Indonesian Muslims Support Embattled Christians

(CNSNews.com) - Embattled Christians in Indonesia, facing intimidation and threats from militant Muslims, are getting offers of help from an unexpected source.

The head of Indonesia's huge traditionalist Muslim organization, Nadhlatul Ulama (N.U.), has spoken out against the actions of Islamists who have forcibly shut down dozens of churches in West Java province.

He even has offered to send N.U. militiamen to protect vulnerable churches, which the extremists claim are operating illegally.

Hard-line groups have also been stepping up agitation against Christians, accusing them of converting Muslims.

In July, a top clerical body issued a decree outlawing liberalism, pluralism and secularism, and last month, extremists raided a West Java compound of Ahmadis, members of an Islamic sect considered heretical by mainstream Muslims.

Last Thursday, three Christian women were jailed for "christianizing" Muslim children.

The developments have raised deep concern among Christians in a country where thousands died in Christian-Muslim clashes in the late 1990s and early this century.

Against that background, the intervention of N.U. chairman Hasyim Muzadi is seen as highly significant.

An N.U. spokeswoman said from Jakarta Tuesday that, heading an organization with a membership of around 40 million people across the country, Muzadi carried a lot of influence.

She said he called on moderate Muslims to embrace tolerance of minority religions, and voiced strong opposition to any moves to shut down churches.

He also said that members of N.U.'s "security wing," known as Banser, could be deployed to guard churches if necessary. Members of Banser (the name is an Indonesian acronym meaning "multipurpose front") are mostly young men, trained in martial arts, who provide security at N.U. religious gatherings.

Muzadi is not the only senior Muslim figure speaking on behalf of Christians.

The Antara news agency reported that when more than a thousand Christians demonstrated in central Jakarta on behalf of religious freedom on Saturday, they were joined by two well-known political figures, former Indonesian president (and former N.U. head) Abdurrahman Wahid and former parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung.

On Sunday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's spokesman said Yudhoyono had instructed the police to act against anyone perpetrating violence on the basis of religion.

The problems have been caused by the Islamic Defenders' Front, known for attacks on venues selling alcohol and for threatening behavior towards Westerners, and another group known as the Anti-Apostasy Movement (AGAP).

Through intimidation and vandalism, the groups have forced a number of churches to close. Some reports cite Christian figures as saying more than 35 had been shut down over the past year.

AGAP officials have openly admitted forcing about 20 churches to close, most recently in the last fortnight, claiming they were acting because of local complaints.

Local reports say the extremists accuse the churches of operating without a permit, relying on a 1969 decree requiring approval from local authorities and the community for the construction of non-Muslim places of worship.

With Muslims in the majority in most of Indonesia, getting the go-ahead from local residents can be difficult in some parts, the Jakarta Post reported.

Some Christians have urged the government to revoke the 1969 decree, and Yudhoyono's spokesman said he had instructed ministers and local administration heads to find a solution in line with the constitutional guarantee of freedom to worship.

The statements from the president's office contrasted in tone from remarks last week by the minister of religious affairs, M. Maftuh Basyuni, who was quoted as saying that it was not churches that had been shut down, but "illegal congregations."

They had been set up in residential areas, where they "created anxiety" among the majority Muslim community in the West Java, he said.

Last week, a West Java court jailed three women, Rebecca Laonita, Ratna Mala Bangun, and Ety Pangesti for three years after convicting them of violating child protection laws by "Christianizing" Muslim children.

According to the Assist news service, the three had conducted a Vacation Bible School-type program in their homes last May, attended by children with their parents' permission. None of the children had converted, it said, but the women were nonetheless accused of indoctrinating them.

During their trial, Islamists were trucked in and protested frequently in and outside the courtroom, reportedly threatening to kill the women if they were acquitted.

Attempts to get comment from the main Christian body, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, were unsuccessful on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world, fails to prevent harassment, persecution, or other harmful acts against minority Christians," Christian Freedom International president Jim Jacobson said in a statement.

"Indonesia does not respond to violations of religious freedom against Christians by nongovernmental entities or local officials."

Subscribe to the free CNSNews.com daily E-Brief.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.