Mayor Looks to a Creative Future
In a recent interview Mayor was asked:
Bandung is known for cases of intolerance where churches and Ahmadiyah mosques have been closed. What is your view on this?
The Mayor replied:
The mayor has to be more proactive in defending the minorities, but based on the law. If there is a legal dispute, then solve it legally. If it is just a matter of conflicting perceptions, the mayor has to intervene.
The bottom line is Bandung is a multicultural city. Whatever their faith, they are all my constituents. When my constituents face injustice, I have to defend them, but according to the existing legal channels.
I will review each case. There are those without a permit. But for those that do have permits but the surrounding community rejects them, we have to intervene. We have to ask why the neighbors reject them.
The bottom line is all Bandung residents are my constituents, whose rights I must defend.
Bandung, Indonesia
On the eve of he Idul Adha, the Nasir Ahmadiyah Mosque in Bandung was attacked by FPI in 2012