I hope we henceforth see much more of this, around the world. “Alliance to report Maftuh to police,” from The Jakarta Post, with thanks to RG:
A group campaigning for the freedom to worship is planning to report Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni to the police for his recent comments about the Ahmadiyah sect.
The Alliance of Religious Freedom sent a warning to Maftuh on April 17, demanding the minister make a public apology for his offensive statement against Ahmadiyah, a small Islamic sect that was declared heretical last year by the Indonesian Ulema Council.
The warning in the form of a letter was signed by more than 300 people, including Muslim scholars, journalists, artists and activists from non-governmental organizations.
It gave the minister a week to apologize to the sect through media and affirm his commitment to religious pluralism in the country or the alliance threatened legal action.
Maftuh was quoted by several national newspapers calling Ahmadiyah a deviant faith, and saying its teachings went against Islam.
The minister also said he would issue a new decree to reconfirm the state’s recognition of only six faiths — Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confuscianism.
Moderate Muslim scholar Dawam Rahardjo, who leads the alliance, said the minister had failed to respond to the letter.
“Last Tuesday was the deadline. We will report this case to police. We are still discussing the exact time (to do so),” he said….
He said Maftuh should treat all religions and beliefs in Indonesia equally, and should not have made disparaging statements remarks about any faith.
“A (religious) minister must protect all religious believers from discrimination,” Dawam added…..
Dawam urged Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, the country’s two largest Muslim organizations, to join the action again the minister.
Under the Constitution, people had the right to believe in whatever religion they chose and this also meant choosing new faiths, the group said.