1. BakorPakemDeclaresAhmadiyahaMisguidedSect

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The Indonesian government is under pressure from Bakor Pakem and hard-line Muslim groups to is-sue a joint decree banning beleaguered Muslim

sect Ahmadiyah (JAI), while more moderate forces have declared such a decree illegal or unconstitutional. Mean-while, violence against the sect continues to escalate.

On Monday, April 16, Bakor Pakem issued a state-ment recommending that the Ahmadiyah be disbanded immediately. The government promised to implement the decree immediately but, more than two weeks later, has yet to do so.

Bakor Pakem head Wisnu Subroto said that after three months of monitoring JAI, a 33-member panel, chaired by the head of research and training at the Religious Af-fairs Ministry, Atho Mudzhar, concluded the group did not follow standard Islamic practices.

“They still believe in another prophet after Muham-

DelayofAhmadiyahban,RadicalGroupsupPressureonCentralGovernment

FOREWORD

On Monday, April 16, several intergovernmental agencies led by junior attorney general Wisnu Subroto issued a statement declaring Ahmadiyah a

heretical sect and recommending its immediate ban.The Agency for the Monitoring of Religious Sects and Mystical Beliefs (Bakor Pakem) said that Ahmadiyah should be banned because it violated its 12 premises. Bakor Pakem sent the recommendation to the Home Affairs Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office and urged them to issue a joint governmental decree to ban Ahmadiyah. The government then promised to immediately issue the decree but had not done so by Sunday, May 5. The movement to ban Ahmadiyah has been driven by several hard-line Muslim groups, including the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) and some officials within the Religious Affairs Ministry, and therefore it is only natural that they would be disappointed over the delay. They are expected to increase violent acts against Ahmadiyah. For this reason, the Ahmadiyah have again become the main topic of this latest monthly report. Violence against sect members continues as the officials discuss the joint decree, and the police and the courts stand idly by. Besides the Ahmadiyah issue, this month we also highlight the police’s killing of Madi, a local religious figure who MUI earlier accused of heresy. There are many issues surrounding Madi’s death, including questionable behavior of security forces and the biased coverage against the leader by the local media. Another development we examine is the warning from the National Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to television networks against airing TV programs that insult faiths or disturb prayer times. Although this is not a new warning, we regard it as interesting because the KPI is basing its policy on a religious – read Muslim -- argument.The four-year jail term recently imposed on Musaddeq, the head of the al-Qiyadah al-Islamiyah sect, is also included in this report. Musaddeq has been convicted by the South Jakarta District Court of insulting the Muslim faith, which according to the judges was against Article 156a of the Criminal Code. We also look at a clash between a militant Islamic group, the Islamic Paramilitary Force (LUIS) in Surakarta and local residents – violence which claimed a man’s life. This case was given little airing in the national media. It shows how some hard-line Islamic groups use violence to address problems. ■

BOARD OF EDITORSExpertises: Yenny Zannuba Wahid and Ahmad Suaedy | Editor-in-Chief: Rumadi | Managing Editors: Gamal Ferdhi, Nurul H. Ma’arif, Abd. Moqsith Ghazali. |Editors: M. Subhi Azhari, Dandy Kosawaraputra, Arif Hakim Budiawan (Translator).Graphic Design: Widhi Cahya

ADDRESS The Wahid Institute Jln Taman Amir Hamzah 8, Jakarta - 10320 Website: www.wahidinstitute.org Email: info@wahidinstitute.org

ASSOCIATE AND CONTRIBUTORSAkhdiansyah - West Nusa Tenggara , Suhendy - West Java, Nur Kholik Ridwan - Central Java and Yogyakarta Special Region, Alamsyah M. Dja’far - Jakarta, Zainul Hamdi -East Java, Syamsul Rijal - South Sulawesi. in cooperation with TIFA Foundation.

