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Thousands of Christians have celebrated Christmas in a volatile area of Indonesia's West Java province, despite concerns of more attacks against them. At least 5,000 worshipers living in the city of Bekasi reportedly gathered in the unfinished St. Albertus Church for a Christmas Eve mass, a week after it was attacked by an angry Muslim mob. Christians said hundreds of Muslims began the Islamic New Year last Thursday, December 17, by attacking the Catholic Church, throwing stones and setting fires to it. Kristina Maria Rentetana, head of the church building committee, told reporters that the crowd shouted ‘destroy it’ and that ‘even women carrying babies’ participated in stone throwing. Most damage was reportedly done to the makeshift security post and the developer’s office. The Indonesian Committee of Religions for Peace has urged authorities to increase security for Christians, who comprise a minority in this mainly Muslim nation. Pray: for the security and protection of believers as they worship in volatile places. (Ro.8:35) More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/10513-thousands-celebrate-christmas-in-indonesia-after-attacks
Some of the most dangerous international terrorist networks are using Indonesia as a base to recruit, plan and train for attacks on Western targets. The Indonesian government is launching several security operations aimed at crippling the terror activity. But the fight against radical Islamists is far from over. Banda Aceh, a city 1,000 miles from Jakarta was almost wiped off the map during the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. Six years later, Banda Aceh has bounced back. The economy is thriving, tourism is up, and foreign investments are pouring in. But a group of Muslim radicals have now moved into the area and set up a base of operations. ‘These radical groups came in the name of doing disaster relief and some were able to set up bases which became conduits that later helped Jihad groups set up,’ explained Sidney Jones, an American terrorism expert living in Indonesia. Pray: for God to employ the NGO operations working for good in Indonesia to shame and repel iniquity in disguise. (Job12:22) More: http://ausprayernet.org.au/newsletter/DisplayNewsletter.php
Indonesian National Police will increase security in seven prime target areas for terrorist attacks ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations from Dec 23rd through Jan 1st. During this period, police will heighten security at the 38,499 registered churches across Indonesia and will step up security on roads, train stations, bus terminals, tourism sites and malls. Pray against terrorist activities from militants with links to Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid. As much of the world becomes more dangerous for Christians each year, many in the church defy the threat of terrorist violence by worshipping as a community of believers.
Pray: that in this season of great joy and peace that tension and strife may not interfere with Christian celebrations. (Ps.46:9-11)
A mob of approximately 85 Muslims attacked a mission training school after a prayer meeting in West Java. They raided every class and the living quarters, removing pictures of Jesus. They told the staff that the school must be closed. No students were on the premises as school was not in session that day. Several police officers and soldiers accompanied the mob from a nearby military base and neighbours did not recognise them as locals. The school was established in 1999 to train evangelists in Indonesia and has a good relationship with its neighbours. Mission leaders are attempting to follow up on the incident in the hope of preventing further violence. The leaders also urged Indonesian Christians not to retaliate but to remain calm and to pray.
Pray: for true religious freedom in Indonesia and for God to bless Muslim radicals with a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Ps.45:4)
Islamist hardliners are using violent talk about the 'Christianisation' of Bekasi, amid rising interfaith tensions in the city. Nine Islamic groups meeting in this West Javan city have reportedly joined forces in a campaign to prepare local mosques to 'wage war' on the growing Christian influence in the city. The group is recommending that each local mosque should form its own laskar or 'paramilitary unit' to enforce Sharia laws or strict Islamic practices on local Muslims – and insisting that the Bekasi administration's policymaking should reflect this code. Hardliners say they are reacting to what they see as a concerted attempt by the church to extend its reach in Bekasi, a commuter city for Jakarta. Mass baptisms of Christians who were raised as Muslims are cited as a particular issue for concern. Church leaders are now calling on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to defend the Christian minority in the face of mounting intimidation. Pray: against moves to revive religious tensions in a nation still recovering from conflict fuelled by jihadists. (Ps.55:9)
The Muslim majority province of Aceh is led by Zaini Abdullah. He has based his political fortune on the ‘full application’ of sharia. Jakarta demands the governor respect religious plurality; meanwhile Christian leaders are denouncing violence and persecution by the Islamic community. Seventeen house churches and Catholic chapels have been closed recently and many believe the forced closure of places of worship and threats against Protestant congregations will only create tensions manipulated from the outside between the Christian and Islamic communities. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world and, while guaranteeing the constitutional principles of religious freedom, it is more and more often the scene of attacks and violence against minorities - whether they are Christians, Ahmadi Muslims or of other faiths. Despite this, the Christian church in Indonesia has grown rapidly in the last 20 years.
