Ahmediyas and Freedom in Islam By Saidiman Ahmad June 17, 2011 Debate about Ahmediyas, a sect in Islam, now

comes to a new arena because of opp ression and violence for them. The anti-Ahmediyas campaigns support the marginal ization of this marginal group. The argument that Ahmediyas as a party of Islam is very powerful. However, so many people have other perspective and accused Ahm ediyas as a deviant sect or non-Muslim. The problem is that the argument Ahmediy as as a deviant or non-Muslim is used by some groups to violate, terror, and kil l the member of Ahmediyas. In Constitution, law, Human Rights, and common sense we can find clearly that th ere is no reason to violate anyone, particularly only in the name of religion or belief. But, the violence actors think that they dont have duty to implement the Constitution, law, Human Rights, and common sense in their barbaric actions. Th ey suggest that the religious teaching or argument is more and more powerful tha n any other arguments. But, are they really have any religious, particularly in Islamic tradition, argu ment supporting their barbaric actions? Lets take a look at the case of apostasy (riddah/murtad) as the biggest rebellion in religion. Apostasy (murtad) is more seriously than deviant or heresy. Deviant or heresy is a condition when someone rejected or has different opinion in one or some religious doctrines. But aposta sy is a declaration to reject all of the doctrines. There is not verse in the Quran showing punishment consequences for apostasy. Th e basic argument in the Quran is to support the religious and belief freedom. It is very clear that in the verse la ikraha fi al-din the Quran state that there is not compulsion in religion. The verse explains the religious freedom in some levels. Firstly, there is not compulsion for someone to engage in particular rel igion or leave it. In the beginning of Islamic formation, we can find that so ma ny cases of engage and leave Islam. These are common phenomenon in every religion. If in the beginning Islam try to punish who leave the religion after they decla re themselves as Muslim, maybe it is very difficult for Islam to get followers. And we found that in few year majority people in Middle-East, Africa, and Asia e ngaged this religion. Secondly, the verse There is no compulsion in religion also explains that we have freedom to choose our groups in one religion. If in the religion level we have f reedom to choose, so why we have burden to choose any groups in one religion? Th ere is no compulsion in religion means that there is not compulsion in religious schools to engage or leave it. Thirdly, the religious freedom verse also shows that Islam concern about freedom of thought or interpretation. Once more, if in the level of religion we have fr eedom to choose, we also have the same freedom in the level of thought or interp retation. The debate about Ahmediyas is debate at the level of thought or interp retation. In the Muslim tradition, there are doctrines about messiah. In the end of history Isa al-Masih (Jesus Christ) and Imam Mahdi will be come back to the earth. Many Muslims are still waiting for the Messiah, but the Ahmediyas group b elief that the Messiah already came. They believe that Isa al-Masih and Imam Mah di revealed in one body, i.e. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. If the first group is still wa iting for, the second has met. All of these debates are in the level of thought and interpretation of Islamic doctrines. The Holy Book, Quran, strictly concerns about the freedom in this kind of interpretation debate. The ensuring of freedo m make Islam has a rich of the Qoran interpretation literatures. The process of interpretation is still happen until now. And we have good news that Indonesia h

as one of the famous of Quran interpreter, Prof. Dr. Quraisy Shihab. He publishe d a lot of book about the Quran. One of his famous Quran interpretation book is A l-Mishbah. The absent of punishment for the apostate in the Quran consistently was supporte d by hadith (the tradition of prophet). Off course some hadith talked the punish ment for the apostate, but according to Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, all of the had it are weak and have many problems in validity. There is no one hadith allowing punishment for the apostate merely because of the apostasy. In the Shahih Bukhar i (one of the most authoritative book of hadith) explains about story of one Bed uin who already engage Islam but came to the prophet and ask to cancel his shaha dah (the declaration to engage Islam). Three times he came to prophet to propose same intention, and three times also the prophet ignored it. So, the Beduin lea ved Madina, but the prophet still didnt do anything and didnt ask any punishment f or the apostate. The radicals use an experience in Islam history that the Caliphate Abu Bakr atta cked Musailamah group and one weak hadith man baddala diinahu faqtuluh (kill every one who changes his religion). They use this experience and hadith to support th eir action violate the apostates, including Ahmediyas. They also think that puni shment for apostate is a consensus of the majority of ulamas (ijma). According to Mohammad Omar Farooq, since the classic Islam until now there is no t any consensus among ulamas that the apostate has to be punished. The common in terpretation among prominent ulamas about the war for Musailamah group was not m erely that they leave or convert their religion, but only because their actions had implication to political rebellion. Omar Farooq tells a moment in the era of Caliphate Umar Ibn Abd Azis. Some peopl e declared to leave Islam. Maimun Ibn Mahram told this to Umar. Umar ask to give them freedom but they had to pay taxes as other people did in that country. Sufyan Ats-Tsaury (Amirul Mukminin fi al-Hadits/The King of Muslim in Hadit) and Ibrahim al-Nakhai (Tabiin) agreed to refuse dead punishment for apostate. Accordi ng to them, they always have change to come back to truth. So, the best thing th at we can do is ask them persuasively. In the same boat, Syamsuddin al-Sarakhsi (an expert in Islamic law from Hanafi school of thought) said that apostasy is a very serious kind of sin, but it is only relation between man and God and its p unishment must be postponed until the Judgment Day. Sheikh Mahmud Syaltut (The F ormer of Shaikh Akbar al-Azhar) has a same idea: apostasy is a sin. In the Quran , according to Syaltut, punishment for the sinner is only in the hereafter. Shei kh Gamal al-Banna (younger brother of Hasan al-Banna/founder of Muslim Brotherho od) explicitly said that there is not punishment for apostasy. Freedom of though t is a foundation for Islam. From common sense, Constitution, law, Human Rights, the Islamic doctrines, until ijma (the consensus of ulamas) all of them support the idea of religious freedo m, freedom to change religion, freedom to join a group in one religion, freedom to interpret religions doctrines, and even freedom to become an atheist or agnos tics. Belief or faith is man and God affairs. So, we can propose a question, wha t reason is used by people who violate and kill Muslim Ahmadi in many places in Indonesia? Off course, common sense and religion are not in the side of killers and terrorists. Published by Koran Tempo in Bahasa Indonesia, April 15, 2011 Source: arguments voice of reason