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We just want to show our devotion to God: HKBP

The congregation of the recently attacked HKBP Pondok Timur in Bekasi, East of Jakarta, has been left in bewilderment when it began meeting trouble starting last year

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Thu, August 12, 2010

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We just want to show our devotion to God: HKBP

T

he congregation of the recently attacked HKBP Pondok Timur in Bekasi, East of Jakarta, has been left in bewilderment when it began meeting trouble starting last year.

“I have no idea why [an Islam mass organization and residents] attacked us,” Delman Sinaga, a congregation member, said last Tuesday. He added the congregation, mostly residents
of the Pondok Timur Indah

housing complex where the church stands, lived with Muslim neighbors peacefully for around 20 years.

The church began congregating in 1990 in the area, a year after the establishment of the housing complex. It began at members’ houses. In 2005, they bought a house from a Muslim family on Jl. Puyuh Raya within the complex, and converted it into a church building.

Nobody complained about the church until last year when certain parties opposed its existence, putting the lack of a church building permit as the reason.

Two months ago, the Bekasi Administration sealed off the church that now has 1,500 congregation members. The congregation then performed Sunday services on their open land nearby in the Mustika Jaya subdistrict, on which they planned to build a new church building.

The site was also sealed off. A banner saying “We: [local] figures, youths and the Muslim community oppose  a church establishment in Mustika Jaya”, was pasted on the wall of a half-constructed HKBP.

Last Sunday they faced a fifth attack, when they were about to begin their service at 8 a.m. on their land.

However, the area had been barricaded by around 700 people, who, according to the congregation, were a mix of members of the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) and local residents. The attack left a dozen people injured, mostly women.

A church member, Timbul Pakpahan, questioned why he was not allowed to perform his devotion to God according to his belief.

“In all those 20 years, we never had a problem performing services here. Why now?” he said, adding tension had risen to the surface just after last Christmas when some people protested the Christmas service, claiming the noise was too loud. “They also protested the many cars parked outside the church,” Timbul said, adding it was the community unit that ran the parking management.

Risomas Siahaan, owner of a house next to the church, said for many years locals lived peacefully.

“Why should people need to ask permission to perform their religious duties?” she said. “In a pluralistic country, we should not be denied our right to practice our religion.”

The head of the neighborhood unit, Ashari, denied the involvement of his residents in the Sunday attack.

“The residents have respected each other here from 1989. But it’s hard when it comes to religious matters,” he said. “Last year I began receiving several complaints from the residents that the church had no permit,” he said.

Two mosques stand in the predominantly Muslim area.

Across the road from the church, Harun and his son, Yusuf, confirmed residents’ complaints, but said  residents were not involved in the attacks.  (ipa)

 

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