Christians Targeted in Indonesia’s West Java as Mobs Attack Homes and Churches
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Christians in Indonesia’s West Java province are reeling from mob attacks carried out by Muslim hardliners seeking to prevent church services and halt the construction of places of worship.
In the latest incidents, Christians said that hundreds of residents descended on Kalibaru village in Depok City’s Cilodong District to protest the building of the Studio Alam Batak Kato Protestant Church.
Video footage showed demonstrators putting up banners at the site in the July 5 attack, saying: “We strongly reject the construction of the church.”
Local community leader Rudi Ardiansyah claimed the protests were not driven by religious intolerance, but by a lack of consultation. “The plan to build a church has been around for a long time, but there was never any dissemination of information to the community,” he told local media.
“The grassroots were never invited to mediation either. Suddenly, permits were issued without approval from residents, so they rejected it.”
But Christians say the protests reflect a deeper pattern of religious discrimination in the Muslim-majority nation, where building permits for churches are often delayed or denied under pressure from hardline groups.
In a separate incident on June 28 in Tangkil Village, Sukabumi Regency, a mob of some 200 people stormed a halfway house reportedly used for Protestant worship.
SMASHING WINDOWS
The crowd smashed windows, vandalized toilets and a gazebo, and pushed a motorbike into a nearby river. A wooden cross was also torn down and removed.
“The spontaneous action was triggered by the suspicion that the house was being used for Christian worship without permission,” a local source told Worthy News. Several Christians were injured in the attack.
Despite mediation efforts that began in April, worship services had continued at the site, which community leaders said violated agreements.
“We have been conducting mediation since April 2025. But the worship activities still continued,” said one community member, who declined to be named.
Indonesia, home to more than 270 million people, is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. While its constitution officially guarantees religious freedom, rights groups warn that intolerance and mob violence against minority faiths—especially Christians—are on the rise.
Christian leaders have called on authorities to uphold the rule of law and protect religious minorities. “The government must ensure our constitutional right to worship without fear,” said one pastor, speaking anonymously for security reasons.
No fatalities were reported in the recent attacks, but they have sent shockwaves through Christian communities in West Java, where fears of future violence remain high.
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