Pray: for the government to guarantee religious plurality and respect and pray against clashes and violence. (Ps.7:6)
The election of Zaini Abdullah, a hard-line Islamic governor of the militant Aceh Party in Indonesia's Aceh Province has opened the way for a crack-down on the minority Christian community. Seventeen churches were sealed shut in early May. Emboldened by the election result hundreds of Islamists demanded that area church buildings not only be sealed, but also demolished. Christian leaders said that applications for Church permits are routinely delayed or denied and the sealing demands were based on a debatable agreement that Christians were forced to sign in 2001, mandating only one church and four chapels in the regency. The number had grown to 22. Of the 17 churches closed 11 belong to the Protestant Christian Church of Pakpak Dairi. The mob demanded the demolition of church buildings and an acting regent agreed to the demand with the police chief supporting him, saying the time for dialogue was past.
Pray: for God to build His Church,and bring to maturity a myriad of Christian communities in Aceh Province.(Ps.119:86)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/indonesia/article_1541045.html
Divine Word Bishop Hilarius Moa Nurak of Pangkalpinang has urged Chinese Indonesians in Bangka-Belitung province to free up some of their ‘busy time’ and play a more active part in Church life. Many Catholic Chinese Indonesians are business people with a ‘time is money’ way of thinking. As such they are often busy which prevents them from being active in Church life, particularly in their own basic ecclesiastical communities’, the prelate said during a Mass on Monday at St Peter Church in Lubuk Baja, Batam, to celebrate Chinese New Year. ‘Some think they are taking part in Church life by donating money,’ he said, adding that although the Church does need money it does not mean money can replace physical participation. According to the diocese, some 18,000 out of a total of 45,000 Catholics are living in the diocese are of Chinese descent. The rest are from various other ethnic groups.
Pray: that the church and all believers would work together using their gifts in building the kingdom. (1Cor:12-13)
More: http://www.ucanews.com/2012/01/24/church-wants-more-chinese-participation/
The Sunday morning attack on the Rev Luspida Simandjunktak and church elder Hasean Lumbantoruan Sihombing left the former with a concussion and the latter with a knife wound to the liver. According to eyewitness reports, a gang of about seven riding on motorcycles ambushed the two church leaders. After stabbing Sihombing and striking Simandjunktak on the head with a wooden plank, the attackers fled the scene. Both church leaders were then rushed to Mitra Keluarga Hospital in East Bekasi for treatment. Following the attack, Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, immediately called on authorities to investigate and hold accountable those responsible. Yudhoyono has been widely criticized in the media for failing to crack down on Islamic hard-liners, who were immediately suspected of carrying out Sunday's attacks. While most people in Indonesia practice a moderate form of Islam and abhor violence, attacks on religious freedom by hard-liners have been steadily increasing. Pray: for God’s protection around His people and for the government to have success over hard-liners. (Ps.32:7)
Dozens of Christians have defied police and threats of attack from Muslim groups to hold prayers inside their boarded-up church near the Indonesian capital. The group held their Sunday service surrounded by hundreds of police and security guards saying they had as much right as any Indonesian to worship in the Muslim-majority country. Local officials used bullhorns to remind members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church that they were banned from the site following an attack last week by suspected Muslim activists on two church leaders. (See Prayer Alert 3810) ‘We just want to carry out our obligations as Christians but authorities are treating us like terrorists.’ said Advent Tambunan a member of the congregation. A local leader of the Islamic Defenders' Front, which has led calls for the Christians to leave was among 10 people detained by the police after last week's attack. Pray: for the wave of Christian revival in Indonesia to grow and overwhelm the darkness. (Is.60:1) More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/09/201091944922621312.html