TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Maarif Institute, an organization that promotes Islamic values, executive director Muhammad Abdullah Daraz lamented the burning of a black flag with Arabic lettering of Tawheed (Islamic monotheism) conducted by Banser.

Banser (Barisan Ansor Serbaguna) is the youth wing of the country’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama in Garut, West Java.

“In my opinion, burning the [tawheed] flag is a useless thing to do,” said Daraz in a phone call with Tempo, Tuesday, Oct 23.

Daraz considered the case would potentially trigger public misunderstanding and spark conflict. According to him, every action requires thoughts on its impact from the public.

“Although we know that the flag is not represented a certain religion. But it may represent a group,” Darza added.

He then appealed to the public to be wiser in responding to the event by not creating further polemics.

Read also: Police Investigate 3 Witnesses on Tauhid Flag Burning in Garut

Maarif Institute hoped the police could investigate the motive behind the burning of the Tawheed flag.

As reported earlier, a 2 minutes video went viral on social media which was displaying dozen of people donning Banser uniform burning a black flag written Tawheed. One of them was seen rising the red-white flag of Indonesia.

Garut Resort Police was currently examining three witnesses involved in the event.

ANDITA RAHMA