Monthly Report on RElIgIOUS ISSUES

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■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition IX, April 2008

The Wahid Institute

mad.” Subroto said. The Ahmadiyah regard Mirza Ghulam,

the sect’s founder, as a prophet who comes after Muhammad. They believe the Tadz-kirah, written by Ghulam is an important holy book and use the Koran to support Mirza’s prophesy.

Subroto said the panel had confirmed its findings with JAI branches in 22 regen-cies, 555 communities and with 275 JAI members.

“We strongly believe JAI is a misguided sect. There will be no compromise on the theological issue. If JAI disregards the rul-ing, Bakor Pakem will recommend their banning or exile,” Subroto said.

In Manis Lor, Kuningan, most followers of JAI barricaded their houses, fearful of an attack after the Bakor Pakem decree, as did many of the sect’s members in Tegal, Banyumas, Wonosobo and Sukabumi.

JAI is also under increased pressure from members of the Indonesian Islamic Forum (FUI) and the Islam Protection Front (FPI).

On April 18 the FPI along with two oth-er hard-line groups, KAMMI and Brigade

Thaliban, held a demonstration in Tasik-malaya demanding JAI’s disbandment. Some 10 days later, in Ciamis, other radical groups rallied and distributed pamphlets signed by the head of FUI Ciamis calling for JAI’s disbandment. In Sukabumi, a mob of 500 rioted, with some setting fire to a JAI mosque.

Sukabumi Police chief Guntur Gaffar said that personnel had information about two suspects who set fire to the mosque. However, they had not been detained be-cause of a guarantee for their safety provid-ed by high-ranking regency officials (Kom-pas 30/04/08). Police later announced an-other five men were being held suspects, but they were released when the local chap-ter head of MUI and Sukabumi’s regent intervened.

Speaking at JAI headquarters in Central Jakarta, group spokesman Syamsir Ali told reporters that the attacks were generally preceded by a mass prayer at which congre-gants were incited to violence.

“Every time a mass prayer is held, de-struction always follows,” he said. Anoth-er spokesman, Ahmad Mubarik, said JAI planned to report the case to the United Nations.

“We are ashamed of the government’s stance. The law is very clear.” he said on Wednesday (16/04/08).

JAI lawyer Asfinawati said JAI would file a lawsuit challenging Bakor Pakem’s deci-sion. “The lawsuit will be filed immediate-ly after we receive the decision.” he said.

The director of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBHI) said that Bakor Pakem’s decree violated the Constitution, as well as human rights covenants.

Coordinator of the Interfaith and Free-dom Alliance, Anick H Tohari, said the

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The Wahid Institute

2.MadishotdeadbypoliceinCentralSulawesi

Police in Palu, Central Sulawesi shot dead “return-to-culture” tribal leader Madi during a raid on his hideout in

Selena Dua, West Palu, last month, after a three-year manhunt.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Badrodin Haiti refused to provide details of the in-cident but claimed Madi was shot in de-fense.

“We shot them because they threatened us with sharp weapons,” he said. Police prevented journalists from reporting on the case, saying they were still collecting evidence.

Police declared a manhunt for Madi in October 2005 after he and his followers killed three police personnel, including the chief of intelligence of the West Palu Po-lice. After the incident, police apprehend-ed 13 of Madi’s followers and sentenced them from two to six years imprisonment.

Madi escaped along with a number of his loyal followers.

Attacks against residents of Selena vil-lage, began after Madi was accused of leading a heretical sect by the Central Su-lawesi chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulema. Following the MUI edict, Reli-gious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyumi ac-cused Madi of spreading misguided teach-ings and the National Police chief Sutanto accused Madi of forbidding fasting and prayers in mosques (Kompas, 27/10/05).

Field reports collected by Arianto San-gaji, written when he was acting director of the Freedom for Palu NGO, indicate that Madi and his followers had been stigma-tized as members of a minority tribal group (Kompas, 29/10/05).. Their religious be-liefs were an aspect of their tribal culture, which the government suppressed in the name of official religion. ■

state must protect the faith of all its people in accordance with the Constitution.

