The Istiqamah Mosque belonging to the Indonesian Ahmadiyah congregation in Banjar City, West Java was sealed by the local city government on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
June 11, 2025 |
EnlargeAl Hidayah Mosque, the Ahmadiyah congregation’s mosque, Sawangan Depok, West Java, Thursday, October 22, 2021. The Depok City Government sealed the Al Hidayah Mosque, the Ahmadiyah congregation’s mosque in Sawangan, Depok. Previously, the mosque was sealed by Satpol PP on February 23, 2017. The sealing was carried out after it was decided that the Ahmadiyah congregation’s activities violated the Joint Decree (SKB) of 3 Ministers. TEMPO/Subekti.
TEMPO.CO , Jakarta – The Setara Institute condemned the sealing of the Istiqamah Mosque belonging to the Indonesian Ahmadiyah congregation in Banjar City, West Java by the local city government on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
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Setara Institute researcher Achmad Fanani Rosyidi said his institution urged West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi to immediately address the sealing of mosques as part of a violation of freedom of religion and belief.
“This ban is clearly a form of serious human rights violation and is important for all to pay attention to,” said Achmad in a written statement on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Dozens of officers from the Civil Service Police Unit, the Indonesian National Army, the police, the National Unity and Politics Agency, and the Ministry of Religion came and sealed the mosque on the pretext of maintaining public order.
The sealing refers to Banjar Mayor Regulation No. 10 of 2011 concerning the Freezing of the Activities of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation in Banjar City. The regulation is a discriminatory policy that originates from West Java Governor Regulation No. 12 of 2011 and Joint Decree of 3 Ministers No. 3 of 2008.
In fact, Article 29 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of every citizen to embrace religion and worship according to their beliefs. On Thursday, June 5, 2025, a handling team with 30 people came to the Ahmadiyah congregation and asked them to vacate the mosque. The team came without bringing a letter of assignment.
In 2014, the Istiqomah Mosque was also sealed. Since then, the Ahmadiyah congregation has had to worship in secret in the homes of members amidst pressure from residents and the city government. Not far from Banjar City, a number of Ahmadiyah mosques were also sealed and razed to the ground.
Setara Institute noted that in 2007-2021 there were 588 incidents of violations of religious freedom and belief against JAI out of a total of 2,929 KBB incidents. The latest data shows that in 2024, there were eight KBB incidents against JAI. West Java is the region with the most cases of KBB violations, namely 38 incidents in 2024. West Java’s position did not shift from the top ranking in 2023.
Setara data shows an increase in intolerance cases in 2024 compared to 2023. In 2024 there were 260 violations of freedom of religion and belief, while in 2023 there were 217 violations. The cause, according to Achmad, is the political momentum or transition of government from President Joko Widodo to Prabowo.
“The Prabowo-Gibran government is busy with the political transition and has ignored various cases of intolerance in several regions,” he said.
The discriminatory actions and violations of the KBB disrupt socio-political stability and disrupt the acceleration of development and the realization of President Prabowo’s Asta Cita. Setara urges President Prabowo to order all ministries to implement the Constitution and revoke various discriminatory regulations against minority groups.
On Tuesday afternoon, June 10, 2025. The Banjar City Government put up a banner containing a ban on Ahmadiyah activities. Several women were seen carrying banners containing protests against the sealing and crying.
Mubaliq JAI Banjar City Abdul Hafidz Bahansubu said the sealing showed repeated discrimination against the Ahmadiyah congregation. When the Banjar City Government sealed it, a number of Ahmadiyah women carried posters containing protests that they only wanted to pray and that Ahmadiyah upholds religious tolerance. They also shouted and cried.
Previously, the Ahmadiyah congregation experienced persecution and violence from a group of people who destroyed the mosque in 2015. According to him, before sealing the mosque, the Head of the Ahmadiyah Congregation Handling Team for Banjar City, Ahmad Fikri, along with dozens of people from the Banjar City Government, came to the mosque. Within a month, they often came without a letter and asked the Ahmadiyah congregation to vacate the mosque. “Psychologically, it bothers us,” said Abdul.
He said the Ahmadiyya congregation rebuilt the mosque that was destroyed by an attack by a group of people so that they could worship. Since it was destroyed, the Ahmadiyya congregation built a small room at the back of the mosque for prayers and religious activities for Ahmadiyya women and children. The rehabilitation of the mosque used funds from the congregation.
Head of the Handling Team for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation of Banjar City, Ahmad Fikri Firdaus, denied that the Banjar City Government had sealed it. Ahmad said that the Banjar City Government team installed the banner in accordance with the mayoral regulation. “There should be no Ahmadiyah activities since the mayoral regulation was issued. We saw that there was a mosque being built,” he said.
The Head of the Banjar City Ministry of Religious Affairs Office stated that the Ahmadiyah congregation ignored the mayoral regulation because they were rehabilitating the mosque. He argued that the installation of the banner containing the mayoral regulation was aimed at maintaining the conduciveness of the Banjar City community.
A group of people destroyed the Ahmadiyah Mosque in 2015 and left only ruins. Ahmad suggested that the Ahmadiyah congregation use the surrounding mosques for worship and use legal channels through a lawsuit against the Mayor’s Regulation.
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Indonesia