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July 23, 2005

Ahmadiyah and public order

I would like to correct some of the misunderstandings published almost every day regarding Jamaah Ahmadiyah in The Jakarta Post.

First of all, it is a big mistake to say that the Ahmadis go to Parung, Bogor, to perform the haj. This is a lie. Ahmadis do not believe in this at all. They would even consider such thinking to be a sin. We can find many Ahmadis in Indonesia who have been to Mecca to perform the haj. Ahmadis fully perform and adhere to all Islamic beliefs, including the five pillars of Islam.

Ahmadis also believe that Prophet Mohammad is the last prophet of Allah in the sense that his teachings and sharia are absolute and perfect. Nothing can be added to or taken away from this. Ahmadis also believe that Prophet Mohammad is the highest prophet of all. His status and closeness to Allah mean that he is the last prophet. No one has the same status as he and no one will achieve the same status in the sight of Allah again.

Ahmadis believe in Holy War, but through the Koran and as described in it. They do not find any mention of the forcible imposition of their ideas on others by war. And they also believe that the Holy Prophet never used the sword to spread Islam. So, this is what the Ahmadis follow.

Ahmadis also understand from the Koran and the sayings of Prophet Mohammad that the basic requirement for a person to be considered a Muslim is shahadat, while everything else is merely detail. About the details, all the sects of Islam differ.

I fully agree that the Indonesian government should ban those who disrupt public order — in which case it is not the Ahmadis who will be banned. If justice is done, that is!

FAZAL-E-MUJEEB Jakarta

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20050723.F08&irec=6