Indonesian Military Forces 56 Ahmadiyah To Convert

The Quran is very specific with regards to the issue of forcing others to embrace Islam. It clearly states:

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"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.” (Quran 2:256)

But for all the talk about there being no compulsion in religion, people are being forced to convert to Islam every day in places like Pakistan and Indonesia. And oddly enough, it's not just those of other religions, fellow Muslims are also being subjected to forced conversions.

Although Indonesian authorities deny allegations of forcing people to convert, a local human rights organization, Imparsial, has stated that this is clearly not true. According to the group, they have 56 reports of West Javan Ahmadis (a minority Muslim sect) being forced to convert to the state approved Islam by, of all people, the military. They were told to "repent and convert to Islam", which is bizarre since they already are Muslims, just not the kind that the mainstream Muslims approve of. But after continuous denials the Indonesian government, on Wednesday, finally admitted that, yes, soldiers had indeed entered Ahmadiyah mosques, but it wasn't what people claimed. They weren't there to force them to convert, to make them true Muslims, they were there simply to protect them.

Patrialis Akbar, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights said, "As long as their intention is positive -- that is to ensure Ahmadiyah followers do not become the target of violence -- then that's not a human rights violation. It’s not a harmful intervention."

Perhaps they think that forcing people to convert is for their own good, a means of preventing them from becoming targets of violence, but forcing someone to convert to another religion is most definitely a human rights violation, and the Indonesian government is most obviously in denial about it.

In spite of Indonesia's supposed constitutional 'freedom of religion', religious minorities in the country have often been targets of violent attacks and blatant discrimination, and it has escalated since 2008, when a law was instituted, at the behest of mainstream Muslims, effectively banning the Ahmadiyah from proselytizing.

Perhaps the Indonesian government should start adhering to their constitution and enforce the laws that allow for freedom of religion, rather than protecting those who obviously have no respect for that law. More importantly, the preachers and Imams in that country (and elsewhere) should start respecting the word of the Quran: "Let there be no compulsion in religion."

Source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide