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Tag: Church

  • Thousands Flee Aceh After Church Burning

    Thousands Flee Aceh After Church Burning

    Thousands of people, mostly Christians, have left Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh, for neighboring regencies in North Sumatra after an Islamic group attacked a village and set fire to a church.

    The attackers, grouped under the Aceh Singkil Islamic Care Youth Students Association (PPI), arrived in Suka Makmur village, Gunung Meriah district, Aceh Singkil, in several trucks on Tuesday afternoon and set alight the Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI) Church, which they considered to be unlicensed.

    Hundreds of police and military officers who had earlier been deployed to the village failed to prevent the attack as they were outnumbered. One of the attackers, identified as Samsul, was shot dead when Christians, the majority in the village, tried to defend their church.

    Samsul, 21, a resident of Bulu Sema village, Suro Makmur, died from an air rifle wound, while three other attackers were injured and were taken to the regency’s general hospital for treatment.

    The church was one of 10 in the regency that was protested by the Islamic group. At a recent meeting at the regency office between the protesters, the churches’ board members and local officials, it was reportedly agreed that the churches would be demolished on Oct. 19.

    After the attack, about 75 percent of the villagers moved to other areas, with many houses in Suka Makmur left empty and locked up.

    “We are still afraid that an incident could occur again if [the situation is] not handled properly,” congregation member Silaban said on Wednesday.

    The police recorded that 3,433 people had moved to Central Tapanuli regency and 976 to Pakpak Bharat regency, both in North Sumatra.

    Many parties have denounced the attack in Aceh, the only province in the country to implement sharia.

    “Stop violence in Aceh Singkil. Any act of violence, whatever the reasons behind it, not to mention if it is related to religion and faith, will kill diversity —Jkw,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Wednesday on his Twitter account @jokowi.

    Jokowi has ordered Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti to take immediate action to stop violence and promote peace in the regency.

    Badrodin acknowledged that the National Police had foreseen such an attack but had not readied enough security personnel on Tuesday to protect the church from the attackers, estimated to have numbered 500 to 700 people.

    “We knew [about conflict involving the church] from four months ago. This is why I truly regret the fact that the arson happened,” Badrodin said on Wednesday.

    The police have questioned 45 people connected to the incident.

    The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) also denounced the attack and discouraged Muslims in Aceh from taking part in any activities that could incite a larger conflict between Islamic and Christian communities in the region.

    “First of all, the burning will never be justified. Even if the church committed a violation, let the local authorities solve the problem according to the existing rules,” MUI chairman Ma’ruf Amin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

    The Wahid Institute recorded 158 incidents of religious rights violations throughout 2014, with 78 percent enacted by non-state actors.

    Meanwhile, Setara Institute research director Ismail Hasani condemned the incident as a violation of human rights which was facilitated by the local administration.

    Ismail argued that similar incidents in Aceh, namely in 1979, 2001 and 2012, were caused by a discriminatory 1979 agreement between Muslim and Christian communities that stipulated there would be only one church and four small Christian houses of worship in Aceh Singkil.

     

    Source: www.thejakartapost.com

  • Church Opens Its Gates So That Muslim Worshippers Can Park During Friday Prayers

    Church Opens Its Gates So That Muslim Worshippers Can Park During Friday Prayers

    <Facebook post by Yu Ran>

    There is a mosque and a church next to each other in my neighborhood, because there isn’t any parking space around, the church opened its grounds so that Muslim worshippers can park during Friday prayers.

    Little scenes like this in Singapore makes me proud to call Singapore my home and it reminds me that no matter how different we are as human beings everyone deserves a little parking space on this planet. — at Spiritual Grace Presbyterian Church 长老会灵恩堂

     

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Ustaz Azhar Idrus: Forbidden In Islam To Celebrate Mother’s Day

    Ustaz Azhar Idrus: Forbidden In Islam To Celebrate Mother’s Day

    PETALING JAYA: Now recirculating on social media is a video recorded in 2012 of Terengganu-based Ustaz Azhar Idrus calling on Muslims to disregard Mother’s Day and denouncing it as a Christian festival.

