Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that President Joko Widodo had urged the relevant cabinet ministers to monitor the activities of Gafatar.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Muslims in Indonesia have been urged to be wary of the Nusantara Daybreak Movement (Gafatar) as the teachings of the organization are considered misleading.
Gafatar, in its covert functioning, is carrying out social activities, but on the other hand, its ideology is said to deviate from the true teachings of Islam.
Muhammadiyah Amin, secretary of the Directorate General of Islamic Guidance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, remarked that the teachings of Gafatar are misguiding and misleading, and therefore, Muslims must be wary of this movement.
Amin noted that Gafatar is not registered with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and thus, he was not in a position to stop the activities of this organization.
Amin further acknowledged that the negative impact of Gafatars activities had already been felt by the public after members of several families recently went missing.
Amin stated that not only scholars or the learned but also the people from the grassroots level up to the civil servants were being targeted by the followers of this organization.
In the meantime, Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo remarked in Jakarta on Tuesday that Gafatar is a banned organization as it had claimed several victims.
Kumolo stated that several people, including numerous employees of the Ministry of Home Affairs, had gone missing mysteriously and had allegedly joined the Gafatar movement.
According to the minister, the Home Affairs Ministry is currently tracking its employees who mysteriously went missing and are believed to have joined the Gafatar organization.
Kumolo explained that Gafatar was not registered at the Ministry of Home Affairs as an official organization.
However, he added that it is the common task of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies such as the Police, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), and the National and Political Unity (Kesbangpol) throughout Indonesia to find a solution to this problem.
The minister also appealed to the public to report to the police if there are families or relatives who were indicated to have involvement with this mass organization.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan claimed that the government was exploring and studying the existence of the Gafatar organization.
"Now, we are studying the activities of this organization that has existed since 2012. We want to know what Gafatar really is," Panjaitan remarked.
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung noted at the Presidential Palace complex here on Wednesday that President Joko Widodo had urged the relevant cabinet ministers to monitor the activities of Gafatar.
"The president has asked the relevant ministers to continue to monitor all activities related to Gafatar as its presence is very disturbing," Anung affirmed.
According to the cabinet secretary, the existence of Gafatar in recent times is considered disturbing after the disappearance of numerous people who allegedly joined the organization.
The Lebak district government in Banten Province has called on the local residents to be wary of Gafatars heretic ideology following the disappearance of 27 people in Rangkasbitung during the past three months.
"We expect the local people to increase their vigilance against heresy, and immediately report to local authorities if there are any unfamiliar guests in the neighborhood," Lebak district government spokesman Yusup remarked on Tuesday.
He noted that the local government had banned the heretic ideology in the area when some of the local residents joined the movement and subsequently went missing.
"We hope the local residents will increase their vigilance against the presence of radical groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Gafatar," Yusup noted.
According to Yusup, some 27 people involved with Gafatar in Rangkasbitung had mysteriously disappeared, without a word to close neighbors or members of their own families.
Yusup said the authorities were searching for the four missing people amidst fears they have joined ISIS.
Chairman of the Fatwa Commission of the Lebaks Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Baidjuri confirmed that the Gafatar organization is clearly misguiding and not based on the teachings of Islam.
Therefore, he affirmed that the local government had banned the teachings of Gafatar from being propagated in the district of Lebak.
Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive Haedar Nasir has encouraged Muslim preachers in Yogyakarta to adopt a more aggressive approach to counteract the various deviant teachings spread by a particular group or organization.
Commenting on numerous people in Yogyakarta who went missing and were believed to join the Gafatar, Nasir remarked that the Muslim preachers should be more active in educating the public on the teachings of true religion.
Nasir stated that if explored in depth, it is estimated that currently, there are still several offshoot Islamic organizations, which continue to spread deviant teachings.
In West Java, the MUI has appealed to the local residents to remain vigilant of any terrorist activities by reporting terror suspects to the local authorities.
"People who see anyone suspicious or individuals who do not like to socialize with others must be immediately reported to the local authorities," West Java MUI spokesman Rafani Achyar remarked in Bandung on Tuesday.
He explained that besides the government and security officials, the publics role is also vital in the efforts to preventing and fighting terrorism.(*)
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
