Dian Al Mahri mosque in Depok, West Java, Indonesia. (Alamnirvana, Creative Commons)
SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – Hundreds of Muslims in Indonesia on July 5 protested the construction of a church building in West Java Province, local media reported.
In Kalibaru village, Depok City, Cilodong District, local residents shouting for construction to be halted displayed two large banners on a wall and a house reading, “We strongly reject the construction of the church” at the site of the Studio Alam Batak Kato Protestant Church, according to numerous video clips.
Demonstrators claimed they were not religiously intolerant but upset that church leaders failed to communicate enough regarding construction plans, according to Tribunneesdepok.com. Rudi Ardiansyah, head of the Community Empowerment Body, stated that although conflicts with the church arose frequently during construction planning, the community was not invited to participate in discussions.
“First, the plan to build a church has been around for a long time, but there has never been any information dissemination to the community,” Rudi told Tribunnewsdepok.com. “Second, the grassroots were never invited to mediation by the church either. Suddenly, their permits were issued, without any approval from the community, so that the residents rejected the establishment of the church.”
Church leader Zetsplayrs Tarigan, however, said the church had received approval from 60 percent of residents and had met with the related parties.
“The church management held a meeting with the Head of Cilodong District, the Head of Kalibaru village, the Kalibaru Village Community Development Body, and the Head of Neighborhood Association 02 and RT 05 from the Residents Association 03 of Kalibaru village on Thursday, July 3,” Tarigan noted.
After the church had obtained a building permit on March 4 and received recommendations from various authorized parties, the Interfaith Cooperation Forum (FKUB) provided a recommendation, “and based on the FKUB permit,” the church proceeded with the Building Permit License application and construction, Tarigan said.
“That’s why we held a groundbreaking ceremony based on the building permit licenses,” he said, according to Tribunnewsdepok.com.
The agreement with officials required the church to build sanitation infrastructure, provide land for a public road and allowing residents to use the venue, INews.id. reported.
Christians objected on social media to the resident protests.
“In the past, they asked when building a church, ‘Where is the permit? Where is the Building Construction Permit?’ There is already a permit in place and a Building Construction Permit, yet there are still protests,” Facebook user with the handle Catholic_garis_lucu posted. “This indicates that the issue is not related to permitting. It seems to stem from a longstanding doctrine of Christian phobia.”
Such intolerance often hides behind claims of miscommunication and misunderstanding, the user noted, adding, “Even with a permit, there are still efforts to disrupt the construction. It’s important to recognize this for what it is –intolerance. Let’s stop denying it; avoiding the truth will not solve the problem.”
Indonesian society in recent years 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 Open Doors.
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Author: Our Indonesia Correspondent
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