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riggered by objections from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in Central Java over former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid’s plan to participate in an interfaith community event at a church on Thursday, in which attendees were to share a symbolic meal to end the daily fast, the event was forced to move to a neutral venue — a subdistrict meeting hall.

The program was initially to be held at Kristus Raja Church in Ungaran, Semarang regency, Central Java, but due to objections voiced by FPI, a well-known hardliner Islamic group, it moved to Santo Yakobus Zebedeus Church, Pudak Payung, Semarang.

The FPI continued to object to the event after it was relocated to the Santo Yakobus Zebedeus Church, so organizers once again moved the fast-breaking program to the Pudak Payung subdistrict hall, located 100 meters from Santo Yakobus.

The decision to move the event to the subdistrict hall was made during a coordination meeting held at the Semarang Police headquarters, involving the organizing committee, both church managements, FPI and the police.

Despite initial objections and the series of venue changes, the event went ahead peacefully and the hall was not disturbed.

Members of Barisan Serbaguna (Banser), Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) Central Java branch, were seen calmly ensuring Sinta’s safety. Members of the Presidential security detail (Paspampres) were also seen securing the traffic between Santo Yakobus Church and the Pudak Payung subdistrict hall.

Chairman of FPI Central Java’s advocacy and legal team, Zaenal Abidin Petir, said FPI had never banned Sinta from visiting Central Java, and had not attempted to prevent her from attending a fast-breaking meal at the church.

“What we objected to was that lay Muslims were also invited to the fast-breaking,” said Zaenal, alleging that the faith of economically poor and lay Muslims could be destabilized in the face of humanist church circles.

“That’s why we did not want the fast-breaking to be held at the church,” Zaenal said.

The organizing committee said the fast-breaking event had been prepared long before, involving respected Muslim figures and local mosque management. The organizing committee invited 425 locals, community leaders and government officers.

Accompanying Sinta was Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi, the chairman of the Semarang diocese interfaith and faith relation commission Aloysius Budi Purnomo, and a number of other religious figures.

Responding to the FPI’s objections, Aloysius Budi Purnomo said that the fast-breaking event involving an interfaith community had been organized at the wish of Sinta, who has been conducting such events for the last 16 years.

Before the event was moved to the subdistrict hall, Sinta had the chance to speak for 15 minutes before the Christian community at the Santo Yakobus Zebedeus Church.

Budi assured that no incident, violence or act of coercion had been carried out in order to have the location of the fast-breaking event moved. He said the decision to move the event to the subdistrict hall was the result of a compromise involving all parties.