Christians shorten service in face of threats
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
About 500 members of the HKBP, Gekindo and GPDI churches in the Jati Mulya housing complex in Bekasi, West Java, were forced to cut short their Sunday services after some 200 Muslim residents surrounded them.
Despite some pushing and shoving, and several verbal exchanges, the incident did not end in violence as some 200 police officers were able to separate the groups.
The church members were holding Sunday services on the street because their churches have been blocked off by local Muslims since September. As church members began arriving for services that began at 9 a.m., they found a group of people, many claiming to be members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), waiting for them.
As the Sunday services began with songs and prayers, the waiting crowd began shouting Allahu Akbar (God is great).
After about 30 minutes members of the two groups began pushing and shouting at each other.
About 200 police officers who had been positioned at the scene since early morning moved in to separate the groups.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani traveled to Jati Mulya to meet with the two sides, but did not stay long after being met by jeering Muslims.
The Christians have demanded that their churches be reopened, while Muslim residents want the churches shut for good.
"We conducted our service solemnly, although we had to make it brief to avoid a clash. There was physical contact between our members and several Muslims, but fortunately no violence occurred," Haris Hutabarat, an adviser to the three congregations, told The Jakarta Post after the service.
He said they would continue to hold services on the streets near their blocked churches, adding that the three places of worship obtained operational permits from the West Java religious affairs agency in 1993.
"This is our basic right. Any action to prevent us from exercising our rights is against the Constitution. We have prepared a lawsuit against the Bekasi regent and the FPI," he said.
Hidayat, a local Muslim resident, said the regent had issued a letter banning the three buildings from being used as places of worship.
"Local residents have vowed to take the necessary steps to stop the buildings from being used for religious services. The letter from the Bekasi regent clearly prohibits them from holding services in the buildings," he told the Post.
The dispute began in September, when a group of Muslims blocked all roads leading to the three churches.
Lengthy talks failed to reach an agreement as both sides refused to compromise on their positions.
Hard-line Muslim groups, including the FPI and the Anti- Apostasy Movement Alliance, have also forcibly closed churches in Bandung, West Java, and Surakarta, Central Java.
The hard-liners have used a 1969 joint ministerial decree that requires the permission of residents before a place of worship, be it a church or mosque, can be built to justify the closure of the churches.
Because Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, Christians have often encountered difficulty in obtaining permission to build churches, forcing them to hold services in houses, shop-houses and hotels.