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View all search resultsNo Hindu temples? Bekasi protest highlights problematic decree on worship places
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.
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A banner in front of the planned construction site of a Hindu temple in Sukatani village, Bekasi regency, West Java, reads: “Be careful! If you insist on building the temple, we are ready to carry out jihad as you are the ones who started this.” (Tempo/File)
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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.
