Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A moderate Muslim organization is demanding that the radical Islamic group FPI is dismantled. The FPI (Islamic Defender Front) is known for its violence against religious minorities, especially against Christians, and wish to establish Sharia law in Indonesia.
Protests in the Muslim world have increased since early June, when some FPI activists’ forcibly removed three members of the Indonesian Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP) from a public health event in Banyuwangi, East Java. In recent days, the FPI has threatened the Christian community of Bekasi, forming a paramilitary group to prepare for possible attacks against Christians.
Yunahar Ilyas, one of the leaders of Muhammadiyah, says that "FPI is a legal organization and as such should comply with the law. The mass gatherings are fine, but enough with the violence". According to Ilyas, the FPI should be dismantled through collective legal action. Moderate Islamic organization Muhammadiyah works in education and social areas and supports the free personal interpretation of the Koran.
A lawsuit against the FPI is also sought by Masdar Farid Mas'udi, one of the leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Sunni Islamic organization engaged in society. Unlike Muhammadiyah, the
Mas'udi believes it is useless to dismantle the FPI because the same members would form another immediately afterwards with the same purposes. "I believe - says Mas'udi – it is more effective to take legal steps against those FPI figures that foment hate and violence against minorities."
Muhammadiyah and NU have also accused the government of doing nothing to stop the violence.