Persecution of Christians in Indonesia: there are around 2000 members of the Indonesia Orthodox Church, with 13 parishes in Java, Bali, Sumatra, Celebes, Timor and Papua. 87% of Indonesians are Muslim. Like Christians in all too many other countries, all the Christians of Indonesia live under precarious circumstances, as exemplified by the attempt to ban all non-Muslim religious activities that is discussed in this article.
Please pray that the Lord would soften the hearts of these officials toward their Christian people, and move them to welcome and protect the Christians who live among them.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Indonesia, see here.
“Group in Indonesia Seeks to Ban All Non-Muslim Religious Activities,” International Christian Concern, March 3, 2020:
03/03/2020 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – A group of people calling themselves the Community Care People Forum (FMPU) in Cilegon from Banten Province, Indonesia is rejecting all forms of religious activities from non-Muslims.
When local Catholics wanted to hold an Ash Wednesday Mass on February 26, FMPU Secretary Muhammad Rifqi, said he had held a meeting at the Al-Jauharotunnaqiyyah mosque, Palas, on February 12, 2020, which resulted in denial of religious activities other than Islam in Cilegon.
According to FMPU, there was a decree signed by the then regent (government officer in charge of a regency) in 1969 in connection with the establishment of PT. Krakatau Steel with the understanding that the city does not allow any form of non-Muslim religious worship in Cilegon.
Rifqi further stressed that religious leaders in Cilegon at that time strongly rejected the existence of all forms of non-Muslim religious activities as embodiments of the PT Krakatau Steel’s founding of understanding. He argued that the decree is still in effect today….
Photo by satari, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54182223
