EAST BEKASI, Indonesia — Denied permits and ordered not to worship in public or at home, churches in East Bekasi, West Java, have taken temporary refuge in a Social Affairs Agency office. In September, local officials ordered them to close because they did not have the required permits.
The congregations altered residential buildings to cater to large numbers of worshipers. The Anti-Apostasy Movement Alliance (AGAP), an alliance of Muslim extemists groups, began to enforce the order, attacking the Pentecostal Church of Indonesia El Shaddai Oct. 2.
They also forced a Lutheran and a Presbyterian church in the complex to cease services. Around 500 Christians from the Lutheran church scuffled with 200 Muslims Oct. 29 after a service, The Jakarta Post reported.
Following the clash, district officials Oct. 30 offered the use of the Social Affairs Agency office for two months while they searched for a building site for each of the churches.
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