the Interfaith Communication Forum (FKUB) visited the mosque on Wednesday.
FKUB founder Abdul Muhaimin called on all societal elements to stay calm. He said the case was among a string of attacks on ulemas.
"I think the incident occurred by design. There are intelligence operations that aim to trigger conflict among society groups ahead of the upcoming concurrent regional elections and legislative and presidential elections in 2019," said Abdul. (ebf)