Christian Today, October 8 , 2005, 10:26 (UK)
Bali Bombings Generate Fear & Concern for Indonesian
Christians
A wave of terrorist attacks near a tourist area in Bali, Indonesia over the past weekend
has generated alarm in people throughout the world.
A wave of terrorist attacks near a tourist area in Bali, Indonesia over the past weekend
has generated alarm in people throughout the world. As persecutions against
Christians in Indonesia by Islamic extremists persist, Christians throughout the
predominantly Muslim nation are in fear of whether such violence would target them.
Balinese clear the site of a restaurant, which was hit by a bomb attack last Saturday,
on Jimbaran beach in the Indonesian resort island of Bali October 6, 2005. Indonesia's
military will join a nationwide hunt for those behind the bloody weekend suicide
bombings in Bali, a senior officer said on Thursday, as police confirmed three more
Australians were among the dead. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)
Last Saturday evening, three near-simultaneous bomb attacks blasted three crowded
restaurants in Bali – two on Jimbaran beach and another in the nearby tourist area of
Kuta. At least 22 people were killed and over 100 were injured, according to a report
by the Associated Press on Thursday.
"It's hard to say if these bombings will have a direct effect on the Church other than
just creating a spirit of fear, of 'look what we can do to our enemies,'" Voice of the
Martyrs Spokesman Todd Nettleton told Mission News Network (MNN) on Oct. 4.
In speaking of the recent increase in anti-Christian movements, Nettleton made
mention of the forcible closures of several churches on the island of Java in recent
weeks. In the past year, an accelerating trend of church closures in West Java under
the threat of Islamic extremists has raised Christian concern both locally and
internationally.
According to a report released last month by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW),
the recent church closures in Indonesia share a common pattern and appear to be
part of a wider scheme by militant hardliners.
Christian Freedom International (CFI), which went on a fact-finding trip to Indonesia in
September, also released a recent report concerning forcible church closures.
In the report, the US-base group revealed that an Islamic extremist group called the
Anti-Apostasy Movement Alliance – one of the groups responsible for the recent
violence against Christians – has operated with full cooperation from the local
government in West Java. The report claimed that the government officials have been
keeping silent, allowing the group to raid the churches.
VOM’s Nettleton also made note of three Sunday school teachers that were found
guilty of “Christianisation” last month by the Indonesian court.
The charges against the three women – Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti, and Ratna
Bangun – stem from their involvement in a children’s program for a nearby public
elementary school in Indonesia’s West Java province.
Although the program was organised for local Christian children, Muslim children were
also welcomed with parental consent.
However, despite the fact that all the children had full parental consent and that none
of children had changed religion, the women were arrested on May 13 following
allegations made by the local chapter of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Clerics
(MUI). According to CSW, the group alleged that the women enticed Muslim children
to participate in the camp and that they tried to convert the children to Christianity by
giving them gifts.
"There's just a lot of things going on that are a big concern," Nettleton stated.
In light of this and other incidents, the spokesman warned that the recent Bali blasts
could affect believers to a certain extent, stating to MNN that "Christians would
definitely fall under the 'enemies list' of a radical Islamic group in that country."
Despite raised security measures by the Indonesian police around the cities to
prevent more terrorist attacks, the Christian minority remain very vulnerable.
VOM urges believers to pray that Islamic extremist groups will fail and that Indonesia
will truly be free for those of all religions. The watchdog group also prays for
Indonesian Christians that they will have freedom to share their faith without fear of
intimidation, according to MNN.
With a 193 million-strong Muslim population, Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic
country.
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