AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Tuesday October 1, 2002 10:25 AM
Indonesian mob destroy Christian church in South Sulawesi city
A mob has destroyed a Christian Pantecostal church built in a residential complex in
the predominantly Muslim city of Makassar in Indonesia's South Sulawesi.
Participants in the mob said Tuesday the church had been built in the Panakukang
residential estate without the necessary permits and that the church had been warned
to vacate or demolish the premises, the Jakarta Post daily said.
There was no report of casualties and the daily quoted South Sulawesi Police Chief
Firman Gani as calling on the city's population not to take the law into their own
hands.
The South Sulawesi police spokesman could not be immediately reached and a
police on duty at the Makassar city police headquarters declined comment.
The building of churches requires a permit from the city authorities who consult the
local population. Churches cannot be built in predominantly Muslim areas.
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-populated nation with over 80 percent of its
some 214 million people following the faith.
Copyright © 2002 AFP. All rights reserved.
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