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Southeast Asia

Fears grow over app to police minorities

2018-12-13

[JakartaPost] The launch of a mobile application that allows members of the public to report beliefs they consider to be misguided or heretical has sparked fears that it could lead to increased persecution of minority groups in the country. The app, called Smart Pakem (monitoring religious beliefs), was launched by the Jakarta Prosecutors Office (Kejati) and includes features such as a list of forbidden beliefs and banned mass organizations, a directory of fatwas issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and a form to report complaints or information about religious beliefs or sects. "If there are reports from the public, we can immediately act on them. Before, people needed to write a letter, which was troublesome. Through this application, we will immediately know where the reports come from," Kejati Jakarta assistant for intelligence matters Yulianto said at the app’s launch on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com. National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Choirul Anam said the app could potentially lead to the violation of religious freedom. "[The app] can result in persecution, violence and criminalization," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. "It is contradictory to the government’s desire to create a culture of mutual respect and tolerance, which is why I have asked the government and the attorney general to take it down." Setara Institute researcher Halili Hasan echoed Choirul’s sentiments, saying the app further marginalized followers of minority religious beliefs, especially those who adhered to new or indigenous faiths. "It is not up to the public to decide whether a belief is misguided or not," he told the Post. "The app just serves to widen divisions in communities and legitimizes people who believe it’s okay to persecute groups that are outside of the mainstream." Indonesia has been widely criticized for its failure to protect its minorities, particularly followers of the smaller Islamic denominations considered heretical, such as Ahmadiyah and hundreds of indigenous faiths. "The launch of the application will make the public more distrustful of one another, increase the potential for horizontal conflict and damage the dialogue about differing religious beliefs that has already started in the community," Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) spokesperson Yendra Budiana said. Attorney General’s Office (AGO) spokesperson Mukri acknowledged that some might find fault with the app but said it was intended to help educate and inform the public about heretical and banned groups. "You have to understand the philosophy behind the creation of this app. It is meant to educate the public and it is within the AGO’s authority. "We want to create an inventory to make it easier for the public to check whether a group is banned or not," Mukri said. "Also, if someone reports a group through the app, it doesn’t mean that it will be destroyed immediately. It just helps the AGO to investigate further." As of Monday morning, the app is still available on the Google Play Store. A 2004 law gives the AGO the authority to "conduct oversight over religious beliefs that can endanger the community and the country". A 2015 regulation further specifies that the AGO can form central, provincial and municipal Pakem teams that are authorized to analyze reports about indigenous faiths and other religious beliefs as well as judge the impact that those faiths have on public order and peace. In recent months, Pakem teams have been formed in Enrekang, South Sulawesi, Brebes, East Java, and Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, among other places. Choirul said the AGO’s role in overseeing religious beliefs should be abolished. "If the AGO wants to create a peaceful climate, it should not criminalize differences in beliefs and respect the right to be different," he added. Halili agreed, saying judging a religious belief or sect was outside the government’s domain. "What is so wrong about people seeking spirituality in their own way? Pakem teams result in majoritarianism, where the many decide on what is good for the few," he said. Mukri said he respected the right of people to criticize the teams, adding that they remained within the AGO’s authority. "We are only applying the authority that is given to us by the law."

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Southeast Asia

Churches Attacked with Petrol Bombs in Indonesia

2013-02-15

[An Nahar] Attackers threw petrol bombs at three churches in central Indonesia Thursday, in the latest assault on religious minorities in the world's biggest Moslem-populated nation. Police in the south of Sulawesi island reported three consecutive attacks between one and four in the morning, national police front man Agus Riyanto told news hounds. "As we understand, the attackers threw water bottles filled with flammable materials at the churches," he said, adding that the door of the first church caught fire. Witnesses managed to put out the flames and the churches were only slightly damaged. No one was hurt, Riyanto said. Attackers hurled petrol bombs at two other churches over the weekend in Sulawesi. Parts of the island had a decades-long history of sectarian violence between Moslems and Christians, with thousands killed or displaced, before a 2001 peace agreement. Two weeks ago a minister in the west of the country's main island of Java was placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! for three months for holding services at his Pentecostal church. Authorities claimed the church did not have a permit to conduct religious activities there. In Bekasi city near Jakarta, authorities Thursday sealed a mosque where followers of the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect worship and announced a mayoral decree banning all Ahmadiyah activities in the city. "We want to remind the (Ahmadiyah) community they cannot worship here," said Asep Syarif Hidayat, head of the Bekasi National Unity, Politics and Social Protection Agency. Followers of Ahmadiyah do not believe Mohammed was the last prophet and are regarded as heretics by conservative Moslems. Several regulations have banned them from proselytizing in Indonesia, but the Bekasi decree is the first to place a blanket ban on all the sect's activities.

