TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said the immediate return of displaced Shia residents of Sampang regency, who currently took refuge at the flats of Puspo Agro Central Market Complex in Jemundo, Sidoarjo, East Java, to their homes was still unlikely given the unfavorable conditions in Madura.
“The process of reconciliation and negotiation is still underway there,” he told Tempo at the Juanda Airport in Surabaya, yesterday, Wednesday, September 5, 2013.
Suryadharma said the State Islamic Institute of Sunan Ampel Surabaya was currently mediating the reconciliation between Shias and Muslim clerics in Madura. The reconciliation aimed at seeking mutual respect between the quarreling parties both as human beings and locals.
“We have yet to come to an agreement. So I have no idea how long the Shias will remain in exile,” he said.
However, the minister claimed progress had been made during the talks as the clerics said they would not force the Shias to convert to Sunniism. “I already met the clerics and the refugees.”
Suryadharma said sending the displaced Shias home was actually an easy task for the government. ”But we fear sending them home in the near future will only result in more casualties.”
ARIEF RIZQI HIDAYAT
