Indonesia & Islam

Monday, January 9, 2006 

INDONESIAN PERSECUTION ON RISE
New Year’s Eve Blast Continues Reign Of Terror Against Christians



SANTA ANA, CA (ANS) - Jan 9/06 - A New Year’s eve bomb blast in a crowded meat market in the Central Sulawesi town of Palu which killed eight and wounded 54 – many of them Christians – continued the reign of terror against Christians in Indonesia in 2005.

Among other incidents last year:

In May, two bombs in the Christian-majority town of Tentena killed 24 people and injured 97. 

In September, Indonesian judges sentenced three Christian women to three years in prison for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian education program. 

In October, unidentified assailants beheaded three Christian high school girls walking to school in Poso, east of Palu. 

And those incidents are just the tip of the iceberg concerning the escalation of persecution in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population (172 million compared to 34 million Christians). 

Some Christians in Indonesia claim that the Christian church is growing rapidly and is actually 23 percent of the population and not the reported 12 percent. However, that 23 percent has been used by Muslim fundamentalists to claim that Christianity is growing too fast and must be resisted with force. 

“In addition to the brutal attacks on Christian believers, many Christian churches and villages have been burned down over the past few years,” says Open Doors USA President Dr. Carl Moeller. “The increase of terrorism, intimidation and persecution of Christians is part of the fundamental Muslims’ goal to implement Shariah Law – strict Muslim law – throughout Indonesia.

“Please join with me in prayers for our brothers and sisters in Indonesia. Pray that there will be freedom to worship for Christians – without intimidation or fear.”

Rinaldy Damanik, a leader of the Synod of Churches in Central Sulawesi, expressed his frustration in reaction to the December 31 attack when he told the Associated Press: “Whenever an incident takes place, senior officials ask us to tell the people (Christians) to remain unprovoked. When will the authorities be able to reveal the barbaric perpetrators in the province?”

There have been few arrests in the attacks on Indonesian Christians in 2005.

On a positive note, the December 26, 2004, tsunami which devastated Southeast Asia and Indonesia presented an opportunity for Christians in the stricken areas to reach out to their neighbors with the love of Christ.

An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation.

'Early release' for Islamic Leader / Bali plotter 

Ba'asyir denied any link to Jemaah Islamiyah 

BBC - Aug 13/05 - Islamic Bali bomb plotter Abu Bakar Ba'asyir could have his jail term cut under a general amnesty due to be announced next week, Indonesian media report. 

Ba'asyir, who is said to lead the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group, was sentenced to 30 months in March for conspiracy over the 2002 attacks. 

He may now have his sentence cut along with 53,000 other inmates to mark 60 years of Indonesian independence. 

Relatives of some of the 202 people killed in Bali have voiced dismay. 

The shortening of sentences for good behaviour may also apply to another 18 of the 24 Bali bombers but not to those sentenced to death or life imprisonment. 

A final appeal by Ba'asyir against his sentence had been rejected only last week. 

'Not justice' 

A lawyer for Ba'asyir and other bombers defended their right to leave prison early. 

Story Here

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 

INDONESIAN CHRISTIAN AND FORMER BRITISH LAWMAKER JONATHAN AITKEN LEAD NATIONWIDE ROAD SHOWS ON PERSECUTED CHURCH

Based on reports by Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service 

SURREY, ENGLAND (ANS) - Sep 21/05 - An Indonesian church leader and peace activist who spent more than two years in prison after being falsely accused of illegal weapons possession, is to speak at a series of roadshows on the persecuted church.

He will be joined at some of the venues by former British Conservative Party Member of Parliament and author Jonathan Aitken.

Rev. Rinaldy Damanik is head of the Crisis Center of Central Sulawesi. According to a news release from human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Damanik was responsible for informing the international community of attacks and human rights violations in the area. 

In Aug. 2002 he was stopped by police in Peleru in Sulawesi while attempting to rescue Christians under attack from militants. 

