Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Indonesian Mob Kills At Least 3 Ahmadiyas In Bid To Stop Their Worship
In Indonesia yesterday, a thousand Muslims surrounded a house in West Java, attempting to prevent the Ahmadiya movement from holding worship services. According to AFP, police say that three members of the Ahmadiya were killed and four seriously injured. The state-run Antara news agency said that six people were killed. A government decree issued in 2008 bans the Ahmadiya from proselytizing. (See prior posting.) Orthodox Muslims believe that Muhammad was the final prophet, while Ahmadiya believes that its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the final Muslim prophet. This opens Ahmadiyas to charges of heresy and blasphemy which are punishable by five years in prison in Indonesia, despite the constitution's protection of freedom of religion.