March 12, 2008

Muslim groups demand halts to worship on Sumatra, Java islands; others remain closed.

JAKARTA – Islamic protestors have halted worship at a church on Sumatra island and at another church on Java island, even as several other churches remain closed after suffering attacks last year. 

The congregation of Love Evangelical Bethel Church (Gereja Bethel Injil Kasih Karunia) near Pekanbaru, Riau province on Sumatra island ceased Sunday services after about 60 demonstrators from four local mosques on February 15 demanded its closure.

The demonstrators, led by Harry Cahyono and Victor Ramaddan, protested that the church in Tangkerang Labuai village, Bukit Raya district, did not have a permit for expansion. They wrote, “Do not build without permit” in red paint on the church wall.  

The Love Evangelical Bethel congregation is the only church in the village of 14 mosques, none of which have permits, according to the Rev. Alex Ritonga, its pastor. His church is registered with local Religious Affairs authorities, but he said it has no expansion permit as area people had told him they had no objections to any add-ons. 

Rev. Ritonga, 62, said the 100-member church was established in 1980 and registered with the area Religion Department Office in Pekanbaru in 1984.

“We will be going to court if this case cannot be discussed between the church assembly and demonstrators,” Rev. Ritonga said.

There are about 15,000 Christians in the province.

Protestors also had staged a demonstration against the church in July 2007.

Ministry Stopped

In Banten province on Java island, a mob of Islamic youths on February 8 marched on a Christian social services house that also served as the place of worship for the Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru in Melayu village, Teluk Naga district, Tangerang.

Led by two mosque leaders identified only as Boa and Dedi, the mob demanded that the church be closed and disrupted the ministry of the Harvest Community Development, part of the Harvest Ministry Foundation, serving the community’s poor.

“For five years they have provided programs for the local community, such as free medical treatment, scholarships and so on,” said the Rev. Paulus Minangapangpang, pastor of Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru, which has 30 members.

The pastor’s wife and children were at home when the mob arrived and demanded they leave the premises before they sealed the property shut.

“Referring to a new decree in 2006, they demanded that the church must close,” Rev. Minangapangpang said. “They wanted that there be no church services taking place there.”

The Joint Ministerial Decree issued in 1969 and revised in 2006 requires an official permit for any place of worship, but any group applying must have 90 adult members with identification cards, thus excluding small churches such as the of Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru.