Indonesian Terrorist Burns Down Church and Christian Homes, Killing Four

The Quran commands Muslims to terrorize non-Muslims:

Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.

Sura 9:29

Sadly there are many Muslims who take these words seriously:

11/27/2020 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on November 27, an alleged terrorist attacked the Salvation Army’s service post in central Sulawesi, before burning six houses of church members. Four Christians were murdered, with three being butchered. 

Around 8 a.m., the Lewonu Lembantongoa Service Post, located in Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi, set up as an outreach effort by the Salvation Army in Indonesia (Bala Keselamatan), was attacked by the alleged terrorist.

He set the church on fire, before attacking Captain Arnianto, Mrs. Mpapa, Lieutenant Abram Kako and his wife and burning down six houses of the church members. Out of the four victims, three were hacked to death, while the other was burned.

In the video seen by ICC, the charred victim was pulled from a pile of ruins, with smoke still rising in the background. The fowler position of the body suggests the agony and pain endured by the victim before death(Keep Reading Here).

Muslim Leaders in Indonesia Warn Followers Not to Celebrate Christmas

And hopefully my Indonesian brethren ignore this warning.

12/18/2013 Indonesia (AsiaNews) - The Ulema Advisory Council of Banda Aceh (MPU), the capital of the Indonesian province of Aceh, the only one where Sharia law is enforced, has called on the Muslim community not to "celebrate" Christmas and New Year.
A few days before the holidays, the movement's leaders issued a statement saying that the two events do not belong to the Islamic tradition, and for this reason should not be celebrated.
The same occurred in 2003, when Muslim leaders in the province addressed their community, telling Muslims not to take part in the two festivities, which are typical of "Western and Roman culture."
At the time, President Abdurrahman 'Gus Dur' Wahid personally spoke on the issue. An iconic figure across the nation for his defence of human rights and minorities, he told his compatriots to "feel free" to celebrate these festivities.
Indeed, Indonesians have celebrated the New Year for quite some time with dancing, drums, motorcycle racing in city streets and fireworks.
However, "The nature of the celebrations for the New Year does not belong to the spirit of Islam," said MPU chief Tengku HAS Karih Syeikh.
In a statement to fellow Muslims, the leaders of the Islamist movement said that they should not send "greetings" and "best wishes" to Christians because "Christmas is not an integral part of the Islamic tradition."
"The law is clear," they explain. "It is haram (forbidden, according to the sharia)" and for this reason Muslims must refrain from going to parties, celebrations or festivities planned for the coming days.
Ulema in Aceh have also warned the Christian minority to "respect" the province's Islamic rules and obligations. Any planned Christian ceremonies, they said, "must not disturb or create problems."
This obligation also applies to local hotels and other accommodation facilities, which are already required not to hold celebrations or balls.
Finally, the ulema want the authorities to be strict in enforcing Islamic law and severely punish anyone who violates it.
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. Increasingly however, it has become the scene of attacks or episodes of intolerance against minorities, whether they are Christians, Ahmadi Muslims or belong to other faiths

Persecuted Indonesian Pastor Faces False Criminal Charges by Radical Muslim

What else is new in the Muslim World?

8/26/2013 Indonesia (WWM) - An Indonesian pastor remains in a tortured psychological state as a legal case against him lingers on.
Palti Panjaitan, who runs the HKBP Filadelfia church in the village of Jejalen Jaya, east of Bekasi, was accused by an Islamic leader of assaulting him on Christmas Eve of last year.
The pastor has always maintained that he did not assault Abdul Aziz Bin Naimun and was in fact the subject of intimidation and death threats by his accuser.
However, some eight months after the incident, the case goes on and the pastor was deemed too psychologically fragile to attend his latest hearing last month.
The Asian Human Rights Commission wrote a letter to the Indonesian national police on August 22 imploring them to drop all charges against the pastor and questioning the logic of the local police.
The AHRC stated the case against Panjaitan was “fabricated” and “lacking evidence”.
“With no evidence to support the case against Rev. Panjaitan, we are questioning the legal and moral reasoning of your officers at Bekasi District Police in being so persistent in this case,” AHRC wrote.
The human rights group also claimed the pastor was “more a victim than a perpetrator of a crime”, referencing the hostility of many local residents against the pastor and his congregation.
This position was seconded by Panjaitan’s lawyer, Thomas Tampubolon, who said at a July 29 press conference that there was no case to answer.
Panjaitan, who was questioned twice by police, said he acted in self-defense and that his accuser was only trying to defame him.
“It is slander,” he said. “Abdul Aziz, with [other] Islamic hard-liners, tried to gang up on me. When he approached, I held him [with] both hands in order to protect myself and my wife. That's the truth.”
The pastor also said Aziz and others had prevented members of his congregation from reaching the church on Christmas Eve and had pelted them with rotten eggs, animal faeces and raw sewage.
A separate case has been filed against Aziz, who was accused of “committing unpleasant acts” – the very same accusation that Panjaitan faces. The crime carries a penalty of up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 Indonesian rupiahs, or US $30.
Aziz faced additional charges of hampering a religious service and making death threats, but these were later dropped. He admitted saying to the pastor: “I’m going to cut your throat.” However, he claimed he was not aware he acted illegally and the charges were dropped.
Both Panjaitan and the Asian Human Rights Commission have questioned whether the local police have bowed to popular pressure by refusing to close the case against the pastor(Source).

