Ahmadiyah Mosque in Tulungagung Sealed by Local People

Tulungagung, East Java (Antara) - The only mosque of the Islamic sect Ahmadiyah in the regency of Tulungagung, East Java, was sealed on Monday by local people and Council of Islamic Scholars. The closure was to prevent escalation of religious conflicts after the incident earlier breaking the glass windows of the house of worship. The process of sealing the mosque in the village of Gempolan in the sub-district of Pakel, went on without incident in the presence of tens of police officers assisted by the military. Closure of the mosque had triggered conflicts earlier but this time it went on peacefully with the knowledge of local Ahmadiyah leader Ja'far, who built the mosque. "Please don't make a wrong report. The mosque was closed and sealed by the Ahmadiyah congregation themselves, not the local people," Abu Sofyan, the secretary of Tulungagung MUI, said. Ja'far, a leader of Ahmadiyah in the regency of Tulungagung, was present among the local people, MUI leaders and security officers in the process of sealing the mosque. Ja'far , himself even put up a peace of paper on the door of the mosque containing the official report of the sealing approved by the representative of the Ahmadiyah congregation and local community and religious leaders . "This mosque was sealed by the owners by sticking the seal on the door and shut the door with a crossbar," Abu Sofyan stressed. Gempolan village chief Lamini expressed approval for the closure of the mosque an incident which first brought about tension between the Ahmadiyah members and the mainstream Islamic community. Lamini said he hopes there would be no religious conflicts in his village and called on all people to respect the agreement made. The mosque had been a target of angry mobs on Thursday last week following the visit to that village of an Ahmadiyah guest, Rizal Fazli Mubarrak bin Musipudin, from the village of Pondok Ubin of Bogor district, West Java. Rizal, an Ahmadiyah leader, spent a week in the village of Gempolan reportedly to spread the teaching of Ahmadiyah. He stayed in the house of Jafar. The report triggered tension and the local people accused Jafar of breaking an agreement made two years earlier that Ahmadiyah congregation stopped religious activities in Tulungagung. (*)