Source: Editorial The Jakarta Post | Editorial

Hundreds of Indonesians are on the brink of being driven permanently from their homes by fellow citizens, sharing the fate of thousands before them in other sectarian conflicts. The difference is that the latest bunch of displaced villagers are from a minority Muslim denomination, which apparently faces greater challenges than those of a different religion altogether.

An Ahmadi woman prays during Idul Fitri celebrations at a shelter in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. The Ahmadiyahs have lived in spartan conditions, without electricity or running water, for seven years after local residents in West Lombok forcibly kicked them out of their homes.

Villagers from Sampang regency in Madura, East Java, have taken refuge in an indoor tennis stadium for more than a week now. The followers of the Shia minority sect were attacked by a crowd on the morning of Sunday Aug. 26, just as they were celebrating the customary Lebaran Tupat, a week after the Idul Fitri celebrations at the end of the Ramadhan fasting month.

The attackers were fellow Muslims from the Sunni majority; two men were killed, one from each side, and another remains in a critical condition. The government has offered to “relocate” the villagers, even though there is no guarantee that the new, unidentified, location will be any safer for the displaced community. This uncertainty leads to the question: Will Indonesia’s Shiites share the fate of the Ahmadi minority?

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