Ordinary Muslims in Indonesia Involved in Attacks Against Christians

So terrorist Muslims aren't the only ones persecuting my brethren in Christ? I hope that the Lord Jesus Christ will lead them to faith in Him.

01/04/2013 Indonesia (MSN) - Concerns are growing over at least 50 cases of religious freedom violations against Christians in Indonesia last year, as not only extremists but ordinary Muslims were responsible for many of the acts of intolerance and violence, according to a recent study.

“Cases of intolerance against Christians remained high in the country” in 2012, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Jakarta-based group Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, told Morning Star News. Christians were targeted in at least 50 of 264 cases of religious freedom violations in 2012, more than any other group, Naipospos added. Setara recorded 54 such cases against Christians in 2011, following the especially volatile year of 2010, when there were 75 cases against Christians.

Setara’s Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief in 2012 notes that the 264 cases of religious freedom violations overall last year include 371 “acts” against religious minorities, as one case often involves more than one attack or action. The Setara report came days before more than 200 local Muslims threw rotten eggs at Christians going to a worship service in Bekasi on Christmas Eve. A photographer from Agence France-Presse witnessed furious men and headscarf-clad women blocking the road and launching the eggs at members of the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church (locally known as the HKBP) on the outskirts of Jakarta.

The attack was the latest in a series of clashes between members of the HKBP and Muslim residents who oppose the existence of the church. The Bekasi administration closed the church’s building in 2009, and it remains sealed in defiance of a Supreme Court order in favor of the church.

“During the attack, Tambun Police Chief Comdr. Andri Ananta and North Tambun District head Suhartono did nothing,” the Rev. Palti Panjaitan, pastor of the church, complained at a press conference in Jakarta on Dec. 26.

A sign of growing intolerance could be seen days before Christmas when the Indonesia Ulema Council (the MUI, a confederation that represents all Muslim groups to the government) issued a fatwa forbidding all Muslims from extending Christmas greetings to Christians and asking President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to skip Christmas celebrations.

While Indonesia’s Muslim-majority population of 232.5 million is believed to be largely tolerant, a trend is emerging of ordinary local Muslims leading violent attacks, not just outside extremist groups, the report found.

Many violent attacks were carried out with impunity by local Sunni Muslims, indicating that “the virus of intolerance” has trickled down from extremists to ordinary residents, Naipospos said. On top of the list of non-state actors were “citizens,” responsible for 76 cases of religious freedom violations – as opposed to the extremist group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which was behind 24 cases, and the MUI, which was responsible for 25 cases, according to the report(Source).

Rotten Egg Attack Mars Indonesia Christmas Celebration

12/25/2012 Indonesia (Jakarta Globe) - More than 200 Indonesian Muslims threw rotten eggs at Christians wanting to hold a Christmas mass near land outside Jakarta where they plan to build a church, police and a witness said. Some 100 Christian worshippers intended to hold a mass near empty land where they hope to build a church, about 30-kilometers east of the capital, in a project barred by district government and community members in 2009.

Since then, worshippers from the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant have held Sunday services under scorching sun outside the property. On Tuesday, however, local community members blocked the road near the land, Andri Ananta, a local police chief on Jakarta's outskirts, told AFP.

An AFP photographer witnessed furious locals — men and women wearing Muslim headscarf, with small children in tow — physically blocking the road and throwing rotten eggs at the gathering worshippers.
Ananta said police managed to convince the Christians to drop their plan and return home.

"We tried our best to avoid any clash and the Christians agreed to leave," he said, adding 380 police and military personnel including an anti-riot squad were deployed to the area. Church leader Reverend Palti Panjaitan said the incident came after a Christmas Eve attack on Monday evening when "intolerant people" threw not only rotten eggs but plastic bags filled with urine and cow dung at them. "Everything had happened while police were there. They were just watching without doing anything to stop them from harming us," he told AFP(Source).

