ICC Note:
A Protestant church in Indonesia will be allowed to reopen after agreeing to have a mosque built on their property. The church has been involved in a 9 year-long battle after hardline Muslims forced its closure. The church won the legal battle in Indonesia’s Supreme Court, but still the mayor would not allow the church to open. Indonesian churches often deal with complications in securing building licenses due to pressure from local hardline Muslims. Because of this, many churches are forced to operate “underground.”
3/9/2017 Indonesia (UCA News) – Members of a Protestant church have reached a compromise with local authorities, which they hope will end an almost decade-long dispute that has seen devotees staging weekly services outside the presidential palace in Jakarta.
The Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church has accepted an offer by the mayor of Bogor in West Java to build a mosque inside the grounds of the church.
The church was sealed off nine years ago after local Muslims voiced opposition to its presence.
If the congregation wants to reopen their church, they should share a portion of the land and allow local authorities to build a mosque, next to the church, Bogor mayor, Bima Arya Sugiarto said.
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