By NNN-Antara
Bandung : Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba`asyir, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) called on the government to take a firm stance on the existence of the Ahmadiyah sect in the country.
“Ahmadiyah, either the Qadian or the Lahore version, is deviant because it recognizes Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet after the Prophet Muhammad,” Ba`asyir said after attending a discussion organised by the Muslim Ulema Forum (FUUI) here on Monday.
He said the government`s decision to accept the presence of Ahmadiyah just reflected its political attitude.
Ba`asyir said the fatwa (edict) of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) that Ahmadiyah was a deviant sect should remain a reference to Muslims in Indonesia.
He said here was no reason for the government not to disband the Ahmadiyah organization in Indonesia.
The government last Tuesday said it would not ban Ahmadiyah after their leaders issued a statement saying that they acknowledged Muhammad as the last prophet.
MUI considers Ahmadiyah a deviant Islamic sect because the group recognized Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, its founder, as the last phrophet rather than Muhammad.
Ahmadiyah leader Ahmad Basit said his group had the same belief as mainstream Islam.
“Like other Muslims, Ahmadiyah followers also recite syahadat (the two sentences of faith), acknowledge Muhmmad as the last prophet,” he said.