Indonesia: Islamists Attack Christian Community During Service
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (Worthy News)– Extremists from the Islamic Defenders Front have disrupted the Sunday services of the Tandemn Huria Kristen Batak Protestant community of Binjai in the Indonesian province of Sumatra.
According to AsiaNews, hundreds had to abandon their church and were only able to return to their homes after being escorted by police in full riot gear.
During their protest, the Islamists chanted that the church wasn’t legal because worship services inside the building haven’t been officially approved, but MP Zainnudin Purba blamed local administrators, who have been unable to come to a decision on the church for more than five years.
The Islamic Defenders Front has played a prominent role in a campaign of Islamization in Indonesia; its members have used violence to impose strict Islamic regulations on the population, ranging from a ban on alcoholic beverages to blocking church construction.
Indonesia — where Christians make up only about six percent of its population — remains the most populous Muslim nation in the world.