CSW reported indonesian police - many with ties to Islamic parties - alleged they seized 14 weapons and ammunition from his car, yet he was not arrested at the time nor was he told what law enforcement officers had reportedly found. 

Damanik was arrested on Sept. 9 2002 in Jakarta, and later charged with owning weapons without permission. These charges are believed, CSW reported, to have been part of a move to silence him. 

Damanik's arrest and trial, CSW commented, were characterized by irregularities and human rights violations. Many of the testimonies from police and military witnesses were contradictory, and eyewitnesses admitted to experiencing abuse and intimidation. Damanik was sentenced to three years in prison in June 2003. 

According to CSW, while in prison Damanik developed a serious kidney infection. A Muslim religious leader who heard of his situation insisted that he be properly treated in hospital. On arrival, the doctors were amazed to find nothing wrong with him. Damanik attributed this to divine intervention. 

Damanik was released in Nov. 2004, having served just over two years of a three year sentence.

Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive, said, “We are looking forward to bringing the Rev. Damanik to venues across the country, enabling thousands of Christians in the UK to hear first hand what it means to be persecuted for the Christian faith. He is an inspirational speaker, whose story will be compelling. We hope that many will be challenged to stand with our persecuted family around the world in prayerful and practical ways.”

According to CSW, the “Don't Stand in Silence 2005” nationwide road shows are a series of interactive awareness-raising evenings. 

They are being held nationwide in Britain to encourage Christians in the UK to pray, protest and provide for the persecuted church. According to the World Evangelical Alliance, over 200 million Christians in at least 60 countries are denied fundamental human rights solely because of their faith.

Arroyo to tell U.S. of Misuari alliance with Abu Sayyaf
Asian Political News, Dec 10, 2001 



MANILA, Dec. 5 Kyodo

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Wednesday her government would inform the United States about renegade ex-governor Nur Misuari's alleged alliance with the Abu Sayyaf, a Philippine rebel group that Manila says has links to international terrorist Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

''Since the Abu Sayyaf is included in the order of battle of the U.S. on the terrorists, we will be officially notifying the U.S. that we have information that Misuari has links (with them),'' Arroyo told reporters.

''President Bush said if you harbor a terrorist, if you deal with them, if you work with them, you are also a terrorist, and by that token he (Misuari) is a terrorist,'' she added to explain her move, which appears intended to get Misuari on the U.S. watchlist.

Misuari is the former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

He was still ARMM governor when he allegedly ordered his armed supporters to attack police and military installations in the southern Philippines on Nov. 19. The attacks and ensuing battles left more than 100 people dead, the military said. Malaysian authorities arrested Misuari on Nov. 24 near Sabah, where he apparently fled after the attacks in the southern Philippines.

On Nov. 27, Misuari's heavily armed supporters, who had been holed up in a government building complex in the outskirts of the southern Zamboanga City, clashed with government troops and took more than 80 civilian hostages.

The military said at least 27 people were killed and 16 wounded in those clashes. The hostages were later released following negotiations.

Documents provided by the military to Malaysian authorities and the media two weeks ago detailed alleged collusion between Misuari's group and the Abu Sayyaf, which kidnapped dozens of foreigners and Malaysian nationals from Malaysian diving resorts last year.

Misuari is the founder of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a rebel group that waged a 24-year rebellion before it signed a peace pact with the government in 1996. He became ARMM governor shortly after the peace pact.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2001_Dec_10/ai_83137944 

U.S. says Abu Sayyaf (Abu Sayef) linked to the al-Qaida terror network


U.S. says Philippine Islamic Separatist group Abu Sayyaf (Abu Sayef) linked to the al-Qaida terror network
Asian Political News, Nov 11, 2002 



MANILA, Nov. 9 Kyodo

Asian Political News - Nov 11/02 - A senior U.S. security official said here Saturday that the largest separatist group in the Philippines has connections to the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim kidnap-for-ransom gang linked to the al-Qaida terror network.

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Francis Taylor, head of counter-terrorism at the U.S. State Department, said certain individuals in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are linked to the Abu Sayyaf.

