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Church forced to close by mob
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Despite constitutional guarantees, Indonesia law could ban Christian fellowship
Posted: April 11, 2006
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Hundreds of radical Muslims who converged on a church filled with Christian worshippers in West Java on March 26, causing distress to many with their hostile demonstration, were convinced to disband only after police were called and the pastor of nine years agreed to close the church and cease all its Christian activities, reports the Voice of the Martyrs, a leading monitor of Christian persecution.
According to the report, a mob numbering around 200 came to the Church of Pentecost in Gunung Putri, Indonesia, during the Sunday morning service to protest the property being "misused" as a church building. The five-hour demonstration became so hostile, some of the women among the 190 congregants began crying hysterically.
Pastor Daniel Fekky was told by representatives of the Muslim mob, in a meeting arranged by police, the church would have to be closed based on a pending revision of the 1969 Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) which dealt with church buildings and government approval. The pastor was able to get the mob to leave only by agreeing to shut the doors to his church.
The revision, announced by the Religious Affairs Minister and the Home Minister, will need the signature of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono before coming into effect.
The revised regulations set three conditions before a church building can be built or a congregation legally established:
1. Proof of at least 90 existing members with official ID cards
2. Signatures from 60 neighbors of different faiths approving of the establishment of the new Christian congregation
3. Approval from local authorities
Indonesian Christians say the new law will make it more difficult to open new churches, especially in rural, predominantly Muslim areas. They also point to already-established churches which have tried for years to get government approval, without success.
Article 29(b) of the Indonesian constitution guarantees Indonesian citizens the freedom to choose their own religion and to worship according to the dictates of that religion.
Pastor Daniel has led his church's services for nine years, but the residents of Gunung Putri and the local government did not protest his ministry until a year ago.
"If this church is closed down, where can my congregants and their children worship the Lord?" said the pastor
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