    In the 3.47 minute video, Azhar speaks to a crowd, warning them of the celebration’s supposedly Christian roots, saying it was linked to the Mother of the Church, the Virgin Mary.

    “The movement began in the early 19th Century, applying to the church and the government to declare this day a public holiday,” says Azhar, who then explains that the movement had asked churches in 1862 to note it in church calendars as a Christian celebration.

    “Mother’s Day has been declared a public holiday in all Christian nations; this is why it is forbidden to celebrate Mother’s Day,” says Azhar.

    “On that day, people will give a ‘mother cake’ to their mother, and they do this once a year. But Islam teaches us to be generous with mothers throughout the year.”

    He pointed out that the Chinese did not celebrate Deepavali, and the Japanese, Awal Muharram.

    “They (the Japanese) will not celebrate Awal Muharram because they know it is a Muslim festival. The Mexicans celebrate Christmas and not Maulidur Rasul,” says Azhar.

    “The Canadians do not celebrate Thaipusam,” The Star quoted him as preaching in the video.

    Mother’s Day was founded in America in the 20th century by Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Civil War peace activist Ann Jarvis, who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created the Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

    Following her mother’s death, Anna campaigned to make Mother’s Day an officially recognised holiday in the States. Following her efforts, Mother’s Day was officially recognised as a national holiday in 1914, set on the second Sunday of May.

    Rampant commercialisation and marketing soon brought it to the rest of the world.

     

    Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

  • Taman Medan Church Pastor Forgives Protestors

    Taman Medan Church Pastor Forgives Protestors

    Overwhelmed by support for his church, the senior pastor of Taman Medan’s Community of Praise Petaling Jaya church Pastor Paul Packianathan choked back tears as he thanked Malaysians for standing in solidarity with the congregation and said the church had forgiven protesters who demanded the removal of the cross displayed on the outside of the building.

    Speaking after the Sunday service today, he said the church had forgiven the protestors who staged a demonstration outside the church last Sunday.

    “That’s what my Jesus taught me. On the cross, Jesus said forgive them father for they do not know what they are doing. We do not hold any grudge.We pray for forgiveness for all. That is why we forgive them.

    “If they are here I will hug them now,” he said.

    Also present was his wife Victoria, who is also a pastor, members of the congregation, and other members of the public.

    Victoria had been the pastor in charge last Sunday when a group of 50 Muslim residents from the Taman Medan community protested in front of the shoplot where the house of worship was located and demanded that the cross affixed to the building facade to be taken down.

    They said the cross was a challenge to Islam and would sway the faith of youth in the area.

    The church, however, has not decided if it will return the cross back to its place on the building.

    “We are waiting the Lord to direct us what we should do next,” Paul said, when asked if the church’s leadership would put up the cross again.

    Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali earlier this week said the church should put back the cross on the building’s facade, as there was nothing wrong in doing so as it was the symbol of Christianity.

    Paul today thanked Azmin, and also Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, for speaking up to defend the church on the matter.

    The pastor said removing the cross from the building had been the “right thing” to do at the time of the protest.

    “Last week at this time she conducted the service. The worship cannot be stopped no matter what. But she also had to consider the safety of everybody,” he said, referring to Pastor Victoria.

    “I fully support her decision to take down the cross at the time. Being a keyboard warrior is easy as you did not experience what happened,” Paul added, referring to those who had criticised the move to take off the cross last Sunday.

    The pastor also defended one of the protestors, an Umno branch chief Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, and said news and photos circulating of him being in a casino was “wrong”.

    “That is character assassination. It’s very, very wrong. What does it have to do with any of this?

    “The news also said he was very ‘angry’ when he was here. There was no such thing. Pastor Victoria mentioned everything in a police report she lodged recently,” Paul said.

    Abdullah, the elder brother of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, had told the media subsequently that he had been at the protest to help keep the situation calm.

    Police are now investigating the demonstration, and have interviewed several protestors, including Abdullah.

