Bigotry in Bandung
Feb 22nd, 2006, in News, by PatungThe city of Bandung in west Java has seen, since 2004, the forced closing of about 25 churches by Muslim bigots, mainly the Islamic Defenders Front, whether working alone, or in cooperation with a bigot umbrella organisation called the Anti Apostasy Movement (AGAP). Yesterday two more churches in Bandung were targeted, the Kasih Anugerah Church and the Bethel Indonesia Church.
About 150 local Muslims demonstrated outside of a shopping mall complex in which the two churches hold weekly services. The practice of Protestant and evangelical churches renting shop-floor space in malls is quite common due to the difficulty for them in gaining permission to build actual stand-alone churches.
It appears that the mall also has a massage parlor as tenant and the protestors combined the two issues bizarrely holding signs that said:
Church No, Massage Parlor No, Borma (supermarket) Yes, Mall Yes.
Abdul Latief, chief of the bigots for the day, said that under a 1969 ministerial decree issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry, houses of worship were required to obtain a permit from both the local office of the Religious Affairs Ministry and the head of the local neighborhood unit and that the two churches in question did not have the right to hold services in places of business.
He also threatened that if the case was not properly handled, ie the churches and massage parlor were not closed down, there would be trouble.
Arjun, chairman of a local neighbourhood association, said that the presence of the church meetings and the massage parlor had annoyed local residents.
We don’t think they are fitting for our residents.
Perhaps only in Indonesia could people make a connection between massage parlours and churches. Indonesian cities actually are teeming with massage parlours but we’ll leave that for another day, but how on earth people could be annoyed by church services beggars belief.
16 Comments on “Bigotry in Bandung”
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RoCuS says:
Agree with Patung, how on earth people destroying church and practicing hatred claim that they did it for their ALLAH ????? then their ALLAH is a cruel GOD and agree with act of DESTROYING other religion ????? I believe their ALLAH is not that kind of GOD. Please stop insulting your own GOD.
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O. Bule says:
These zealots are going to destroy everything good about Indonesia.
O. Bule
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Boeboe says:
K, I don’t know if anyone aware, that “religions” were made up by man? Just getting frustrated by the day, reading all what happen to Indonesia.
Try this, what if God never want people to have “religion”? what if what God really want is for man to believe that He created the world and some other planets, and all its contains? What if God already fed up that we, mankind, hurt and kill each other in His name? What if God, one day, say to all of us, imbeciles, “Stop the insanity, this is not what I had in mind when I sent you wisemen (or Prophets) to tell you that I AM GOD???”
Think about it, is it possible, that we, mankind, misinterpret God intention? I personally think, its possible. We’re only human.
Then, after that, think again, how other human, knows better how God want us, mankind to live our lifes? Once again, we’re only human.
Until then, I would grieve seeing mankind hurt each other, destroy each other, for something that we, mankind, think what God want. -
Karlira Kanakahuko says:
I really aggree with Rucus. Those who destroys church for Allah are worshipping satan(iblis). They are not Muslims. They are all purely satanists, because they teaches hatred and violence to fellow people.Their Allah is Satan(iblis).
Most of all, their religion is satanism, not Islam, that true. -
Ismayanto Prihandariyanto says:
What the FPI do for me reminds me to the Protestant KKK and the Christ Army in USA who target the pro abortion doctors and even the unforgettable inquisition council on the age of the praised Christ!
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Country man says:
For this kind of embarassing issues, we are not to be a credible analyst. basic logical rationale will apply to analyze and differentiate barbaric acts and holly acts..Isn’t it ?
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There is an updated regulation on this (cannot think of the number of the top of my head but I will look it up) which states that before any place of worship can be constructed there needs to be local community agreement as a pre-condition to any official approvals being granted…
If I recall correctly it set the percentage of community approval required and If I am not mistaken one of the claims against the regulation was that it increased the ease with which Mosques could be built and made it increasingly difficult for those wanting to construct Churches.