Church in Indonesia Reports Christmas Eve Service Attack

Lord Jesus, help my Indonesian brethren in Christ to respond rightly to this nasty persecution they are facing during this Christmas season.

12/28/2012 Indonesia (The Jakarta Globe) - Members of the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church were intimidated by a mob on Christmas Eve near the church’s confiscated land in Bekasi, representatives of the church said. The representatives reported the incident to the National Commission on Human Rights.
The intimidation occurred while the congregation was conducting a Christmas procession prior to holding a Christmas Eve service, the HKBP Filadelfia representatives told Natalius Pigai, head of the monitoring and investigative division for the commission, which is known as Komnas HAM.

Parsaoran, one of the church representatives, said that a mob pelted the congregation with eggs and other items and tried to hinder the procession from heading to the front of the church’s property, which has been sealed off by the local authorities.

Natalius said that he believed the root of the problem lay in the complex and dragged-out process of government permit issuance for churches and added that this was causing conflicts in communities.
He said that the government’s inconsistency in protecting religious freedom was giving rise to intolerant groups that “are much more dangerous than atheist groups(Source).”

Muslim Extremists Continue to Grow Violent Towards Christians in Indonesia

I thank the Lord Jesus Christ that He gives his followers the strength to tell others about Him even when they are threatened with bad things happening to them as seen in this article.

12/26/2012 Indonesia (MNN) - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recently raised concerns over the plight of religious minorities in Indonesia. Many are Christians who have been noting the rise of violent attacks and forced displacement. This, in addition to other forms of discrimination, such as being denied identification cards. Sources from Open Doors and the Voice of the Martyrs say there have been reports of forced church closures, even where the churches have secured legal permission.

International Christian Concern reported Jakarta police finally taking security measures to protect Christians as they gathered to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. More than 12,000 police were deployed to roughly 2,000 churches throughout Central Java. Muslim extremist groups in Indonesia, with suspected ties to al Qaeda, continue to grow more violent towards Christians, with little resistance from authorities.
Voice of the Martyrs noted one incident with a girl named Ribur who was jailed for 60 days for talking about her faith in Jesus. According to the VOM report, she chose to be part of an agricultural mission project in Aceh on the island of Sumatra. Teaching about how to raise crops and livestock often gave the team opportunities to answer questions about their faith.

ICC says Ribur eventually began a community Bible study. She and another teammate had developed a relationship with a local woman, who eventually gave her life to Christ. That’s where Ribur ran into trouble.
Shortly after this, a mob attacked Ribur and the other Christian worker. The beating continued for 45 minutes, eventually ending when the police came and arrested the pair for blaspheming Islam. When officials asked her why she shared about Jesus, Ribur said, "Jesus wants everyone to know about Him." Eventually, the pair was released. However, Franz Magnis-Suseno of the Driyarkara School of Philosophy says, "The religious situation in Indonesia is marked by a rising number of social conflicts between neighborhoods and villages; conflicts on ethnic and, increasingly, on religious lines."

Christmas in Indonesia a Matter of Faith and Security

I hope (or I hoped) my Indonesian brethren in Christ remember the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of their persecution during this Christmas season

12/23/2012 Indonesia (Jakarta Globe) - At Jakarta’s biggest shopping centers, lights twinkle on plastic firs and displays are buried under yards of cotton-wool snow. People of all religions can be seen having their photographs taken with a heavily costumed Santa Claus and his helpers. It is hard to tell from these open festivities that Christmas is in fact a minority celebration in Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

Christians make up less than 10 percent of the population of 240 million. Protestantism and Catholicism count for two of the six officially recognized religions. But despite Christianity’s official status it still faces opposition in Indonesia from terrorist groups, community leaders and even government officials.
Churches in Indonesia are subject to closure from public pressure, face denial of permits to build in the first place and even experience episodes of violence.

In 2000, the nation was rocked by a series of bombings that targeted churches on Christmas Eve. Eighteen people were killed in the blasts that hit churches from North Sumatra through to West Nusa Tenggara.
This Christmas, almost 38,500 churches across the country will be guarded by police. Special attention will be paid to areas believed to be prime targets for terrorist attacks, including East and Central Java, North Sumatra, Central Sulawesi, Bali, Maluku and the Jakarta region.

“There are several regional police jurisdictions that have received special attention,” Insp. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the National Police’s assistant head of operations, said last week. “We have specifically identified the cities that are indicated as potential targets for terrorist activities.”