He added that more connections between these individuals may unfold as the U.S. further investigates the activities of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, an alleged al-Qaida satellite operating in Southeast Asia. Jemaah Islamiyah is believed to have been behind last month's bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Taylor did not say whether Washington intends to label the MILF as a foreign terrorist organization, which would prevent it and its members from conducting financial transactions and traveling between countries.

But he said the U.S. supports the efforts of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government to achieve a peace agreement with the MILF.


The U.S. would not want to do anything to undermine that effort, he added.

The MILF, which broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front in the 1970s, has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

The MILF's symbolical seat of power, Camp Abubakar on Mindanao Island, figured prominently in various reports recently for having allegedly served in the 1990s as a training camp for al-Qaida operatives in Asia.

This has been consistently denied by the MILF leadership.



http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2002_Nov_11/ai_94330361 

Saturday, February 26, 2005

REBUILDING OUT OF THE RUBBLE OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM IN AMBON

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA (ANS) -Feb 26/05 - A team from Jubilee Campaign last week traveled to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia to visit the Caleb Chandler House, a residential facility for children orphaned during the religious violence that rocked Maluku Province for nearly three years, from 1999 to 2001.

According to a report from Ann Buwalda, Director, Jubilee Campaign has conducted a sponsorship program for a number of years to provide housing, food, education and spiritual and emotional nurture to the orphans. In an e-mail to ASSIST News Service (ANS), Buwalda offered her reflections on the history of the place and her hopes for the future of the residents of Caleb House and the Christian village of Waii. (Pictured: Ann Buwulda of Jubilee Campaign with Mona, director of the orphan program at Caleb House. Courtesy: Jubilee Campaign).

Buwalda said the attacks by members of Laska Jihad on the village lasted from January 23, 1999, through August 2001 in the village of Waii, Indonesia.

“The attackers wore white, including white turbans. Those attacked were decapitated and mutilated beyond belief, even the elderly and women. One pastor tearfully beseeched us as visitors to help him understand how he could possible counsel his flock in the wake of such horrors,” Buwalda said.

In January 2002, a Jubilee Campaign team visited Ambon Island, in the Maluku Province of Indonesia, she said.

“Ambon was one of the pivotal areas in the conflict between Muslim and Christian communities that lasted four painful years. We had visited a refugee camp located near Passo Village, to which all the surviving villagers from Waii had fled.

“Waii villagers in that camp told us that the Islamic militant group Laskar Jihad had attacked Waii forty times, escalating to the use of military weaponry before the villagers finally gave up and fled on foot across a mountain range to the Christian area in Passo.”

Buwalda explained that during a meeting in that area with twenty bupatis, these pastors and Christian village leaders poured out their grief and fears as they recounted the horrors of random attacks, butchered bodies of friends and relatives and lack of military or police protection.

“Both were suspected of taking sides against them, particularly because military weaponry had been used during the attacks and because the attackers were never apprehended, even when there was advance notice of the attack and when military barracks were close by.

“Thus, at the time of that visit, Laskar Jihad persisted, an estimated 10,000 militants in the Maluku Islands lived within entrenched terrorist training camps and prospects for the Waii villagers appeared bleak,” Buwalda said.

She said hope finally broke through one month later.

“In February 2002, Christian and Muslim leaders, along with the government, settled the terms of the Malino Peace Agreement. Since then, violence has diminished to a few random incidents of shootings. The most serious of these occurred in April 2002 and April 2004, but further escalations did not take place.”

THE CHRISTIAN VILLAGE OF WAII: REBUILDING OUT OF THE RUBBLE

Now, three years later, relative peace has been sustained in the Maluku Islands, the village of Waii has been returned to the Christian community, surviving families have returned to government-built housing and most of the refugee camps are empty, Buwalda said. (Pictured: Construction of homes in Waii village. Courtesy: Jubilee Campaign).

