This picture taken on November 30, 2012, shows a village where houses belong to Muslim Shiites had been burnt down during a clash, at Bluuran village in Sampang. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Sampang’s persecuted Shiite Muslim minority, fearful of another round of forced conversions by Sunni Muslims, called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure their religious freedom after a forum meant to negotiate the exiled group’s homecoming placed the matter in the hands of Sunni clerics accused of inciting sectarian tensions in Madura Island.“We reject all statements from state officials and local figures that ignore our religious freedoms and right to practice our own beliefs as Shiites,” said attorney Herstaning Ikhlas in a statement sent to the Jakarta Globe. “The reconciliation forum must give more space to grassroots dialogue and not accommodate local figures known for their hate speech.”Sectarian violence has plagued the Sunni-majority island in recent years, culminating in an anti-Shia rampage through two villages late last year that left two dead and forced 233 Shiites into exile, first in a squalid sports center and then in subsidized apartments in Sidoarjo, East Java.The central government has promised a solution to the island’s woes and held a meeting last week between provincial leaders and representatives from both the Shiite and Sunni communities in East Java. The Ministry of Public Housing, which will lead the reconstruction efforts, trumpeted a plan that would return the Shiites to their destroyed villages and promote infrastructure investment island-wide at the meeting’s close.But the plan’s reliance on acceptance by local Sunni leaders has some Shiite representatives concerned.The Minister of Public Housing, Djan Faridz, said the rebuilding and infrastructure development projects will go hand-in-hand with a push at the local level for Shiites to embrace the “right way,” or Sunni Islam, Herstaning said.Soekarwo, the governor of East Java, supported the plan and claimed Sampang’s problems stemmed from sayings made by Shiite leader Tajul Muluk — a man later convicted of blasphemy in a trial heavily criticized by human rights groups.Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali, who has insisted the Sampang violence was a family conflict, not a religious one, allegedly agreed with Sunni clerics’ calls for another round of conversions, Herstaning said.Suryadharma did not return a text message for comment on Sunday.Iklil Al Milal, a Shiite cleric and representative of Sampang’s community in exile, said numerous meetings with Sunni ulema from the Board of Madura Clerics (Bassra) hinged on the same assertion: that the Shiites must renounce their beliefs and convert to Sunni Islam.“They asked us to do Taubatan Nasuha [sincere repentance],” Iklil said. “[The] Shiites [have to first] embrace Sunni beliefs and then they would accept us back in Sampang.”More than 30 Shiites have been forced to convert to Sunni Islam on the threat of violence in Sampang.The cleric called on the president and local law enforcement to remain neutral in the matter. Yudhoyono plans to visit Sampang during an Idul Fitri tour of East Java later this month.“We hope the president will keep his promise and help us return home,” Iklil said. “As a leader he can make it come true.“We only want to live in peace in our hometown.”/129