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Southeast Asia

Expert: Indonesian terror threat more local

2011-11-30

The threat to Indonesia from terrorism remains high, with police and government bodies deemed to have transgressed against Islamic teaching now the main targets, an expert warned on Tuesday. Sidney Jones, a senior adviser with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said it would be "difficult to reduce the level of radicalism and terrorism in Indonesia." She said, "The numbers [of victims of terrorism] have indeed fallen, but the number of [terrorist] groups continues to rise," she said at a public discussion on the links between terrorism, politics and Islam in Aceh. Jones said the evidence that terror cells were flourishing did not point to failure by the police or government, but rather demonstrated the strength of the radical ideology behind those groups. She said, "Fortunately their capacity is still low. For instance, in recent acts of terrorism, the only fatalities have been the suicide bombers. Nevertheless, over time they will become more effective." She also said that their targets were also changing. In the past Western citizens and interests were the usual target for terrorists, this had now switched to police stations and government offices in areas where the authorities were not considered to be supportive of Islamic doctrine. Jones said, "Their number one enemy is the police and ‘thaghut’ [infidel] government officials. Any public official who doesn’t back Shariah law is seen as an infidel, while their motivation for attacking the police is out of revenge for their colleagues who have been killed or arrested by police." Jones continued, "There’s now a sort of changing of tactics, where terrorists realize that the bigger their organization, the easier it is for the authorities to detect. So they’re going with small cells. And there’s no need for any coordination between these cells because they’re all working for the same aims and vision." She added, "People who used to take part in rallies against the Ahmadiyah minority sect have now gone on to become members of these cells."

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Southeast Asia

Light sentence for Muslim rioters sends 'chilling message'

2011-07-31

An Indonesian court has sent a "chilling message" by giving Muslim extremists light sentences for a vicious mob attack in which three sect members died, rights activists say. Twelve people stood trial but none faced murder charges in what human rights campaigners say is a travesty of justice in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country. It depends on how one defines justice, you see. When it means "Infidels are to you as a field of grain for reaping, as a sheep for shearing," and "For the apostate, death," then this whole affair looks a bit different. The sentences range between three and six months' jail - less than prosecutors had sought and well below the maximum penalty of 12 years. Dani bin Misra, a 17-year-old who repeatedly smashed a victim's skull with a stone, was sentenced on Thursday to three months in jail for manslaughter. Idris bin Mahdani, who led the 1500-strong mob in the February attack, was convicted of illegal possession of a machete But not illegal use of a machete, an important point. and received five months and 15 days in jail. Most of the convicted men are likely to walk free within weeks, observers said. "The Cikeusik trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities like the Ahmadiyah will be treated lightly by the legal system," Human Rights Watch deputy chief for Asia Phil Robertson said. "This is a sad day for justice in Indonesia." The violence against the Ahmadiyah sect members in Cikeusik, western Java, was one of the most horrific in a long line of attacks on the minority group in Indonesia in recent years The violence against the Ahmadiyah sect members in Cikeusik, western Java, was one of the most horrific in a long line of attacks on the minority group in Indonesia in recent years. Ahmadiyah, unlike mainstream Muslims, do not believe Mohammed was the last prophet and are regarded as heretics and blasphemers by conservatives in countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan. A secretly filmed video of the Cikeusik rampage sparked international concern when it appeared online within days of the attack. The reaction in Indonesia, however, was muted. The footage shows police fleeing the scene as the enraged mob - armed with machetes and knives and shouting abuse at the "infidels" - launched an unprovoked attack on a house owned by an Ahmadiyah follower. A handful of Ahmadiyah men tried to defend the property with stones and slingshots but they were quickly overwhelmed. Then the killing began. The mob clubbed and stoned their defenceless victims to death in front of police, then stood around and joked over their shattered bodies. Several Ahmadiyah tried to flee but were hunted down and badly beaten. Robertson said the appalling "savagery" demanded a strong response from a country which has ratified international covenants on freedom of religion and claims to have a pluralistic religious tradition. And so they do. But that was then, when the Dutch ruled here, and their cooks competed in turning out amazing rijstafels. After came the dictators, who had been educated in Dutch schools. Now they rule themselves, and anyway traditions are something for the old folks to mutter about into their tea. "But instead of charging the defendants with murder and other serious crimes, prosecutors came up with an almost laughable list of 'slap-on-the wrist' charges," he said. Prosecutors managed to convince the court that the video justified a reduced sentence for the killers. See how times have changed. In the old days they didn't have YouTube to mess things up for innocent rioters. Meanwhile Ahmadiyah member Deden Sujana is facing up to four years in jail on charges of incitement, disobeying police orders and maltreatment because he ignored police orders to evacuate the house. Ahmadiyah spokesman Zafrullah Ahmad Pontoh was cautious in his response to the sentences. "Let the legal power handle the case. It's only a worldly punishment," he said. "We'll forgive those who ask us for forgiveness, but so far we haven't heard them asking us for forgiveness." The graphic footage, which is available on the video-sharing website YouTube, was filmed by an Ahmadiyah follower who mingled with the attackers and watched his friends being murdered. The man is now in hiding under police protection, fearing for his life.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia trial opens over attack on Ahmadis

2011-04-27

[Al Jazeera] Indonesia has long been proud of its diverse ethnicity, cultures and spiritual beliefs. However, The contradictory However... recent attacks on minority groups such as the Ahmadiyah sect and on Christian churches have critics claiming that religious tolerance is on the decline. Twelve people in Indonesia are set to face trial on Tuesday, accused of killing three Ahmadiyah followers in West Java, in February. The savage nature of the murders, captured on tape, shocked the nation. Human rights groups hope the trial will help to reduce attacks on religious minorities [AFP] Rights groups hope the trial will help reduce to attacks on religious minorities. Phil Robertson, from Human Rights Watch, told Al Jizz there was a concern for the security of the witnesses. "We want to make sure that the government of Indonesia takes the necessary precautions to ensure that the witnesses are not intimidated," he said. The Ahmadiyah sect, which claims 500,000 followers in Indonesia, believes that its founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the final prophet and not Muhammed, contradicting a central tenet of mainstream Islam. In 2008, the Indonesian government issued a joint ministerial decree that bans the Ahmadiyah from practising their faith in public or spreading the belief. Al Jizz's Step Vaessen reports from the scene of the killings, where the locals say a lack of leadership on the issue offers tacit approval to Islamic hardliners that is fuelling a growing intolerance.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia attack shows individual jihad trend: ICG

2011-04-20

[Straits Times] A SUICIDE attack at a mosque in an Indonesian cop shoppe last week fits a pattern of 'individual jihad' aimed at local targets by small groups of myrmidons, a think-tank said on Tuesday. The International Crisis Group (ICG) said a trend was emerging that favoured assassinations over indiscriminate bombings, local over foreign targets and individual or small group action over more hierarchical organisations. In a new report entitled 'Indonesian Jihadism: Small Groups, Big Plans', the Brussels-based ICG said the two approaches were complementary. Larger jihadi organisations have the networks and funds to support religious outreach by Death Eaters espousing myrmidon principles through the media and religious study sessions, the report said. Groups like regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and hardline Islamic group Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) are placing greater focus on local 'enemies' seen as 'oppressors', including the police, Christians and the minority Islamic sect Ahmadiyah. ICG senior advisor Sidney Jones said the emergence of small groups undertaking jihad on their own highlighted the urgent need for prevention programmes 'which are virtually non-existent in Indonesia'.

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Olde Tyme Religion

Many in Indonesia want to ban the Ahmadiyah

2011-04-19

The Ahmadiyah are afraid and it is obvious why. Hardline Islamic groups want the sect to be banned - they say it deviates from the tenets of Islam, and therefore has no place in Indonesian society. Over the past few months these hardliners have become increasingly vocal in their demands - holding rallies in central Jakarta and airing their views in the media. But some have taken it even further. In February, a violent mob bludgeoned three Ahmadis to death. Since then, houses and mosques have been attacked and protesters have vowed to escalate the violence if they do not get their way. And it is not just hardliners who want the Ahmadiyah disbanded. Continue reading the main story In TV talk-shows and internet chat-rooms, it is obvious that an increasing number of Indonesians, while not condoning the violence, would like to see an end to the Ahmadiyah in their country. One man we spoke to, who lived opposite the Ahmadis' mosque in Bogor, said he thought it would be better if they just went away. Even the local authorities are making life difficult for them. "In terms of whether the Ahmadiyah should be banned, we're still studying whether it will be the best” - Nasarudin Umar Director General for Islamic Guidance, Religious Ministry