“The purpose of our Jubilee Campaign team trip to Ambon from February 17 to 19, 2005, was twofold. We wanted to visit the orphans we support at the Caleb House dormitory, built to assist the most traumatized of the orphaned children, and we wanted to visit our local partners' staff.

“In response to the overwhelming need, beginning in 2001 Jubilee Campaign has worked in partnership with Yayasan Penabur Maluku to provide direct aid to over 176 Christian children who lost one or both parents during the conflict. A number of the children we support were from Waii Village. Some of the highlights of our team's trip were our visits with Waii Village families in their new homes,” Buwalda said.

The Jubilee group drove along the now serene coastal road through Passo, noting the empty refugee camps.

“The demarcation between the Christian and Muslim areas was still evident as we passed from the next Christian village of Suli into the Muslim-controlled area. Adjacent to Suli had been the Christian village of Tial, but it now remains a Muslim-conquered village; the prior inhabitants have been forced to resettle in Suli. Tial's Christian church remains an empty, burned-out shell. The next two villages, Tenga-Tenga and Tulehu, retain their reputation for fierce attacks on their Christian neighbors, and the fear of those villagers remains strong. Crossing a rebuilt bridge from Tulehu, we entered Waii Village,” Buwalda said.

She explained that many of the new houses were literally built upon and around the rubble and foundations of destroyed homes.

“The families we visited in their homes generally consisted of extended families of grandparents, aunts and uncles and their children, and the surviving parent and orphans we sponsor. The determination of these families to reclaim Waii and make a living has overcome adversities of lands and crops now too far away or still too dangerous to try to farm. One teenage boy, Berli Delima, determined to live in Waii with his grandmother, even though his high school required him to travel a significant distance away.”

The families reported that their Protestant Church, which had been burned to the ground in 2000, was also being rebuilt, Buwalda said.

Meanwhile, church services and meetings are held in temporary tents in the churchyard.

“We said good-bye with hope for the future of these children and their families,’ she said.

During the group’s time in Ambon, they stayed the two nights in the Caleb House with the eight boys and six girls who moved in last month.

“YPM continues its search for dorm parents who meet the criteria of being at least middle age, without their own young children, ideally with ministry training or experience, and who are familiar with Ambonese culture and the local Indonesian dialect. Meanwhile, a ‘big brother,’ Ben, lives on the boys' side of the dormitory and a ‘big sister,’ Olin, lives on the girls' side.”

Buwalda said Ben is a student in his final year studying agriculture at Patimura University, and has had significant past training with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in leading Bible study cell groups.

“He told us he is committed to staying with the children and program for at least one year. His beaming smile flashed frequently as he interacted with the children, reflecting how much he genuinely seemed to enjoy his ministry with the boys,” she said.

According to Ben, when the boys moved in they were very shy toward each other and introverted.

“They are learning to communicate with each other as the days go by. Ben has observed that from the experience here, at school, and following the Sunday School, they are helped to be more extroverted. Now they easily introduce themselves and lead worship. They pray for each other when they have problems at school. They are in a process of building friendships. Ben begins each day at 5:00 a.m., leading the boys in a brief time of singing, prayer and Bible reading.”

Buwqalda said Olin likewise awakens the girls for 5:00 a.m. devotional time before they prepare for school.

“Olin herself was one of the first children sponsored by Jubilee Campaign. She has graduated from Patimura University with a degree in children's education. Her mother and siblings were among the families we visited in Waii.

“Meeting with Olin and the girls, we found the girls very talkative,” Buwalda said.

“Yvonne shared with us that she is happy at Caleb House because there are a lot of friends here. They are happy with their ‘big sister’ and the YPM staff that are here with them as well. Gebby says that she likes the schedule here because she can have lunch, then rest and then study on a schedule. Mary said it is safer here in the House than in her previous house. Irny said that there is more discipline here and that this is more convenient than a lack of discipline. They have regular lunch and dinnertime together and regular study time.”

Buwalda concluded: “The testimonies of the families and children we met profoundly demonstrated the Lord's restorative mercies. We praise the Lord that in the little village of Waii, the night has passed and the dawn has risen. We pray that his people who are called by his name will continue to abide in him.”

