TEMPO.CO, Tasikmalaya - The Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) in Tasikmalaya, West Java, has sealed off an under construction mosque owned by Ahmadiyah followers on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 due to questionable construction license.
"[The mosque construction] has no license under the Regent Regulation Number 5/1999 on Building Permit," Imam Ghazali, the head of Tasikmalaya Public Order Agency, told Tempo on Tuesday, March 31, 2015.
According to Ghazali, the mosque was originally just a performance stage, and later in 2014, the place of worship was renovated and turned into a permanent building.
Ghazali revealed that the Public Order Agency had called for a meeting with the city's Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) resulting in a decision to seal off the mosque. Ghazali also issued a warning to take legal action against any Ahmadiyah follower who would attempt to break the seal.
Ghazali explained that the place of worship had been used as a center to teach Quran recital and for mass prayers among 14 Ahmadiyah households.
Alex Roilan, the head of Bakor Pakem and the head of Singaparna District Court, said that he had met the local consultative forum, community figures, religious figures and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). It was then decided that the permit for the mosque construction was not valid.
"The construction of house of prayers is governed under the Religious Minister and the Home Minister's regulations," he said.
CANDRA NUGRAHA