ICC NOTE: Islamic Extremists continue to intimidate Christians in Indonesia as a Catholic family is once again placed in the middle of religious extremism. The Catholic family has been attempting to construct a shrine to the mother of Jesus, Mary, since 2009. They had received the proper building permits for project on their own land yet last year it was set on fire by Muslim extremists. Once again they are the target of Islamist attempting to thwart the construction of the shrine. In a country considered to be a pluralistic society, religious persecution continues to be a daily occurrence, predominately directed towards the Christian minority. 

7/18/2016 Yogyakarta province, Indonesia (Asia News) – Islamic extremists have undertaken a campaign of intimidation against a Catholic family in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, to stop the construction of a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

In recent days, some members of a fundamentalist group stormed the house of Cahyo Binuko, a Catholic leader in Gunung Kidul District, ordered him to stop the work, even though he has a building permit issued by the authorities.

The Binuko family has been involved for some time in building a place of worship dedicated to the Virgin on their own land. According to the promoters, the Giri Wening shrine would be open to everyone and would promote worship and prayer.

The project began in September 2009, accelerating in 2012, following the visit of the former Archbishop of Semarang Johannes Pujasumarta. The area became popular in March of that year, when dozens of Islamic extremists set fire to the shrine site bringing everything to a halt.

Stubbornly, Catholic leaders, led by Cahyo Binuko, continued the project. In February, they obtained the building permit (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan, IMB) from local authorities.

Building non-Muslim places of worship in Indonesia is complicated and may take five to ten years before permits are issued.

This is even more difficult for Christians who need to get the signatures of (at least) 60residents in a particular area, plus the local chief’s consent, before they can apply.

Often “unspecified reasons” lead officials, under pressure from radical Islamic movements, to stop projects.

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