March 2017 Persecution Magazine (4 of 5)

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MARCH 2017
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Indonesia is a country with great
ethnic and religious diversity. It is
the world’s most populous Muslim
nation. In fact, 90 percent of its
250 million citizens are Muslim.
At the constitutional level,
Indonesia has created a framework
guaranteeing freedom of religion
for all government-recognized religions:
Islam, Christianity, Hinduism,
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Judaism. Followers
of these religions, according to national laws,
should be able to freely practice their religion.
If you only examine the surface, you will come
to the conclusion that Huffington Post did when
it said that Indonesia practiced a more “liberal,
pluralistic brand of Islam.”
Go beyond the surface and look at recent
history in Indonesia though, and you will not
see a pluralistic society, but country that vigorously
oppresses Christianity and other faiths,
sometimes with extreme violence.
A growing movement of radical Islam
is exerting more and more influence in
Indonesian affairs, including politics. Such
entanglement has not only empowered the
spread of extremism but has increased attacks
and the suppression of religious minorities.
The Setara Institute for Democracy and
Peace in Indonesia recorded a 33% increase
in cases of religious violence between 2014
and 2015. They also noted that in 2016,
Indonesia’s freedom level fell to a new low
with “more rights violations committed by
the government and local administrations.” A
report by Indonesia’s National Commission on
Human Rights (Komnas HAM) found that the
most frequent violators of religious freedom
are regional administrations, and that the number
of complaints being filed against them are
rapidly increasing.
How is this happening in a democratic
country that guarantees religious freedom?
“Because,” as the Setara Institute argues,
“no one dares draw a line and recognize
Feature Article
A Paradox of
Religious Freedom:
Pastors Working Underground
in a Religiously Free Society
By Daniel Harris
religiously-inspired incitement for what it is,
let alone condemn it or take measures to stop
it.” The absence of accountability in upholding
religious freedom, especially by the government,
destroys religious minorities while
encouraging extremism’s spread.
The coordinator for the faith freedom desk
at the National Commission on Human Rights
for Indonesia (Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi
Manusia) said, “The three main factors fueling
the violations [of religious freedom] are the low
level of understanding of government officials
about human rights principles, the inability of
regional leaders to deal with intolerant groups
and the implementation of regional laws that
often contradict higher laws.”
Ahok and Religious
Extremism in Action
The recent case against Jakarta’s first
Christian governor is a perfect example of this.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as
Ahok, became the governor of Jakarta when
Joko Widodo left the office to run for president
in 2014. It was a significant step for Indonesia.
Ahok is an ethnic Chinese and a Christian. His
term would stand as a litmus test for religious
and racial tolerance in Indonesia.
Immediately, hardline Muslim organizations
such as The Islamic Defenders Front
(FPI) demanded his removal from office. They
insisted that a Christian could never govern
Muslims. But Ahok was popular with the
people as he worked hard to tackle corruption
and Jakarta’s crippling traffic problems. He
should have easily won his bid for re-election
this year, but one short statement taken out
of context stifled his victory. During one
campaign speech, Ahok challenged voters to
vote their conscience and not allow Muslim
leaders to scare them into voting for a Muslim
by using particular verses from the Quran.
Anti-Ahok Muslim groups edited his statement
so it appeared that Ahok condemned the
Quran itself rather than political manipulators.
That video led to hundreds of thousands of
protesters flooding Jakarta’s streets, calling for
Ahok’s imprisonment and even death.
Ahok is now on trial for “blasphemy.” The
sentence carries a five year prison term and
few are ever acquitted.
Rather than support a fair investigation,
the government offered little assistance to
Ahok. The president barely acknowledged
the 200,000+ person protests shutting down
the capital. The police blatantly supported the
Muslim crowds by supplying them with water,
a stage, and a sound system. In Ahok’s trial,
few cared that most of the “witnesses” were
not even present for Ahok’s speech.
The Setara Institute, a non-governmental
organization that conducts research and
advocacy on democracy, political freedom,
and human rights in Indonesia, summed up
Indonesia’s imagined religious freedom versus
the unfortunate reality: “Indonesia’s spineless
political leaders have allowed extremists to
seize the momentum and foment religious
hatred against the governor – who happens to
be an ethnic Chinese Christian – for more than
a month without challenging the substance or
methods of their arguments.”
