Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JAKARTA846
2008-04-28 08:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

ISLAMIC SECT UNDER PRESSURE

Tags:  PGOV KIRF PINS ID 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9520
OO RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDE RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW
RUEHROV
DE RUEHJA #0846 1190829
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 280829Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8838
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4983
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2404
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1791
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3782
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1882
RUEHBAD/AMCONSUL PERTH 0746
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000846 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH, DRL/IRF
NSC FOR EPHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV KIRF PINS ID
SUBJECT: ISLAMIC SECT UNDER PRESSURE

REF: A. JAKARTA 823

B. JAKARTA 789

C. JAKARTA 161 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000846

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH, DRL/IRF
NSC FOR EPHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV KIRF PINS ID
SUBJECT: ISLAMIC SECT UNDER PRESSURE

REF: A. JAKARTA 823

B. JAKARTA 789

C. JAKARTA 161 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On April 27, a large crowd burned down a
mosque located near Jakarta belonging to the Ahmadiyah sect.
The crowd also vandalized an adjoining school run by the
sect. No one was seriously injured. A handful of suspects
were questioned by the police, but no arrests have been made.
The attack comes on the heels of a government monitoring
board's recommendation to ban the sect as "heretical" and
despite a call by moderate Islamic leaders for non-violence.
Mission continues to urge the GOI to respect religious
freedom. END SUMMARY.

ATTACK ON SECT'S FACILITIES


2. (U) A Muslim sect has come under renewed pressure.
Arsonists attacked the Al Furqon mosque late on the evening
of April 27 in Sukabumi, West Java, and vandalized an
adjoining school. The two facilities belonged to the Muslim
Ahmadiyah Sect. The attack happened despite the apparent
presence of police, who were ordered to guard the mosque that
morning due to increasingly strident demands that the
government close it down. According to reports, hundreds of
people took part in the attack. Eight people were questioned
by the police, but there have been no arrests. No one was
seriously injured in the incident.


3. (U) The Al Furqon mosque was the second-largest operated
by the Ahmadiyah sect in Indonesia. Their largest mosque is
located in Jakarta. That facility is reportedly under police
guard.

CRITICISM OF INCIDENT


4. (C) The attack has been criticized by members of
Indonesia's human rights community. Echoing other comments
we have picked up, Director of Jakarta Legal Aid Asfinawati
(one name only) told poloff that the attack was sparked by
the government's ruling that the sect was "heretical."
(Note: Asfinawati also does legal work for the Ahmadiyahs.)
She called for the police to be firm in protecting the
Ahmadiyahs and their property. "The police must do much more
to catch the perpetrators and to bring them to justice," she
said.

GOI PONDERS NEXT MOVE


5. (C) Although its official panel reviewing such matters
has already labeled the sect heretical, the GOI has not taken
the next step, which would be to ban the group. We have
heard reports that the GOI is hesitant to do that, which is
positive. In the meantime, in a bid to strengthen those in
the GOI who support a tolerant approach, Mission continues to
urge the government to respect religious freedom per
Indonesian Constitutional guarantees. Mission has also
spoken to Sunni Muslim groups urging that they take a more
tolerant approach.


HUME