The Jakarta Globe:

Indonesia’s beleaguered Ahmadiyah sect suffered another blow on Thursday as Bekasi’s mayor announced plans to shutdown a Pondok Gede mosque as part of a city-wide crackdown on what Islamic officials have branded a “deviant” branch of Islam.

“It has been banned.” Mayor Rahmat Effendi said of the sect. “We want to… prevent social clashes that will cause losses on all sides. The government needed to make a decision and stop it.”

The Al-Misbah mosque, on Jalan Pangrango Terusan, has held regular prayers since it opened as Bekasi’s first and only Ahmadiyah mosque in 1998. 

The 70-member Al-Misbah mosque, on Jalan Pangrango Terusan, has held regular prayers since it opened as Bekasi’s first and only Ahmadiyah mosque in 1998. The small community had a good relationship with residents in Pondok Gede for more than a decade and continued to operate without issue after the ban was put in place more than a year ago, Imam Rahmat Rahmadijaya told the Jakarta Globe.

The mosque now faces closure.

The mayor said the decision to shutdown the Ahmadiyah mosque was made to prevent future bloodshed. But Ahmadiyah officials argued that the city only took action after Islamic hard-liners announced plans to open a branch in Pondok Gede.

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