In Jakarta alone, 6,000 police personnel will be stationed to keep the peace, as part of an annual strategy known as “Operation Candle.” For Indonesia’s Christians, it remains to be seen whether the peaceful celebrations held in commercial spaces can be repeated in churches across the country this Christmas(Source).

Indonesian Woman Beaten, Jailed for Sharing Jesus

Praie the Lord Jesus for her boldness.

12/19/2012 Indonesia (Charisma) - Ribur was beaten and locked in jail for 60 days because she talked about Jesus. Ribur grew up in a Christian family in Indonesia, and during high school she became interested in mission work. After studying for five years in a Bible school, she joined a community-development group that was teaching agricultural methods to villagers in Aceh, located in the far north of Indonesia’s most western island, Sumatra. Teaching agricultural methods, such as organic farming and livestock breeding, gave the team an opportunity to hear about people’s lives and share their Christian faith if asked.

Ribur soon started a small Bible study in a nearby village, meeting weekly with a family of believers and reaching out to the Muslim community as well. She and a friend from the development group, Roy, began speaking with a woman in the community named Maria. They visited her on a Monday and returned to see her the next day. Maria was ill, but they spent a little time sharing about Christ. Maria then appeared to pray and ask Christ into her life.

On the third day, Ribur and Roy went back to check on Maria. A young man waiting outside talked to Roy while Ribur went inside the house to find Maria. As soon as Ribur arrived, Maria excused herself and said she had to go somewhere. Suddenly, the young man speaking with Roy punched him, and a crowd of neighbors gathered.

Someone grabbed Ribur by her headscarf and hair, and the crowd began beating her. The crowd then forced the two Christians to walk to the village leader, lashing them with a cattle whip as they walked. When they arrived, an official accused them, saying, “Why did you bring Jesus to Aceh?” As Ribur began to answer, she was struck again(Source).

Indonesia – Supreme Court ‘pro’ ruling ignored by City authority, so church resists

10/30/2012 Indonesia (Compass Direct News)- Bogor City, 60 kilometres south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, is reported to be one of the world’s most densely populated areas. And, although not an Islamic state, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, with 86.1% of Indonesians being Muslim, according to the 2000 census.

In April 2010, Bogor’s Taman Yasmin Indonesia Christian Church (GKI Yasmin) was closed by order of the Mayor and city government. In December that year, the Indonesian Supreme Court affirmed the church's constitutional right to freedom of worship; however the Mayor refused to reopen the church. The Indonesian Ombudsman’s Office also urged the Bogor city administration to withdraw its later 2011 decree annulling the church’s construction permit.

But now, in the latest twist in the long-running saga, Indonesia’s Interior Minister, along with the Bogor City authorities, decided at a meeting in September that the church would not reopen, but instead should relocate about 7 kilometres away. In addition to the Mayor and Interior Minister, representatives of the Muslim Communications Forum (Forkami) – a hard-line religious group known for its stance against GKI Yasmin – attended the meeting.

Understandably, the church is refusing to comply with this order. "No matter where, no matter how beautiful or how expensive the new location, we will not accept," said the GKI Yasmin spokesman, Bona Sigalingging.

He said if the church was evicted it would mean that the rule of law in Indonesia has collapsed. "There will be a separation and segregation based on racial intolerance. It means betraying Bhinneka Tunggal Ika." (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, the motto of Indonesia, means 'Unity in Diversity').

In May this year, in an attempt to break the deadlock, the President’s Advisory Council and the National Defence Council (Wantannas) brokered a month-long negotiation between the church and the Bogor administration to build a mosque adjacent to the church. The church agreed with this suggestion, but it wasn't enough for the hardliners, who want to see the church gone from the area.

Vice Chairman of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace (an Indonesian NGO that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights) Bonar Tigor Naipospos, said the meeting had shown that the government tended to solve problems involving minority groups by ruling them out rather than accommodating them.

“Relocation without listening to the voice of victims would violate human rights. Relocation means eviction and law violations. GKI Yasmin objects to being relocated anywhere at anytime,” he said.
“The government keeps suggesting relocations as solutions for the Ahmadis, Shiites and GKI Yasmin’s case. This will only lead to further segregation,” he said.

He also questioned the motive behind the decision. Bonar suspects that the location of the church – near to hospitals, supermarkets and shops – means that the land will be valuable real estate.

GKI Yasmin is one of several examples of the lack of protection for Indonesia’s minority groups. The church was sealed and padlocked in April, 2010 on the orders of the Mayor of Bogor. He claimed that the church brought trouble with the local Muslim neighbours. Later he said that the church should not be built on a street with an Islamic name. Its congregation resorted to conducting services on the pavement in front of the church for more than two years. During services outside the church, they constantly faced harassment from groups of protesters – including from Forkami.

