Government Bows to Muslim Pressure to Close Churches in Indonesia

A resident cries as she prays during a Sunday mass near a burned church at Suka Makmur Village in Aceh Singkil, Indonesia. (Reuters)

Government Bows to Muslim Pressure to Close Churches

10/19/2015 KANUPRIYA KAPOOR/REUTERS  charisma news

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Authorities in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province said on Sunday several Christian churches would be shut down this week, just days after a mob burned down a church, killing one person and injuring several others.

Tensions have been high among the ethnically and religiously diverse population of Aceh, raising the risk of further religious violence in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim population. 

The vast majority of Indonesians practice a moderate form of Islam and Aceh is the only province to adhere to Islamic Sharia law, putting it at odds with the rest of the country.

Aceh was granted special autonomy as part of a 2005 agreement to end decades of separatist violence, which allowed it to implement Sharia law. 

Christian groups in Aceh Singkil district, where the churches stand, had been consulted on the matter, authorities said, and members of as many as six churches had agreed to dismantle their houses of worship after admitting they did not have the required building permits. 

"All houses of worship, regardless of the religion, need to be in accordance with the laws of Aceh," Bardan Sahidi, a member of the provincial parliament, told Reuters after attending a meeting of political and religious figures, including representatives from the religious affairs ministry in Jakarta.

Local Christian groups were not immediately available for comment.

The move comes after Muslim residents, including members of the hardline group Islamic Defenders Front, demanded that the local government shut down 10 churches, citing a lack of permits. 

A mob of hundreds of people burned down a small church in Aceh Singkil district last week, forcing thousands of Christians to flee to neighbouring villages.

One Muslim member of the mob was killed, police said last week, adding that at least 10 people had been detained on suspicion of inciting violence. 

The government has since deployed 1,300 police and military personnel to the area, with hundreds more on standby, to patrol the streets and stand guard outside churches that dot the small palm oil plantations in the district.

Christian residents of the run-down village attended a service on Sunday right next to the charred remains of their church, under the guard of about a dozen armed security personnel.

"At the moment, things are calm but we are on standby for any further incidents," said Saladin, spokesman for Aceh police, adding that evacuees had since returned to their homes. 

© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

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[RUDDICK SHIELD] INTERIM REPORT - INDONESIA - Morris Ruddick

Morris Ruddick

September 2, 2013

Dear Steve, 

Thank you for praying. Every prayer has been vital. The spiritual warfare has been beyond the ordinary; but so have the opportunities. The Lord has truly exceeded our expectations at every step.

A day after our arrival, we were conducting our first workshop on a Tuesday evening. It was organized as a "by-invitation only" gathering of business owners, entrepreneurs,

leaders and potential business owners from a wide mix of churches. Our host wrote the host on the second island we're leaving for today.

So after the first night of this downtown Jarkarta workshop, our host wrote: "There is very thick anointing. No one is going home. We have 300 people here, many successful business owners."

After the second night, he wrote: "Ruddick is amazing. Everyone returned, eager for more and there are more than 300 tonight. In his very first trip to Jakarta, he is bringing meat (not milk) and the Indonesia audience is eating with an appetite. Ruddick is methodical, meticulous and very well organized ....and speaks with a captivating intensity that keeps people in their seats during the entire four hour session. No one leaves."

On Thursday we spent a very long and packed-out day ministering first to the leaders of CBN Indonesia. These leaders and their director play a major, cohesive role in the incredible dynamic underway within the mobilized, dynamic church in Indonesia. Then following a luncheon meeting with the Director and the ministry's chief spiritual advisor, there was in-depth ministry to the core group of intercessors behind this vibrant ministry. That evening I brought a message of exhortation to a group of local pastors.

On Friday we traveled to the beautiful mountain city of Bandung for the second God's economy workshop. I'd already been impressed by the expansive network of committed business people tied to everything we've been doing. Our stop for a meal at a unique restaurant was one of seven restaurants owned by a sold-out man of God putting his faith into practice.

The second workshop was a multi-church mix of business owners and entrepreneurs. It was hosted by a very large fellowship that specializes in their people playing key roles in the city's community activities. Bandung is one of the most heavily populated and strongly-influenced Muslim cities on this island. Yet, it is that very fact that makes it a seedbed for opportunity.

Sunday brought us back to Jakarta where I brought the message to two hungry and very eager downtown congregations. The theme of both messages was the process and the cost of spiritual maturity needed to change a city and to change a nation. With that goal in mind, I was reminded of a company which we had association with in the 1970s which was the result of a $10 million business acquiring a $90 million firm. The Wall Street Journal likened it to a minnow swallowing a whale.

So it is in the Kingdom that God uses the most unlikely candidates; as He gives them the most unlikely strategies; to then bring about the most unlikely results. Ten years after the minnow swallowing the whale acquisition, the company had grown to be a $1 billion. That was really big in 1977.

The pastor who hosted our first workshop very much fits the model of the minnow swallowing the whale. God led him to move his church to a central, downtown location. In this Muslim nation, churches don't build buildings like in the West. They have to be more discrete and more often than not, they locate in commercial areas.

Having heard from God, this pastor signed the contract to purchase a floor in a high-rise office building. As the deadline approached and the money required only partially materialized, he sold his home to pay off the difference. Then in building out the space, the same thing happened and he sold his car to meet the obligations.

These are the type of people I relish working with. Let me explain that more fully. Many years ago, during a very challenging time in our walk with the Lord, I arrived at 6:30 one morning for a men's prayer group in the conference room of an Omaha business. There was special speaker, a very prophetic man-of-God. We had never met.

When this man of God began his time of ministry he pointed to me and said: "That is a man of God. That's what the Lord spoke to me when I saw him walk through the door." Then he spoke directly to me: "You sir, have a spirit of prosperity on you. You might be a millionaire or you might be broke." The reality was that I had just lost my job and was "in the hole" financially. He continued with the words: "Prosperity has nothing to do with money. A spirit of prosperity comes from the heart and it will overflow into those around you."

Over the years, we've watched as again and again, the Lord has uniquely blessed those he has sent us to minister to. The Lord called me as a consultant. It carries a strong

 

prophetic gift that I've seen in instance after instance to operate far beyond my understanding. I've been involved at the helm in a number of corporate turnarounds. I've been involved at the start of the launch of numerous initiatives and new ministries.

So it has been that this dynamic has extended into the nations in which we've been sent; as the Lord has connected us with those who are at a stage of turning/ of transition in walking out His blueprint for their mantles. There's no earthly way I can explain it, but we've seen the result and we've seen the change as we have played small roles in speaking into and establishing God's order in these divinely appointed relationships.

So it is that we see this same expectation in operation as we plant our gift among these most incredible leaders and pioneers that we're serving here in Indonesia. The Indonesians are amazing!

We are only at mid-course for what we came to Indonesia to do. We still have before us more than another week; and another workshop, key leaders to minister to, two mini-workshops in the Myles Munroe Kingdom Leadership Conference and ministry in a very pivotal church. Please continue praying. Your prayers and the anointing are what counter the spiritual forces trying to undermine these efforts. These are strategic times and these are strategic opportunities. Thank you, thank you for praying.

In His love and mine,





Morris Ruddick
Global Initiative Foundation
www.strategic-initiatives.org
www.strategicintercession.org