TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Church in Jambi closed over rejection by Muslim residents
Change Size
Bowing to intolerance: Members of the Kanaan Methodist church in Jambi burst into tears while seeing their house of worship sealed on Thursday. (courtesy of Tribun Jambi) (Tribun Jambi/-)
S
everal members of a church congregation in Jambi city burst into tears on Thursday upon seeing their house of worship sealed by Public Order Agency personnel.
“We have been worshiping here for 18 years. Suddenly [the church] is closed. We are shocked,” Sinaga, one of the leaders of the Kanaan Methodist church on Jl. Lingkar Barat Tiga in Kota Baru district, told reporters.
Sinaga said the church leaders had applied for a permit from the city administration for years but had never been granted one.
He said up until now there had been no conflict with followers of other religions around the location of the church, and congregation members were often involved in communal activities.
Jambi National Unity and Politics Office head Liphan Pasaribu said the sealing had been conducted because of local residents’ rejection of churches without permits.
“Based on negotiations between the administration and residents, it was agreed to seal the church,” Pasaribu said, without divulging details on the parties involved.
The administration had reportedly planned to seal three churches in the area but postponed the move on two of them amid opposition from their congregation members.
Before the sealing of the Methodist church, a letter widely circulated in Jambi stated that some 1,000 residents would gather at a nearby mosque to demonstrate against the three churches. (jun)
