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Indonesia: Aceh Shuts own 16 Places of Worship
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (Worthy News)-- Since May, the Aceh administration has shut down 16 Christian places of worship in Singkil, claiming they were operating without permits and causing complaints.
Called "undung-undung," the buildings are smaller than churches and have no visible crosses.
"It's not churches, but undung-undungs that we've sealed," Aceh Singkil district head Razali Abdul Rahman told the Jakarta Globe. "It’s because they don’t have any permits and because they've breached a previously agreed deal ... that there should be only one church and four undung-undungs in Singkil."
On April 30, hundreds of Muslims held a rally to demand the closing of the undung-undungs, but Razali said his administration acted independently of their demands.
"It has nothing to do with the rallies," he said. "This is a move to maintain public order because the houses of worship have no permits and breach the regulation."
This is a true surprise, isn't it. In a country whose constitution enshrines diversity and equality. What a joke.