Religious Tolerance in Indonesia Under Threat

The evening service is underway in Jakarta's Catholic Cathedral, located directly opposite the Istiqlal Mosque -- the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of Christians have gathered to pray together and the cathedral is full

In recent weeks, it has been more difficult for Christians to meet and pray. Over the Christmas period, police officers were deployed to guard Christian churches out of fear radical Islamist groups might attack.

The fear is not completely unfounded. Protestant and Catholic leaders say over a hundred churches and parish halls have been burgled, threatened or burnt down in the past three years. Especially in West Java.

Fear of having to convert

Gomar Gultom is a Protestant pastor and a member of the communion of Churches in Indonesia. "Some Muslims understand the presence of the Church in Indonesia in the context of Christianisation," he explained.

"If we build a church, it means that the church will be a centre for Christianisation. They always worry that most of the uneducated Muslims will [be forced to become] Christians."

Ignorance about other religions, general intolerance and increasing violence as well as social poverty are also thought to be reasons for the rise in attacks against Christians and members of the Ahmadi, which many consider a Muslim sect.

Not enough state protection

Many Christians claim angrily that the state has capitulated to intolerance.

They say the authorities are not doing enough to guarantee the constitutional right to religious freedom. Some claim that the security forces often look on passively when Christians are attacked.

To counter this trend, some liberal Muslim organisations are trying to promote constructive inter-religious dialogue along with representatives of the Christian Church.

Seminar of religions

"Every year, we hold a ‘Seminar of religions'," explains Erick Barus from the Batak community in North Sumatra's highlands. "We invite all the participants -- multi-religious -- and, also, we invite Muslim scholars. We join together to discuss how to improve peace in Indonesia with religion.

"For example, we invite pastors from 86 synods and we train them. We also invite Islamic scholars to explain the meaning of jihad, terrorism or fundamentalism from a Muslim perspective. The pastors listen and understand the Muslim point of view. We need to learn more about other religions, it’s very important for democracy -- very important."

In Indonesia's big cities, there are groups of young believers from all religions meeting regularly to learn about each other's beliefs and customs. They also sometimes carry out voluntary work together. They hope to counter the growing wave of religious intolerance in the country.