There are between 6,000 and 7,000 Hindus in Bekasi, a regency of 3.5 million people who are predominantly Muslim, according to data from the Bekasi Religious Harmony Forum, and plans to build the first Hindu temple in the regency were initiated in 2017.
rotests over a plan to construct a Hindu temple in Sukahurip village in Sukatani district, Bekasi regency, West Java, has once again put a spotlight on the state of religious freedom in the country.
There are between 6,000 and 7,000 Hindus in Bekasi, a regency of 3.5 million people who are predominantly Muslim, according to data from the Bekasi Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB), and plans to build the first Hindu temple in the regency were initiated in 2017.
However, construction of the temple might never begin as residents staged protests on Saturday and Sunday, rejecting the presence of a Hindu place of worship in the village.
A 2006 joint ministerial regulation requires local resident approval for the construction of any new place of worship, which often becomes an issue when minority religious communities look to build temples, churches or mosques in areas where residents are predominantly of another faith.
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