Places of worships to be relocated
Places of worships to be relocated
JAKARTA (JP): East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganty insisted on
Monday that he would not revoke his order that local Christians
stop meeting at seven houses in the Pulo Gebang Permai housing
complex.
The owners of the houses as well as the congregations are
urged to obey the order, he said.
"I'm afraid that if they persist in staying there will be
unrest because certain parties have threatened trouble,"
Mappaganty said without elaborating.
In the mayor's letter of instruction received by executives of
the congregations on Saturday morning, Mappaganty stressed that
the use of the houses by the congregations breached a 1991
governor instruction which prohibits residential buildings from
being used as places of worship.
He therefore ordered the seven congregations to stop meeting
at the houses. The mayor said the congregations should worship at
two halls located inside the housing complex and at a gutted
shopping center located at the nearby Taman Modernland complex.
According to Rev. J.J. Lumanouw from GBIP Kharis, one of the
congregations which meets in the houses, the mayor's instruction
was based on a written protest lodged by a local Muslim
institution.
"We oppose the instruction. It's not only due to the fact that
we were asked to move our service in one night, but the fact that
the administration has also discriminated against us," he said.
Governor Instruction No. 39 instructs city mayors to prevent
religious services from being held in residential buildings
because of the possibility of disturbance and unrest.
Across the country, including here in Jakarta, many Christians
establish private residences as houses of worships by performing
church services in the homes, which are licensed only for
residential use.
Because Indonesia has a number of religions, local authorities
are careful in their handling of religious matters, including
where houses of worship can be located, in an attempt to build
religious harmony.
"But we have been here since 1986 and our existence has never
disturbed the area. Moreover, most of our neighbors are
Christians," Rev. Lumanouw said.
His lawyer, Hotma Timbul Hutapea, said the governor
instruction could not be applied because it "contradicted the
1975 Ministry of Religious Affairs instruction which never
forbade the use of residential houses as places of worship".
The seven houses at Pulo Gebang Permai complex are used to
hold services by Christians from various denominations. Two
churches are located in the complex, which also has six mosques.
According to local church activist Jerry Zaidir, the
congregations complained about the matter to the chairman of
Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim, Abdurrahman Wahid, and the chairman of
the Indonesian Council of Muslim Ulema, Ali Yafie.
"Both of them support our existence. Ali Yafie even said that
he was embarrassed by the occurrence. He said forbidding other
congregations from performing their religious services was not
part of Islamic teachings," Jerry said.
Both Abdurrahman and Ali Yafie could not be reached for
comment. (ind)
JAKARTA (JP): East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganty insisted on
Monday that he would not revoke his order that local Christians
stop meeting at seven houses in the Pulo Gebang Permai housing
complex.
The owners of the houses as well as the congregations are
urged to obey the order, he said.
"I'm afraid that if they persist in staying there will be
unrest because certain parties have threatened trouble,"
Mappaganty said without elaborating.
In the mayor's letter of instruction received by executives of
the congregations on Saturday morning, Mappaganty stressed that
the use of the houses by the congregations breached a 1991
governor instruction which prohibits residential buildings from
being used as places of worship.
He therefore ordered the seven congregations to stop meeting
at the houses. The mayor said the congregations should worship at
two halls located inside the housing complex and at a gutted
shopping center located at the nearby Taman Modernland complex.
According to Rev. J.J. Lumanouw from GBIP Kharis, one of the
congregations which meets in the houses, the mayor's instruction
was based on a written protest lodged by a local Muslim
institution.
"We oppose the instruction. It's not only due to the fact that
we were asked to move our service in one night, but the fact that
the administration has also discriminated against us," he said.
Governor Instruction No. 39 instructs city mayors to prevent
religious services from being held in residential buildings
because of the possibility of disturbance and unrest.
Across the country, including here in Jakarta, many Christians
establish private residences as houses of worships by performing
church services in the homes, which are licensed only for
residential use.
Because Indonesia has a number of religions, local authorities
are careful in their handling of religious matters, including
where houses of worship can be located, in an attempt to build
religious harmony.
"But we have been here since 1986 and our existence has never
disturbed the area. Moreover, most of our neighbors are
Christians," Rev. Lumanouw said.
His lawyer, Hotma Timbul Hutapea, said the governor
instruction could not be applied because it "contradicted the
1975 Ministry of Religious Affairs instruction which never
forbade the use of residential houses as places of worship".
The seven houses at Pulo Gebang Permai complex are used to
hold services by Christians from various denominations. Two
churches are located in the complex, which also has six mosques.
According to local church activist Jerry Zaidir, the
congregations complained about the matter to the chairman of
Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim, Abdurrahman Wahid, and the chairman of
the Indonesian Council of Muslim Ulema, Ali Yafie.
"Both of them support our existence. Ali Yafie even said that
he was embarrassed by the occurrence. He said forbidding other
congregations from performing their religious services was not
part of Islamic teachings," Jerry said.
Both Abdurrahman and Ali Yafie could not be reached for
comment. (ind)