Barnabas Fund, a Christian advocacy group working in predominantly Muslim nations, told BosNewsLife it had received "credible reports" of pending attacks. It did not identify its sources, apparently for security reasons, but the organization is known to be well-informed.
The group said this was no isolated incident. "Threats to Christians on major celebrations such as Easter and Christmas are frequent in Indonesia, and security guards are often posted outside churches at this time." Barnabas Fund added that at least some churches in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta keep metal detectors near their entrances to try to thwart bomb attacks. "This Easter will therefore be a time of great anxiety for Indonesia’s Christians," Barnabas Fund said.
Jemaah Islamiyah has been responsible for several attacks in the past. The organization, closely linked to Al-Qaeda, was believed to be involved in the Bali bombings in 2002 which killed 202 people. On Christmas Eve, 2000, Jemaah Islamiyah bombed several churches in Jakarta, Bandung and Riau, killing 18 people and injuring more than a hundred, according to rights investigators.
ISLAMIC STATE
The group is dedicated to creating a single Islamic state throughout South-East Asia under Islamic, or Shari`a, law. "It considers non-Muslims as legitimate targets and is active throughout the region," said Barnabas Fund, which has close contacts with Christians in the region.
News of planned attacks comes as churches in several parts of India have already been forced to close, often under pressure from Islamic militants and authorities cooperating with them, pastors and rights groups say. In one of the most recent incidents Muslims reportedly halted a worship at a church on Sumatra island and at another church on Java island.
The congregation of Gereja Bethel Injil Kasih Karunia, or ‘Love Evangelical Bethel Church’ on the outskirts of Pekanbaru, the capital of Sumatra island’s Riau Province was reportedly forced to cease Sunday services February 15 after some 60 demonstrators from four local mosques
demanded its closure.
NO PERMIT
Protesters were overheard saying that the church did not have a permit for expansion. The congregation is the only church in the village of 14 mosques, none of which have permits, said the church pastor Alex Ritonga in published remarks.
In Banten province on Java island, a mob of Islamic youths on February 8 reportedly closed down a Christian social services house that also served as the place of worship for the Indonesia Pentecostal Church Kalibaru in Melayu village. Other churches have had similar experiences, BosNewsLife established earlier.
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority nation, was mentioned in this year’s ‘Hall of Shame’ report of human rights group International Christian Concern, an annual list of the "world’s 10 worst persecutors of Christians."
