Muslims in Indonesia on Sunday (Dec. 8) prevented Christians from holding a Christmas service at a pastor’s home, sources said.
At the Cipta Graha Permai housing complex on Tegar Beriman street in Cibinong, West Java Province, Muslim residents blocked the road to the house of the pastor of the Pentecostal Church in Indonesia (GPdI) Tegar Beriman, keeping church members from attending a Christmas service, according to local media citing a video on an X post by John Sitorus (@JhonSitorus_18).
The Muslims claimed the site was not officially approved by the government, but church Pastor Nicky Jefta Makary said he had given prior notice of the 3 p.m. Christmas service to the neighborhood association, the head of the residents’ association, the local police chief and a Military Unit Command, according to news outlet Kilat.com.
A meeting in a private home does not require permission in Indonesia, and Pastor Nicky said he knew the regulations governing Christmas services.
“I remind you that this country is a country that upholds human rights,” he told Kilat.com. “Why are we being hindered, when we want to do something good?”
After tense conversations with the local officials, the pastor changed the venue for the Christmas service to an open field in front of the Cipta Graha Permai Housing marketing office, but the residents also blocked them from accessing the new site by installing an iron bar at the entrance of the complex.
Kefas Hervin Devananda, chairperson of the West Java Province Branch of the Indonesia Christian Journalists’ Association (Persatuan Wartawan Nasrani, or PEWARNA), said the state should intervene when minorities experience such persecution.
“The state should be present if there are acts against the state constitution,” Kefas told Kilat.com. “There should be no one in any name to prevent other people from carrying out their worship according to their religion and beliefs on the grounds of ‘permission,’ and law enforcement officers should act firmly if there are parties who try to carry out persecution by preventing others from worshiping according to their beliefs, because that is against the law and must be processed according to applicable law.”
The chairperson of the Setara Institute, Hendardi, who goes by a single name, said issues related to prohibition of worship, intolerance and religious freedom violations do not appear to be a priority for the new administration of President Prabowo Subianto, who took office on Oct. 20.
Indonesia ranked 42nd on the Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to the WWL report.
© 2023 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News. https://morningstarnews.org. Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone.
