Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Miftahul Huda Mosque in Balai Harapan Village, Temunak District, Sintang Regency, West Kalimantan, was vandalized by a mob on Friday (3/9) afternoon. This mosque is a place of worship used by Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation (JAI).
Spokesman for JAI, Yendra Budiana, said that not only the mosque was damaged, the crowd also set fire to the warehouse building next to the mosque.
“The condition of the mosque is badly damaged,” Yendra said when contacted CNNIndonesia.com, Friday night.
He then told the chronology and background of the destruction of the Ahmadiyya congregation mosque in Sintang. Since last August 14, Yendra revealed that the Sintang district government has issued a letter from the Regent containing the temporary closure of the mosque.
According to him, the letter came out because there was pressure from the masses on behalf of the Muslim alliance.
“In it (the alliance), one of the most dominant is the union of Malays. This group has made requests to the Sintang Regency Government since March,” he said.
Yendra said that after the temporary closure on August 18, the Regent also issued a letter containing the emergency alert for social conflicts over the Ahmadiyah issue.
Until last August 27, a letter containing the permanent closure of the Miftahul Huda Mosque was issued.
“On August 27, they issued a letter for the permanent closure of the Miftahul Huda mosque. So their focus is on the Miftahul Huda Mosque and the prohibition of its worship,” he said.
Since the temporary closure letter was issued on August 14, it is said that the mosque is no longer used as a place of worship.
“Then September 2, the Governor of West Kalimantan held a closed meeting with the Sintang Regency Government and the Islamic community alliance, because it was closed we did not know the contents,” said Yendra.
And on the day of the incident, Friday (3/9), Yendra revealed that the police had been guarding the village and also around the Miftahul Huda Mosque since morning.
Around 11.00 am, he continued, there was an invitation from the masses who wanted to destroy the mosque.
“(Through) loudspeakers, invites Muslim residents to leave their homes and pray Friday (at other mosques), then to join the demolition of the (Miftahul Huda) mosque,” he said.
Then at around 12.30 or after Friday prayers, more than 100 people then held an apple and started moving to the Miftahul Huda Mosque.
Yendra said that the crowd then managed to get into the front of the mosque. It also set fire to the warehouse next to the mosque.
“The mob entered the mosque and (tried) to set fire to it but was prevented by the authorities. But the masses continued to destroy (the mosque),” he said.
He said the mosque was damaged by destroying the walls of the building. At that time, according to him, the efforts of the police to prevent destruction and burning were not optimal.
“After successfully setting fire to the building and destroying the walls of the mosque, the crowd then dispersed,” he said.
Yendra said that his party was aware of the plan for the destruction. However, because of the large number of officers, he felt confident that the vandalism could be prevented.
“There are police, we initially believed that the police would be able to handle it because there were so many of them,” he said.
In this incident, Yendra said there were no casualties from the incident because it was no longer used since the first letter was sent in mid-August.
Minister of Religion’s Real Action
From this incident, Yendra hopes for concrete action from the Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas related to the conflict that occurred. According to him, a statement alone will not be enough.
It is known that some time ago, Yaqut did state that he would protect the religious rights of every citizen
“Of course it will not be enough just to make a statement, it needs more than that. More real action to ensure the right to worship of every citizen,” said Yendra.
He also hoped that the Ministry of Home Affairs would intervene. So far, he admitted that he had never heard of the Minister of Home Affairs’ attitude towards the problems that occurred.
“The process of problems in community social issues is mostly in the territory of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which of course has the authority to communicate with local governments,” he said.
In addition, which is also important, he asked the National Police Chief to instruct the West Kalimantan Police and the Sintang Police to take further prevention efforts, both against threats of violence against the soul of the congregation, as well as against property.
“And take firm action, of course. Because the masses (perpetrators of vandalism) are clear. As long as there is no legal process against anyone who violates the law, it will certainly lead to a bigger escalation because there is no deterrent effect,” he said.
(yoa / agn)
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