“Bakor Pakem has clearly violated the Constitution and Law Number No. 39/1999 on human rights, which say that that all citizens have equal position be-fore the law,” Anick said in Jakarta, on (16/04/08).

Hendardi, the head of the Equality In-stitute, agreed. ”The decision shows that Bakor Pakem does not understand the function of a secular state,” he said. Bakor Pakem did not have the authority to out-law JAI; the decision should be made by the courts, on a strong legal basis, he said.

“The national legislature should sum-

mon Bakor Pakem to give an explanation about the decision. This is a constitutional matter,” he said.

However, Constitutional Court chair-man Jimly Ashiddiqie suggested while in chambers that the government should not get involved and that the case should be settled through interfaith dialogue unless there was violence.

“The state should protect citizens against attacks from others. In regard to their be-liefs, the state should not get involved,” he said,

A number of NU clerics in Cirebon associated with the Forum of Khittah 26 have rejected the Bakor Pakem decision. ■

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■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition IX, April 2008

The Wahid Institute

4.Reprimandagainst“KiJokoBodo”and“Mamamia”

Last Month, the Indonesian Broad-casting Commission (KPI) issued a warning letter against a broadcaster

for running a commercial advertising the services of supernatural expert Ki Joko Bodo (10 April 2008).

The KPI ruled the advertisement vio-

lated religious norms because in the com-mercial Ki Joko claimed he could change people’s destinies.

A statement on KPI’s official website read: “Article 36.6 of the Broadcasting Law 2002 forbids any programs that under-mine, ridicule, insult or disregard religious

After a long trial, the South Jakarta District Court imposed a four-year jail sentence against Abdussalam

(alias Ahmad Musaddeq) for insulting Is-lam (23/4/2008).

In his decision, presiding judge Zahrul Rabain said that Ahmad Musaddeq had been found guilty of insulting religion, in violation of Article 156a of the Criminal Code.

Some one thousand Musaddeq support-ers recited the Sholawat Badar to express their opposition against the sentence af-ter it was handed down, while hundreds of FPI yelled “God is Great”. About 190 police officers were deployed at the scene in anticipation of violence (Okezone.com, 23/4/08).

FPI’s head of defense, Tubagus Muham-mad Siddiq, said he was not satisfied with the decision, but accepted it.

“He should have been sentenced to death for insulting religion but we accept-ed the court decision because we know In-donesia is a country of law,” he said (Detik.com 23/04/08).

As the court decision was read, an FPI

man shouted and several others pushed Musaddeq’s supporters in apparent move to incite violence. However, Mushaddeq’s supporters were not easily provoked. The judge threatened to suspend the trial if the audience did not restrain itself. The scrim-mage was halted after dozens of police of-ficers entered the room.

The presiding judge regarded the four-year jail sentence as fair because Musaddeq had encouraged his followers not to per-form prayers, fasting and zakat, the judge ruled.

“His confession of guilt can not be used as an argument to reduce his sentence,” the chief justice said.

Mosaddeq’s lawyers disagreed. “Is he (the judge) God? The fact is that

Mosaddeq has confessed before the police and the MUI, whether the confession was accepted by God is not in the authority of the court to judge,” he said (Detik.com 23/04/08). He said he would file an ap-peal to the Jakarta High Court and report the case to the Judicial Commission, the Supreme Court and the House of Repre-sentatives. ■

3.FourYearJailTermsAgainstMosaddeq

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The Wahid Institute

5.Islamicparamilitarygroupclasheswithlocals

Clashes broke out between Islamic paramilitary group the Islamic Bri-gade and residents of Joyosuran,

Semanggi and Pasar Kliwon, in Solo on March 17, resulting in the death of a local resident and the serious injury of another.

