On building of churches

I refer to your story in The Jakarta Post, Sept. 21 headlined Building of church halted despite permit.

You state that Muslims make up some 85 percent of the country's population. Good for them.

Christians are a negligible minority. So what are the Muslims afraid of? That the few of us here are going to mount a massive effort to convert them? Do they have so little faith in the strength of their own faith that we, in 21st century Indonesia as opposed to medieval days, present a real threat to its integrity, inducing them all to apostasy?

If the problem were only dogma, it wouldn't be so disturbing. We all worship God in our own way.

Even more disturbing is the fact in your report that most of the church defilers are young. Only a disgraceful handful of followers of Islam are attempting to impose their religion on the world today by force, not persuasion. Islam is a faith of peace. So is Christianity.

Maybe its just that bored young people like "having a go" at someone. If that were all, there wouldn't be a serious problem. But it's not.

CHRISTOPHER R MCRAE, Jakarta