What happens to Christians when Islamists take over

Indonesian Muslims call for 'jihad' against Christians

(January 2000)

(CNN) -- Thousands of Indonesian Muslims marched through Jakarta Thursday chanting "Jihad! Jihad!" (holy war) in a protest against minority Christians, while additional police and troops were sent to try to halt the religious unrest in Ambon.

The nearly 5,000 protesters, most wearing traditional white Muslim clothes, slaughtered a goat, smeared the blood on a wooden cross and demanded a holy war against Christians in the Moluccas. They also marched from a mosque in the city's center to the University of Indonesia.

Full Story here

What would you do - if a group came to your house and tried to get you

to renounce Christianity and Jesus Christ ? Are you prepared as the Old Christians

Were ? Are you prepared to Defend your Faith ?

Clashes claim more than 300 lives in Indonesia's North Maluku

(Dec 99)

(CNN) The grouping of islands in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago used to be touted as a model of interfaith relations in Indonesia. However, tensions date back to 1950 when the Christians -- many with ties to the Dutch colonial administration -- battled Indonesian troops in a bid to secede from the predominantly Muslim nation.

More recently, animosity between the two groups was stoked by an influx of Muslim migrants from other parts of the country. They have upset the numerical balance between the two communities and have come to dominate retail trading, siphoning off business from the Christians.

Full Story Here

Kompas newspaper quoted one resident, identified as Salampessy, as saying neither police nor troops intervened to stop the carnage. There were no further details. The violence came two weeks after Wahid visited the province and called for reconciliation and religious tolerance.

Ambon, formerly known as the Spice Islands, was for years a model of religious harmony. Fifty-five percent of Ambon's population is Christian and 45 percent, Muslim.

Details of what happened to the Christians

Full Story Here

INDONESIA: PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS - 1998

Eyewitness Reports:

Now, in this moment, our Christian brothers and sisters in Ambon - Maluku, were in great danger, they are killed and accused by the moslems (includes the army and government). And until today (05 March 99) they are still in the trouble.

Back in 20 January 1999, Pastor and Christians students in Ambon - Maluku were attacked by the moslem mobs, the pastor's hands were cutted, and then he was burned by gasoline. His student were killed with knife by taking his stomach inside out of his body. From more than 100 Christian students, almost all were killed, except two or maybe three who survive.

Full Story Here

1999 - Placation (false cooperation) of Christians & Innaction

Tactics & Methods used to Harm Christians

Pictures of Christian Casualties (from Rev. Jacky Manuputty) - For those who need more proof (April 99)

Mobs Arrive in Trucks for more violence

Source: Warning - GRAPHIC

More Pictures - Very Sad

More on Indonesia (Boycott Indonesia)

THERE IS NOT ONE CHRISTIAN NATION ON EARTH WHERE MUSLIMS ARE PERSECUTED.

Yet in most nations where the majority of the population are Muslims, there is systematic government persecution of Christians.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

--Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--

Christian Conversions - According to the Bible - Can NEVER be forced.

Any Conversion to Christianity which would be "Forced" would NOT be recognized by God. It is in His True and KIND nature, that those who come to Him and choose to believe in Him, must come to Him OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL.



Don't Let anyone tell you that Christians support Forced Conversions.

That is False. True Christianity is NEVER forced.

Core Universal Rights

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief

People who are repressing & persecuting Others only demonstrate that they believe their own religion MUST be Inferior and Incapable of responding on an INTELLECTUAL LEVEL, to the Ideas which those people find themselves facing. A Person who believed that their own religion is either Equal or Superior to the religion of others would never take the action of attempting to FORCE someone into adopting their religion. 

The Search for God Should be the Search for Truth

People who can think for themselves have Nothing to Fear

Core Universal Rights

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief

Learn How to Defend your Faith 

Learn how to understand Islam and EXPLAIN CHRISTIANITY

apostasy law in the world today

Books about Islam