"The suspect's parents claim that he suffers from a mental health disorder, but the police investigators cannot accept this one-sided confession," Lampung Police Chief Inspector General Purwadi Arianto was quoted by ANTARA in Bandar Lampung as saying on Monday.
The knife attack took place at around 5:20 p.m. local time on Sunday when Sheikh Ali Jaber was on the stage at an Islamic mass gathering, organized to support the one million Quran memorizers (hafiz) program at the Falahudin Mosque.
However, the popular ulema suffered a minor injury to his right arm during the sudden assault that Alfin Andrian, 24, launched when the popular Muslim preacher was engaged in conversation with two of the event’s participants on the stage.
According to a video of the incident circulated on YouTube channel, Andrian, who reportedly resides not far from the mosque, was caught by several participants of the event shortly after attacking Ali Jaber.
The local police investigators had invited psychiatrists from the Kurungannyawa Psychiatric Hospital and the Lampung Police Headquarters' Medical and Health Service Division to examine Andrian's mental health condition, Arianto noted.
Apart from examining his mental health condition, the police investigators also conducted urinalysis for testing the presence of drugs, but the results confirmed that the suspect had not consumed any illicit drug, he stated.
The police investigators continued to examine his motives behind attacking Sheikh Ali Jaber, as it was tricky to grasp his answers to questions posed during the questioning session, he remarked.
In response to this incident, Indonesia's top security minister, Mahfud MD, had instructed security agencies to ensure the safety of all ulemas throughout the nation and termed the attacker of Sheikh Ali Jaber as an enemy of peace and destroyer of unity.
To this end, the attacker must face a fair and transparent trial at court, and the police must uncover networks behind him, he noted in a statement.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD stated that the government had guaranteed freedom to the ulemas to continue to deliver sermons and preach to Muslim community members across Indonesia.
Sheikh Ali Jaber is an ulema, who has extended significant assistance to the government in voicing the messages of "amar ma'ruf nahi munkar" (prescribing what is right and prohibiting what is wrong) within the context of "Islam rahmatan lil 'alamin".
"Islam is a blessing for all creations and a source of peace in the world. 'Islam wasathiyyah'," Mahfud MD remarked while emphasizing the need to expose the attacker's identity and motives for launching the sudden attack.
Sheikh Ali Jaber is an ulema, who actively assists the government. He had also delivered pre-iftar sermons and partaken in fast-breaking gatherings with President Joko Widodo, President Susilo Bambang Yudyonono, and top leaders of the government's bodies, he stated.
Born in Medina, Saudi Arabia, on Feb 3, 1976, Sheikh Ali Jaber, whose complete name is Ali Saleh Mohammed Ali Jaber, is widely known as a Muslim preacher and ulema.
Ali Jaber holds an Indonesian citizenship. He is immensely popular among Indonesian Muslims as a juror of Quran memorization contests on the country's TV stations. Related news: Indonesia's charismatic ulema sheikh Ali Jaber survives knife attack
Related news: Sheikh Ali Jaber's attacker is enemy of peace: Mahfud MD
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Dian H, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
