PAREPARE, Indonesia — Officials of an Indonesian town verbally revoked permission for construction of a Christian school after Muslim groups marched in protest of the project.
The district council in Parepare in South Sulawesi province promised protesters that approval would be withdrawn from Gamaliel Christian School Foundation. This action came even though the foundation had met all requirements and had been granted permission to build a school.
One of the groups marching through the town Oct. 6 to protest the proposed construction was Islamic Defenders Front, an Islamic extremist faction banned since December 2020, Morning Star News reported, quoting legionnews.com and detik.com.
The district council agreed to withdraw permission for construction in order to avoid possible friction, states legionnews.com.
Morning Star, quoting a report from znews.com, says hundreds of residents had met Sept. 30 at Al Amin Mosque in Parepare to register their opposition to the planned school.
Indonesia is No. 33 on Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
Citing the World Watch List, Morning Star stated, “Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups.”
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