Security Guard Beaten at Bogor Mosque Over Mockery of Shiites
Bogor, West Java. A mob claiming to be representatives of a Shiite group attacked the Az-Zikra mosque in Sentul, Bogor, on Wednesday night, beating a security officer in what appears to be a minor sectarian incident.
The attack, according to Bogor District Police Chief Sr. Comr. Sony Mulvianto Utomo, happened at 11 p.m. when a mob came to Az-Zikra mosque complex to confirm information they had received through text messages that there was a banner in the mosque mocking Shiite Muslims.
"They wanted to confirm [the existence of the banner] and it ended with a heated dispute with the mosque security. One security officer was beaten," he said.
Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakin Saifudin said he already heard about the attack and called for calm.
"We have to be careful," he told Indonesian news portal Detik.com. "I hope religious leaders and clerics can hold back and look at the issue with wisdom. Do not become provoked."
Police have questioned 30 witnesses and have seconded a platoon of police officers to guard the facility.
Shiite Muslims in Indonesia, most notably a group in Sampang, East Java, have faced violent attacks in recent years, at the hand of hard-line Sunni groups who consider their teachings deviant.
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