LOMBOK'S AHMADIYAH SECT: DANGEROUS OR ENDANGERED?

UNCLAS SURABAYA 000042 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, MAP/MTS, IRN/EAP, DRL/PHD, INL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL KCOR ID SUBJECT: LOMBOK'S AHMADIYAH SECT: DANGEROUS OR ENDANGERED? This message is sensitive, but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Surabaya Pol/Econ Officer and Pol/Econ Assistant traveled to the island of Lombok in the province of West Nusa Tenggara, from September 11 to 13. While there, they met with 127 members of the religious sect Ahmadiyah at their refugee barracks in the provincial capital Mataram. In February 2006, local residents burned 24 Ahmadiyah homes and local police forced the 137 residents of the village of Gegerung to move to the Transito barracks "for their own safety." During the meeting, Ahmadiyah leaders described an administrative war of attrition waged by the provincial and local governments -- identity cards, health care and full access to education are routinely denied. Opinions widely differ on the causes for the continued conflict. While Ahmadiyah members blame a mix of pressure and neglect by Lombok officials, local police and religious leaders say the poor treatment of Ahmadiyah can be traced to the group's poor relations with its neighbors. ¶2. (SBU) Ahmadiyah members said that relations with the local community had always been cordial prior to the attack, but charges of heresy against Ahmadiyah by local Islamic leaders galvanized thugs to begin burning their homes. "We would be welcomed back today if we were allowed by the authorities", said the spokesman. The Ahmadiyah spokesman provided us with copies of several written requests for assistance and legal redress to local and national leaders, to which they said there has been no response to date. According to the refugees, rather than protecting the group, the local police are in league with Ahmadiyah's enemies. Ahmadiyah leaders in Transito said the police had stood idle during the most recent attacks on Gegerung village last year. ¶3. (SBU) On September 12, the Deputy Chief of East Nusa Tenggarah Provincial Police told us that Ahmadiyah exclusivity was a root cause of the violence. "When they first arrived in Lombok, there was little trouble between the sect and their neighbors", he said. The Deputy Chief also complained that the police were weary of protecting the sect after repeated attacks and wondered sarcastically if they wouldn't be better off on "an island of their own." ¶4. (SBU) Our discussions with leaders of Pesantren Nurul Hakim, a large residential religious school in Eastern Lombok touched on the subject of Ahmadiyah. The Head of this school has been unequivocal in calling for the banning of Ahmadiyah since October 2005, when the Islamic Council of Indonesia office in West Lombok requested that the local Regent impose a ban on the group. The Assistant Head of the school, who has done research on the group for his PhD dissertation, told us that it is the very resilience of Ahmadiyah in the face of oppression that helped spark calls to ban it. Several attacks on Ahmadiyah communities have taken place on Lombok since the decision. The Assistant Head of the school was particularly struck by the continued success of Ahmadiyah in gaining new members telling us that, "They are still able to attract new followers while the group as a whole is under constant pressure." MCCLELLAND