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia urged to axe minister for discrimination

2011-03-16

Somehow it's not surprising that they have a Minister for Discrimination... [Straits Times] HUMAN rights activists urged Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday to sack his religious affairs minister and to lift a ban on a minority Islamic group practising in public. Some provincial administrations in the world's most populous Mohammedan country have issued local decrees prohibiting members of the Ahmadiyah sect from displaying signs identifying their mosques and schools. The provincial regulations came into force after Islamist fanatics brutally murdered three Ahmadiyah adherents in early February. Two days later another mob of enraged Mohammedans rampaged through the streets and set fire to churches. 'Repeated calls by religious affairs minister Suryadharma Ali to ban the Ahmadiyah fan the flames of violence against the group,' Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said in a statement. 'President Yudhoyono should signal that such discrimination has no place in a society that promotes religious tolerance and remove Suryadharma Ali from his post,' he added. A shocking video of one of the attacks shows hundreds of Mohammedan fanatics armed with machetes, sticks and rocks screaming 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greater) as they set upon their victims in a wild frenzy.

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Southeast Asia

Fears for man who filmed Indonesia mob attack

2011-02-12

[Straits Times] AN INDONESIAN man who risked his life to film a mob brutally lynching members of his minority Islamic sect is in grave danger and has gone into hiding, rights activists said on Friday. The harrowing video of Sunday's attack shocked the mainly Mohammedan nation and graphically illustrated rising levels of intolerance and violence directed at religious minorities such as the Ahmadiyah sect. It showed police running away as hundreds of Mohammedan thugs screaming 'holy shit! Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) attacked a house belonging to an Ahmadiyah leader. Three sect members were stabbed, clubbed and stoned to death. 'There was a warning from the national police detective that if the man appears in public, his life could be in danger,' National Human Rights Commission deputy chairman Joseph Adi Prasetyo told news hounds. 'Based on information from the police intelligence unit, the situation was very dangerous and could lead to his death.' The commission cancelled a presser with the man, identified only as a civil servant called Arif, due to the unspecified threats. Arif was seen being led away to secure location wearing dark sunglasses.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia arrests 13 over religious violence

2011-02-12

[Straits Times] INDONESIAN police said on Friday they had nabbed 13 men over two incidents of religious mob violence which left three people dead and churches in flames. Five people have been jugged over the brutal lynching of three members of a minority Islamic sect in West Java on Sunday, after graphic footage of the incident was released on the Internet, police said. 'A total of five people involved in the attack against Ahmadiyah followers have been nabbed. More will be nabbed as they have been identified through the YouTube video,' Banten province police front man Gunawan Setiadi told AFP. 'At least five people are still on the lam and our team is still searching for them,' he said. More than 1,000 bully boy Mohammedans assaulted a house belonging to a leader of the Ahmadiyah sect, screaming 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) as they beat and stoned three sect members to death. Police knew of the attack but failed to intervene to protect the Ahmadiyah, who have been subjected to regular abuse and persecution since their sect was slapped with restrictions at the urging of mainstream Mohammedans in 2008.

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Southeast Asia

Yudhoyono denounces religious violence

2011-02-10

[Straits Times] INDONESIA'S president says violent, hard-line groups should be disbanded after mobs set churches on fire and killed three members of a minority Islamic sect. The attacks raised concerns about escalating religious intolerance in the secular nation that has more than 220 million Mohammedans, most of whom are moderate. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - who relies heavily on Islamic parties in parliament and rarely criticises hard-liners - did not identify any group by name on Wednesday. But he said such violence 'was against the law' and groups involved 'should be disbanded.' On Sunday, 1,500 hard-liners attacked Ahmadiyah sect members with sticks and machetes, killing three men. On Tuesday, a mob set two churches ablaze to protest a Christian's blasphemy sentence as too lenient.

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Southeast Asia

US concerned about religious violence in Indonesia

2011-02-10

(KUNA) -- The United States expressed on Wednesday its concerns about religious violence in Indonesia. "The United States is deeply concerned about the mob violence in Indonesia directed at members of the Ahmadiyah community that resulted in the deaths of three people and the wounding of several others this past weekend," said Assistant Secretary of State for public affairs Philip Crowley in a statement. "We also note with concern the recent church burnings in Central Java. We join the vast majority of Indonesians in deploring these acts of violence", he added. Crowley affirmed that President Yudhoyono's statement "that the Government of Indonesia will take firm action against the perpetrators of the violence, underscores Indonesia's commitment to rule of law and to the protection of the rights of all communities."

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