Authorities Halt Church, Tourism Site Construction In Indonesia

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

SURABAYA/JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Authorities in Indonesia’s Central Java Province have halted construction of a church and related tourism compound after pressure from local council members and Muslim groups amid rising anti-Christian incidents in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, sources confirmed Thursday.

The head of the province’s Karanganyar Regency issued a decree on September 2, ordering a halt to all work at the Immanuel Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Immanuel, GKIM), part of the Indonesia Bethel Church (GBI), one of the country’s largest Pentecostal denominations, and the adjoining “Holyland” tourism complex, also known as Bukit Doa (Prayer Hill), in the regency’s Gondangrejo district. The Surakarta Anugerah Family Foundation, a Christian group, is developing both projects.

“This suspension of construction aims to maintain conducive conditions and prevent social conflict,” the regent wrote in the decree, according to local media.

Council members argued the project went beyond its original permit, which allowed only a church, not a broader “religious tourism” site. “The original permit was for the church construction; however, what was actually built was a religious tourism site resembling a mini-Jerusalem,” said Sarjono, a spokesman for the Islamist opposition Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Local Islamic organizations, including the Forum Umat Islam (Islamic Community Forum, FUI), had earlier submitted objections to the project. FUI Solo Raya, a coalition active in the Greater Solo area, later organized a convoy in August to rally opposition against the development.

CHRISTIAN DEFENSE

The Surakarta Anugerah Family Foundation maintained it had obtained valid permits and noted that residents had already been compensated for land sales tied to the site. Local officials had pledged to form a monitoring team to review discrepancies.

Muslim activists circulated videos on platforms such as GosamTV, calling the development a “religious doctrine disaster” and urging believers to reject the project, which they claimed stood on land that was 99 percent Muslim.

Christians, however, had viewed the development with hope. At an April 22, 2024, groundbreaking ceremony, Pastor Obaja Tanto Setiawan and others prayed for the project’s success, released a pair of doves, and said they hoped the compound would be a blessing for many.

Indonesia, home to about 242 million Muslims and roughly 29 million Christians — including an evangelical population of just over 3 percent — has seen repeated disputes over church construction.

In July, hundreds of Muslims protested the construction of a Protestant church in Depok City, in West Java Province, despite the congregation claiming it had met legal requirements.

COURT CASE

Earlier this year, Muslims in Cipamokolan village, also in West Java, reportedly filed a lawsuit to block completion of a Catholic church after months of construction.

In Garut Regency, West Java, authorities shut down a prayer house of the Bethel Tabernacle Church and expelled an evangelist, Christians said.

One of the most high-profile cases, the Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java, has faced years of obstruction despite a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the congregation.

Rights groups say local governments often bow to Islamist pressure, leaving believers struggling to secure worship sites.

“I organize a house church in my home where we pray for Indonesia, Israel, and other issues,” stressed Victoria, a house church organizer, in remarks to Worthy News.

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