Samuel Rionaldo

A court in West Java, Indonesia, has reversed the revocation of a Catholic church's building permit.

The Purwakarta regency government had revoked the building permit for Santa Maria Catholic Church when Islamists threatened local residents and officials into opposing the project, church leaders said.

Hundreds of Muslims from outside the area where a 600-member church meets in West Java, Indonesia, staged a protest there to call for its closure this month in an attempt to portray local opposition.

Demonstrators from 16 Islamic organizations, including the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), gathered on Feb. 15 to demand a stop to all activities by the Galilea Protestant Church (GPIB) in the Galaxy area of Bekasi City.

The regent of Purwakarta regency, West Java, has revoked his decision to permit construction of a Catholic worship building in Cinanka village after Islamists threatened residents into withdrawing their approval of the project.

Dedi Mulyadi on Oct. 16 revoked the permit for construction of Catholic Church of Saint Mary after Islamists threatened some of the local residents whose approval is required by Indonesian law, the priest of the church told Compass Direct News.

The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI) has called for the rejection of two bills inspired by Islam's strict sharia law.

The Halal Product Guarantee Bill and the Zakat Obligatory Alms Management Bill, both under consideration in the Indonesian parliament, cater to the needs of one religious group at the expense of others, violating Indonesia's policy of pancasila, or religious tolerance, said the Rev. Dr. A.A. Yewangoe, director of the PGI.

(Photo: Indonesian police have forcibly closed some churches and Christian organizations. Image courtesy of Charisma Indonesia)