This is what led to Church services moving to private homes converted into Churches and Rukos being used for religious services…
If this is a city planning, zoning, and permitting issue then it does not require the thugs from the FPI to forcibly close places of worship. It also makes a mockery of claims that the Qur’an instructs Muslims that people of the book can have their faith and you can have yours (I am no Muslim scholar so perhaps someone can correct this to be more accurate but all the same this is my understanding of it). Perhaps while the government is drafting a decision to outlaw Ahmadiyya they can whack on a few extra monikers as well like the FPI, the MMI, and JI, to name but a few!
All for one and one for all!
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J says:
Dont you see similairity to the christian people in western countries opposing the building of Mosques. Maybe Christians should look at how they act and realise why Muslim people act the way the do.
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diego says:
Well, I don’t like mosques in Bali because:
– they make some alien noises.
– weird people plotting some evil plans gather there.
– they look really ugly, no aesthetics.
– it will confuse the visitors (“uhm, i thought bali was an island of gods?” — along that line) -
Well i dont like churches ANYWHERE for the same reason.
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Oigal says:
Well Muslim Brother..back to Java and stay there would be a simple solution then..you shan’t be missed
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camion says:
There are no gods other than those concocted in the deluded minds of insecure or dictatorial men who believe they are holier than though & almighty self righteous to the detriment of the vast majority of stable minded human beings.Its a great racket to get into to suck millions of dollars from the gullible.Have faith in yourself & everything will be just fine :-))
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Said Kelana says:
Did you know that no mosque is available in Greece. And it almost impossible to get a permit for building a mosque in Europe. These days, governments throughout Europe forbid Islam by democratic ways, i.e. by enacting laws that forbid moslems from practicing their believe. And lately, France just forbid moslem women from wearing veils.
If we can make comparison, in Indonesia malls are permitted only for business, but christians people misuse them for church, this is against the law, if they want to, they can submit permissions to build ones to the local government. But the permit should also get permissions from the community around the church to build. This is also happen in Eastern Indonesia which is the majority are christians, moslems are forbidden to recite Qoran or calling Adzan in Mosques and also difficult to build mosques.
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Those people in the GOD BUSINESS,no matter what the brand :-)),just want to protect their patch of turf,no matter how scurrilous or harmful it might be to the opposition or the innocent.If only we were all free to think clearly & moderately without prejudice & dictates from those in positions of unscrupulous power. Maybe the next planet your god says we are all heading for is better than the current pitiful place we are forced to endure & survive.
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Said Kelana……Ive just re read your words above & I conclude that they are unadulterated lies or pure naive ignorance of the truth. I suggest you sit down at your computer & Google Search for the truth that seems to be scarce in your response. The reason the Veil is wanting to be banned in many countries is not because of religious beliefs,its more cultural & social & of course for community safety. THE VEIL was reputedly created by wealthy merchants in Algeria in antiquity who had numerous wives & girlfriends encamped in their houses & when the merchants friends would visit in the presence of his many women,they would try to steal the more attractive of them,so the merchant created the veil to hide their faces from his male friends when they visited.Of course,the idea soon spread to hide the faces of Moslems with many wives & girlfriends.. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RELIGIOUS ORIGINS OR SCRIPTURES but has been adopted as a tool for religious manipulation.
In general,no western countries want to follow down the path of Islamic culture such as the veil,so naturally they defend the possibility of endeavours by religious fundamentalists.Islamic nations could have decided not to follow western christian based cultural intrusions,but,most seem to have adopted much in their lust for more westernisation than the west. :-))) The sooner there is no religious thinking the better,Ethical based studies will soon overcome the lunacy of religious fairytales.The history books & museums are littered with the outcomes of phoney belief systems.
Thoughtful responses invited please…. :-))
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To be a good analyst, you need to have a certain amount of credibility. On analysing religion, you need to be critical to your own religion and/or your religious compatriots i.e. the Christians first before criticising others. Or else you are just being regarded as junky analyst with no credibility at all.