In Chains: Christian Persecution - 2019, Issue 1

Pressure to Close
Church
Reprinted with permission: International Christian Concern
International Christian Concern (ICC) has
learned that on January 13, 2019, masses
from the Griya Martubung Complex, Medan
Labuhan Subdistrict in Indonesia’s North
Sumatra held a protest against a house that
was allegedly converted into a place of
worship for Bethel Indonesia Church. In a
video obtained by ICC, local residents
surrounded Pastor Jans Fransman Saragih's
residence as Sunday service was about to
commence. They pushed and shouted at
church members, before demanding them to
shut down.
A member of the church shared the video on
Instagram and said, “We didn’t do things that
were prohibited. Where is justice in this
country? Where is our religious tolerance?
God is with us.”
The head of the Medan Ministry of Religion
OfYice, Al Ahyu, conYirmed the incident and
explained that the residents protested
because the house did not have permission
to operate as a place of worship, as
stipulated by government regulations. Local
residents had already Yiled a complaint last
August, but Pastor Jans Fransman did not
agree to stop worship at his house until
November. He was supposed to halt services
once the new year came, but he did not,
leading to the January 13 protest.
permits to build places of worship in the
predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia.
Christian leaders have called for changes to
legislation and complained about the
obstacles facing churches that are
attempting to obtain a permit.
Nitha Fenita, a Christian broadcaster at
Cristy Radio, shared her thoughts with ICC,
“This would be a big problem in a country
known for its tolerance. I would describe it as
a household with two religions and the
members often have disputes about their
beliefs. If there is no tolerance allowed, the
relationship between the two parties would
be inversely related [where one increases,
another one decreases]. Perhaps the
authorities can help manage the issues once
or twice, but we have to be aware that this rift
will be exploited by other [groups with
political] interests which ultimately could
divide the Indonesian people. Educating this
family on tolerance is a very urgent matter
and it needs to be taught now.”
However, at present, it is extremely difYicult
for non-Muslims to obtain the proper