'People just want to pray'

The forcible closures of Christian places of worship in Jakarta, Bekasi, Bandung and Surakarta by hard-line Muslim groups has raised questions about religious tolerance in the country. The Jakarta Post interviewed some Jakarta people about the issue.

Gracia Silaban , 23, is a university student who lives in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta:

As far as I know, whenever a new place of worship is about to be built, the church council usually faces more difficulties than Muslims if they want to build a mosque.

It's almost impossible to build a church as the council has to go through an arduous process of getting the land and building use permits, approval from the local community and administration, and much more besides.

I just hope that the government will revise the regulations, as they place an unnecessary burden on some religious communities in the country, and instead start to treat all religions equally.

Maybe the government can simplify the procedures. There's no need for so much red tape.

People just want to pray.

About the place of worship being forced to close by locals after 13 years in operation, I think the church congregation should consider their behavior. Naybe they have disturbed the locals lately with their activities or something.

I believe there must have been reasons that made them angry.

Ryan Pandey, 28, is a staff member in an English language institution on Jl. Kapt. Tendean, South Jakarta. He lives in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta:

The attacks on places of worship and the government's response to this problem make me wonder about democracy in this country.

It is ironic that these things are occurring after we democratically elected our President.

Why doesn't the government make the procedures for building places of worship simpler, especially for minorities?

-- The Jakarta Post