Tag: Indonesia

2-year-old girl dead after Indonesia church attack

November 15, 2016 Indonesia Aceh, Bogor, Borneo, GKI Yasmin, Indonesia, Joko Widodo, Kalimantan, Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, Samarinda, Sumatra

A two-year-old girl has died after suffering 75% burns following an attack by an alleged Islamic extremist on a church in Borneo, Indonesia, reports ABC News. Ade Intan Marbun was one of four young children injured after a man – apparently identified by police as a 32 year old ex-convict . . . Read More

‘Worship in the woods’ a year after Islamic extremists destroy Aceh churches

November 10, 2016 Indonesia Aceh, Churches, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Sharia

Churches destroyed a year ago by Islamic extremists and police in Aceh Singkil – a rural ‘regency’ in Indonesia’s only Sharia-ruled province – have still not been rebuilt because of discrimination against Christians by local authorities, say church leaders. However, despite the troubles, church membership is climbing. Hardliners started destroying . . . Read More

Indonesia: Christian Governor accused of blasphemy

November 7, 2016 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Jakarta, Quran

Thousands of hardline Muslims turned violent during a protest calling for the prosecution of Jakarta’s Christian Governor over comments he made about the Quran, . An estimated 50,000 demonstrated at a largely peaceful rally in the Indonesian capital on 4 November after the Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that Islamic . . . Read More

Sharia by-law in Indonesia ‘biased against poor’

October 28, 2016 Indonesia Aceh, Indonesia, Sharia, Sumatra

Residents of the Indonesian province of Aceh, in north-western Sumatra, have complained that the implementation of Sharia there appears to disproportionately target people of low status. The Islamic criminal code stipulates punishments such as caning for actions outlawed under Sharia, such as homosexual activity, adultery, drinking alcohol, gambling, rape and . . . Read More

Malaysian bill amendment to tighten Sharia punishments alarms non-Muslims

June 3, 2016 Malaysia Brunei, Hudud, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Kelantan, Najib Razak, PAS, Sharia, Southeast Asia, UMNO

On the last day of Malaysia’s latest session of Parliament, a member of the ruling coalition, UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), had a bill amendment approved which has provoked an outcry in the country. That’s because it aims to tighten the implementation of Sharia; and critics claim it intends to . . . Read More

Indonesian laws thwart new church plans

April 28, 2016 Indonesia Aceh, Churches, Indonesia, Sharia

Protestant church leaders in Aceh, Indonesia are pushing for consistent application of Islamic law in the province, after the destruction of 10 churches in the last nine months, . Last August, a mob burned down the Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church, killing one person and forcing thousands of Christians to . . . Read More

Islamic extremism on rise in Philippines

April 18, 2016 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Indonesia, Islamic State, Malaysia, Mindanao, Philippines, Southeast Asia

Islamic extremism is growing in the southern Philippines, with alarming implications for the rest of Asia, reports . For more than four decades, Islamist groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the Mindanao island group of southern Philippines. Several have now , while one of . . . Read More

Faith-based persecution on the rise in Asia-Pacific

March 31, 2016 Asia-Pacific, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Taiwan

The first Asia-Pacific Religious Freedom Forum was held in Taiwan from 18-21 Feb, and hosted by former Vice-President of Taiwan, Annette Lu.World Watch Monitor Persecution due to people’s faith has increased over recent years in the Asia-Pacific region, said speakers addressing the first Asia-Pacific Religious Freedom Forum, held from . . . Read More

Church attack routs thousands of Indonesian Christians

October 20, 2015 Indonesia Aceh, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Papua, Sharia, Sumatra

Authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh region have started to tear down churches following last week’s religious violence that left at least one person dead and forced thousands of Christians to flee. Clashes broke out after Islamic hardliners burned down a church in Aceh Singkil on 13 Oct. According to local church . . . Read More

Report: Christianity contracting in MidEast, Africa

October 16, 2015 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Belarus, Boko Haram, China, David Cameron, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, London, Middle East, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pope Francis, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, Vietnam

Christianity is fast disappearing from entire regions, most notably a huge chunk of the Middle East, and could vanish from Iraq within five years, according to a new report by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Released in the UK’s House of Lords on Tuesday, the report, “Persecuted and . . . Read More

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