Fearing further aggravation from hard-liners, members of the Protestant church now hold clandestine services at the houses of congregation members. They have also conducted Sunday services in front of the State Palace, to further their case with the government(Source).

Indonesian Pays Steep Price for Converting to Christ

The founder of Islam said that apostates should be killed:
Sahih al-Bukhari 6922—Allah’s Messenger [said], “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.”

Therefore stories like those below shouldn't surprise us:

10/12/2012 Indonesia (CBN News)- In the world's largest Muslim nation, changing your faith can bring lots of trouble. One man Christian World News spoke with lost his home and his job. In fact, he almost lost his identity. But he still says turning to Christ was worth it all. Andi was raised as a Muslim and he considered himself to be a devout believer of Islam.

"I was diligent in practicing the Muslim faith. I encouraged friends to pray and to build the mosque. I was faithful to Islam and didn't have any intentions of befriending Christians," he said.

"My goal in life was to get rich. And I was also involved in witchcraft. People came to me for healing and they paid me," he said. "I had a big house and lots of money to spend but I felt empty."

According to Andi, all this changed when a Christian came to his house and spoke to him about Jesus.
"He kept on coming to our house but I avoided him," he said. "Then one day I became ill and my whole family was sick with high fever. This Christian guy brought us to the hospital. He and his friends took care of us."

The Christians also gave him a Bible and encouraged him to read it.
"I did not want to read the Bible, but when I got healed, I felt an urge to read the Bible," Andi said. "And when I read it, I wanted to know more about Jesus."

Since then, Andi's Christian friends regularly met at his home for bible study. When his Muslim neighbors heard them singing Christian songs, Muslim leaders came to his house to persuade him to return to Islam.
Andi refused to recant and preached the gospel to them instead. This agitated his Muslim neighbors. More than 30 of them threw rocks at his house.

He was even brought before a mob at the local public hall. They questioned his new religious identity and confiscated his residence card. The card holds important personal information, including a person's religion. without the card, a person can't get a passport, obtain most licenses, or conduct many transactions. Andi met a lot of opposition before he could change his religious affiliation on his residence card from being Muslim to being a Christian. Now he is boldly paying the price even if it meant having to live in a remote place.

Open Doors, a Christian organization, provided a lawyer for Andi.
"The lawyer presented a letter to the village leader that stated the laws in Indonesia that included Andi's right to choose his religion," Boas Panggabean, Open Doors coordinator, said. "The village chief then returned Andi's residence card that showed his new identity in Christ."

But because it was not safe anymore for his family, Andi, together with his wife and five children, left their village. He lost his home and his job. He is grateful that Open Doors helped him to start a new business. He now sells small household appliances in his new community(Source).

Indonesia: Christian Church Set on Fire as Forced Closures Continue

07/23/2012 Indonesia (Asia News) - Concern is growing among Christians in the province of Aceh, victims of a series of recent attacks by extremist groups or unknown assailants. The violence is worsened by the policy of local authorities, who instead of halting attacks, continues closing churches and prayer halls for the (alleged) lack of building permits, required for all construction in Indonesia (religious and non-religious). In the document published these days, the Christian Alliance of United North Sumatra denounces that since last May at least 20 house churches or prayer chapels have been closed down by Singkil regency officials. Among these, ten belonged to the Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church (Gkppd) and four were Catholic.

In a statement released today, the leaders of the United Alliance of North Sumatra say that the attacks are of "growing concern", given that there is no "protection or recognition" for all religious groups, above all minorities. The situation in Singkil in particular is getting worse, with gross violations of religious freedom which is " recognized officially by our Constitution." Christian leaders also point the finger at the central government in Jakarta, which does not intervene in cases where individual local governments violate the rights and freedoms of citizens, particularly non-Muslims.

The statement also recalls the last episode of violence in Singkil regency on July 18. At dawn the Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church (Gkppd) house of prayer was attacked and set on fire by a group of strangers. Pews and several musical instruments were destroyed, but the prompt intervention of the faithful prevented the complete destruction of the building. Inside the structure about 15 liters of petrol were found, so far investigators have not identified any culprit.

The province of Aceh, the westernmost of the archipelago of Indonesia, is also the only one which is subject to Sharia, compliance with which is ensured by the "moral police", a special force that punishes violations in dress and behavior. In the past, under the leadership of Governor Irwandy Yusuf - head of the guerrilla war - a relative calm and religious harmony between the Muslim majority and "foreigners" of various non-Islamic faiths prevailed. However, recently the situation has changed: attacks against religious minorities have started, the fundamentalist wing has gained more power and freedom of action(Source).

