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Indonesia: East Jakarta church threatened with closure by Islamic authorities

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Although Indonesia’s Constitution specifically protects religious freedom, a church in East Jakarta has come under pressure to close, after Islamic government authorities threatened to permanently deny the congregation a permit to meet and worship in their own building, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Christianity is legal in Indonesia but Islamic government officials have historically made it very difficult for Christians to obtain requisite permits for church buildings in which to meet and worship. “If a church is seen to be preaching and spreading the gospel, they soon run into opposition from Islamic extremist groups, especially in rural areas,” the US Open Doors advocacy organization says in a website report. “In some regions of Indonesia, non-traditional churches struggle to get permission for church buildings, with the authorities often ignoring their paperwork.”

The East Jakarta congregation managed to buy a church building in 2008 and, after lobbying for 10 years, finally received a permit in 2018, ICC said. The church was able to meet and use their building for two years, until the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020.

In February 2023, the church applied for a new permit and, having waited several weeks with no reply, decided to start services again on the grounds that a permit had been given in 2018, ICC said. A few weeks later, the congregation received an official letter warning them that their permit would be denied for good if they continued to meet “illegally.”

“On March 20, 2023, authorities sealed the church building without notifying anyone,” ICC said in its report. “Some church members responded by creating a viral video on the situation – prompting authorities to reopen the church but still not grant a permit for worship.” Indonesia ranks 33 on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.