“So on average, the perpetrators of violations of religious freedom are not only the local government but also the community,” explained Fanani.
AUTHOR / Naomi Lyandra
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EDITOR / Resky Novianto
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 11.50 WIB
KBR, Jakarta- The Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) in Banjar City, West Java, is again under pressure. The Istiqamah Mosque belonging to the Ahmadiyah in Neglasari Village, Banjar, was sealed by the Banjar City Government on June 10, 2025.
This sealing adds to the long list of cases of violations of freedom of religion and belief (KBB) experienced by Ahmadiyah in Indonesia, especially in West Java. This incident is not the first.
Abdussalam Rahman, Representative of Ahmadiyah Banjar said that discrimination has been going on since 2011, when the Mayor Regulation (Perwal) Number 10 of 2011 was issued. The Perwal froze all JAI activities in Banjar.
“After the first sealing or welding of the mosque in 2011. We used a house about 3 km from the Istiqomah Mosque. But even then we still often received intimidation. Every Friday prayer, we were also visited by officers,” said Abdussalam in the KBR Public Space broadcast, Thursday (19/6/2025).
Abdussalam added that even though they had returned to using the western part of the mosque for prayers, intimidation continued, such as surveillance by officers and the installation of banners prohibiting worship.
“In fact, the mosque door was welded by a team consisting of elements of the city government, the prosecutor’s office, and the police. Our response, we refused to sign the minutes,” said Abdussalam.
Widespread KBB Violations, West Java Red Zone
KBB researcher from Setara Institute, Ahmad Fanani Roshidi said, the sealing of the Ahmadiyah mosque in Banjar was not an isolated case. Throughout 2024, 260 incidents and 402 acts of violation were recorded in Indonesia. West Java is the province with the highest number of violations.
“According to the equivalent institute, West Java, especially in 2023-2024, has always been a red zone for violations of freedom of religious belief. So it always sits in first place. Because from the community’s perspective, the people tend to be intolerant,” explained Ahmad.
According to him, the root of this problem stems from the discriminatory policies of the central government, especially the Joint Decree of 3 Ministers in 2008. This policy is often misinterpreted at the regional level, such as through the issuance of gubernatorial and mayoral regulations that prohibit JAI activities.
Ahmad added that the religious moderation program was also considered not to have touched on the root of the problem.
“So on average, the perpetrators of violations of religious freedom are not only the local government but also the community, who until now still have narrow views on religion. We must evaluate the religious thinking of the community there together,” he said.
Setara, said Ahmad, also urged the government to revoke discriminatory regulations, including the Banjar City Mayor’s Regulation, and guarantee the protection of religious rights for all citizens.
“I think that in the future it will continue to happen when, for example, this country does not make any breakthroughs regarding the advancement of freedom of religion and belief, it will continue to be like this, of course, it will disrupt Prabowo-Gibran’s Asta Cita development plan in the future,” he explained.
Hopes of Ahmadiyah Community
Despite facing years of pressure, Abdussalam still hopes that the government will provide space for the Ahmadiyah congregation to carry out their worship safely and peacefully.
“We really appeal to the Banjar City government to free us from our worship activities, also to give us the opportunity or to continue repairing this abandoned mosque, of course the City Government can also really provide guarantees to the community,” he explained.
“Even though we are a minority, we have the same rights in the eyes of the law,” he added.
Another JAI member, Dadan, also voiced his hopes in Sundanese.
“In Sundanese, it’s herang cainak tenun laukna. It means let the Mayoral Regulation exist but we can still continue the construction of this mosque and we are free to carry out other activities,” he said.
Local Government Denial
Head of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation Handling Team for 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 according to the mayoral regulation.
“There should be no Ahmadiyah activities since the Perwal was issued. We see that there is a mosque being built,” he said, quoted from Tempo.co, Friday (6/20/2025).
Civil Society Coalition Highlights
Responding to the actions of government officials against the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation in Banjar City and the cancellation of the Ahmadiyah book discussion in Manado City, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, said that the Banjar City government had again implemented authoritarian practices to address the rights of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation in Tanjungsukur to practice religion.
“This is not the first time that state authorities have shown an intolerant and discriminatory attitude towards Ahmadiyah residents. On various occasions, discriminatory actions such as the disbandment of religious activities, intimidation, and expulsion of Ahmadiyah residents have been repeated. This confirms the state’s systemic pattern of discrimination against religious minority groups,” Usman said as quoted from the amnesty.id page.
Usman continued that repeated discrimination against Ahmadiyah residents without being accompanied by fair law enforcement seemed to normalize the state’s failure to protect religious communities.
“And what’s worse now is that talking about Ahmadiyah in public spaces has become taboo, as happened recently at the State Islamic Institute (IAIN) Manado. It is very unfortunate that this ban was carried out by a campus that should be a safe space for critical thinking, discussion, and building public awareness,” he said.
Amnesty, Usman said, urged state authorities to ensure that every regional government unit provides guarantees for Ahmadiyah residents to carry out their worship without discrimination and intimidation.
“Article 28E and Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution guarantee the freedom of every citizen to embrace a religion and practice worship according to their beliefs,” he stressed.
The state, continued Usman, must immediately revoke the Joint Decree of the Minister of Religion, Minister of Home Affairs, and Attorney General in 2008 which became the basis for discrimination and repression against Ahmadiyah residents.
“The state is obliged to oppose all forms of intolerance and discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs or on the basis of human characteristics protected by international human rights law,” he said.
Background of the Case of Intolerance against the Ahmadiyah Congregation
Quoting from ylbhi.or.id, early June there were at least two cases of intolerance against the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation in two different cities, namely in Banjar, West Java Province and Manado, North Sulawesi Province.
A report on June 5 reported that the handling team for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) from the Banjar City Government visited the JAI place of worship in the Tanjungsukur area, Hegarsari Village, Pataruman District, Banjar City. The team warned JAI not to conduct worship activities in the building that had been previously sealed.
The team leader argued that their actions were to enforce the Joint Decree on Ahmadiyah along with the regulations and decisions of the Mayor of Banjar in 2011 which had sealed the building used as a place of worship for JAI. Although it had been sealed, the Ahmadiyah congregation was said to have committed a violation by building a new building to live in and use as a place of worship.
Previously, on May 28, the Banjar City Muslim Alliance (Almuktabar) met with the Mayor of Banjar and gave the Banjar City Government a 30-day deadline to take a firm stance against the Ahmadiyah Congregation.
YLBHI, West Java Formassi, Bandung LBH, Kabar Sejuk and Jakatarub urge the President, the Chief of Police, the Governor of West Java, and all elements of Indonesian society to guarantee freedom of assembly and religion for the Ahmadiyah Congregation and to revoke the unconstitutional decree of the Mayor of Banjar.
The Setara Institute noted that in 2007-2021 there were 588 incidents of violations of freedom of religion 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 KBB violation cases, namely 38 incidents in 2024. West Java’s position did not shift from the top ranking in 2023.
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Indonesia