Indonesian Muslims Threaten Protests Over Catholic Church Construction
Muslims residing in Indonesia have threatened to hold protests in response to the construction of a Catholic church in West Java province.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country with a population of 282 million, of which 11 percent are Christians. Many evangelical leaders believe the actual number of Christians may be higher, as in recent years more Indonesians have converted to Christianity, a situation that has led to tensions between Christians and Muslims.
The construction of churches and places of worship for Christians in West Java province has faced many restrictions since the past, and Christians in this province, which has many hardline and extremist Islamists, bear most of the pressure. Apart from West Java province, the province of “Aceh,” which is governed according to Sharia law, also exerts considerable pressure on Christians, a matter that is not unprecedented.
In recent months, Christians have repeatedly denied any violations in obtaining permits and believe that obtaining permission to build new churches, especially in cities like Bandung, is almost impossible and extremely difficult. According to their statements, church construction opponents do not view this place as a location for Islamic preaching.
Now that Christians intend to construct a church in the center of West Java province, they have faced widespread reactions from Muslims, such that in protest of the church construction, while expressing dissatisfaction with the issue, they have also threatened to hold demonstrations. A law office, whose case is being pursued by Muslim leaders, also issued warnings in statements and announced that it would take legal measures to prevent the construction of this Catholic church in the center of West Java province. The lawyers claimed that Christians did not obtain the necessary permits to construct the church.
The threat of protests and Muslim dissatisfaction with church construction by Christians comes at a time when Pope Francis, during his visit to the country a few months ago, called for religious dialogue and the creation of a friendly atmosphere between Muslims and Christians.
According to annual reports by the Christian organization “Open Doors,” which ranked Indonesia at number 42 among 50 Christian-hostile countries, the situation of Christians in Indonesia has deteriorated in recent years, and Indonesian society has increasingly been influenced by extremist interpretations of Islam.
According to reports from this Christian organization, those who convert to Christianity face considerable pressure from family and relatives, but Christian community leaders in Indonesia believe that despite these pressures, the church in this country continues to grow, which is an encouraging matter for them.
