Mob attacks boarding house at theological school

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An angry mob has twice attacked a boarding house at a theological school in Pulo village, Makasar district, east Jakarta, Indonesia, causing more than $10,000 in damage. The Arastamar Theological School’s boarding house served students from other provinces. The mob included members of the Front Pembela Islam (FPI, or Islamic Defender’s Front); the FPI had accused the school of building a church.

Local eyewitnesses say government officials accompanied the unruly crowd that attacked without advance warning. When the mob attacked a second time, students were able to turn them away. Local Muslim leaders such as Habib Hussin, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia, have objected to the presence of the school, despite every attempt by school management to meet legal requirements.