Indonesian Police shutting down churches & temples. |
According
to Deputy Mayor Hajjah Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, the buildings were illegal
because they lacked the right permit. Under the law, private homes cannot be
used "for religious ceremonies or functions."
"Aceh is a special territory
that enforces Sharia," she said and home churches violate the law because
they lack the appropriate building permit (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan in
Indonesian).
The issue is more complicated in
the case of Christian places of worship because the latter require the
agreement of a certain number of local residents and that of the local
interfaith dialogue group. Under the pressure of radical Muslim groups, permits
are often denied.
Deputy Mayor Djamal also wants the
authorities to monitor the activities of Buddhist and Christian communities to
ensure that their services are performed in the right places. This is
necessary, in her view, to "maintain interfaith harmony." At the same
time, "we shall not issue any new permit for other churches or vihara
(Buddhist temples)."
Islamic Defence Front (FPI) Indonesia. |
He said the situation would be
monitored constantly to ensure that rules are respected. Local sources note
that the municipal order shutting Buddhist and Christian places of worship
follows a complaint filed by Islamists concerning an "improper" use
of buildings.
The province of Aceh, the
westernmost of the archipelago of Indonesia, is also the only one which is
subject to Sharia. Compliance is ensured by the 'morality police,' a special
force that punishes violations in dress and behaviour.
In the past, a relative calm and
religious harmony between the Muslim majority and "foreigners,"
members of various non-Islamic faiths, prevailed under the leadership of former
guerrilla leader, now Governor Irwandy Yusuf.
Rampaging FPI Mob in Indonesia. |
In last April's elections, Zaini
Abdullah, a former guerrilla leader who lived in exile in Sweden, won promising
to fight corruption and
impose Islamic law. The strict application of Sharia
was one of the conditions separatist rebels imposed on Jakarta to end their
armed struggle.
As a
result of a recent spike in sectarian tensions, the area saw violence and attacks against Christian communities, which led to the closure of places of worship on the order of the authorities claiming that they lacked
proper building permits.
(Indonesian Muslims attacking a Buddhist house and killing the Buddhists.)
(It is a clever and legal way to get rid of infidels the Buddhists and Christians from the Islamic Republic of Indonesia instead of burning down their temples and churches and killing them like what has been happening in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Probably the Muslim Indonesians have learned from the Christians Aussies in Australia where the development applications for the mosques and the madrassas are being rejected outright by using overtight building codes and strict zoning laws while the home-mosques are being zealously shut down by using the same codes and laws.
My fellow Burmese Buddhists, please take note, that's the civilized way to do it if you want to stop rapid Islamization of Burma by the OIC and ilegal Bengali Muslims. Use the Municipal by-laws to shut the mosques mushrooming all over Burma like what Indonesian Muslims are doing to shut down the Buddhist temples. Stop burning mosques and killing the Bengali Muslims!)
(Residents' violent rejection of Islamic Mosque and Madrassa in Sydney, Australia.)
(Islam, the serious problem in Australia.)
(Sydney Muslim protest turned violent.)
(It is a clever and legal way to get rid of infidels the Buddhists and Christians from the Islamic Republic of Indonesia instead of burning down their temples and churches and killing them like what has been happening in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Probably the Muslim Indonesians have learned from the Christians Aussies in Australia where the development applications for the mosques and the madrassas are being rejected outright by using overtight building codes and strict zoning laws while the home-mosques are being zealously shut down by using the same codes and laws.
My fellow Burmese Buddhists, please take note, that's the civilized way to do it if you want to stop rapid Islamization of Burma by the OIC and ilegal Bengali Muslims. Use the Municipal by-laws to shut the mosques mushrooming all over Burma like what Indonesian Muslims are doing to shut down the Buddhist temples. Stop burning mosques and killing the Bengali Muslims!)