Jakarta’s Own Prophet
Religious life in Indonesia never seems to be immune from civil unrest. After the attack on the Ahmadiyyah sect last year, a mob recently burnt down the home of the founder of the Al-Qiyadah al-Islamiyah sect. The followers of Ahmad Moshaddeq, a Betawi or native Jakartan, who claims to be a prophet, are on the run. The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) condemns the sect as deviant. Is it true they can be convicted for their religious beliefs? What makes these new sects so appealing that youths become their followers?
November 6, 2007
HE looks tired and unkempt. What didn’t change—causing the police to shake their heads in amazement—was that he never stopped talking about the sect which he founded in 2001. “He looks smart. Whenever he is asked a question, he responds with a lengthy diatribe,” said Adj. Sr. Comr. Tornagogo Sihombing, head of the State Security Unit at the Jakarta Police Department.
The person in question is Ahmad Mushaddeq alias Abdul Salam, who clai
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