THOUSANDS OF MOSLEMS IN SOLO CALL FOR DISSOLUTION OF AHMADIYAH SECT

Solo, Aug 3 (ANTARA) - Thousands of moslems in the city of Solo held such a peaceful demonstration which called for an immediate dissolution of Ahmadiyah sect.

The rally took place at the North Keraton of Surakarta on Sunday which was preceeded with an oration by a number of prominent figures such as KH Ma'ruf Amin, Chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas and Chairman of the Moslem Front Lawyers team (TPM) Mahendratta.

Ma'ruf in his oration reaffirmed that Ahmadiyah should be disbanded to their root or declared as being outside Islam. Because, the teachings propagated to the people are out of the Islamic basic principles.

"Ahmadiyah sect is really misleading if it is still in the track of Islam. The assessment does not only come from the Indonesian Council of Ulemas but also other countries," he said.

A call for Ahmadiyah's dissolution was made by Chairman of the Moslem Front Lawyers Team Mahendradatta who said that it was not so difficult to find out such facts on the sect's misleading teachings. Just open dan read the basic principle of the sect. It was said that Ahmadiyah believers are in chage of speading the teachings of their leader Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

A joint ministrial decree on the banning of Ahmadiyah to propagate their teachings was still not enough and unsatisfactory, he said.

Several months ago, Rligious Minister Maftuh Basyuni reaffirmed that the government has actually banned the spread of Ahmadiyah in Indonesia, as it is against the Islamic teachings.

"Ahmadiyah was already banned by the government long time ago, because its teaching was against the main religious tennets in Islam,? the minister said.

According to him, Islam only recognizes one God and embraces the teachings of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Therefore outside two main pillars of Islamic teachings (either those propagated by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who is regarded by Ahmadiyah as a prophet) is not in the context of Islam.

?If Ahmadiyah claims its teachings outside Islam, there will be no problem. But if it remains claiming its teachings as part of Islam, it is totally unjustified,? Maftuh said.

On the measures the government will take against Ahmadiyah, Mahfud said it is actually in the domain of Attorney General.

However, a ban for Ahmadiyah from propagating its teachings is actually in line with the statement of President some time ago which also underlined a prohibition for Ahmadiyah.

The people are not allowed to take the law into their hands and to commit anarchy or violence against Ahamdiyah, the minister said, adding that as a multicultural nation and the teachings of each religion, religious difference should be seen as something natural and bless for human beings.

Religious conflict will never create a conducive condition for the stability and development of the state and therefore it needs to be handled seriously. In return, religious tolerence should be preserved continously.