Jakarta, NU Online

Secretary General of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) H Ahmad Helmy Faishal Zaini responded to the destruction of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Community mosque in Sintang, West Kalimantan, which occurred on Friday (3/9/2021).

 

According to Helmy, the act of destroying the Ahmadiyya mosque is completely against religious values. He said that various emerging problems in this country could be resolved through deliberation and not judging on their own.

 

“The act of vandalizing (the Ahmadiyah Mosque) is against religious values. Let's resolve all the differences that exist by deliberation to reach consensus, not taking justice into our own hands, because Indonesia is not a barbaric country but a country with the corridors of applicable laws and regulations. Let's respect the laws and regulations," Helmy told NU Online here Sunday (5/9/2021).

 

Helmy also asked all parties to remain calm and not be provoked by provocation attempts to divide the nation, such as the destruction of the Ahmadiyah mosque.

 

According to him, good prejudices among the nation's children must be put forward so that they can continue to build good togetherness. One of them is done by building dialogues.

 

"Let's continue to build dialogues among religious people or among various schools of thought and beliefs, so that we can always live in one national family bond, so that we can solve this problem properly," Helmy said.

 

He also urged the security forces to immediately investigate and take firm action against all the individuals who carried out the destruction of the Ahmadiyah mosque. If the apparatus could investigate and take firm action, then all parties are asked to continue to respect the legal process and applicable laws and regulations. Helmy then called on the Indonesian people to maintain unity.

 

"Let us continue to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation, let us continue to join hands to organize Indonesia in a better future," Helmy said.

 

Friendship with an Ahmadiyah

 

In an Instagram post, the National Coordinator of the Gusdurian Network, Alissa Qotrunnada Munawaroh Wahid, revealed her experience as a teenager who had an Ahmadiyah friend.

 

She admitted that she had never been taught to sort friends based on religious beliefs, and never even thought about doing that. The eldest daughter of the late KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) admitted that she loved her best friend, even though they had different religious beliefs.

 

"One day my best friend asked, 'Why do you want to be friend with me, aren't you afraid of being scolded by people?' I was shocked. It was the first time I understood what it was like to be a member of a group that was persecuted in the name of majority-minority truth. My heart was broken at that time, but I was still naive, I didn't know the harsh reality they were really facing," Alissa wrote on her instagram post on Sunday.

 

She said that the conditions faced by her friend had become more severe when and since the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa on Ahmadiyah in the 2000s. Alissa explained that since then, various physical attacks had been often carried out on various Ahmadiyah groups in Indonesia. Until now, Alissa feels sad because there has never been an improvement in this matter.

 

However, Alissa assured that regardless of whether or not they accept their belief, members of the Ahmadiyya Community in Indonesia still have constitutional rights as citizens.

 

"(So) there are no unlawful acts that other people may take against their constitutional rights, even in the name of the religious truth that the attackers believe in," Alissa said..

 

Reporter: Aru Lego Triono

Editor: Sudarto Murtaufiq