Indonesia: Islamist militants prevent construction of parish
October 04, 2013
Protests by 200 Islamist militants have prevented the construction of a large parish church in Tangerang, an Indonesian city of 1.8 million.
The Jakarta Globe reported that the 11,000 parishioners, who currently worship at six locations, have waited 23 years for a permit to construct a new church. The permit was granted on September 11.
“We have not yet fixed the laying of the first stone,” Father Paulus Dalu Lubur, the parish priest, told the Fides news agency. “I do not understand the protests because the building has the approval of the local religious leaders, including Muslims.”
“While many Indonesians remain committed to religious harmony at all levels, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his government are not doing anything to combat intolerance,” said an official at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which monitors the persecution of Christians. “Not only have they failed to protect religious minorities, but in the last ten years they have introduced laws that violate religious freedom.”
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Further information:
- Islamist militants block the construction of a Catholic church that has a valid permit (Fides)
- Tangerang Church Site Shuttered By Protesters (Jakarta Globe)
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Posted by: jg23753479 -
Oct. 07, 2013 8:26 AM ET USA
Where are the protests and lamentations in the West about yet another Muslim attack on Christians? Why the embarrassing silence of our prelates concerning this widespread phenomenon? What are they afraid of?
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Posted by: Defender -
Oct. 04, 2013 12:37 PM ET USA
Not very ecumenical, are they?
