A Muslim mob in Indonesia led by members of the Islamic extremist Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) on Sunday (May 24) stopped a church from worshiping at the congregation’s new location, sources said.
More than a dozen FJI members along with local residents forced their way into the newly rented building of the Prosperous Mission Church (GMS) in Kampung Glugo, Panggungharjo village, Sewon Sub-District, Bantul Regency, in the Special Capital Region of Yogyakarta just prior to the start of the service.
The church previously met at the Ros-In Hotel but recently switched to the new site due to rising costs. The mob objected that the congregation had not yet obtained permission for worship at the new site and that its presence in a Muslim-majority area was disturbing and could harm interfaith relations, according to multiple sources.
The intruders wearing masks, jackets bearing the FJI logo, hoodies and helmets pushed their way toward the church’s main door just before 8 a.m., as the congregation was preparing for the service. The mob protested the church presence with chants, shouts including the jihadist slogan, “Allahu Akbar [God is Greater],” and threats, with shoving between them and church leaders as police stood by.
The Bantul Police Chief said officers were on standby and had secured the area to prevent potential escalation of the conflict, according to rri.co.id. TimesIndonesia.com reported that the church, police and officials had discussed how to stem potential conflict on Saturday (May 23).
In a video of the incident, a voice from the mob is heard shouting, “If the police weren’t there, you wouldn’t be standing here forever. If the police leave you for more than 24 hours, I will burn this church down.”
The mob issued demands that frightened the congregation, causing leave the site at about 8:30 a.m.
“Suddenly, they entered the building, wearing FJI T-shirts and jackets,” a member of the congregation reportedly said. “They forced us to stop the service. There were many children and elderly people in the church, and the atmosphere was very tense.”
The intruders said the area was predominantly Muslim and that the church’s presence – the site is located behind the renowned Grapyak Islamic Boarding School – and activities could disrupt interfaith and social harmony, mudanews.com reported.
Church spokesman Josiah Michael said the intimidating acts, along with verbal and physical threats, hurt and traumatized the congregation, especially the children. Freedom of religion and the peaceful practice of worship, he said, are fundamental human rights, guaranteed and protected by the state through the Indonesian policy of Pancasila (cohesion amid ethnic, religious and cultural diversity) and the 1945 Constitution.
The secretary of the Bantul Regency National Unity and Politics Agency, Deni Ngajis Hartono, said the GMS church has a Reporting Certificate from the local Ministry of Religious Affairs office that grants it the right to conduct church activities, though permission for a worship site is still required in Indonesia, according to TribunJogja.com.
“The GMS congregation believes that once they have a Reporting Certificate from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, they are permitted to conduct worship activities,” Deni said, according to TribunJogja.com. “However, this perception differs from that of the organization that disrupted the worship service, resulting in undesirable events.”
Muhamad Guntur Romli of Indonesia’s largest Muslim and cultural organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), posted on Instagram, “Worship activities cannot and should not be disbanded even if the house of worship is unlicensed. There are two fundamentally different issues at hand, each with distinct legal consequences. Disbanding worship services is a crime. That is a criminal matter.”
By contrast, the issue of unlicensed houses of worship is an administrative matter, Muhamad said.
“Once again, disbanding worship services is a crime, an attack on the most fundamental constitutional right, namely, the right to connect with God,” he reportedly said. “There are no regional regulations. There are no national regulations. There is no justification for a group of people to disperse a group of people praying, worshipping.”
Local police promised to take firm action against those that pre-empted the worship service.
Gugun Gumelar, special staff to the Minister of Religious Affairs, condemned the intrusion and called it a criminal act via his Instagram account @gugungumelar89.
“I just called the Yogyakarta Regional Police Chief to arrest the perpetrators. This is a criminal act,” Gugun said. “The legal offense is evident according to the Criminal Code. I have coordinated with the Yogyakarta Regional Office, GMS, and fellow activists in Yogyakarta. We have deployed a team since last night. God willing, I will be in Yogyakarta this Sunday.”
The disruption of worship sparked criticism from various religious groups. Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) Chairman Jacklevyn Fritz Manuputty strongly condemned the intrusion.
“This disbandment must not be allowed. The government must therefore intervene,” Jacklevyn said on his Instagram account pgiofficial.co.id. “The government must guarantee a sense of security in worship, which is a constitutional right. Freedom of worship is a right of every citizen guaranteed by the Constitution. There must be no intimidation, persecution, or disbandment of religious services under any pretext.”
Amnesty International Indonesia noted fissures in religious freedom in the country.
“This act of intolerance once again serves as a reminder that the state has not yet guaranteed freedom of worship for every citizen,” the group stated on its website, amnesty.id. “The right to freedom of religion and worship is an absolute human right fully guaranteed by the Constitution.”
A Bantul City police public relations officer reportedly noted, “The Constitution guarantees freedom of worship, and all forms of unilateral acts of intimidation are not justified by law.”
FJI Response
Abdurrahman Abu Zaki of the FJI of the Special Region of Yogyakarta confirmed that it stopped the service at the Prosperous Mission Church due to objections from residents and incomplete permits.
“Well, the point is, the church wanted to hold an inauguration ceremony, but they had already been warned by the Bantul Office of National Unity and Politics, and the residents also refused,” Abdurrahman said, according to Times Indonesia.com. “The National Unity and Politics Agency summoned the pastor [before the incident], and the pastor only received a permit from the Ministry of Religious Affairs” but did not obtain a permit for the new worship site.
Abdurrahman told Times Indonesia that the service was disbanded to prevent conflict with residents from escalating.
“There’s a lot of distorted news that we’re accused of disbanding the worshippers, a problem of intolerance,” he said. “Because the residents have already rejected it, if we don’t disband it immediately, the conflict will escalate.”
Abdurrahman said church worship there had to be stopped immediately because the majority of the residents are Muslim and the site is close to the Al-Munawwir Islamic Boarding School in Krapyak.
“Even if they really want to build a church, that’s fine, but it has to be done according to procedure,” he reportedly said. “Residents’ permission, signed by residents. Right? If the residents don’t have a problem, we don’t have a problem either, right?”
The Bantul government is working to resolve the case. A mediation meeting was held on Monday (May 25) by Bantul Police Chief Bayu Puji Hariyanto and representatives from the Bantul Regency Government, which brought together the FJI and the GMS church.
Apart from the police continuing to guard the church site, it was agreed that the church would complete the application process for obtaining a permit for it before using the building, which would mean obtaining the required permission from 60 local residents and showing signatures from 90 members of the church.
GMS Bantul is the 114th branch of the GMS Synod, both domestically and internationally, serving approximately 370 congregants in Bantul Regency. Led by pastors Sudaryanto and Yuli Setyowati, the church, KRJogja.com reported, was inaugurated on Sept. 10.
