REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SURABAYA – The Chairman of East Java Ulema Council (MUI Jawa Timur), KH Abdussomad Buchori, asked the people not to worry on the police activities related to ulemas profiling. He would explain to the clergy in East Java about it. "I guess it was only aimed at acknowledgement. The East Java Police Chief only wanted to know,” he said.
According to Kiai Abdussomad, the police needed the data to establish relationship with the ulemas. He got the clarification after meeting East Java Police Chief, General Inspector Machfud Arifin on Saturday (Feb 4). "It was done deliberately with the purpose of silaturahim, simply to know. So when the police made an invitation, they did not make mistake," said him after conducting Isya prayer with Machfud in al-Akbar national mosque, Surabaya, East Java.
Abdussomad said to develop a country, Indonesia need the knowledge from ulema and the fairness from officials. The knowledge from ulema was needed to develop the country. When ulama-umara can be united, they could develop the country together.
In the other hand, Machfud denied the assumption said that the police used intelligence forces to collect datas of ulema and kiai. "I'm a new police chief. I want to establish relationship. But to whom, where? I explained this so it would not be twisted,” said him.
Previously, Machfud visited the house of the clergy of Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School, KH Salahuddin Wahid (Gus Solah), in Jombang, East Java, on Friday (Feb 3). The visit aimed at cooling down the society, so they did not follow rally in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Head of Public Relations National Police Inspector General Boy Rafli Amar confirmed that the profiling of ulemas had nothing to do with communism. He explaination was to answer unrest in the society that relate the profiling with stories back from the Indonesian Communist Party (PKA) era. "Communism is no longer exist in Indonesia and it has been strictly forbidden," he said when contacted by Republika.co.id on Saturday (Feb 4).
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