Conversative Islam is spreading, and Christians feel pressure from all sides.
bottom"We've been struggling to get a permit since this church was founded in 1992. However, we were unable to obtain it for a variety of reasons."
“We’ve been struggling to get a permit since this church was founded in 1992. However, we were unable to obtain it for a variety of reasons.”
The situation for Christians has been deteriorating over the course of recent years, with Indonesian society increasingly influenced by conservative interpretations of Islam. Polls regularly show that a majority, especially young people, hold conservative views, and by-laws on Islamic dress are becoming more common.
Many converts from Islam experience pressure from their families. However, the intensity of the pressure depends on the individual family and place. Most pressure for Christian converts takes the form of isolation, verbal abuse, and ostracism. Only a small percentage of converts face physical violence for their Christian faith, and they may be forced to relocate to another part of Indonesia. The pressure is also higher in places like West Java or Aceh, where radical Islamic groups exert a heavy influence on society and politics.
If a church is believed to be proselytising, it will likely run into opposition from radical Islamic groups. Depending again on the region, some church groups also face difficulties getting permission to build churches. Even if they manage to fulfil all legal requirements (and win court cases), local authorities may still ignore them.
Indonesian converts from Islam face the most pressure and risk for their faith. The primary hotbed of persecution in Indonesia is the Aceh Province, the only province that is governed by Sharia (Islamic law). Building new churches is difficult there, and converts from Islam face the most pressure of any other place in the country. A recent decision by the legislature has also stoked fears that Sharia law could eventually be adopted in the province of West Sumatra.
– Ask God to protect the secret communities of Christians in strict Islamic regions.
– Pray for Christians rejected by families because they left Islam to follow Jesus.
– Ask God to bring Indonesian society to a broader tolerance of Christian worship.
Open Doors local partners strengthen persecuted Christians in Indonesia by providing Bibles and Christian books, socio-economic empowerment projects, discipleship, persecution survival training, and relief aid.
