Indonesia shuts Christian, Buddhist places of worship

[sonamdhargey]

I found this article sad as religious intolerance is rampant now and freedom of religious practice are denied and threatened with violence and destruction of places of worship. This is what happen when wrong views and selfishness happens. The religion is not the problem but the practitioners who wants to champion their religion with wrong views.

AFP
Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012
JAKARTA - Authorities in Indonesia's only province that uses Islamic sharia laws said Tuesday they had closed some Christian places of worship and Buddhist temples following pressure from hardliners.

The closures in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, came after complaints from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), and are the latest sign of growing religious intolerance in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, deputy mayor of provincial capital Banda Aceh where the closures took place, said the official reason was that the nine Christian sites and six Buddhist temples did not have permits.

But she told AFP that they were shut last week after complaints from the FPI and that "there had been some tension before we took a decision."

"We do not want any security trouble in Banda Aceh because of these illegal activities."

The FPI presents itself as an enforcer of morals and Islamic laws and sometimes accompanies police in some parts of the country on violent raids on bars and brothels.

Nico Tarigan, who led Christian services at a two-storey house until its closure last week, said the FPI had attacked the building in June and sent text message threats.

"What we've done was simply a religious activity. It's only once a week and lasts not more than two hours," he told AFP.

"They threatened through phone messages that if we continued to hold a Sunday service, they would ruin our places of worship," he said.

Theophilus Bela, chairman of NGO Christian Communication Forum, said that he had urged the central government in Jakarta to intervene.

But the interior ministry signalled it would not step in, with a spokesman saying that "there's no closure at all as those houses of worship have no permit yet".

Indonesia's constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion. But rights groups have said the country has become less tolerant over the past decade and the government is turning a blind eye to the problem.

Nearly 90 per cent of Indonesia's 240 million people are Muslims, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of Islam.

Source:http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20121023-379289.html

[Benny]

All said and done , I think we should not jump to the conclusion that there is any religious discrimination in this instance here. To me this instance could have happened any where , in USA , Singapore, England or any civilized country , simply put the Laws of any country must be respected. Even when it comes to religion , we cannot in this day and age expect to build any temple , church or mosque for that matter , any where we like . And when we do not abide by those laws , there would be bound to be agent provocatuers anywhere and everywhere who would come forward and report us.

It does not matter what religion we embrace but all our religion teaches us to be law abiding citizens. In this case, it could have been anyone from any religion reporting the "unlicensed" place of worship. It could even be a Buddhist lodging reports on fellow Buddhist , in suspicion of practicing Dorje Shugden for example.

[DSFriend]

It is indeed sad to read such news and I do not see how such religious discrimination will end anytime soon. Religion has been used as a tool to propagate and carry out self centered agendas for personal gains throughout history. As a matter of fact, anything "good" can be used for evil. It's not about the religion that is good or bad.. it's always about the people with evil motivation. There are many beautiful muslims people around the world, just the same as Christians, Buddhists and other faiths. What we need is for these beautiful spiritual people to continue to create peace and foster religious harmony.... so much so that the few evil ones become insignificant.

[fruven]

Why do people need to report such and such religion to authorities? Are the people worshiping break any laws while practicing the religion? If people go by the laws there will more tolerance and acceptance of others. If people don't go by the laws everything not just religion will become chaotic. People taking advantage of one another because of not following law, people harming each other, and others all actions which lead to disharmony. The law is to protect everyone. The religion is also to protect everyone. Both exist in civilized societies.

[Tenzin K]

Respect individual spiritual practice/religious is a very important key subject that a country should emphasize. Harmony brings people together and this strengthen a country and not only bring peace but create a community that respectable. Strongly encourage their people into spiritual practice create a peace and highly motivated society towards benefiting other and directly create a selflessness attitude.
How nice!

Being too fanatic does not bring any good to anyone but only create separation and disharmony.
The country leader should start look into this and create a great environment to promote spiritual practice regardless any religious as long as they are true beneficial to one that practices and support the harmonious or the society.

[Jessie Fong]

No one person or corporation is above the law.  In any country, we should respect what is laid down bu the Government.  In this article,it was mentioned that they did not have building permits.  We must also look at the security issue here -- constructing buildings without going through the proper channel will not ensure safety for the occupants; even if the building is only used for a couple of hours weekly.

Our religion/faith/belief teach us to be law abiding - let us not incur the wrath of the authorities, lest we have to come face to face with obstacles in our path.

[bambi]

In the eyes of the law, so long as one does not have a license or permit, you are not allowed to have any activities. I am sure many countries practice this. In the current degeneration, there will be many cases like this happening all over. The first thing I thought of, was the amount of negative karma that is so overwhelming that caused the temples to be closed down and people not being able to receive Dharma. May their obstacles not keep them away from Dharma.

[vajrastorm]

It is sad indeed for Christians and Muslims to be living in the only province in Indonesia that enforces Islamic Sharia law. Although Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the authorities prefer to turn a blind eye to the plight of the Christians and Buddhists in this province. Their main argument is that the churches and temples do not have permits to open and to be built.