    Khalid, who at first cleared the demonstrators of any wrong, has since said that he will not interfere if action is taken against his brother.

    Najib in a statement on April 21, said the Cabinet had directed the police to investigate the protest and warned, that action could be taken under the Sedition Act or other existing laws.

    The Selangor government has also clarified that churches do not need permits to hold worship services in shop lots or commercial properties, and that only a notification of their activities to the state’s Council on Non-Islam Affairs, was required.

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

  • Uproar Over Church In Selangor Increases Pressure On Malaysian PM Najib Razak

    Uproar Over Church In Selangor Increases Pressure On Malaysian PM Najib Razak

    An uproar over a protest on Sunday by a group of Muslims in Selangor demanding the removal of the cross of a church has put more pressure on embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

    Netizens, politicians and lawyers condemned the protest in a Malay-Muslim majority residential area in Petaling Jaya, and pressed the government to take action against the protesters and protect minority rights.

    Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday called the protest seditious and vowed that action would be taken against the offenders, contradicting an earlier assertion by the country’s police chief that the protesters’ actions were not seditious.

    “Of course action is to be taken. I am very colour-blind. The police are very colour-blind. Action has to be taken or will be taken against them (the protesters),” Mr Zahid, told the media yesterday.

    About 50 people had gathered outside the new church on Sunday, demanding the removal of the cross affixed to the house of worship on the grounds that it was challenging Islam and could sway the faith of young Muslims. Among those present at the protest was Mr Abdullah Abu Bakar, the older brother of police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, along with several other members of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.

    The cross was taken down by church leaders a few hours after the protest.

    At a news conference yesterday, Mr Khalid dismissed any suggestions that the protest was seditious. “We do not see it as seditious as it did not touch on Christianity but only on the location of the church,” he said, adding that his brother was present only to help manage the situation.

    Mr Abdullah, an UMNO branch chief, also said in a statement that the UMNO members were present to mediate, adding that they managed to stop some of the more radical residents who had threatened to remove the cross had the church not done so itself.

    This was not the first time a protest has been held against a church.

    In November last year, a Muslim group also organised a demonstration to protest the construction of the four-storey church in Petaling Jaya.

    Ms Haniza Mohamed Talha, an opposition lawmaker of the district where the protest took place, criticised the behaviour of the protesters. “(The protesters) assume that the faith of Muslims is so fragile that just by looking at a cross, they will be driven away from Islam,” she said. The Council of Churches Malaysia claimed the protest was politically-motivated to stir up religious tensions in Selangor.

    In condemning the protest, the council’s general-secretary Dr Hermen Shastri said it was not surprised that such an incident had taken place yet again in the state, which is ruled by the federal opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat. “It is obvious that there is a political agenda behind such acts from certain quarters, who are out to instigate and increase inter-religious tensions in the state,” he said. He urged the authorities to “take firm measures against anyone who seeks to disrupt the worship of others, and who seeks to act above the law by imposing their religious views upon people of other faiths, by show of mob force”.

    Mr Tony Pua, a lawmaker from the Democratic Action Party, called on UMNO lawmakers who recently voted in support of the amendments to the Sedition Act to make their stand known to the protesters. “Will the above case only go to show how the Act was constructed strictly targeted against non-Muslims while Muslims who infringed on the rights of others will get away scot-free?” he said.

    Malaysia strengthened its controversial sedition law earlier this month, imposing a minimum jail term of three years and allowing the government to block online media deemed to be seditious. The toughening of the Sedition Act comes after a crackdown in which scores of people have been detained under the law in recent weeks.

    Mr Najib has come increasing pressure in recent months over a series of controversies, including the state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which has amassed a RM42 billion (S$15.6 billion) debt.

    Sunday’s protest poses another headache for Mr Najib, following several recent cases that have heightened religious tensions with Malaysia’s Christian minority population. Last week, 320 Malay-language bibles were seized because they used the word “Allah” to refer to God. Earlier this year, Catholic newsweekly Herald was also banned from using the word “Allah” in its publications.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com