JAKARTA: For decades, some 100 followers of the Ahmadiyah religious group have lived peacefully with their neighbours at the Purworejo village in Kendal, Central Java, but this ended early when a mob ransacked their place of worship, the Al-Kautsar mosque.
The destruction of the property belonging to the sect, which the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) has declared to be deviant from mainstream Islam, marks a new departure for vigilante groups attacking beleaguered minority groups in the country; away from daylight harassment to attacks committed under the cover of darkness.