Devoted Indonesian Christians say they remain concerned about churches being targeted by Islamists despite government pledges to improve the situation for minority faiths in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
...continue reading this storyIn a piece of welcome news for historically persecuted Christians in Indonesia, Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has requested the Directorate General to ascertain whether regional Indonesian churches have been unjustly refused building permits and to facilitate the establishment of places of worship, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Christianity is legal in Indonesia, but the Muslim-majority country has consistently blocked the establishment of churches and impeded believers’ right to express their faith.
...continue reading this storyRights advocates are calling for Indonesia’s blasphemy laws to be amended or revoked, as the number of Islamic fatwas and arrests for blasphemy against Islam have increased at an alarming rate, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
...continue reading this storyAn elderly Christian man in West Java province, Indonesia is now serving a second prison term for blasphemy on the grounds he insulted the Muslim prophet Mohammed in social media posts that were critical of Islam, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
...continue reading this storyMuslims in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, are blocking a Christian school from being built in their neighborhood despite the school having been granted the requisite building permit by the authorities, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
...continue reading this storyA Christian in school in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, has been told its permit will be withdrawn following pressure applied on local officials by Muslims, including members of the banned Islamic Defenders Front (IDF), Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
...continue reading this storyA large group of around 50 Muslims conducted an anti-Christian protest at a shophouse church in Depok City, Indonesia, last month, angrily shouting and pushing against the fence surrounding the building, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
...continue reading this storyThe Indonesian Bethel Church Solagracia in Padang, West Sumatra has reported that a service it held in a rented home on August 29 was disrupted by neighbors who broke a window while threatening them and demanding they stop worshiping, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
...continue reading this storyMembers of a house church in West Sumatra Province, Indonesia, were placed in extreme danger by Muslim relatives of their landlord, who broke up their worship service by threatening to kill them with a machete last month, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
...continue reading this storyA Muslim man in Indonesia’s Sumatra island has been sentenced to three months imprisonment for overstepping his authority as head of a Lampung Province neighborhood and disrupting a Christian worship service being held there, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
...continue reading this story