Jakarta. An employee of the National Research and Innovation Agency, of BRIN, was arrested upon arrival at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday evening after he openly made death threats against Muhammadiyah's followers.

Andi Pangerang Hasanuddin, who works as a researcher at the agency, was picked up by police personnel in plain clothes after a flight from Surabaya. With both hands tied with zip cuffs, Andi didn’t say a word when officers got him into the police car heading to the National Police headquarters.

Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization, reported him to police after he threatened to kill Muhammadiyah followers in Facebook posts, reportedly because of a disagreement over the date of Eid al-Fitr, the biggest holiday for Indonesian Muslims.

Muhammadiyah determined April 21 as the date of Eid, a day earlier than the government’s stipulation.

In a Facebook debate over the issue, Andi angrily replied to a comment, accusing Muhammadiyah of having been infiltrated by members of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, which the government disbanded in 2017 for conducting a radical movement.

“Do I need to justify the bloodshed of Muhammadiyah [followers]? … Come here and let me kill you one by one. Go ahead to report me for death threats. I’m ready to go to jail. I’m tired of your noises,” Andi wrote in his Facebook comments.

His comments were in stark contrast to the government’s view of the issue. The Religious Affairs Ministry has stated that it respected the Muhammadiyah version of when the Eid arrived and urged all local governments to facilitate mass Eid prayers by Muhammadiyah followers across the country.

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