Church row in Bekasi resolved amicably

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tension between Muslims and Christians at Jati Mulya housing complex in Bekasi, West Java, has come to a peaceful end, at least for the time being, with the latter agreeing to conduct their Sunday services at the nearby Social Affairs Agency office.

Bekasi Regental Secretary Herry Koesaeri said on Monday that the agreement was reached at a meeting between leaders of Muslims and Christians on Sunday, witnessed by Jakarta Police chief Ins. Gen. Firman Gani, House of Representatives member Effendi Simbolon and a representative of the Bekasi administration.

"We hope that the agreement will resolve differences among residents in the Jati Mulya housing complex," Ferry told The Jakarta Post.

Some 500 Christians from the HKBP Church scuffled with 200 Muslims at the housing complex on Sunday morning after they held a 30-minute service on the street leading to their place of worship, which has been blocked by Muslims since September.

There was no violence as police quickly separated the two groups.

According to Ferry, Christians would now conduct their religious services at the Social Affairs Agency office on Jl. Joyo Martono, about a kilometer away from the closed church on Jl. Melati Raya Ujung, for the next two months, while local authorities and religious leaders find a place for the Christians to build a church.

The Christians also agreed not to conduct religious activities in a church on Jl. Melati Raya Ujung, while local Muslims agreed not to destroy the church that has been used as place of worship since 1993.

Protestant Minister Maruli Tobing said on Monday that Christians in Jati Mulya would abide by the agreement in order to avoid bloody conflict among adherents of the two religions.

"I see there are good intentions from the Bekasi regental administration in allowing us to conduct religious services in a building owned by the Social Affairs Agency," he told the Post.

He expressed the hope that the administration and religious leaders would soon find a place for Christians there to build a church.

Ferry said the Bekasi regental administration had in 1993 rejected a request by Christians to officially recognize the house on Jl. Melati Raya Ujung as a place of worship, on the grounds that local residents rejected its presence in the area.

A joint ministerial decree issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1969 requires adherents of any religious domination to secure permission from surrounding residents if they want to build a place of worship, be it a mosque, a church or a Buddhist temple.

With Christians being in the minority in a country of 220 million people, the decree has made it difficult for Christians to build churches. This has caused Christians to use houses, shop-houses and even hotels for their religious activities.

Recently, however, certain Muslim hard-liners have taken the law into their own hands, closing down churches in West Java, East Java and Greater Jakarta on the grounds that they do not have building permits. Police have taken no action against the vigilantes.

Christians, supported by a number of public figures including former president Abdurrahman Wahid, have called on the government to revise the decree as the ruling was unfair towards adherents of minority religions.