Indonesia witnessed unprecedented increase in calls demanding the ban of Ahmadiyah, a fundamentalist cult or movement founded 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, the Messiah.
According to Jakarta Post, about 300 Muslims, belonging to different organizations, grouped under the Islamic Peoples’ Front (FUI), took to the streets in Yogyakarta a few weeks ago, demanding the provincial administration to ban Ahmadiyah in the province.
Ahmadiyah originally started in India towards the end of the 19th century as an “Islamic” movement following the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times who will bring about a concluding triumph of Islam.
Ahmad was believed by his followers to be a Mujaddid or a reformer of the 14th century of the Hijri or Islamic calendar, the promised Messiah and Mahdi awaited by Muslims.
And followers of this cult, named Ahmadis, also view themselves as the revivalists and peaceful propagators of Islam, preserving a “proper” and pristine practice of the religion.
They were among the early Muslim Communities that went and resided in the UK as well as other western countries.
Although they are credited for building a lot of mosques, Ahmadis are hardliners who claim to be the uppermost defenders of Islam, rightly guided to follow their Imam Ahmad as the best practitioner of the doctrine of Islam as originally ordained. Their views are considered to a great extent misleading and deviant from the moderate pursuit of Islam.
They still assign Caliphs to rule adherents of their cult and run their affairs, adopting a centuries old lifestyle.
In Islam there’s no such thing as Religious State wherein a ruler has a supreme authority affiliated with some divinity he claims to employ. In Islam, any type of state is fine as long as it will ensure fair rights to followers of all religions and promotes justice, allowing Muslims to practice their religion freely and without any compulsion.
Muslims are mostly in favor of a secular state that serves democracy and grants freedom of faith to all.
A survey conducted last year by Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace and polling 1,200 people in Greater Jakarta found that nearly 50% want the government to ban Ahmadiyah sect, while a fifth were in favor of curbs on Ahamdis’ activities.
Wassalaam
By: The Muslim Tribune Staff
Posted on: July 10, 2011