REUTERS, Mon 7 June, 2004 08:00
Mobs vandalise Jakarta churches
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Unidentified mobs have vandalised at least two churches near
the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and wounded a preacher who tried to stop them,
police say.
One local newspaper said four churches were damaged in the incident on Sunday.
Attacks on churches in recent years have normally been confined to eastern parts of
the world's most populous Muslim nation, where Christians and Muslims live in equal
numbers and have fought several communal wars.
Police said they suspected the attacks were carried out by around 50 local young
men in Tangerang, a manufacturing hub near Jakarta. They said the mobs trashed
benches, cupboards and sound systems during the attacks, as congregations
listened to Sunday sermons.
"The attacks happened at shops that had been turned into churches. We have a
report that one priest suffered wounds in the attack," national police spokesman
Inspector General Paiman said.
"We are looking into whether these churches had permits and whether this was
(provoked) by locals displeased with them."
It was unclear if any worshippers were hurt.
The Media Indonesia daily newspaper reported the attacks happened at two locations
and that one was a commercial building with three shops that had been turned into
churches.
More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslims, and most are
tolerant of other religions. But many poor Muslims see minority groups, especially
ethnic Chinese Christians, as controlling the country's economy.
While all religious places in Indonesia need permits from local authorities, those
seeking to open new churches have met with resistance from mainly Muslim local
communities who fear migrants might proselytise.
Militant Islamic groups in the past have also tried to stir up anti-Christian feelings.
Police have accused members of the militant Islamic network Jemaah Islamiah of
being involved in a wave of bomb attacks on churches across Indonesia on Christmas
Eve 2000 that killed 19 people.
© Reuters 2004. All rights reserved.
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