Sunday School
Jun 4th, 2007, in News, by PatungA Sunday school/church in Bandung was raided, the pastor’s wife beaten and images of Jesus smashed.
Robby Elisa, a Christian pastor, in the Gading Tutukan housing estate, Katapang, Bandung, West Java, was playing host to a few people, mainly children, on 3rd June when a number of people came to the house and accused Elisa of holding an illegal religious service.
The visitors then broke into and vandalised the house, and assaulted Elisa.
The damaged house.
A witness, Lidya, says no worship services are normally held in the house, instead the children attend Sunday school lessons there. metrotv
The Gading Tutukan housing estate has in the past been the scene of some sectarian disturbances. In July 2005 two churches in the area were forcibly closed, an Assemblies of God church (Gereja Sidang Jemaat Allah (GSJA)) and a Batak Protestant church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP)). pdat Another report claims a third church was also closed, a Pentecostal church (Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia (GPdI)). eskol
Later today. This story has now appeared in international reports. It is not being featured on local news, except Metro TV, so far.
Channel News Asia says about 100 Muslim militants stormed a church during services, smashing images of Jesus Christ and demanding that it be closed down, while Sunday school was in session.
Robby Elisa said his wife was beaten and that at least four stained glass depictions of Jesus were smashed.
They came and forced their way into the church. The attackers claimed to be from the Anti-Apostate Movement Alliance. The same group had already attacked the church in 2005.
Elisa said that his church was small and only had a congregation of about 20 adults and 40 children and teenagers. channelnewsasia
Also in Jakarta Post, where UK human rights movement Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) is quoted as saying Indonesia’s anti-Christian movement is centred on West Java. The JP report says:
Dozens of unidentified people Sunday broke into Sidang Jemaat Allah church at Gading Tutuka complex in Soreang, Bandung forcing churchgoers, including 15 children, to stop their religious activities, which they have conducted weekly since 2000.
The attackers forced their way into the church at 9.30am on Sunday, hit the Reverend’s wife over the head with a bible and forced the children’s Sunday School lessons to stop.
Churchgoer Lidia said the attackers claimed they were from the Anti-apostate Movement Alliance (AGAP).
Shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Great), the attackers forced their way into the church and destroyed at least four glass pictures of Jesus Christ.
They knocked on the church door, damaged it and forced themselves into to our school room. They said (Sunday School) was an act of apostasy.
After picking up a bible in the church, one of the attackers hit Reverend Robby Elisa’s wife, Moni over the head, Lidia said.
Ani, another church-goer, said the Sunday attack was the second to have taken place at the church in recent times.
Last time [probably in 2005] the attackers said the church did not have the necessary permits, Ani said. Church-goers however claim to have received permission from local neighborhood officials more than seven years ago to hold their religious activities, she said.
Muhammad Mukmin, head of AGAP (Anti-apostate Movement Alliance), denied his group was behind the attack.
In the case of any attack, we usually inform in advance. I was at home the whole day because I had attended the funeral of my father and we were still discussing the distribution of the heritage (of the family).
Hedi Muhammad from the Anti-Apostate Division of the Islamic Ulema Forum (FUUI), an organization in support of AGAP, also denied any involvement in the attack.
Usually when there is a kind of mass movement, we have coordination. We don’t know at all from which groups they (the attackers) come from.
Reuters AlertNet. Says also that it was the pastor’s wife who was hit, and adds this detail:
The men forced a teenage student to spit on the Bible and deny Christ. But when he refused they kicked him in the gut. They sent the kids outside screaming and crying.
The reverend’s wife said three teachers and 15 children were in the class when the group forced its way in, shattering stained glass images and destroying a number of Bibles. reuters
Radio Netherlands says 56 men from the Aliansi Gerakan Anti Pemurtadan (AGAP) arrived during a Sunday school lesson, forced their way in, vandalised the house, hit the pastor’s wife, tore some Bibles and broke some pictures of Jesus, and attempted to force one child to renounce his faith.
One witness claims that there were policemen, soldiers, and village officals present during the attack but that they did not attempt to stop it. ranesi
June 14th 2007. Hundreds of people grouped under the banner of the Front Pergerakan Masjid (FPM), Mosque Movement Front, demonstrated today and demanded that the illegal church operated by Robby Eliza in Gading Tutuka I Blok FI No 12A Katapang, Bandung, be closed down.
Demonstrators threatened to forcibly close the church if services in the house did not stop. A spokesman for FPM, Suryana Nur Fatwa, said the church was part of the wider apostasy or Christianisation movement in the country.
He said the church must get the signed permission of local residents before it can operate again, as per the law on houses of worship.
Meanwhile a meeting between the pastor, police, and local officials ended in deadlock with Robby Eliza demanding that the local authorities provide an alternative venue for services if the house could not be used. An official suggested the Lanud Sulaeman church as an alternative but Robby refused saying it was too far away. Negotiations are ongoing. republika
27 Comments on “Sunday School”
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Ihaknt says:
Well if the news is true, isn’t that beautiful this tolerance thing only for [insert religion here] of course, bugger the others. Ah, what a peaceful world.
