Jakarta, NU Online
The Indonesian government announced tough restrictions against a minority Muslim sect on Monday as thousands of angry hardliners called for jihad, or holy war, against the group.
The government move, which stopped short of a total ban demanded by hardliners, comes amid a raging debate over religious freedom as the mainly Muslim archipelago wrestles with its Islamic identity.<>
A joint ministerial decree ordered the Ahmadiyah sect to "stop spreading interpretations and activities which deviate from the principal teachings of Islam."
Such activities included "the spreading of the belief that there is another prophet with his own teachings after Prophet Mohammed."
Ahmadiyah followers believe the sect's founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the final prophet of Islam and not Mohammed, breaking one of the basic tenets of the religion.
"There has been no dissolution," Attorney General Hendarman Supanji was quoted by AFP as telling reporters.
It was not clear whether the ministerial decree meant that Ahmadis, who number only about 200,000 people out of a total population of some 230 million, could continue to worship privately without "spreading" their faith.
The statement came as thousands of hardliners threatened to launch jihad against Ahmadiyah in angry protests outside police headquarters in central Jakarta.
The protesters cried "Allahu Akbar!" (God is greater) and carried banners calling members of Ahmadiyah "infidels" that should be "exterminated."
"If the president doesn't dissolve Ahmadiyah then there is no other way but jihad," co-organiser Abdurrahman, from one of the main Islamist groups in the country, told the crowd.
The crowd responded with a chant of "Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!"
Around 5,000 protesters wearing white skullcaps and Islamic headscarves earlier blocked the street in front of the presidential palace in a show of force following a police crackdown on an Islamist extremist group last week.
Later they marched and rode motorcycles to the police headquarters to demand the release of eight radicals detained over a violent attack on a rally for religious tolerance earlier this month.
Mixed reaction
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appeared to be seeking a compromise to preserve Indonesia's image as a modern and tolerant Muslim country while appeasing the vocal minority of religious conservatives.
But the long-awaited ruling did not appeal either to moderates who wanted the government to unequivocally uphold the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion, or to hardliners who wanted an outright ban.
"This is a violation of the Indonesian constitution. This is a clear example of how the government is meddling too much with matters which are not under its authority," said Muslim Abdurahman, from the moderate Almaun Foundation Islamic think tank.
"This is a bad example and can only sully the image of Indonesia as the world's largest Muslim democracy. Nobody is going to believe that now."
Fauzan Al Anshori, a spokesman for the Islamist Indonesian Mujahedeen Council, said: "This is not enough. The Ahmadis may not be striking people but they strike at our faith.
"The decree is just a breeze, an entertainment -- it doesn't answer our demands."
A spokesman for Ahmadiyah could not be reached for comment.
In the wake of the decision, hardliners in southern Sumatran city of Palembang gave Ahmadis two days to stop practising their beliefs or be forcefully broken up, news website Detikcom reported.
"We hope that in these two days they think again about returning to the right road, as true Muslims. Otherwise, we will force them to cease their activities," said Ayik Ali Idrus from the South Sumatra Ulama-Umaro
Brotherhood.
Calls to outlaw the sect have been mounting since April when a government board for oversight of religious affairs recommended it be disbanded for its "deviant" beliefs.
Ahmadiyah has been peacefully practising its faith in Indonesia since the 1920s.
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country by population but its constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Parliamentary decrees however mandate only six recognised religions and hardliners argue that as Ahmadiyah is "heretical" it should not be allowed to operate under the umbrella of Islam. (dar)
The Indonesian government announced tough restrictions against a minority Muslim sect on Monday as thousands of angry hardliners called for jihad, or holy war, against the group.
The government move, which stopped short of a total ban demanded by hardliners, comes amid a raging debate over religious freedom as the mainly Muslim archipelago wrestles with its Islamic identity.<>
A joint ministerial decree ordered the Ahmadiyah sect to "stop spreading interpretations and activities which deviate from the principal teachings of Islam."
Such activities included "the spreading of the belief that there is another prophet with his own teachings after Prophet Mohammed."
Ahmadiyah followers believe the sect's founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the final prophet of Islam and not Mohammed, breaking one of the basic tenets of the religion.
"There has been no dissolution," Attorney General Hendarman Supanji was quoted by AFP as telling reporters.
It was not clear whether the ministerial decree meant that Ahmadis, who number only about 200,000 people out of a total population of some 230 million, could continue to worship privately without "spreading" their faith.
The statement came as thousands of hardliners threatened to launch jihad against Ahmadiyah in angry protests outside police headquarters in central Jakarta.
The protesters cried "Allahu Akbar!" (God is greater) and carried banners calling members of Ahmadiyah "infidels" that should be "exterminated."
"If the president doesn't dissolve Ahmadiyah then there is no other way but jihad," co-organiser Abdurrahman, from one of the main Islamist groups in the country, told the crowd.
The crowd responded with a chant of "Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!"
Around 5,000 protesters wearing white skullcaps and Islamic headscarves earlier blocked the street in front of the presidential palace in a show of force following a police crackdown on an Islamist extremist group last week.
Later they marched and rode motorcycles to the police headquarters to demand the release of eight radicals detained over a violent attack on a rally for religious tolerance earlier this month.
Mixed reaction
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appeared to be seeking a compromise to preserve Indonesia's image as a modern and tolerant Muslim country while appeasing the vocal minority of religious conservatives.
But the long-awaited ruling did not appeal either to moderates who wanted the government to unequivocally uphold the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion, or to hardliners who wanted an outright ban.
"This is a violation of the Indonesian constitution. This is a clear example of how the government is meddling too much with matters which are not under its authority," said Muslim Abdurahman, from the moderate Almaun Foundation Islamic think tank.
"This is a bad example and can only sully the image of Indonesia as the world's largest Muslim democracy. Nobody is going to believe that now."
Fauzan Al Anshori, a spokesman for the Islamist Indonesian Mujahedeen Council, said: "This is not enough. The Ahmadis may not be striking people but they strike at our faith.
"The decree is just a breeze, an entertainment -- it doesn't answer our demands."
A spokesman for Ahmadiyah could not be reached for comment.
In the wake of the decision, hardliners in southern Sumatran city of Palembang gave Ahmadis two days to stop practising their beliefs or be forcefully broken up, news website Detikcom reported.
"We hope that in these two days they think again about returning to the right road, as true Muslims. Otherwise, we will force them to cease their activities," said Ayik Ali Idrus from the South Sumatra Ulama-Umaro
Brotherhood.
Calls to outlaw the sect have been mounting since April when a government board for oversight of religious affairs recommended it be disbanded for its "deviant" beliefs.
Ahmadiyah has been peacefully practising its faith in Indonesia since the 1920s.
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country by population but its constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Parliamentary decrees however mandate only six recognised religions and hardliners argue that as Ahmadiyah is "heretical" it should not be allowed to operate under the umbrella of Islam. (dar)
