Kang Jalal on Shia in Indonesia (Part 5)

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Conflict between Sunni and Shia followers is nothing new. Such conflict has been going on for thousands of years and has occurred in other countries beside Indonesia. Therefore, scholar Jalaluddin Rakhmat, or Kang Jalal, as he is amicably known, says the Sunni-Shia conflict is not a localized problem but an international issue.When Tempo visited Kang Jalals residence on Thursday, August 29, the man shared his story about Shia in Indonesia, covering how the teaching has spread, conflict, ways of worship, and the threats that Shiites are facing. The following is the fifth part of that conversation between Tempo reporters Choirul Aminuddin, Erwin Zachri, Cornila Desyana, Praga Utama and the chairman of the Shura Council of the Indonesian Jamaa Ahl ul-Bayt Association (IJABI).You said that Sampang conflict was not related to family dispute. What was it then?Roisul Hukama or Rois was a Shiite. I even named him and his brother Tajul Muluk as the administrators of IJABI in Sampang. Then there was a family issue. Rois joined the attackers saying that he had repented himself from Shia teachings. The repentance fueled those who have disliked Shiites for a long time. So, religious conflict came before the family conflict.What drove Rois out of his family and Shia?Rois loves women. He has many wives. One of the girls he liked was Ustad Tajul Muluks student. The problem was she was not even 17, so Tajul Muluk denied Rois request to marry the student.Tajul returned the student to her parents but her parents married her with Rois. They were married under an unofficial Islamic marriage known as nikah siri and Tajul was upset because of it.Did Tajul like the student?No, he was just feeling sorry for his underaged student. Tajul was trying to protect her. That upsets Rois and hence the family conflict.So, do you believe that Sampang conflict was staged?Yes, I believe there was a grand design to the conflict in Sampang. We can see that the ones who are dominating the village are not police but the residents. Police could not do anything against the attackers. Any officer with a camera-phone had their device confiscated. It is amazing that civilians could have such authority.In addition, the attackers rented more than 10 buses for transportation. Information from the location revealed that each bus was rented for Rp500,000. They did not come for free. But where did they get their money? They cant even afford food. It is obvious that the attackers received financial assistance from external elements. That is a fact.So, you believe that someone funded the attack?Yes, based on the information I received. There are two funding sources in Sampang: a Madura businessman who lives in Jakarta and an Arab in Surabaya.Furthermore, burning mosques is not a tradition for Madurese. For them, destroying a mosque is a cursed act. This would be the first time in Madura that a mosque or Islamic boarding school has been burned down.Why would they spend money on it?I suspect someone wants to eliminate Shia from Indonesia. I cannot name the person because the attack could be a planned movement. There are many initiators, illegal movements, so we will never know who was behind it.