The clash occurred at the junction of Jl. Kapten Mulyadi and Jl. Kahar Muzakir, Joyosuran. Witnesses said that the fight broke out when around 100 members of the brigade arrived at the junction and con-fronted dozens of youth who were drinking alcohol and partying in the area (Wawasan, 18/3/08).

The clash ended when Solo police ar-rived. Police closed Jl. Kapten Mulyadi to prevent further clashes. Police found 90 steel bars and logs, 2 sabers, dozens of hard wood (ruyung), hundreds of catapults and 40 motorcycles. The evidence was found at the scene, at the mosque and nearby houses.

It is the second time such an incident has occurred in the Pasar Kliwon sub-dis-trict, according to local reports (Wawasan, 18/3/08).

Solo Police chief of detectives Syarif Rah-man said a number of paramilitary mem-bers had admitted to attacking the victims. Police had detained seven suspects, he

said.“We will continue our investigations,”

he said (Radar Solo, 19/3/08).Tensions in the city remain high, how-

ever, at the time of writing this report (23/3/08), no further attacks had been carried out.

Forty lawyers from Solo and Jakarta, members of Muslim Defenders’ Lawyers (TPM) have said they are ready to defend the seven suspects. The team would be led by Anis Priya Anshari SH and Ali Facru-din SH.

The residents are to be advised by a team of lawyers from the Legal Awareness and Anti-Violence Forum, organized by Windu Winarso, Wahyu Theo, and Budi Susilo. The team will collect evidence to be sub-mitted to the police.

norms, human dignity and international relations.”

Ki Joko Bodo said he accepted the decision.”I do not lose anything if the ad-vertisements are banned,” he said. (detik-com, 11/4/2008).

Two other commercials of a similar

nature, one starring Dedy Corbozier and the other Mama Lauren, were ordered to change their broadcasting times until after 10 pm because they ran during evening prayers (Maghrib). The KPI issued the warn-ing after a prompting from MUI. ■

6.Prayerabstainersgreetedbycoffin

‘’We hope this incident will be the last of its kind in Solo,” a spokesperson for the group said. (Radar Solo, 19/3/08)

Indonesian Mujahadin Council (MMI) head Abu Bakar Ba’asyir visited the de-tained paramilitary members on March 19. Prior to his arrival at the headquarters, acting police chief Ahmad Syukrani left his office and Baasyir was received by the head of pubic order and other senior officers.

MUI arranged a meeting between the conflicting parties in an attempt to reduce tension. (Radar Solo, 3/4/08). Then the MUI head, Abu Bakar Ba’asyir and po-litical figures in Solo, including Moedrick Sangidoe, filed a request for the release of the seven suspects and some Ulemas have guaranteed their release (Radar Solo, 8/4/08).

Chief of the Solo Police Intelligence Unit, Syarif Rahman SIK, said the sus-pects had the right to request suspension

of detention but police had the authority to grant or reject that request.

He said another suspect, a resident of Pasar Kiliwon named Suprawoto Muham-mad, had been detained on suspicion of directing the paramilitary unit. (14/4/08). Police said they would charge him under Article 338, Article 351, Article 170 and Article 55 of the Criminal Code.

Suprawoto’s lawyer, Joko Trisnowidodo, denied his client had led paramilitary, and said Suprawoto never gave an order to at-tack.

“There have been 35 questions directed against him but I think at this stage it is too early for police to declare him a suspect,” he said (Solo Pos, 17/4/08).

Two days later, the other suspects were questioned by the police (Wednesday 16/4). Statements from the seven suspects were to be confirmed with Suprawoto’s statement (14/3/08). ■

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■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition IX, April 2008

The Wahid Institute

People who fail to perform Friday prayers in Cenggu village of Bima re-gency, West Nusa Tenggara, will be

now given a coffin as part of a pilot scheme called “Solemn Friday” aimed at discour-aging Muslim residents from skipping the religious duty.

Belo sub-district head Sudirman said he had evaluated the implementation of the regency government’s decree on prayer in eight villages. “Among the eight villages, Cengu is the most successful (in encourag-ing people to pray),” he said.

The regulation had been issued after consultations involving village officials,

ulema and community leaders.“Residents agreed to impose social sanc-

tions on those who did not go to the Fri-day prayer,” he said.

Sudirman said that officials took re-cord of those who do not attend the Fri-day prayers. “We will not give them finan-cial support if they are to hold an event and those who do not perform the Friday prayer four times in a row will be presented with a coffin.”

He said the social sanction had been very effective in discouraging people from skipping the prayers. So far, no one had transgressed the regulation. ■

BAKOR Pakem’s decision to recommend the government issue a joint ministerial decree to ban Ahmadiyah is not surprising. Since the attacks on Ahmadiyah began in 2005, the government has never seriously pro-tected the victims of this violence. The standard procedure that is applied when Ahmadiyah followers are under attack is to evacuate the members of the group without apprehending or punishing their attackers. No one pays attention to the Ahmadiyah followers, who are often made into refugees because their houses and places of worship are attacked and destroyed. It is clear that the government would prefer to sacrifice this minority group rather than take on the hard-line Muslim groups who are the real perpetra-tors -- and criminals -- in this affair.

The choice is regarded as having lower political risk even though it may cause Indonesia to be criticized by the international community. Despite this the freedom of religion has been guarnteed by our Constitution. It is mentioned in the articles 28e, 29 (2) of the Constitution and enshrined in Article 22 of Law No. 39/1999 and article 18 of Law No. 12/2005 on hu-man rights.

The Madi case and the LSUI case in Solo are indicators of the increas-ing social tensions in Indonesia that are occurring at the local level. De-bates over forms of religious syncretism, whether there should be an “of-ficial Muslim religion” and the relationship between different interpreta-tions of the same faiths, are issues that remain unresolved.

These differences are cur-rently seen as sources of potential conflict rather than being a representation of plurality and diversity. Promoters of homogeneity in religion argue that sources of difference will lead to the kind of ethno-sectarian violence that was rife after the 1998 social and po-litical reforms. In fact, much of this historical violence was not caused by differences over religion but was motivated by other factors, like conflicts between local political actors and the control of economic resources.

Legal cases of blasphemy against religion, especially Islam, are also on the rise. They are based on Article 156a of the Criminal Code on “insult-ing a religion”, a clause that should be revoked because it contravenes the Constitution. The fact that this outdated law continues to be applied is more evidence that the central government is more afraid of the hard-line groups than the religious minorities that deserve its protection. ■

The Wahid Institute �

Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition IX, April 2008 ■

The Wahid Institute

Analysis

The authors of this report have continuously reminded the central government to uphold the Constitution, which guarantees all Indonesian citizens the freedom to practice their religion without harassment from the state or other actors. Following the Constitution means the government must impose sanctions against those transgressing this principle. Protecting its citizens is the obligation of government and neglecting these citizens is an abrogation of its duty. There are a number of factors that should be considered if the government disbands the Ahmmadiyah.

a. Any such decision would mean the government was bowing to the demands of hard-line Islamic groups, and ignoring the more powerful Constitution. If this happens the President could theoretically be impeached;

b. If Ahmadiyah is disbanded, its followers may legitimately seek asylum in other countries, as has occurred in West Nusa Tengara. This would impact negatively on Indonesia’s international standing.

c. The banning of a religion poses a serious threat to the Unitary State of Indonesia, which is the foundation of Indonesia’s very existence. It would also empower those who seek to subvert or corrode democracy and replace it with a narrow, theocratic agenda. Strangely, the government has taken no actions against the hard-line groups who have illegally acted against the Ahmadiyah and other minorities. It even finances them through MUI. It is clear the government does not consider these groups a threat. It should. ■

Recommendation

Nur Kholik Ridwan (Central Java and Special Region Jogjakarta), Alamsyah M Dja’far, Subhi Azhari, Nurul Huda Maarif, Rumadi (Jakarta)