Congregation finds it hard to worship and pray in peace
Congregation finds it hard to worship and pray in peace
ICC Note:
A congregation in Indonesia which was forced to move from its original location in 2005 by Muslim groups who didn’t want them there continues to face protests from members of an Islamic group who confront the pastor every Sunday that the group gathers for prayer.
8/14/09 Indonesia (JakartaPost) Praying is meant to be a simple act, but not in Indonesia, which proclaims itself the world’s biggest God-fearing democracy, and refuses to be called a secular nation.
This means undergoing the mind-numbing bureaucracy inherent in processes like getting a driver’s license or renewing a passport.
And even then, the freedom to worship is not guaranteed, as medieval-style pitchfork-wielding mobs give vent to the insecurity of their “majority religion”.
In Pisangan Jaya, Tangerang, Banten, congregation leader Bedali Hulu has lived in anxiety for the past two months ago, as dozens of members of Islam organizations confront him each time his congregation holds a Sunday prayer.
Even though the extremists have yet to turn violent, their actions have intimidated Bedali and the 40 members of his Jakarta Baptist Christian Church (GKBJ), leading them to pray under pressure.
“How can we pray properly if there are a bunch of people screaming threatening words outside our church while we hold Sunday prayers?” Bedali told The Jakarta Post recently.
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He says it was in 2005 when the protests against his congregation’s activities began to erupt.
“We were in another place then, still in the same village,” he said.
“Several members of Muslim groups ordered us to move because they didn’t want us praying there.
“So we moved to keep them happy, but then another group of activists came and ordered us to move once again, and here we are now.
Asun, who lives across the street from the church, told the Post on Thursday he feared the protesters than the churchgoers.
“They come every Sunday, brandishing sticks and yelling ‘Allahuakbar’,” he said. “If a brawl breaks out and our homes are damaged, who’ll take responsibility?”