Another Church Under Permit Pressure in Indonesia
Mikael Niman | February 11, 2013
Members of an Islamic hard-line organization protest against a Christian church who said their right to worship has been infringed. (SP Photo/Mikael Niman) A Christian congregation in Bekasi district has become the latest in West Java province to face opposition from local hard-line Muslims on the grounds that it lacks the necessary permit to congregate.
Some 200 people calling themselves the Tamansari Islamic People's Forum (FUIT) rallied outside the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) in Setu subdistrict on Sunday to block churchgoers from entering the house of worship.
The congregation was forced to hold its Sunday service on the street 30 meters away from its church, which was built in 1999.
Mela Mustofa, the FUIT chairman, said that the congregation did not have a building permit for their church and therefore should not be allowed to worship there.
He added that church officials had signed an agreement with local residents and Islamic groups last month that they would not worship at their church until they had obtained a building permit.
Authorities were on hand to keep the protest peaceful, but they did not try to disperse the hard-liners or the worshipers.
Dikdik Jasmeldi, the head of the Bekasi Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), said that his office had already issued a warning letter to the congregation for having built their church without a building permit.
"If the building doesn't have the required permit, then it's violating the regulations," he said.
"At this point we can't take any action against them. We'll have to issue two more warnings before we can take action."
However, church officials argued that they had applied for a permit from the authorities since 2011, but to no avail.
"We've complied with all the requirements for the process, from the neighborhood up to the subdistrict level," said Leonard Nababan, the HKBP Setu pastor. "In fact, the local residents have even signed their approval for us to get the permit."
He called on the authorities to resolve the matter by quickly issuing the permit needed by the congregation.
Benny Saputra, the subdistrict chief, promised to decide on whether to issue the permit by the end of this month.
The HKBP Setu congregation is the latest Christian group in West Java to face opposition from locals over their presence in largely Muslim communities.
Also in Bekasi, the HKBP Filadelfia congregation has since 2007 been forced to worship on the street outside its church or in members' homes as the district administration continues to deny it a permit.
The congregation has taken the matter to the West Java State Administrative Court and the Supreme Court, both of which ordered district authorities to issue the permit and reopen the church. But the authorities have refused to comply, citing residents' opposition to the presence of the church in their midst.
In Bogor city, the GKI Yasmin congregation faces a similar pr0blem, although in its case it was awarded a permit that was promptly revoked by municipal authorities in 2006. Authorities there have also flouted two Supreme Court orders to allow the congregation to worship in its church.
In neighboring Bogor district, the St. Johannes Baptista Catholic congregation has been barred since last August from worshiping in its empty lot. Members have held services there since 2006 because local authorities have still not issued them a building permit that they applied for in 2000.
Some 200 people calling themselves the Tamansari Islamic People's Forum (FUIT) rallied outside the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) in Setu subdistrict on Sunday to block churchgoers from entering the house of worship.
The congregation was forced to hold its Sunday service on the street 30 meters away from its church, which was built in 1999.
Mela Mustofa, the FUIT chairman, said that the congregation did not have a building permit for their church and therefore should not be allowed to worship there.
He added that church officials had signed an agreement with local residents and Islamic groups last month that they would not worship at their church until they had obtained a building permit.
Authorities were on hand to keep the protest peaceful, but they did not try to disperse the hard-liners or the worshipers.
Dikdik Jasmeldi, the head of the Bekasi Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), said that his office had already issued a warning letter to the congregation for having built their church without a building permit.
"If the building doesn't have the required permit, then it's violating the regulations," he said.
"At this point we can't take any action against them. We'll have to issue two more warnings before we can take action."
However, church officials argued that they had applied for a permit from the authorities since 2011, but to no avail.
"We've complied with all the requirements for the process, from the neighborhood up to the subdistrict level," said Leonard Nababan, the HKBP Setu pastor. "In fact, the local residents have even signed their approval for us to get the permit."
He called on the authorities to resolve the matter by quickly issuing the permit needed by the congregation.
Benny Saputra, the subdistrict chief, promised to decide on whether to issue the permit by the end of this month.
The HKBP Setu congregation is the latest Christian group in West Java to face opposition from locals over their presence in largely Muslim communities.
Also in Bekasi, the HKBP Filadelfia congregation has since 2007 been forced to worship on the street outside its church or in members' homes as the district administration continues to deny it a permit.
The congregation has taken the matter to the West Java State Administrative Court and the Supreme Court, both of which ordered district authorities to issue the permit and reopen the church. But the authorities have refused to comply, citing residents' opposition to the presence of the church in their midst.
In Bogor city, the GKI Yasmin congregation faces a similar pr0blem, although in its case it was awarded a permit that was promptly revoked by municipal authorities in 2006. Authorities there have also flouted two Supreme Court orders to allow the congregation to worship in its church.
In neighboring Bogor district, the St. Johannes Baptista Catholic congregation has been barred since last August from worshiping in its empty lot. Members have held services there since 2006 because local authorities have still not issued them a building permit that they applied for in 2000.
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Makassar Church Targeted in Firebomb Attempt
Farouk Arnaz | February 10, 2013
Portions of Toraja Mamasa Church of Jordan Congregation, in Panakukkang, Makassar, caught fire early Sunday morning. The church's sign and front door were damaged in the attack.
"The witnesses... saw three people riding on two motorcycles come from the north," National Police Spokesman Insp. Gen. Suhardi Alius said. "They stopped in front of the church and threw two molotov cocktails before they fled the scene to the south."
Panakkukang Police recovered the remains of the molotov cocktails, Suhardi said. Several police officers remained on location Sunday afternoon.
Suhardi declined to say whether this case was connected to other recent acts of terrorism in Makassar.
An ATM machine was torched on Jan. 20 by unknown assailants on Jalan Gunung Latimojong, in Makassar. Two other terrorism suspects were gunned down during a January firefight with Densus 88 members at Makassar's Wahidin Hospital.
The men, Ahmad Khalil and Syamsudin HG, were allegedly involved in several other terrorist attacks in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
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