Ahmadiyya Faces Persecution in Indonesia

In Indonesia, hardliners have enforced the closure of several mosques and schools of the minority Ahmadiyya community this week. They have branded the community ‘heretical’ and ask the government to ban it. The Ahmadiyya maintain they are Muslims, but they also say there was another prophet after Muhammad – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who founded the sect in 19th century India. In Pakistan, the Ahmadis have been declared non-Muslims, and many have fled the country. Earlier this month, the Indonesian government issued a ‘joint decree’, placing some new restrictions on the community.