Home Worldwide Indonesia March, 2011 AGO supports local ban…

HEADLINES Wed, 03/02/2011 6:40 PM

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has supported the issuance of several bylaws that ban Ahmadiyah activities.

“Of course we support [the regional administrations’ acts] because they are the ones who own their territories, and that’s their stance, so why not support them?” Attorney General Basrief Arief said on Wednesday as quoted by Antara.

Several regional administrations have issued bylaws that ban the Ahmadis from religious activities following a bloody attack on followers of the minority religious group in Pandeglang, Banten, last month.

Basrief said the administrations’ decision to issue the bylaws must have been based on their comprehension of the regions’ social condition and to keep public order.

If Ahmadiyah is considered to be inciting violence and disrupting public order, “it is the regional administration’s authority [to ban Ahmadiyah],” he added.

Ahmadiyah teachings are considered heretical and blasphemous against Islam by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Followers of the faith have been a target of mob attacks in recent years.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved Source:   www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/02/ago-supports-local- bans-ahmadiyah.html