Christians Continue to Worship in Indonesia Despite Orders to Close Churches

I thank our Lord and Savior for their bravery.
07/01/2012 Indonesia (BosNewsLife) - Christians in Indonesia's semi-autonomous province of Aceh faced a tense Sunday, July 1, after local authorities ordered the demolition of 20 churches.
Razali Abdul Rahman, the acting regent of Aceh Singkil Regency in Aceh, signed the letter already on April 30, but details recently emerged.

He ordered the closure of 17 Protestant churches, two Catholic churches and one place of worship belonging to followers of a local nondenominational faith, The Jakarta Post newspaper said. Rights activists said the announcement came after 16 smaller Christian places of worship were recently closed in the same district.

Rahman ordered members of the targeted congregations "to tear down" the churches themselves. Despite the threats, Christians in most of the 20 churches to be demolished were expected to gather again Sunday, July 1, inside their sealed off buildings.

Indonesia's Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi has reportedly said that he is not aware of the closure plans and would contact Razali to ask for clarification. He stressed that citizens "had a right to worship as long as they complied with regulation." Yet, Christians say local authorities backed by Islamic hardliners often interpret rules differently(Source).

Lawmakers Visiting Church In Indonesia Are Attacked By Islamic Mob

01/15/2012 Indonesia (The Jakarta Globe) - Two legislators who joined the beleaguered GKI Yasmin congregation for Sunday services in Bogor got a firsthand view of the animosity directed toward the group when they were jeered and jostled by Islamic hard-liners. Eva Kusuma Sundari and Lily Wahid, from the House of Representatives, joined the Christian congregation as they gathered in a supermarket parking lot to worship on Sunday morning.

But the service was interrupted by hundreds of members of the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami) and the Islamic Reform Movement (Garis), who chanted “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) while mocking and shoving the worshipers. The congregation, which has been forced to hold its services at members’ homes or on the sidewalk after the building permit for its church was revoked by the local mayor, then moved to a member’s house, but was followed by the mob.

Bona Singalinging, a spokesman for the congregation, said the mob also attempted to break up the service at the house, forcing the congregation to suspend their worship until the hard-liners had dispersed.
“This was intimidation on the part of Forkami and Garis to come to a congregation member’s house and try to break up our service,” he said.

Eva, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the experience had strengthened her empathy for the GKI Yasmin members as well as other marginalized groups.

“The GKI Yasmin case isn’t just about the church, but about national integrity and the rule of law,” she said.
Shewas referring to Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto’s continued refusal to abide by a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to reopen the church(Source).

Report: Anti-Christian Incidents Nearly Doubled In Indonesia In 2011

01/04/2012 Indonesia (CDN) - Acts of violence and intolerance against Christians in Indonesia almost doubled in 2011, with an Islamist campaign to close down churches symbolizing the plight of the religious minority. The Indonesian Protestant Church Union, locally known as PGI, counted 54 acts of violence and other violations against Christians in 2011, up from 30 in 2010.

The number of such incidents against religious minorities in general also grew, from 198 in 2010 to 276 in 2011, but the worst is perhaps yet to come if authorities continue to overlook the threat of extremism, said a representative from the Jakarta-based Wahid Institute, a Muslim organization that promotes tolerance.

Rumadi, who goes by a single name, said his Wahid Institute also observed an attempt to institutionalize intolerance in this archipelago of about 238 million people, of whom about 88 percent Muslim. At least 36 regulations to ban religious practices deemed deviant from Islam were drafted or implemented in the country in 2011.

A Jakarta-based civil rights group, the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, noted that both the government and groups in society were responsible for the incidents, with the main violators including religious extremist organizations such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

Indonesia’s hot-bed of extremism is West Java, the most populous province that includes the nation’s capital city of Jakarta. This province alone witnessed 160 incidents against religious minorities. In the 1950s, West Java was the base of an Islamist group, Darul Islam, whose splinter groups are still active, fighting the “secular” government and religious minorities.

Church Closures
Churches in West Java, which has about 520,000 Christians, also suffered the most last year. On Christmas Day, two churches in West Java’s Bogor city bore the brunt of growing extremism.

“Islamist vigilantes screamed and yelled at us and threatened us, as we sought to hold a Christmas service,” a leader of the Gereja Kristen Indonesia, also known as the GKI or the Yasmin Church, told Compass in an email. “We could not hold Christmas service in our own church for a second year,” said the source, who requested anonymity(Source).

