STATEMENT OF HIZB UT TAHRIR INDONESIA: WE CONDEMN THE ATTACKS AGAINST THE MUSLIMS IN THE REGENCY OF TOLIKARA, PAPUA

WE CONDEMN THE ATTACKS AGAINST THE MUSLIMS IN THE REGENCY OF TOLIKARA, PAPUA

As reported widely, on Friday morning July 17th around 7 AM, the Christian masses stormed the Muslims, in the district of Karubaga, Tolikara Regency, Papua, who were performing Eid prayer of 1436 AH. The attack began with the stone throwing to the congregations who were performing the seventh takbir of Eid prayer. Thenthe masses moved in violently and about to disperse the Eid prayer. Though driven away by the security forces, the masses kept on attacking and then even burned the mosque, houses and kiosks belonging to the Muslims. As a result, a mosque and dozens of houses and kiosks were burned down.

With regard to this heinous incident, Hizb ut Tahrir Indonesia states:

1. Condemns the attack with the strongest terms as vicious and barbaric acts, especially when the Muslims were performing Eid prayers.

2. This action is clearly an attempt to prevent the worship activities, something essential in religious life, especially for the Muslims, proven by the letter of Toli’s Regional Working Committee (BPWT) of Gospel Church In Indonesia (GIDI) dated on July 11, 2015, signed by Priest Wenda Nayus as the Chairman and Priest Marhen Jingga as the Secretary of the Committee and copied to the Toli Regent, Chairman of the Parliament, the Police and Military Chief of Tolikara, addressing the Muslims in Tolikara Regency, which prohibits the Muslims from celebrating Eid Fitr in the area. The letter even bans the Muslim women from wearing the hijab. Therefore, the statement of the Vice President who said that the attack was triggered by the problems of the mosque’s speaker system is unfounded, which blames the victims, and surely give more pains to the victims who have been treated badly.

3. The attack cannot be interpreted other than the attack to the whole Indonesian Muslims because the Muslims are one Ummah, then the attack against the Muslims in one place is essentially the attack against Muslims as a whole. It is obligatory for Muslims to stand in the face of these brutal attacks on Muslim mosques, and to hold the state accountable for its silence on this matter, which happened in full view of the security agencies, Indonesia is an Islamic country and where Islam must prevail, not to be subjected to such brutal attacks.

4. The attack also shows that Muslims have been so much tolerant to the non-Muslim community in this country but instead the Muslims receive very painful and harsh treatment, especially those living in the areas with non-Muslim majority, such as prevention to set up mosques, discriminatory attitude of the bureaucrats towards the Muslims as well as prevention to perform Islamic activities, and even worst such as the attack in Tolikara. The Muslims are often said to be intolerant people, then now it is proven who exactly are the intolerant?

5. Calls upon all Muslims to work hand in hand, and to struggle together for the establishment of Islamic life which applies sharia totally under the shade of al Khilafah because only with the Islamic life, will the Muslims receive the best protection, dignity and honor, and true tolerance with other religious people will be manifested.

Mohammed Ismail Yusanto
Official Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Indonesia