Indonesia: Authorities Reorganize Interfaith Festival After Muslims Protest Christian Evangelists
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Indonesian authorities in Palu felt compelled to cancel a planned interfaith festival and reorganize it into a Christian-only event after hundreds of Muslims protested the announcement that two evangelists would speak at the festival last month, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Palu’s Friendship Festival was due to be held from Jan. 30-Feb. 2, with Swiss evangelist Jacob Wendesten and Peter Youngren, founder of Canada of World Impact Ministries, in attendance.
The Muslim protests began when demonstration coordinator Alif Veraldhi accused Youngren of being “intolerant” because he authored a book on achieving spiritual victory on “enemy territory,” MSN said. Protestors objected to Wendesten because he had referenced a small radical Muslim group that objected to the Gospel in a video he had made.
“Hundreds of Muslims, mostly from the Islamic Community Alliance and Muslim Community Forum of Central Sulawesi launched the Jan. 29 demonstration in front of the Aston Hotel, where Youngren and Wendesten were staying in Palu,” MSN said in its report.
Responding to the outcry, Youngren said in a statement: “I want to say to those who protest against me; I never think they are bad people. I’m sure they do it sincerely because based on their beliefs, they think it is good. But I also think they don’t really know me. I think they compare me to the pastors they’ve heard of. Because I never consider a religion to be better than another. Never! I’ve launched the same activities everywhere in the world. Not only here in Palu.”
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.