7/28/2025 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) — A group of Muslim men forcibly disrupted worship and religious education activities at a prayer house belonging to the Indonesian Faithful Christian Church’s (GKSI) Anugerah Padang congregation on July 27 in Padang Sarai Village, Koto Tangah District, Padang City. The men damaged the facilities and the building where the prayer house was located. 

The men shouted “Disperse! Disperse!” after they forced their way into the building. With worshippers still inside, several men armed with sticks smashed the building’s windows. Children could be heard crying as their families were forced out of the building, and the attackers started shouting, “Destroy! Destroy everything!” Police arrested nine men in connection with the attack.  

The incident left two children, aged 8 and 11, injured after they were hit by hard objects that the attackers threw. The attackers also destroyed furniture and electronic devices and cut off electricity to the prayer house.  

A pastor from the GKSI Anugerah Padang church revealed that the incident occurred during a Christian service and religious instruction at the prayer house, which was attended by roughly 30 children and their parents. 

The prayer house was established to provide religious education to Christian children studying in public schools, as they were not receiving Christian education at their schools. 

The incident occurred a month after a similar incident in Sukabumi, when a group of people broke up and vandalized a Christian student retreat on June 27. Some say the recurrence is due to the state’s lack of commitment to protecting citizens’ religious freedom. 

The right of citizens to religion and belief is guaranteed by Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 28E paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees the right of every citizen to embrace a religion and worship according to their respective religion and beliefs. 

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