Islamic governor opens way for ‘crackdown’ on Christians

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The election of a hard-line Islamic governor in Indonesia’s Aceh Province in April appears to have opened the way for a crackdown on the minority Christian community, which saw 17 churches sealed shut in early May.

Emboldened by the April 9 election of Zaini Abdullah of the militant Aceh Party (Partai Aceh, or PA), hundreds of Islamists demonstrated in front of the office of Aceh Singkil regency April 30, demanding area church buildings be not only sealed but demolished. 

Christian leaders told Compass Direct News that, besides the usual pretext of lack of church permits — applications for which local authorities routinely deny or delay — the demands were based on a controversial agreement that Christians were reportedly forced to sign in 2001 stipulating that there be only one church and four chapels in the regency.