Papua Churches Urge UN To Help End Attacks
The West Papua Council of Churches urges the United Nations to help end a “humanitarian tragedy” in Indonesia’s Papua region where it says Indonesia’s military kills Christian leaders.
Indonesia
Floods Hit Indonesia’s Christian-Majority Island; Dozens Killed
Easter celebrations on Indonesia’s only Christian-majority island were overshadowed by flash floods that killed scores of people and displaced thousands, officials and Christians said.
Indonesia Suicide Church Bombing Injures 14 Worshipers
Indonesian President Joko Widodo pledged to break up a terror network Sunday after two suspected suicide bombers attacked a Catholic Church in the city of Makassar, injuring 14 worshipers.
Indonesia: Pentecostal congregation allowed to build a church as local official calls for religious tolerance
A Pentecostal church in Yogyakarta, Indonesia has again been granted permission to build a worship center after a previous construction permit (IMB) was revoked by local authorities in 2019, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Renewing permission to build a church, the local regent also called for tolerance of other religions in the community.
Indonesia Christians flogged under Sharia law
Two Christian men were flogged by a Sharia law officer Monday for the criminalized offenses of drinking alcohol and gambling in Indonesia’s province of Aceh, the Christian Post reports. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia with the “legal right to apply Islamic law in full.”
Indonesia Christians Face Food Shortages After Deadly Quake
Christian survivors of a massive earthquake in heavily Islamic Indonesia urgently need food, blankets, suitable tents, and other essentials, aid workers said Sunday.
Indonesia Bans Islamic Defenders Front
Christians in a movement of former Muslims and other believers welcomed a decision by Indonesia’s government to ban an Islamist group that attacked churches and other targets.
Indonesia Detains Islamic Leaders Amid Rising Extremism
Indonesian security forces have detained hardline Islamic leaders with suspected links to terrorism amid concerns among Christians about growing Islamic extremism.
Four Christians Butchered As Terror Rocks Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi
At least four Christians were killed in a suspected Islamic terror attack on the Salvation Army church and service building in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, local Christians told Worthy News early Saturday.
Tensions Rise As Controversial Islamic Clerc Returns to Indonesia
Christians and moderate Muslims in Indonesia fear new tensions after a hardline Islamic cleric returned from exile and held a massive wedding despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Official Condemns Indonesia’s Ban on Bible App
A senior Indonesian expert has condemned authorities for removing a mobile phone application that enabled an Indonesian ethnic group to read the Bible in their language.
US Mission Pilot Dies In Indonesia Crash
An American mission pilot flying much-needed coronavirus test kits to a remote village in Indonesia has died in a plane crash, her Christian aviation organization confirmed.
Indonesia Islamists Break Up House Church
Indonesia’s hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) group broke up a house church meeting in the country’s West Java province, prompting an angry response from the governor. Video footage obtained by Worthy News showed two men bursting into a home Sunday in Cikarang, 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Jakarta, the nation’s capital.
Jakarta Pastor Baptizes Muslims as Church Expands
Peter Tumbelaka wasn’t in a hurry to become the pastor of Jakarta’s largest Pentecostal churches where many Muslims convert to Christianity. “I thought I could remain an architect and an engineer. But God had different plans,” the 52-year-old preacher told BosNewsLife in Indonesia’s bustling capital.
Indonesian Baptist Church takes legal action in fight for freedom of religion and worship
The Indonesian Baptist Church of Tlogosari has resorted to legal action in fighting local opposition to the construction of its church house. Referring to pressure being placed on the government to block his church’s legitimate building work, Pastor Wahyudi told Beritasatu.com: “We will continue to fight for this, because if left unchecked it will set a bad precedent for freedom of religion and worship in Semarang.”
Ex-Terrorist Leads Indonesia’s Christian Convert Movement
The married-father-of-three has come a long way since he nearly blew up a Protestant church in Jakarta. Author Ahmad Quraisy, which isn’t his family name, was a commander of the feared Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), an Indonesian militant group. But the former Islamic terrorist now leads an underground movement in Indonesia converting Muslims to Christianity or, in his words, ‘personal faith in Christ.’
Christians in Indonesia suffer wave of Islamic harassment
Indonesia has seen 40 anti-Christian attacks in the first 5 months of 2019, a two-thirds jump from last year, and a quadrupling of the rate from 10 years ago.
‘Defenseless’ Indonesian State Caves to Islamist Pressure as Pentecostal Church Shut Down
A controversial government decree on the construction of places of worship has led to the closure of a Pentecostal church in Indonesia.
Wycliffe Associates Partners with Persecuted Christians to Bring Momentum to Bible Translation
Wycliffe Associates is working to accelerate Bible translation in Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world. Christians there face daily persecution, and many are still without the Bible in their language.
Despite Deadly Attacks, Wycliffe Translators Focus on New Bible Translations in Indonesia
Wycliffe Associates, an international organization involving people in the advancement of Bible translation, wants to begin Bible translation in hundreds of languages in Indonesia in the next six months.