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Is this really true? Only if I am living in Jkt, I don’t mind to drive my car & visit there to inspect myself? I think this website is doing provocative news? I personally don’t believe this news, or let me search other newspapers tonight.
I think if it is not true, then you have to blame metroTV (Read the quote), not this website.
Anyway, if you are looking for a 100% reliable news, I guess you better switch to more traditional media (although they are still bias), not blog. Or, to the extreme, you can just be a journalist yourself. :p
Peace
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Sylvester says:
Muhammad himself respect Christian people, saying they are People of the Book. I think these mobs are simply a bunch of low educated people provoked by evil imams. Now it is up to Indonesians whether they want to be poisoned by their teaching or not.
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Tomaculum says:
And where are the law guards?
Ooops, sorry, the law (in Indonesia) is (maybe) only valid for certain groups …….
And the guards look after that such things can be done unhurriedly and without disturbance ( 🙁 ). -
or they (the guards) come punctual, but at the wrong time ????
Tolerance.
Do someone know if there is an Indonesian word for it …… 🙂 -
Julita says:
I am sorry, but I trust Patung. I think he would want to maintain the quality of his blog.
What happened, is very sad, though is it something new? We hear this on and on, no question about it. My heart really goes to those living in Indonesia who only wanted peace and spread love. That their very own people did such a low, humiliating act as hitting a woman on the head, and this is also for the “God is Great”. As if God needs their help, what a hypocrite, what did Moni do to them? As a woman sad, very sad and hurt and what could Moni do? Nothing!
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Peter says:
Ya, di mana ada polisi? This is why people don’t want to come to Indonesia.
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Peter,
The police in Indonesia come always on time … but their watches work usually too slow.Julita,
you’re right. Such news are no more worth for a head line. More interesting is a report about peace and lower price of edible oil. -
Dimp says:
Hey Raden,
Is this really true? Only if I am living in Jkt, I don’t mind to drive my car & visit there to inspect myself? I think this website is doing provocative news? I personally don’t believe this news, or let me search other newspapers tonight.
If you think that this website is provocative then why are you still reading this? I trust Patung that he has researched the news before posting, unlike some tabloids that just print any stories to increase their revenue.
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Arema says:
I hope the Christians there stay strong, and do not retaliate, but treat the aggressors in kindness instead. It is a hard thing to do, after being hurt in such a way, but we have to follow Jesus’ example.
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You shall preach and try to convert people by heart, if that doesn’t work, try by tongue, then hand. Only if all those fail shall you use the sword.
I am not very sure if they have tried to convert using heart. Not sure if it is allowed to jump directly for sword. Sigh, when will they learn.
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Mohammed Khafi says:
orgindo,
Your misquote:
You shall preach and try to convert people by heart, if that doesn’t work, try by tongue, then hand. Only if all those fail shall you use the sword.
is based on hadith, these hadih are the reason for most of the despicable behaviour of these so called Muslims.
The misquote is actuall based on Jihad, Struggle in the way of Allah, and is nothing to do with conversion of Christians or any others.
These people will never learn as long as they are being taught that these fabricated stories are the truth, That truth can only come from God’s words in Torah, Injeel, and Al Quran.
Arema is right with her comments, if the Christian brothers and sisters react in this way, they have clearly shown that they are closer to Gods teaching than the so called Muslims.
I sometimes cannot believe that these inhuman thugs have even read Al Quran, which preaches acceptance of Christians, Jews and others who believe in God, believe in The Day of Judgement and do good deeds.
Shame on them and their teachers, so, so far from Gods path!
Peace
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Thanks, Patung for posting, it serves it’s purpose, it shows how people do not learn, do not change, how they act without reason or feeling, and still some try to deny this.
It is not enough for Muhammad Mukmin, head of AGAP (Anti-apostate Movement Alliance), and Hedi Muhammad from the Anti-Apostate Division of the Islamic Ulema Forum (FUUI) to deny. They should condemn groups acting without their knowing, oh, my, I am dreaming. Well, anyway;
Dearest Moni,
I am half the world away, I am a woman and I feel for you.
I know you are so hurt and upset and there is not a thing you can do. May this words soothe your feeling, remember,
“My child, I love you.” I personally died for you on the cross.
God bless. -
After FPI, FBR and the others, now Indonesia has AGAP.
When will you have AGUPO (Aliansi Gerakan Untuk Pakai Otak= Alliance of the Movement to use the brain) oder maybe FGAAS (Front Gerakan Anti Apa Saja= Movement Front against everything) or GABTK (Gerakan Anti yang Bau Toleransi dan Kristen= Movement Against everything smells like tolerance or Christianity).
Hmmm, brain? Hmmm, tolerance? In Indonesia?? (just a little joke). -
Hi Tomaculum,
Unfortunately even if they actually use their brain, there won’t be much difference. Their judgement and common sense have been clouded by prejudice and hatred.
