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Indonesian Muslims Continue to Forbid Christians From Building Church on Street with Islamic Name
September 03, 2011
"Why do they need to build a church in an Islamic neighborhood?"
In what is being called a national test of religious tolerance, Muslims in Indonesia's West Java province are continuing to block Christian worshipers from building a church, namely because the future edifice would stand on a street with an Islamic name.
As The Blaze reported last month, local mayor Diani Budiarto is refusing to comply with a supreme court ruling to allow the congregation to build its church, choosing to defer to the wishes of the Muslim majority.
The national ombudsman has reportedly given the mayor two weeks to implement the supreme court's decision and allow the church to be built, a move that has not stopped protestors from decrying the Christian worshipers' plans.
"Why does a church need to build in a street with an Islamic name? Why do they need to build a church in an Islamic neighborhood?" one protester asked.
However, in a country where the dominant religion is Islam such as Indonesia, there are bound to be more neighborhoods and streets are bound to bear Islamic names than not.
Meanwhile, the province's Christians still must resort to hold services in the open air, protected by police.
Step Vaessen with Al Jazeera delivers the report from West Java:
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