Once the preserve of hard-line preachers, hatred toward Muslim sect now appears to be spreading among pockets of ordinary Indonesians

CIKEUSIK, Indonesia — When Dani bin Misra was released from prison last week after serving just three months for smashing in the skull of a member of a Muslim sect, this conservative Indonesian town let out a triumphant cry.

“He’s a hero!” Rasna bin Wildan said of the teenage killer.

Dani bin Misra was a member of the frenzied mob who killed three Ahmadis in February.

Aug. 2, 2011 photo, children of the members of Ahmadiyah sect who fled their homes following the killing play in a refuge home in the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia.

The ferociousness of the attack, captured on video and circulated widely on the Internet, guaranteed no one from the Ahmadiyah group would dare set foot in Cikeusik again, the 38-year-old farmer said as others nodded in agreement.

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