The Tasikmalaya MUI issued a circular regarding recommendations regarding the Ahmadiyah congregation.
February 12, 2026
The Journalists Association for Diversity or Sejuk together with the Bandung Legal Aid Institute condemned the large-scale demonstration to disband the Ahmadiyah in Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java, which was triggered by a circular from the Indonesian Ulema Council.
Based on information gathered by Tempo from a number of activists for freedom of religion and belief, the demonstration against Ahmadiyah involved at least nearly one hundred people in front of the Tasikmalaya Regent’s Office on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
The demonstration was sparked by the issuance of a recommendation letter from the Tasikmalaya Regency MUI, requesting the Regent and Speaker of the Tasikmalaya Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) to issue a regent’s regulation banning the Ahmadiyah community. The Tasikmalaya MUI issued a circular recommending a response to the Ahmadiyah community.
The letter, dated January 29, 2026, circulated widely on WhatsApp chat groups. Signed by Acep Thohir Fuad, Chairman of the Tasikmalaya MUI Leadership Council, and Manaf M. Yazid, Secretary General, it contained three points.
The Tasikmalaya MUI declared that the Ahmadiyya community deviates from Islamic teachings, causing confusion among the community’s beliefs, social unrest, and horizontal conflict. Furthermore, some members of the community reject the Ahmadiyya community.
The MUI recommends that the Regent and the Chairman of the Tasikmalaya DPRD create a regent’s regulation regarding the prohibition of Ahmadiyah Congregation activities in Tasikmalaya, in line with West Java Governor Regulation Number 12 of 2011 concerning the Prohibition of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation in West Java.
Tempo attempted to contact Acep Thohir Fuad, Chairman of the Tasikmalaya MUI Leadership Council, via WhatsApp regarding the recommendation letter. However, Fuad has not yet responded.
Sejuk Advocacy Manager Tantowi Anwari said that the call for a large demonstration demanding the disbandment of the Ahmadiyah congregation in Tasikmalaya was a form of provocation of hatred that strengthened the practice of discrimination against the Ahmadiyah congregation.
“The police must stop provocations aimed at discriminating against Ahmadiyah in the name of religious beliefs,” Tantowi said when contacted on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
He said the MUI’s fatwas, attitudes, and actions ignore the diversity of religions and beliefs in Indonesia. This has resulted in some groups becoming hostile to the Ahmadiyah. MUI fatwas have often been the basis for the government’s drafting of discriminatory regulations and policies, leading to intolerant groups persecuting and committing violence against the Ahmadiyah community.
Tantowi cited several MUI fatwas that triggered attacks on the Ahmadiyah community. Violent attacks, evictions, and the destruction of Ahmadiyah homes occurred between 1999 and 2001. Groups attacked Ahmadiyah members after the MUI issued a fatwa in 1980 declaring the Ahmadiyah community heretical.
In 2005, the MUI reaffirmed the fatwa, triggering a wave of attacks and expulsions of Ahmadiyah congregations in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara in 2006. As a result, hundreds of victims were unable to return to their hometowns.
Hundreds of members were forced to seek refuge in the Mataram Transit Center. In 2018, an attack and eviction of Ahmadiyah members occurred in East Lombok. Twenty-four people were left homeless. “The MUI’s fatwa, stance, and edict declaring Ahmadiyah heretical encouraged intolerant mobs to persecute the congregation,” he said.
Based on these facts, Sejuk urged the Tasikmalaya Regency Government to firmly reject the MUI’s recommendation to ban the activities of the Tasikmalaya Ahmadiyah Congregation. He stated that the Tasikmalaya Regent should not bow to pressure from intolerant mobs.
In Indonesia, the Ahmadiyya Muslim congregation has officially been a legal entity since March 13, 1953. The legality of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation (JAI) appears in the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights in 2020.
LBH Bandung Director Heri Pramono stated that the Tasikmalaya MUI’s recommendation to ban the activities of the Ahmadiyah Congregation violates the constitution, law, and human rights principles. The state, including local governments, is obligated to protect the freedom of religion and belief of every citizen without discrimination.
According to him, the MUI’s recommendation to ban religious activities not only violates the constitution but also has the potential to reinforce discrimination, fuel intolerance, and undermine social harmony. “In a pluralistic society, every institution, including religious institutions, should promote tolerance, dialogue, and respect for differences,” Heri said.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution, Law No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Indonesia has ratified. Freedom of religion is a right that cannot be diminished under any circumstances, so the government is obligated to prevent discrimination and protect minority groups.
The state, said Heri, must stand on the principle of equality before the law and guarantee the constitutional rights of all citizens.
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Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Indonesia