Indonesia

Christian church makes rapid gains in Indonesia, alarming Muslims

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A church in Indonesia

From God Reports

By Abby Aguilar –

A Muslim group has claimed in an online video that 2 million Indonesian Muslims convert to Christianity each year.

Azim Kidwai, who identifies himself as campaign manager for the so-called “Save Maryam online fundraiser, explained that they projected Indonesia would no longer be a Muslim nation by the year 2035, based on ground research and government policy papers in the world’s largest Muslim population nation.

Christians in Indonesia

Are the numbers conflated? Save Maryam, critics say, invoked alarmism in an effort to raise money; Save Maryam 11 years ago purported to raise $2M to fund an Islamic TV station and help phone service, according to videos still up on YouTube.

The Save Maryam website is now offline, but the YouTube video remains, as does the Save Maryam Facebook page. It appears the fundraising efforts desisted.

Other statistics point to significant progress of Christian in the world’s largest Muslim population. According to a research paper from Cornell University, only 1% of the nation was Christian in 1900, whereas today it is 10.5%.

But the growth of Christianity in Indonesia does not seem to be occuring at the expense of Islam but rather among Chinese Indonesians and native religions.

Ten years after 1961, Christianity approximately doubled in Jakarta (from 4.8% to 8.1% of the population), in Jogjakarta (from 2.8% to 4.6%), and in East Java (from 0.9% to 1.7%), Cornell’s Gavin Jones established.

In North Sumatra (excluding Tapanuli and Nias-Mentawai), Christianity grew 100 fold from 1933 to 1971 – from an estimated 8,200 to 891,800, Jones’ study found.

Indonesia calls itself the nation of “smiling Islam,” with a tolerance towards other religions. Its founders in 1945 rejected the radical Islam of Pakistan and wrote a constitution allowing for freedom for religions in the country.

Originally founded as a tolerant nation: Indonesia.

But in recent years, militant Islam has reared its head calling upon Muslims to burn and vandalize churches. The Islamic Defenders Front, founded in 1998, riled its supporters with incendiary speeches inciting vigilante violence until it was disbanded by the government in 2020.

Pastor Bernard Maukar, a pentecostal minister, says the Islamic Defenders Front invaded his church during service and smashed instruments and chairs. Even though the Indonesian constitution guarantees freedom of religion, Pastor Bernard was arrested because the Muslim mob pressured police. Behind bars for three months, Pastor Bernard was still winning souls for Christ, CBN reported.

Islamists have arisen in Indonesia.

In many cases, churches apply for permits for a building and are neither denied nor granted, an official dragging of feet from officials to disfavor the minority religion. These are the realities local Christian workers toil under: threats from the outside and government indifference to persecution.

In a context of adversity, Christianity is progressing. Pastor Billy Njotorahardjo of Senayan City believes the census date (11% Christian) may be grossly understated. He thinks the nation is 30% Christian. Njotorahardjo saw his church explode from 400 to 6,000 in four years.

“We pray, ‘Open Heaven, God touch people,’” Njotorahardjo says. “People are getting healed even outside the church. They’re getting saved outside the church.We’re praying for the revival of Jakarta, and of Indonesia. We are thinking that the whole nation is getting transformed by God.”

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Finding Jesus At A Cafe

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From persecution.org, a testimony of simple faith and trust in Jesus.

2/14/2023 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – Flourish Café is a café in West Java, Indonesia, that opened in 2021, motivated by the owner’s Christian faith and desire to reach out to women victims of human trafficking. At the height of the pandemic, the café was struggling to survive. There were only a few customers who came to the café. They do not have enough income to operate and pay the workers.   

One day, an ICC staff member met with the owner and discussed the cafe’s goals and programs. After hearing about the café’s needs, ICC was able to help the business survive by providing some financial assistance to keep operations running smoothly.   

Every Saturday, the owner held a Discover the Bible And Quran Study at the cafe to prompt discussion about the two books. As a result, some of their employees came to faith in Jesus Christ.  

Reli is one of the employees who came to faith in Jesus Christ. Her story is as follows:   

I’m Reli. I was born in 1994. I was born into a Muslim and tribal family with the largest Muslim population in Indonesia. I grew up to be a naughty teenager; even as an adult, I did not respect my parents, so my relationship with my parents was not close.  

I wore a hijab during high school because the school required it. However, even though I remained a Muslim after I finished high school, I took off my hijab because I felt uncomfortable.  

 In 2021, I began working at Flourish Café. Every Saturday, there is an activity at the cafe to read the Bible and the Koran, and we discuss the stories in the two books.   

From week to week, I became more and more interested in studying the Bible because so many words in it touched my heart. I installed the Bible app on my cell phone to read it throughout the week.   

I told one of my Christian friends about my interest in the Bible. She told me now, if you pray, pray to Jesus Christ. Slowly, I learned to pray to Jesus and felt something different in my heart. I was having problems with my family and with my husband. I prayed to Jesus, and several times in a dream, someone wearing a robe came and said, “Do not be afraid. I will help you” I believe that Jesus appeared in my dreams.   

Every day, I am being changed more and more in my character. First, I became more loving toward my parents and family. Then, I started giving some of the money I received from my place of work to my parents.  

In December 2021, I decided to be baptized because I had complete confidence to follow Jesus. But, until then, my family and husband did not know I believed in Jesus. They are not pleased that I converted and wish me to return to the Muslim faith. I pray that my parents and husband also believe in Jesus.  

Intolerance Growing in Indonesia

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This is a very worrying trend in a nation which has, in the past, been verytolerant of diverse beliefs.

From persecution.org

Survey Finds 59% of Respondents Carried Out Acts of Intolerance Toward Non-Muslims

ICC Note:

The Wahid Foundation, an organization that promotes tolerance in Indonesia reports on acts of sectarian violence. The former first lady of Indonesia, Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, cited some alarming statistics from the Foundation’s research saying that, “Only 11 per cent of respondents expressed strong rejection of the idea of establishing an Islamic nation,” and adding that, “59 per cent of Indonesians who responded to the survey carried out acts of intolerance towards non-Muslims.” Indonesia has been under the growing influence of conservative Islam which is resulting in more acts of intolerance against non-Muslims.

4/25/2017 Indonesia (Asia News) – Sectarian acts against non-Muslims are rising fast, this according to a study by the Wahid Foundation, an organisation that promotes a tolerant and multicultural society in Indonesia.

The Wahid Foundation was set up to support the humanitarian vision of Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), a moderate Muslim intellectual and a former president of Indonesia, who, during his political career, promoted an inclusive version of Islam. As president, and as leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama, a Muslim movement, he promoted the rights of minorities, non-Muslims and Indonesian Chinese.

His widow, Sin Nuriyah Wahid, raised the issue of intolerance during a television interview on 10 April. The former first lady cited the Foundation’s study to warn her fellow citizens and her words continue to echo. The results of local elections in Jakarta on 19 April, which saw the victory of Anies Baswedan and radical Islamist groups, re-ignited the debate.

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