Eye on Extremism: Civic, religious leaders ask Indonesian government to revoke decree on building churches

More recently they have thrown water bottles and shoes at worshippers, and interrupted services by noisily chanting “Leave now” and “Infidels.” They have also dumped heaps of feces on the field where the Christians hold their worship services, the AP said.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Underground | Jakarta
By he Underground | September 15, 2010

Politicians, activists and academics decried recently a violent attack on Christians from HKBP church in Bekasi, Indonesia. They asked the government to revoke a 2006 ministerial decree requiring churches to get building permits, which extremists constantly use to justify their harassment of faith worshippers and suppression of their human rights.

Last Sunday, hard line Muslims attacked the HKBP congregation. In the melee, Asia Sihombing was stabbed in the stomach and critically wounded, The Jakarta Post said. Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak, who ran to his aid, was beaten with a wooden plank on her head, the AP said.


Simanjuntak told reporters, “I was trying to help get him onto a motorcycle so we could get him to a hospital.” The HKBP has been regularly harassed by the Islamic Defenders Front, who coerced local authorities to shutter the Christian church early this year, the AP reported.

The church, which has some 1,500 members, had been worshipping in a house for 15 years, then applied for a building permit in 2006. This became an excuse to eventually shutter the church so that no one could worship inside of it. (For background, go to http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/08/indonesian-christian-open-air-service-threatened-by-300-muslims-13281).

The church received permission from the Mayor to worship in an open field. On July 9, Muslims surrounded the Christians, despite the presence of some 300 police assigned to “protect” them. One attacker got through the police cordon and hit Simanjuntak on the cheek, The Underground said.

More recently they have thrown water bottles and shoes at worshippers, and interrupted services by noisily chanting “Leave now” and “Infidels.” They have also dumped heaps of feces on the field where the Christians hold their worship services, the AP said.

In the case of this most recent attack, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the police to apprehend and arrest the people who stabbed Sihombing and beat Simanjuntak on the head with a wooden plank, the AP said.

Police told the AP that they questioned nine witnesses and have the identities of the perpetrators. However they did not feel they could provide a motive. The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, a human rights group, said that in 2010 there were 64 incidents of religion-related attacks including burning churches and physical abuse, compared to only 18 in 2009 and 17 in 2008, the AP said.

Critics note that this was only one of many religious discrimination incidents, and that for six years Yudhoyono’s administration has been turning a blind eye. They asked the government to meet with religious leaders to settle the issue of repression of their religious rights and the general failure of the state to defend their constitutional right to freedom of religion, The Jakarta Post said.

They said the requirement for building permits issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry in 2006 has enabled multiple interpretations and manipulations, especially by Muslim hardliners, The Jakarta Post said.

Some 4,656 people have gone to www.petitiononline.com and signed an online petition for the government to comprehensively resolve the conflict which is threatening pluralism in Indonesia, The Jakarta Post said.

On Tuesday, the President ordered Cabinet ministers and the governor of West Java to work with the Bekasi mayor and religious leaders for a solution, The Jakarta Post said.

Indonesia, with a population of 237 million people, has more Muslims than any country in the world. Of late, the extremists have become more violent and vocal, encouraged by the inaction of the government which relies heavily on Islamic parties in parliament, the AP said.

The Islamic Defenders Front is pushing for hard line Islamic-based laws to be implemented. They have repeatedly threatened the HKBP and are known for attacking transvestites, smashing bars, and wielding bamboo clubs and throwing stones at those whom they accuse of blasphemy. However, they are rarely punished or questioned by the police, the AP said.


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