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Religious Ministry setting up team to monitor Ahmadiyah

NU Online  ·  Selasa, 22 Januari 2008 | 12:22 WIB

Jakarta, NU Online
The Ministry of Religious Affairs is setting up a team that will  monitor whether the Ahmadiyah sect really implements  the subtance of the 12-point statement it issued recently to defend its existence in Indonesia.
    
"The government took  a clear stance toward Ahmadiyah, namely to facilitate a dialog which led the organization to issue its 12-point statement. So, let’s wait and see (what Ahmadiyah is to do further)," Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni said after attending a seminar here on Tuesday (22/1).<>
    
He said  disbanding Ahmadiyah or banning its teachings as demanded by the Muslim community in the country would not solve the problem.
    
In the meantime, the rector of the State Islamic University (UIN), Komaruddin Hidayat, said Indonesia was a unique state where a religious matter was handled based on a political decision.
   
Therefore, the government must be wise in handling problems related to the pluralism that had marked Indonesian society  for ages  where various religions and faiths could grow side by side, he said. Antara reported
   
The government last Tuesday said it would not ban Ahmadiyah after their leaders issued a statement saying that they acknowledged Muhammad as the last prophet.
   
MUI considers Ahmadiyah a deviant Islamic sect because the group recognized Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, its founder, as the last prophet rather than Muhammad.
   
Ahmadiyah leader Ahmad Basit said his group had the same belief as mainstream Islam.
   
"Like other Muslims, Ahmadiyah followers also recite syahadat (the two sentences of faith), acknowledge Muhmmad as the last prophet," he said. (dar)