Thursday, January 02, 2014

Indonesia.


Several congregations in West Java were prevented from celebrating Christmas in church, amid opposition from Islamist hardliners.
The congregation of GKI Yasmin church in Bogor, West Java, met in a temporary shelter without walls elsewhere in the city, while hundreds of officials stood guard at their building in Taman Yasmin.
It is almost two years since the church was forced out of its building by protests from radical Islamist groups. The local governor has ignored two Supreme Court rulings in favour of the church.
Also in West Java, the Isa Almasih Church in Cimahi was sealed on December 13, despite having been used for worship for decades. In the fortnight leading up to its closure, large mobs had gathered twice to protest against the use of a private residence as a church. Meanwhile, the Karo Batak Protestant Church in Bandung remained shut, 11 months after protests by a 1,000-strong mob forced it to close. Both churches have applied for a permit.
Yet, there is a glimmer of hope for the GKI Yasmin congregation: the new mayor of Bogor, due to take office in April, has pledged to ‘review its situation’.
(Sources: Morning Star News, The Jakarta Globe)

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