However, when there are fanatics involved, the authorities are also rightly worried about tension and unrest. The Islamic Defenders Front are so powerful as to be the moral and Islamic police of this province in Acheh. Incidentally, wasn't this province in Acheh hit by the 2004 Tsunami? If so, didn't they receive significant help from 'Christian' countries? I also remember people from the Taiwanese Tzu Chi organization(the famous Mahayana Buddhist organization whose founder is the wonderful Reverend Cheng Yen) going there to help.
   

[buddhalovely]

Muslims are free to build their mosques and offer prayers in the western world. One expects that non Muslims will also be allowed to worship according to their religious practices in the Muslim world, It is sad that Indonesia a country with the largest Muslim population does not allow other religions to practice freely in one of the province.

I have never looked up FPI on Wikipedia till now. I was shocked to read how specific is the description:-
"The Islamic Defenders Front (Indonesian: Front Pembela Islam/FPI) is an Islamic fundamentalist group in Indonesia, notorious for hate crimes and terrorism in the defense of Islam.

There have been calls by Indonesians, including from moderate Muslims, for the group to be banned.
The FPI was founded on 17 August 1998 by Saudi-educated Muhammad Rizieq Syihab. The establishment enjoyed backing from military and police generals, including former Jakarta Police Chief Nugroho Jayusman. It is also associated with former Indonesian National Armed Forces commander Wiranto. The organization's aim is the implementation of Islamic shariah law in Indonesia, although an International Crisis Report called it "an urban thug organization". Based on Wikileaks in leaked US diplomatic cables say the FPI receives funding from the police."
President calls them 'Our Brothers".

[Manjushri]

What authorizes us to judge whether one religion is better than another one? Religion is supposed to be pure and universal, it is supposed to bring and foster peace amongst all. Being a kind person of a certain faith, doesn't mean that the same kind person cannot be found in someone who believes in another faith. Religion should not be used as an excuse to harm and kill, to destroy and hurt. In fact, religion should be used to foster loving kindness between mankind, to foster internal and external peace.

What is horrible is what mankind degenerate religion into, what they do in the name of religion. "We do not want any security trouble in Banda Aceh because of these illegal activities."...How can religious activity be illegal? The teaching to the public transmitted from Jesus, or Buddha who have attained enlightenment is illegal? What about rape, murder, stealing, lying, killing, gambling.. those are more illegal! No wonder mankind is in desparate need of salvation, and spirituality!

[hope rainbow]

It is very sad to hear that a religion can be considered as dangerous, especially so as a "thread" to another religion.
The religion is dangerous indeed, it is very dangerous only to the world of samsara.

No I cannot believe that Islam is samsara, Islam is the opposite, it must be, or else how could it have survived for so long? The muslims themselves would not have passed on something that does not lead to happiness.
How can Buddhism be a thread to Islam, how can Islam be a thread to Buddhism?
I could become a Muslim, or a Christian, there would be very little difference between a Muslim practice and a Buddhist practice.

Distinguishing religions by their external attributes is a degenerative behavior.
One is not a good Buddhist because one prays every day, one is not a good Muslim because he does not drink alcohol.

These must be consequences of spiritual practices, not causes...

One is a good Muslim because one practices tolerance, because one has God's devotion, and that includes refraining from drinking alcohol, but it is not the sober behavior in itself, or else anyone that does not drink alcohol would di facto be a Muslim...

I am very saddened at this very superficial or politically motivated use (or ban) of religion...

[Positive Change]

I believe the context of this article may well be blown out of proportion by both "sides" so to speak. In the article it clearly states these establishments did have have permits and hence legally they can be shut down. What is unfortunate of course is that these establishments happen to be religious based (Buddhist and Christian) and hence the furore.

Lets not be blind sighted by the actual facts and use the anti faith card. I sincerely think it is within the governments right to shut these places down. I say, get the permits and then, if rejected on biased reasons, plead a case. In this manner one is doing the right thing in a lawful manner. After all, we should be law abiding citizens first and foremost before we can claim our rights!

[dondrup]

Who is right and who is wrong? In this report, we are reading the responses from both sides of this issue.  Had the Christians and Buddhists concerned in Aceh done anything wrong which is against the local law or constitution of the country?  Or had the FPI hardliners gone to the extremes in implementing the Islamic sharia laws?  Intolerance and insensitivity to the minority’s religious rights is the cause of many conflicts in the World today.  Wouldn’t it be appropriate for these hardliners to be more tolerant and let the local authorities do their duties than interfering with their work? If everyone abides by the laws of the country, i am sure the Christians and Buddhists' rights to practise their religions is protected by the Indonesian Constitution.

[rossoneri]

Whatever happened in Aceh is horrible. As we all know that we are not the only one living in this world, there will not be only one country, one race, one language and one religion. This is because we will always like to have a choice base on what we think is suitable for us. So we need to have respect, tolerance and have a little knowledge of each other especially when we are talking about religion. Can't really judge based on the article alone but if both parties had sit down and discuss upon the matter it would be more useful.