Technically, blasphemy laws apply to all
of Indonesia’s protected religions. The issue
is not the absence of laws regarding religion,
but that those laws are disproportionately used
against Christians. In Ahok’s case, the leader
of the organization that launched the protests
demanding Ahok’s imprisonment openly
mocked Christianity during several of his
speeches. His speeches insulted Christianity
so much that even Muslims are calling for his
trial on the charge of blasphemy. The government
has yet to press charges.
The political tension has spilled into the
public sphere, stressing an already tenuous
relationship between Muslim Indonesians and
ethnic or religious minorities. Many Christians
are afraid for both their religious freedom and
their lives. They should be.
Jihad
Ahok’s case and the lack of government
protection is not a new story in Indonesia. The
Saudis and Gulf states starting pouring money
into Indonesia in the 1970s to radicalize the
country’s Muslims. Their efforts came to fruition
around 1998 when the country’s Muslims
went on a massive jihad against Christians.
From 1998 to 2003, Christians suffered greatly
as their churches and homes were burned to the
ground and they were raped and murdered.
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Two large churches in
Indonesia had their buildings
shut down by local government
officials. They now gather outside
the presidential palace and hold
their services in an act of protest.
Although the government did not launch
an official investigation, an unofficial report
found that 2,244 people (both protesters and
Christians) died, 168 were raped, and 1,604
shops were destroyed. These statistics were
only in Jakarta, however. The violence spread
to other parts of the nation, including Java,
Sulawesi, and Maluku and lasted until around
2004. ICC has heard reports that as many as
10,000 Christians actually died and approximately
1,000 churches were burned down
across the nation.
That period of extreme anti-Christian violence
is especially relevant today because it
underlines the government’s lax stance against
extremism. Shortly before the outbreak of violence
in 1998, Human Rights Watch stated,
“Not only have [government officials]
expressed no sympathy for the victims or made
any effort to explain to the public the causes
and consequences of the economic crisis, but in
some cases, they have tried to deflect blame for
the economic crisis onto prominent members of
the ethnic Chinese community.”
Recalling the political climate of 1998,
The Economist noted, “At best, Ahok’s persecution
represents a blow to the rights of all
Indonesian minorities...At worst, the risk of
communal bloodshed like that of two decades
ago is closer.”
So What?
Since then, the increasing trend of Islamic
extremism threatening both religious and ethnic
minorities has sent many Christian pastors
underground, an irony in a country proud of its
religious diversity.
Islamic radicalism seems to be on the rise
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in Indonesia. Cases of violence and persecution
against Christians are increasing and the
government appears ill-prepared or unwilling
to uphold basic religious freedoms. This is a
deadly combination driving Christian pastors
underground. ICC asked several pastors why
they are working underground in a country
that guarantees freedom of religion. One pastor
responded, “Freedom of religion? Yes, but it is
only in theory. In practice, it [doesn’t exist].”
The pastors shared that in the last few
months, radical Muslims have bombed a
Christian church and forced Christians to
abandon their places of worship. The government
did little to stop the radical groups. In
fact, in some cases they have helped them. At
a Christmas service in Bandung, for example,
the government positioned police officers
outside of a church to protect congregants
from radical Muslims. Instead, the officers
helped the Muslims chase away the Christian
participants. In Aceh Province in October
2015, an angry mob destroyed three churches
after which the local government destroyed
seven more.
The government justifies destroying churches
because they contend that the churches do
not have the correct licenses. Procuring the
correct licenses at the local level in Indonesia
is a complicated process requiring scores
of signatures from community leaders and
government officials. The process is so complicated,
according to unconfirmed reports
received by ICC, that most religious institutions
do not have the correct licenses, including
mosques. This means that some members
of radical Islamic groups that destroy unlicensed
churches are probably members of an
unlicensed institution themselves.
Double standards as evidenced by licensing
have led pastors to determine that they are
not protected by the law, because extremists
are allowed to operate freely outside the law.
Openly practicing one’s faith can mean death.
As one pastor told ICC, “The reason why I
reach out underground is more for the safety
of the converts. If I do it openly I will not only
endanger the lives of these people but also the
ministry and the ministers themselves.”
Speaking Out
Despite the government’s silence, some
groups are boldly asserting the importance
of religious freedom. During Christmas, a
dangerous time for Christians in Indonesia,
the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia,
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), pledged to help protect
Christians as they attended Christmas Eve
services. Christians need moderate Muslims
like NU to make their voices heard over the
growing rhetoric of radicalism and the government’s
reluctance to protect religious freedom.
