Christians shorten service in face of threats
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.