MUI, Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and Religious Followers` Harmony Forum (FKUB) in Banten Province had agreed to again call on the provincial government to ban all activities of Ahmadiyah.
Serang, Banten (ANTARA News) - A number of Islamic organizations and Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) in Banten have asked the government to soon ban the Ahmadiyah sect in the province.

"Before the Cikeusik incident occurred on February 6, MUI had actually urged the provincial government to ban all activities of the Ahmadiyah sect," MUI-Banten chapter`s chairman KH Aminudin Ibrahim said here Friday.

MUI, Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and Religious Followers` Harmony Forum (FKUB) in Banten Province had agreed to again call on the provincial government to ban all activities of Ahmadiyah,he said.

The ban could be imposed through a Banten governor`s or provincial government regulation, Ibrahim said.

"Pandeglang district`s government will have issued the head of Pandeglang district`s letter clarifying the ban of Ahmadiyah in the district on February 21," he told newsmen after meeting with Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah and local religious leaders here.

Deputy Chairman of Banten Province`s Legislative Assembly said his party and representatives of MUI as well as Islamic organizations had agreed on the issuance of provincial government`s regulation for banning the Ahmadiyah.

The ban itself was part of an effort to maintain harmony and peace in the province so that such incident of sectarian violence as the Cikeusik could be prevented from happening again, he said.

In another development, about 800 members of the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) and Islam Defenders Front (FPI) staged a rally in Central Jakarta demanding the dissolution of the Ahmadiyah sect.

The FUI and FPI crowds strongly demanded the dissolution of the religious sect whose followers believe that the creed`s founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, is a prophet after Muhammad (peace be upon him).

During their demonstration, the FUI and FPI members displayed a banner with a message urging the Indonesian government to ban the Ahmadiyah religious sect because it was blaspheming Islam.

A series of attacks on Ahmadiyah religious sect followers and their properties have occurred in some parts of Indonesia over the past two years.

The latest incident happened in Umbulan village Cikeusik subdistrict, Pandeglang district, Banten province, on February 6, killing three people.

In response to the latest incident, Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the cases of sectarian violence could be handled if firm law enforcement was implemented to the doers.

"Don`t let the doers be untouched by law. If it is so, there will be feeling that if we kill or destroy properties in a mass, we think that laws cannot touch," he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011