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conflict between a Protestant group and a Muslim group in Cinere, Depok, may continue to heat up as a local group opposing the construction of a Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) church in the area objected to a recent court verdict acquitting Depok mayor's decision to revoke the church's building permit (IMB).

Budi Waluyo, chairman of Cinerebased Muslim Solidarity Forum (FSUM), said he was disappointed with the verdict after learning that the court did not consider the community refusal to the construction of the church to be signifi cant.

"The judges only see this case as an administrative matter. They were supposed to also consider how the church construction has triggered serious confl ict in our community," he told The Jakarta Post.

In September last year, dozens of FSUM members raided the church's construction site in the Bukit Cinere Indah residential complex (BCI), erecting provocative banners and posters and forcing the workers to stay away.

The organization has long claimed that the church's construction committee used "fake" residents signatures to obtain their building permit. The group, however, could not prove that the signatures were fake.

Regulations stipulate that one can build a worship place after securing 60 approving signatures from non-Christians.

Budi, a retired army general, said he and several other FSUM leaders would soon meet Depok Mayor Nurmahmudi Ismail to discuss a plan to face the upcoming legal battle over the revocation case.

"We will advise the mayor to hire top lawyers for the next appeal."

The HKBP church construction committee received their building permit from the administration in 1998, but left the land untouched for almost 10 years as former Depok mayor Badrul Kamal suggested the committee stop the church's construction in May 1999, following a series of protests.

In September 2008, the committee decided to continue building the church, but stopped after FSUM members attacked its workers and sealed the construction site. After the attack, the committee sent three letters to Nurmahmudi, a former president of the Muslimbased Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), asking the mayor to facilitate a dialogue. Instead they received a permit cancellation on March 27.

The HKBP, represented by lawyer Junimart Girsang, fi led a lawsuit on May 6 to get the revocation cancelled, saying it had fulfi lled all required stipulations, including a recommendation from the government-sponsored Interfaith Communication Forum (FKUB).

After running eight hearings since June, the Bandung State Administrative Court (PTUN) overturned on Thursday the Depok mayor's decision to revoke the HKBP church building permit, saying he had no legal right to cancel the permit as long as the church did not misuse it.

Depok municipality spokesman Eko Herwiyanto confi rmed that the administration would appeal the verdict at the higher court.

Junimart said his clients were prepared for another legal battle.