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Abdul Khalid al Jumhuri says:
It is really sad to see how the so-called faithful Moslems could degenerate this low. I am sad, that I could not prevent this from happening. I am so sad that nobody could help protect the poor Moni from being abused by these thugs. Shame on the
police and the military for letting this happen – so much for their brass, marching band and cannons paid by the tax-payers (including those being abused and attacked). But primarily shame on me for not being able to prevent this from happening!Who is/ are behind them? I was so aghast when in 1998 the military concocted “pam-swakarsa” and FPI just simply because they could not handle the FORKOT and other student demonstrators. Some army generals (now retired) unashamefully made a public barrage (it was in the news) among themselves when finally they could not come to terms as to how the pie should be cut and who should pay what how much.
Later in the 2000s when we know more about the petro-wahabbi-dollars get into the equation (this is also a known public fact) then it became really complicated. If I were the head of the BIN I will check who those people are and how they got funded. If I were the head of the police I will arrest them and questions them and find their master-mind. If it happens in front of me I will do whatever I could to stop them.
I don’t care if it is a religious, business, or family dispute. Abusing a woman before his husband and before the children in their own house, and by the gang too? Even the criminals like the Mafiosi have the dignity to do it in a more civilized way.
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Molisan Tono says:
Hi folks, just back on earth.
Sad to say again, why all this happen to children? So tell me my Moslem fella, is pesantren legal too? Do you guys need permit to do that? Have you ever asked you Christian fella when attend to one of pesantren service?
Evil behind sacral shade, what a twisted hypocracy again.
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Hi Molisantono,
don’t you know, in Indonesia rules the lordship of the majority?
There are three rules in such community:
1. The majority is always right and has always the right to do what they want to do.
2. If Nr. 1 is not correct, then number 3 is valid.
3. Number one is always correct. -
Rockstar says:
So…
they gathered a large number of people just to smash a bible and hit a woman?WOW.. just wow!!
Are they really that chickensh*t?
WOW,.. again just wow.. they have never ceased to amaze me. Simply wow.
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Ross says:
Of course they are that chicken-***t!
Remember the thousands of fanatic retards attacking that little Muslim sect in Bogor. That’s about their idea of a fair fight. Same in Lombok, where the poor folk wer driven off their homes be cause their Muslim beliefs didn’t match the bullies’.
Same with Lia and her eccentric Eden Cult. Totally wacky, but harmless. besieged by hundreds of kampung nitwits and sent to prison for worshipping as she saw fit.
SBY should pardon her at once, or forfeit his nation’s seat on the UN Human Rights Joke..
The FPI too are mangy cowardly hyenas, enemies of humanity and therefore of any God you may worship.
Has anyone ever seen a protest from them that wasn’t courageously numbered in dozens or hundreds? Remember the vile abuse they yelled at the poor model going to testify in the Playboy trial? Very brave.
And their fellow-travellers are as bad or worse. Yellow-bellied rat-bags. They’d run a mile if the security forces took a firm hand.
Alas, the cops won’t use the tactics that the Marines in East Java used recently. But then the targets there were a pregnant woman and a kiddie. No high-level sympathisers behind them. -
The lowest and worthless scumbag of the earth, FPI and the gang.
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Denny Crane says:
I believe it is best if one would mitigate the circumstances as to the background of the incident. Being a news broadcaster entails a set of significant obligations of not only conveying the truth but also conducting responsible reporting.
I myself find the report as fair because it includes the respond of the alleged organizations, aside from the facts. However, I believe it would be better if the authorities’ responds are also covered so that it is not only the accusation and the allegation which are being provided to the public but the process of resolving the incident as well. In this way, the public will have a holistic understanding of the incident in question.
Peace
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Quazi says:
Wow, Indonesia is starting to sound like China, forcing you Christians to spit on their Bibles and deny their faith. Too bad for all these violent Islamist pigs that Christianity has grown from 1% of the population in the first census to 11% today, and it continues to grow.
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KSJ says:
Religion of peace, huh? You guys who argue if the news is trustworthy or not, you’re just fooling yourself, or in other words, you are ashamed of the attitude of the people from the same religion as you and you just don’t want to admit it. You try to manipulate like you always do. The international media got this news? Great… keep doing such barbaric actions guys, as the international (especially western) world likes to hear bad news from Indonesia since the country does not get any respects from outside world.
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Stella says:
to Raden, who said:
“Is this really true? Only if I am living in Jkt, I don’t mind to drive my car & visit there to inspect myself? I think this website is doing provocative news? I personally don’t believe this news, or let me search other newspapers tonight.”
This is true.
Why not go to Aceh, Indonesia and stay there for at least a month.
Do your Christian duties faithfully, and let’s see what happens to you.We should be praying peace in Indonesia – not only for Muslims, not only for Christians. But for all the people.
God bless Indonesia.
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JKS says:
The most responsible party for blaming is the government, never take action in religious violance.
Fortunately the minority never fight back (except in Ambon and Poso) to majority moslems so this country still in peace.
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Is this really true? Only if I am living in Jkt, I don’t mind to drive my car & visit there to inspect myself? I think this website is doing provocative news? I personally don’t believe this news, or let me search other newspapers tonight.