Indonesian Christians Respond With Forgiveness After Church Bombing

9/27/11 Indonesia (MNN) ― A suicide bomber killed only himself in an attack on an Indonesian church on Sunday. There were at least 11 believers seriously injured. Nine remain in the hospital, two in critical condition due to lodged shrapnel in a girl's skull and her father's back. The state of the church building is still unknown.

Pastor Yonathan had been preaching about the martyrdom of Stephen when nails, nuts and bolts burst through the sanctuary in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, confirms Open Doors, USA. The 100 members of the church began to scream and run out of the building. The bomber apparently detonated the bomb directly outside the church's front door.

Paul Estabrooks with Open Doors says the reasons behind the attacks may be complicated, but essentially it's a matter of Muslim extremist agendas. "The strong Muslim community -- and especially the extremist group among them -- wants to establish Sharia law throughout the island," explains Estabrooks. "They see the church as the biggest stumbling block in the way of their plan."

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. A move for Islamic law is no surprise, and Estabrooks says believers even expect such attacks. As a result, Sunday's church bombing is unlikely to hinder Christian progress. "I think, in time, we will see some good come out of this in some way," says Estabrooks. "I think the believers realize that and are trusting God for that."

Believers are traumatized and in need of prayer for healing, but just two days later some are already responding with Christ's grace. One of the injured victims, Hari Daniel Restono, told Open Doors that he forgives the bomber.

"A young, 17-year-old injured victim of this terrible explosion says that he's already forgiven the bomber because he thought that what he was doing was the right way to practice his religion," says Estabrooks. This kind of forgiveness may open doors to share Christ's love and the message of salvation(Source).

American Family Evacuated from Indonesia on Rumors of Evangelism to Local Muslims, Violence Threatened

9/6/11 Indonesia (Jakarta Post) - The Central Sulawesi Police have evacuated a family of four American nationals from their rented house in the BTN Bukit Kabonena Permai residential complex in Palu to the local immigration office, allegedly because they were in danger due to rumors they had been proselytizing to locals.

The Graeff family, including father David Ray, 41, mother Georgia Rae, 41, and children Benjamin David, 12, and Daniel Earl, 14, were evacuated on Sunday evening reportedly after locals had begun to question the family’s presence in the region. Locals then burned the family’s car after they were evacuated.

Palu Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Deden Granada said that David Ray Graeff, who had been in Kabonena for two weeks, was a teacher at Uwera Theological School in Marawola, Sigi regency, Central Sulawesi.
“We had to evacuate the family for their own safety,” Deden said.

A local resident, Habib Saleh Alaydrus, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the day before he had received information from his pupils at Majelis Dzikir Nurul Khairaat boarding school and local residents that there were foreigners preaching Christianity in the area. He said that there had been rumors that a helicopter had transported foreigners to the Kabonena hills in the middle of one night in June 2011.

“On Sunday, we again received information about two cars transporting foreigners to the Kabonena hills. So we ran after them,” Habib Saleh said.

Habib Saleh said that he and other local residents had suspected that foreigners in the region had a hidden agenda because the local subdistrict and district administrations had not been informed of their arrival.
He said that the fact that David Ray was teaching in Uwera but resided in Palu added to the suspicion.
“What was going on? There must be some other agenda. Why should they bring in English teachers from America?” Habib Saleh asked.

It was feared that the evacuation of the American family on Sunday would awaken old tensions dating back to the inter-religious fighting that plagued Central Sulawesi 10 years ago. Central Sulawesi witnessed fierce fighting between Muslims and Christians in 2001 and 2002 that killed more than 1,000 people(Source).

Indonesians Experiencing Growing Religious Conflict and Persecution of Christians

8/24/11 Indonesia (EWTN News) - An Indonesian mayor’s attempt to ban Christian churches on streets with Islamic names comes at a time when religious conflicts have become more numerous in the country.
“We have to acknowledge that conflicts partly fueled by religious diversity are on the rise,” said Fr. Benny Susetyo, an official for interfaith dialogue for the Indonesian Bishops Conference. However, he attributed most of the conflicts not to inter-religious tensions but to the failure of law enforcement officials to do their jobs, the Jakarta Post reports.

