Home Worldwide Indonesia August, 2010 Ahmadiyah to pray, stay …

HEADLINES Tue, 08/31/2010 2:30 PM

Ahmadiyah to pray, stay calm over banning issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian followers of the Jemaah Ahmadiyah faith will pray and be patient in response to their possible disbanding by the government, discussions on which will be conducted after the Idul Fitri celebrations.

“We are a legal institution. Therefore, there are rules to dissolving our institution. If the government is committed to banning [Ahmadiyah], we hope it will be done by legal means,” Ahmadiyah spokesman Zafrullah Ahmad told kompas.com Tuesday.

He said the Ahmadis have always forborne any violence against their group, which has existed in Indonesia since 1925.

“Our imam [leader] tells us to stay calm and pray when we are attacked. However, we are concerned about those who intend to harm us. The government must do something to protect its people, because the nation will carry the burden [if it allows such violence against minority groups],” he added.

On Monday evening, the Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali called for the banning of the Jamaah Ahmadiyah faith – who claims to be Muslim – as followers violated regulations and were not Muslim.

The group has about 200,000 followers across the country.

Source:   www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/31/ahmadiyah-pray-stay- calm-over-banning-issue.html