1/6/06, Opinion-Editorial, printed in The Observer News (Fairfax County, Virginia)

(Printed in The Observer News (Fairfax County, VA), January 6, 2006, as an Opinion-Editorial)

To the editor:

Dec. 7 marked the 30-year point of when the Indonesian army invaded East Timor, part of a small island off the coast of Indonesia, and killed more than 200,000 innocent victims in one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. Thirty years is a long time to reflect over the wrongs committed by a nation which has had its share of internal strife, especially under the spotlight and constant pressure of an international community that seems to have progressively made the shift towards appreciating the value of human rights. However, this pressure doesn't seem to have had much effect.

Take the case of the minority Muslim sect known as Ahmadiyya. Indonesia, a country with the highest population of Muslims, has allowed the persecution of Ahmadis at the hands of religious zealots to go unchecked. The persecution is based on differences in the interpretation of Islamic teachings between the Ahmadis and the mainstream Muslims.

A wave of persecution has included vandalism and subsequent closure of Ahmadiyya mosques, burning Ahmadi homes and violence against Ahmadi men, women and children. The religious zealots and the crowds that support them are a stigma on the stature of Indonesia in the international community. The 2005 International Religious Freedom Report issued by the U.S. Department of State highlighted the forms of persecution being carried out against minority sects including the Ahmadiyya in Indonesia and other countries.

Being an Ahmadi Muslim and a citizen of a country that places human rights and freedom of conscience at the highest levels, I consider myself lucky to be able to practice my faith freely. I just hope and pray that we as citizens of this great nation can share these universal human values with the rest of the world in a peaceful, respectful manner and make them understand, as we understand, that these values are essential to our peaceful existence as one human race.

I request our government officials, local and national, to place the issue of human rights and freedom of conscience at the top of their list during their discussions with Indonesian officials. As the history of East Timor tells us, suppression of freedom, be it geographic, religious or otherwise, is an unconscionable act that may start with insignificant implications but always ends in widespread, fatal repercussions.

Sincerely,

Syed Faaiz Iftikhar