As police and soldiers looked on, about 200 Muslims on Friday (June 27) stormed a Christian youth retreat at a home in Indonesia, driving out participants and damaging property, sources said.
Carrying banners and shouting, “Destroy that house, destroy that house,” the Muslim mob after Friday mosque prayers attacked the home in Tangkil village, Sukabumi in Cidahu District, West Java Province, at about 1:30 p.m., damaging windows, toilets, a gazebo and garden, according to Sukabumisatu.com.
Claiming that a house should not be used as a place of worship, the mob also reportedly threw a motorbike into a nearby river and damaged the main gate.
Videos circulating online show a man climbing a wall and removing a wooden cross attached to it, which he then uses to break a window. In another video, individuals are seen damaging property with chairs and various tools. Other videos depict the damaging of a car.
Officers eventually evacuated 36 Christian youth retreat participants and three cars to a site to avoid physical violence, according to sources. A video shows several frightened boys and girls trying to get into a car as the mob yells at them to leave the retreat complex.
The protesting residents asserted that they were motivated not by intolerance but by the belief that worshiping in a venue not licensed for religious purposes would disrupt the peace.
“It’s not that we are intolerant, but if worship is carried out secretly, involving outsiders, without permission, in a settlement that is 100 percent Muslim, we are worried,” said one resident. “Why not just go to an official place of worship?”
The demonstration and attack reportedly followed a visit from Cidahu officials and other authorities, including the head of the Sukabumi Branch of the Indonesia Ulama Council, to the home at 10:30 a.m. They met Wedi, younger brother of then-absent house owner Maria Veronica Ninna, to inquire about the status of the house, and an alleged provocation from one of the residents led to the mob reaction, according to Sukabumisatu.com.
The head of the National Unity and Politics Agency of Sukabumi Regency, Tri Romadhono, stated that the attacks were spontaneous.
“This incident occurred because of the residents’ spontaneous reaction to a house being used as a place of worship without official permission,” Tri said, according to Sukabumiupdate.com. “This is neither a church nor an official place of worship. This house is inappropriately being used for religious activities.”
Only a church building requires a construction permit, according to Indonesian rights activist Permadi Arya, known as Abu Janda.
“Holding worship at home, shop-houses and cafes needs no permission” according to The Joint Decree of the Two Ministers, Chapter 1, Article 3, Permadi wrote in 2023.
Such homes, cafés, and shop-houses can be equated with Muslim traditional prayer rooms (musholla), and since Muslims need no permission for those, Christians should receive equal treatment, he said.
The local neighborhood head, identified only as Hendra, said the house had been used for worship on three occasions, with dozens of vehicles, including a bus that brought congregants from outside the area, arriving at the house.
“We have warned and prohibited them, but the activity is still carried out,” Hendra reportedly said. “Residents can no longer tolerate it, because this place is not an official place of worship, and it has even caused unrest for some time.”
A local community leader who requested anonymity said that mediation has been underway since April, “But worship activities continue.”
Village Head Ijang Sehabudin confirmed that officials have been holding talks with the homeowner and residents, according to Matanusa.com.
“We have given advice not to use it for worship, but it was ignored,” Ijang reportedly said. “So earlier the residents immediately came to the house. They felt that their environmental rights were being disturbed because this house is legally only a living place, not a place of worship.”
Asserting that a space designated for worship has specific rules, he said “this place should be considered a house, not a place of worship. There are rules to follow should you want to apply for a place of worship permit.”
The protesting residents agreed to pay for damages to the house, Ijang said on Saturday (June 28), but he emphasized that what was damaged was a house, “not a church or a place of worship,” according to Beritasukabumi.id.
District officials issued a statement asserting that talks had resulted in an agreement in which the church would not take legal action against the assailants but would resolve conflicts through discussion, and, “We request the homeowner to use the property solely as a residence, not for worship.”
“We believe that similar incidents will not occur again in the future,” the statement read. “We are prepared to compensate for any damages and repair the affected house…We affirm that the incident in question was not an act of destruction of a place of worship.”
Intolerance
Religious freedom activist Permadi described the case as a matter of intolerance and “Christian-phobia,” asserting that the government turns a blind eye to Christians.
“There is no cure for intolerance in western Indonesia,” he said on social media. “Christian students on retreat in Sukabumi were attacked by residents, evicted from their villas and the villas were destroyed by the masses.”
The officials’ attitude reflects an anti-Christian sentiment, he said.
“This is not a matter of permits,” he said. “This is purely Christian-phobia that has been allowed by the state from the time of [former President] Mr. Jokowi to President Mr. Prabowo.”
Islamic extremists have used lack of building permits as a pretext for closing or attacking church sites since the passage of Indonesia’s Joint Ministerial Decree of 2006, which made requirements for obtaining such license permits nearly impossible for most new congregations. Even when small, new churches were able to meet the requirement of obtaining 90 signatures of approval from congregation members and 60 from area households of different religions, they have often met with delays or lack of response from officials.
Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to Open Doors.
