TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Setara Institute Director Halili Hasan criticized the contents of the West Kalimantan Governor’s circular involving the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), in its handling of violence against The Ahmadiyya Jama’at Indonesia (JAI) Sintang.
In circular number 450/3278/BKBP-D1, it asked MUI and religious extensionists to manage houses of worship, as well as local governments together with MUI and Pakem team to deal with violations of joint decisions.
“The circular is problematic, because it is wrong in positioning MUI in the event of violence against JAI Sintang,” Halili said in his statement on Sunday, September 19, 2021.
Halili explained, based on mui’s articles of association, the institution is not a state institution and its position is on par with other community organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Therefore, MUI cannot handle violations of joint decisions and cannot also represent the diverse voices of Muslims regarding the management of JAI mosques.
Halili also criticized the assignment of the community trust flow supervisory team (Pakem) to oversee JAI aimed at maintaining harmony. According to him, this will only create pseudo-forced harmony and potentially conflict if ignited with certain lighters, such as identity politics in local political dynamics.
“Therefore, this pseudo-harmony will not be able to guarantee national unity as expected by the Governor of West Kalimantan in the circular,” he said.
Sustainable harmony, Halili said, must be born from public awareness. Thus, to realize sustainable harmony, the government needs to involve JAI and elements of society in dialogue, not by coercion or unilateral decisions.
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Indonesia
anyway, discussions are ongoing. Inshallah something positive may come out of it. Prayers needed…