More than 100 churches forced to close in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Islamic extremist groups and local governments in Indonesia closed 110 churches from 2004 to 2007, according to religious and human rights organizations.

The Wahid Institute, a moderate Muslim nongovernmental organization, along with church associations and the Indonesian Human Rights Commission reported that discrimination and violence against churches was most common in the provinces of West Java, Banten, Central Java, South Sulawesi and Bengkulu.

Radical Muslim groups coerced local governments to send letters to churches prohibiting any activities. When churches did not comply, they would be burned or otherwise damaged, as happened last December to Jakarta Baptist Christian Church in Sepatan, Tangerang province. Muslim extremists from the Islamic Defender Front kicked out the windows and doors of the pastor’s home and threw out his belongings.