Authorities accused of yielding to hardline pressure after hundreds of children were forced to leave a camp in Central Java
Children and teenagers from Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia (JAI) attend a camp at Watu Gambir Park, Karangpandan, Central Java, on June 5 before their forced dispersal by Muslim hardliners. (Photo: JAI)
Published: June 10, 2026 07:31 AM GMT
Updated: June 10, 2026 07:31 AM GMT
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Indonesia’s largest Protestant body has condemned the forced dispersal of an Ahmadiyya youth camp in Central Java, calling it a stark reminder of the state’s failure to protect children from intolerance and discrimination.
In a June 9 statement, Reverend Darwin Darmawan, general secretary of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), said the incident in Karanganyar district had “wounded the nation’s conscience,” stressing that the state has a constitutional and moral obligation to safeguard every child regardless of religious belief.
“When children who are camping, playing, learning and worshipping peacefully are dispersed because of intolerance, what is wounded is not just one community but our shared national conscience,” he said.
On the night of June 5, nearly 100 children and teenagers from Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia (JAI) were forced to abandon a three-day camp at Watu Gambir Park in Karangpandan, Karanganyar, after members of a Muslim hardline group calling itself Forum Ukhuwah Islam Solo Raya arrived and demanded that the event be shut down.
The camp, themed “Prophet Muhammad: Unifier of the Nation, Bearer of Peace,” was scheduled for June 5-8 and included sports, trekking, traditional games and character-building activities.
Rights groups said the dispersal occurred around 9 p.m. in the presence of hundreds of police officers who yielded to the group’s demands rather than ensuring the safety of the children.
Ahmadiyya spokesman Yendra Budiana said the children and teenagers from across Indonesia had been forced to return home because of pressure from about 100 protesters who branded the community heretical.
Darmawan urged police to take firm action against those responsible, including officers who allegedly failed to protect camp participants. He also called on the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission and the National Commission on Human Rights to assess the psychosocial impact on the children.
The pastor said the dispersal may have violated rights guaranteed under Indonesian law and international conventions, including freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and child protection provisions.
Indonesia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, obligating the state to protect all children without discrimination. PGI also cited alleged violations of three articles of the 1945 Constitution and the 2014 Child Protection Law.
The SETARA Institute for Democracy and Peace, a Jakarta-based advocacy group, said police at the scene had “become part of the problem” by allowing intolerance to override constitutional rights.
Its executive director, Halili Hasan, described the incident as “the death of the rule of law and the victory of the politics of intolerance.”
Darmawan also framed the issue in biblical terms, citing Mark 10:14: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them.”
He urged religious leaders, civil society groups and all Indonesians to reject intolerance and defend the country’s pluralistic foundations.
“The maturity of a democracy is reflected in how the state treats its most vulnerable. The state must not abandon the weak. It must protect them from harm,” he said.
Ahmadiyya Muslims differ from mainstream Islam in their belief that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the movement’s 19th-century founder, was a prophet, a position rejected by most Muslims.
The Karanganyar incident follows a long history of state-sanctioned discrimination against Indonesia’s Ahmadiyya community, which is estimated to have about 500,000 members across 330 branches nationwide.Trending NewsVatican News
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According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2025, smaller religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyya, continue to face disproportionate restrictions and persecution. The report said laws such as the 1965 blasphemy law and blasphemy provisions in Indonesia’s 2022 Criminal Code have often been used against minority faith groups.
Much of the legal basis for discrimination stems from a 2008 joint ministerial decree ordering Ahmadiyya followers to stop spreading their faith, a measure that rights groups say has legitimized persecution and discrimination against the community.
William J. Grimm M. M.
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Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Indonesia, Intolerance, Tolerance
The difference between Pakistan and Indonesia: Yes, in Indonesia there is some opposition to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community also (following the intervention of Saudi Arabia: https://www.rabwah.net/wikileaks-saudi-cables-reveal-secret-push-to-stop-ahmadiyya-in-indonesia/), but at the same time there are always some parties that defend / support the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. In Pakistan hardly… Seems Indonesians have more courage and independence…