Police have named no suspects in the attack on the St. Albertus church in Bekasi, blaming it on social rather than sectarian tensions.
Bekasi Police chief Adj. Comr. Imam Sugianto said Sunday that disgruntled local natives had been pushed toward the northern coast by better-off newcomers.
"It's most likely this gap that created tensions among the locals," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
"We haven't found anyone who provoked the attack."
Imam added the attackers were residents of Tarumajaya and Babelan districts, on the northern coast of Bekasi regency.
At around 10.45 p.m. last Thursday, a group of people attacked the St. Albertus church, still under construction, and damaged a security post and the construction company's makeshift office within the church compound.
The attack occurred on the eve of the Islamic New Year. The crowd that attacked the church started out celebrating the New Year.
Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said hard-liners most likely provoked the attack.
He added certain parties had taken a hard-line stance against the building of churches, and sometimes launched into violence to show their disapproval.
"The police must take firm legal action against them," Azyumardi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He said the police often turned a blind eye to such incidents, thus allowing sectarian problems to escalate.
St. Albertus church construction committee chairwoman Christina Maria Rantetana said the church was around 70 percent complete - still short of a ceiling and floor - when the attack took place.
She added churchgoers were expecting the church to be complete in time for Christmas festivities this year.
"There's one other place, but it's no longer usable," Christina said.
"While the rent for another place expired in September."
She added the church committee had a valid permit to build the church, which would host 5,000 worshipers.
A joint decree on places of worship, issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry, stipulates a government permit and the consent of local residents are the prerequisites for building a church, temple or mosque. (dis)
