An Indonesian legal expert has described a lawsuit filed by the Ahmadiyah against the mayor of Bekasi over the shuttering of their mosque as a very interesting development that could serve as a channel for other religious minorities in the country to seek similar redress.
If [the Ahmadiyah] lose it will be a long period of time before another [lawsuit], said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch, but if they win it will be important for all minorities in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation announced last week it was taking mayor of Bekasi Rachmat Effendi to the State Administrative Court in Bandung over the latters March 8 decision to seal the Al-Misbah mosque in Pondok Gede.
We are asking that the court cancel and revoke the Bekasi mayors order to lock the office and the mosque of the Ahmadiyah congregation, said Pratiwi, a lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute representing Ahmadi leader Abdul Basit, adding that the court was now processing the application, which was filed on Wednesday June 5.
Harsono said the case would encourage other minority groups to seek legal redress for measures similar to the 2008 joint-ministerial that bans Ahmadiyah from propagating their interpretation of Islam.
[The case] could provide a channel for all religious minorities to challenge the decrees, Harsono said. There are many provincial and local decrees. All these decrees are discriminating to religious minorities.
Pratiwi said the application challenged the warrant issued by the mayor on March 8, which the plaintiff said violated the Ahmahdis fundamental rights to worship in their own mosque.
The land title, the construction permit, the usage permit are legal, and the building permit as well as the other permits have never been revoked by the city authority of Bekasi, she said.
Pratiwi denied that the activities of the congregation were in violations of a joint ministerial decree on the activities of Ahmadis.
At the mosque, they are only conducting normal worship activities among themselves, they do not spread their teachings to others, Pratiwi said according to Tempo Interaktif.
Under the joint decree, the Ahmadiyah are prohibited from conducting their worship in public and to proselytize.
The Al-Misbah mosque in Bekasis Jatibening neighborhood was built in 1993 is a place of worship for some 400 Ahmadis.
The Ahmadis have been under attack from hard-line Muslim elements in several regions, including in West Java and West Nusa Tenggara, with their mosque burned or vandalized and even some Ahmadis killed in more violent attacks.
Ahmadi Lawsuit Against Bekasi Mayor Crucial to All Religious Minorities: HRW - The Jakarta Globe
If [the Ahmadiyah] lose it will be a long period of time before another [lawsuit], said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch, but if they win it will be important for all minorities in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation announced last week it was taking mayor of Bekasi Rachmat Effendi to the State Administrative Court in Bandung over the latters March 8 decision to seal the Al-Misbah mosque in Pondok Gede.
We are asking that the court cancel and revoke the Bekasi mayors order to lock the office and the mosque of the Ahmadiyah congregation, said Pratiwi, a lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute representing Ahmadi leader Abdul Basit, adding that the court was now processing the application, which was filed on Wednesday June 5.
Harsono said the case would encourage other minority groups to seek legal redress for measures similar to the 2008 joint-ministerial that bans Ahmadiyah from propagating their interpretation of Islam.
[The case] could provide a channel for all religious minorities to challenge the decrees, Harsono said. There are many provincial and local decrees. All these decrees are discriminating to religious minorities.
Pratiwi said the application challenged the warrant issued by the mayor on March 8, which the plaintiff said violated the Ahmahdis fundamental rights to worship in their own mosque.
The land title, the construction permit, the usage permit are legal, and the building permit as well as the other permits have never been revoked by the city authority of Bekasi, she said.
Pratiwi denied that the activities of the congregation were in violations of a joint ministerial decree on the activities of Ahmadis.
At the mosque, they are only conducting normal worship activities among themselves, they do not spread their teachings to others, Pratiwi said according to Tempo Interaktif.
Under the joint decree, the Ahmadiyah are prohibited from conducting their worship in public and to proselytize.
The Al-Misbah mosque in Bekasis Jatibening neighborhood was built in 1993 is a place of worship for some 400 Ahmadis.
The Ahmadis have been under attack from hard-line Muslim elements in several regions, including in West Java and West Nusa Tenggara, with their mosque burned or vandalized and even some Ahmadis killed in more violent attacks.
Ahmadi Lawsuit Against Bekasi Mayor Crucial to All Religious Minorities: HRW - The Jakarta Globe