In Bogor, West Java churchgoers of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church were forced to hold religious services in the middle of the street this past March because the city administration sealed off their church. The city’s mayor, Diani Budiarto, said the church could not reopen because it is built on a street with an Islamic name. He is seeking a decree to make it illegal to open churches on such streets. The mayor has defied Supreme Court rulings and official instructions to open the church.
The church’s spokesman Bona Sigalingging said the mayor’s proposal was part of a “dangerous” trend.
...
The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, a human rights group, said that extremists’ attacks on religious freedom have more than tripled in the last two years. The institute found that at least 99 cases of violence and conflicts had been reported this year as of July 2011, an apparent surge from 94 cases reported in all of 2010. The incidents include physical abuse, interference with groups’ prayers and the burning of houses of worship. In 2009 there were only 18 reported incidents and only 17 in 2008.
...
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono relies heavily on Islamic parties in parliament. Critics have charged that he has remained silent in the face of mistreatment by minorities.
Indonesia is a secular country of about 240 million people, about 10 percent of whom are Christian (Source).

Mandatory Veil and Fasting as Indonesia is ‘Islamised’ During Ramadan

I knew things would get dangerous for my brothers and sisters in Christ living in Muslim majority countries. If I was a Christian living in Indonesia or any Muslim-majority country, I would really hate Ramadan. You have to abstain from food and drink (sometimes that means restaraunts need to be closed down for the whole month) in public and if you are a woman, you have to wear a veil, and it's all done to keep from  "offending" the Muslims around you. It is extremely sickening.

8/3/11 Indonesia (AsiaNews) – Wearing the veil for female public servants and fasting, including job loss if caught eating, are becoming compulsory in Indonesia. In some parts of the country, Ramadan has become a time of Islamisation with rules increasingly inspired by Sharia. For the authorities, fasting and praying have become compulsory, forcing Muslims to abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk.

On Madura Island (East Java Province), Pamekasan District chief Kusairi issued a directive whereby all female employees must wear the jilbab, or headscarf. In order to promote conformity with Islamic principles, women street vendors have to conform to the obligation. For Kusairi, this will strengthen Muslim women’s faith.

Restaurants and nightclubs will also have to obey the rules. During Ramadan, such places must be closed during the day until dusk. Clubs, bars and places of nightly entertainment will close for the entire month.
Representatives of the extremist Islamic Defence Front (FPI) are out at night to strike against rule-breakers.

In Bengkulu District (Sumatra), Mayor Ahmad Kanesi said that any municipal workers caught breaking the fast would be fired. He offered a 1 million rupiah (US$ 118) reward to anyone who caught a Bengkulu civil servant breaking the fast.

With an estimated population of 231 million people (2009), Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world. However, it is made up of different ethnic groups and has significant religious minorities.
Muslims (mostly Sunnis) represent 87 per cent of the total. Protestants are about 6.1 per cent whilst Catholics are 4 per cent. Hindus and Buddhists represent about 1 per cent(Source).

Indonesian Church Continues to Face Persecution, Denied Rights

 7/23/11 Indonesia (Fides Service) - "The Indonesian Christian Church" (Gereja Kristen Indonesia, GKI) - denomination of the Protestant Church with a strong community presence on the island of Java - continues its fight for law and justice, against the harassment of civil authorities in Bogor. The town is located in the "Jakarta megalopolis", where there are tensions between the Islamic extremist groups of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Christian communities.

The GKI has long received regulatory approval to build a church in Bogor. But the realization of the work is hindered by the Islamic militants as well as the unfavorable position of the mayor of Bogor, Diani Budiarto, who issued a revocation of the permit. The mayor, observe the faithful, "refuses to execute an order of the Supreme Court and to restore legality in Bogor".

The GKI, given the hostility and abuse of power by the civil authorities, has issued an appeal, sent to Fides, which launches an "SOS" and states that, given the increasing tension, "the Christian faithful are at risk of mass persecution ". The appeal criticizes the attitude of "intolerance and tyranny on behalf of the representatives of the government" who hide behind the protests of the local population, and do not respect the law, and therefore commit authentic injustice.

The lack of intervention of the authorities, warns the GKI, "can lead to violence, as Islamic militants seek to prevent Church assemblies ". The faithful of the GKI, in fact, although the law is on their side, for over two years, not having a church, are forced to gather and celebrate the rites in the street, with all its relative problems, limitations, vulnerabilities, risks for safety.

That of Mayor Budiarto – the GKI says - is a real "challenge to the law", which prevents arbitrarily freedom of worship. In the last City Council meeting in Bogor, held on July 15, some representatives spoke and launched "intimidations and threats of mass mobilization" against the Christians of the GKI, inviting them to put an end to the assemblies in the street. No-one, however, denounces the GKI, " wanted to hear the explanations of the Christians, raised the voice to protect legitimate rights, or recalled the verdict of the Supreme Court". (Source)