One pastor told ICC, “My fear is that moderate
Muslims will keep silent and thus give
more room for the radicals to grow. My fear is
that, in the end, the government will oblige the
radical’s demand, leading Indonesia in a different
direction.” When moderates remain silent,
minorities must hide their beliefs in exchange
for their safety. Indonesian Christians hope for
the support of moderate Muslims to protect
them from religious extremism and a stagnant
government. An irony indeed.
ICC supports underground pastors like
these in Indonesia who are risking their lives
to share the Gospel.
3

Feature Article
Christian Persecution in Vietnam:
A church gathers
for service in rural
Vietnam. Montagnard
Christians have faced
more persecution than
many other Christians
groups in the country.
“Just last month, they murdered my
father in order to arrest me because
they believe that I will return to
Vietnam to attend my father’s funeral.
I was supposed to return because I
loved my father deeply. But for my
safety my mother asked me not to
return. I was so scared of returning
home even though I really wanted to.”
By Daniel Harris
This tragic story belongs to
a Montagnard Christian from
Vietnam who fled the country
to escape government agents
seeking to arrest him for his
Christian activities. When he
escaped their grasp, they murdered
his father, hoping he would return for the
funeral so that they could arrest him.
Montagnard Christians are the forgotten
heroes and victims of a failed war. Also
known as the Dega/Degar, they are a predominantly
Christian ethnic group that lives
in the highlands of Vietnam, Cambodia,
and Laos. When US troops were fighting in
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INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN

Feature Article
Montagnard Victim Testimonies
Vietnam, Montagnards fought
alongside them and subsequently,
many of them converted to
Christianity. Now they are hunted
like animals by their own
communist government.
Christians, such as the one
quoted above, are forced to flee
their homes to escape Vietnamese
government agents who track
them down for interrogation and
execution.
Desperate to suppress the
Montagnard people, nothing
has been out of bounds for the
Vietnamese authorities. They
have used illegal arrests and
detainment, brutal torture, rape,
and even murder. There are even
reports of forced sterilization
campaigns.
One example of persecution
includes an extensive campaign
to shut down churches among
Montagnard communities. In
2015, Human Rights Watch
reported, “Official Vietnamese
media makes it clear that such
government actions are part of
a high-level policy to eliminate
‘evil way’ religions such as De
Ga Protestantism and Ha Mon
Catholicism practiced by some
ethnic Montagnards…”
Official state media has reported
waves of “search and hunt”
operations designed to “deal seriously”
with core religious leaders.
There are reports of public
forced recantations in which
hundreds of Montagnards were
forced to recant their faith in
front of fellow villagers. “Mobile
trials” are held in Montagnard
villages to convict and imprison
followers of Christianity. Many
Montagnards report experiencing
torture because of their faith. A
recent report describes one pastor’s
martyrdom:
“Around 7:30 a.m., the public
security agents came to Pastor
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“His death resulted from the multiple injuries
inflicted by the beatings which came as a result of
his refusal to give up his faith.”
A Christians
processional
moves through the
streets of Vietnam.
A choir sings
during a church
service in Vietnam.
Thanh’s (name changed for security)
house and ordered him to
report for investigation. Pastor
Thanh was interviewed for the
whole day on the [practice of
Christianity] in his village.
The interrogation [was focused
on convincing him to give up
Christianity].”
“[On his refusal], the secret
police got mad … and used various
tools to beat him up. They
beat him in the ribs, chest, and his
abdomen. They also slapped his
face and [repeatedly punched] his
head. Consequently, he felt pain
while breathing and he got seriously
sick due to internal injuries.
While they were beating him, he
fell unconscious.”
“He passed away around 9:30
a.m. (two weeks after his detention)
in 2016. His death resulted
from the multiple injuries inflicted
by the beatings which [came as
a result of his] refusal to [give up
his faith].”
Secrecy is the greatest asset of
Vietnam’s secret police. When
their activities are recorded and
broadcast to the world, they often
withdraw. For that reason, ICC is
involved with training Vietnamese
community members how to
record and report cases of persecution
to government and human
rights agencies.
Reports, like the one above that
came from this project, expose
Vietnam’s relentless and violent
persecution of Montagnard
Christians and gives them a
way to defend themselves and a
chance to finally end decades of
brutal persecution.
5

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Kot Radha Kishan has become
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shocking instances of persecution
— a couple beaten and burned alive
at the city’s brick kiln by a mob of
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