INDONESIA: Government of city of Bekasi close down an Ahmadi mosque, allegedly at the demands of non-tolerant groups

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information regarding the closing down of an Ahmadi mosque in the city of Bekasi, West Java. Since its establishment fourteen years ago, the mosque has been complying with the legal requirements prescribed by law. Authorities of the city of Bekasi referred to the joint ministerial decree which bans religious activities by the Ahmadi community as the reason of why the mosque was closed down yet there is suspicion that it was done at the demands of non-tolerant groups.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Based on an interview held by the AHRC with one of the leaders of the Ahmadi congregation, around 100 members of the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) came to Al Misbah, an Ahmadi mosque located in Jatibening, Bekasi, on 4 April 2013 at around 6.30 pm. With the support from the police, the Public Order Agency installed corrugated sheet fence around the mosque to prevent the Ahmadi congregation to hold religious activities in it. The instalment of the fence left 40 members of the Ahmadi congregation locked inside the mosque. The police were present during the installation of the fence and provided support to the Public Order Agency. They gave the warning that any attempt to break the fence will be treated as a crime as it was installed upon the order of the Mayor of Bekasi city.

Previously on 14 February 2013 the government of city of Bekasi put a sign in front of the mosque prohibiting any activities to be conducted there. The sign cited several regulations prohibiting the Ahmadi including the Joint Ministerial Decree issued in 2008, Regulation of the Governor of West Java No. 12 Year 2011 and Regulation of the Mayor of Bekasi No. 40 Year 2011. Later in early March, government officials of City of Bekasi visited the mosque for the second time. It was told that the aim of the visit was to re-negotiate the closure of the mosque with the Ahmadi congregation. However, as the negotiation between the government officials and the representatives of Ahmadi community was ongoing inside the mosque, members of the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) locked the front gate of the mosque, indicating the government has officially ‘sealed’ the building. In addition to it, the Satpol PP locked the secondary and back ones, leaving some of the members of Ahmadi congregation who were still inside the mosque trapped. The AHRC was informed that the locked congregation members managed to get out through a hole made on the wall.

A leader of the affected Ahmadi congregation told the AHRC that there had never been any issue with the presence of the mosque until this year. All legal requirements prescribed by the law had been met by the Ahmadi congregation in establishing and maintaining the mosque since its establishment in 1999. The government of city of Bekasi claimed that they merely enforcing the law which prohibits the Ahmadi from conducting any religious activities but there is an allegation that the closure of the mosque was held upon the request of non-tolerant groups. The allegation was supported with the fact that members of Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) and Islam Defenders Troops (Laskar Pembela Islam, LPI) were present in all three mentioned occasions related to the plan to shut down the mosque. In addition to that, the AHRC has received an unconfirmed report revealing that local government officials themselves had admitted in closed meetings that there had been pressure from non-tolerant groups to close down the Ahmadi’s mosque.

Please refer to the following video made by an independent journalist for further reference on the case.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The FPI is one of the most notorious non-tolerant groups in Indonesia whose members have been involved in the persecution and discrimination against religious minority groups. Towards the end of March this year, for instance, the AHRC published an urgent appeal regarding the demolition of a church by the authorities of Regency of Bekasi which was allegedly performed upon the request of the non-tolerant group. Last year, members of the Ahmadi in Batam were threatened, ill-treated and ‘arrested’ and the congregation in Singaparna had their mosque attacked by the FPI. All the wrongdoings perpetrated by the group in these cases were conducted with the acquiescence of the police officers.

Despite the common mistreatment of religious minority groups by the FPI, little have been done by Indonesian law enforcement officials to bring the members of the organisation to justice. Cases on attacks by the FPI towards religious minorities are hardly investigated and, if it is so, the punishment imposed on those who are responsible is very light and disproportionate. For example, a member of the group who was responsible for vandalising an Ahmadi mosque in Bandung, West Java, last year was sentenced only to 3,5 months imprisonment for property destruction.

Whereas Indonesia had a law on anti-discrimination, such law is applicable only for cases concerning racial and ethnic discrimination but not the religious one. Under the current available laws, religious discriminatory motive in committing crimes is not treated as an aggravating factor.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the listed authorities below urging them to halt the infringement on the Ahmadi congregation’s right to manifest their religion. Please ask the local government to repeal its order to shut down their place of worship and provide rehabilitation for the affected congregation.

The AHRC is writing separately to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief as well as the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER