MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

The Jakarta Post – “Twenty churches in Singkil regency, Aceh, have been closed down and are likely to be demolished by the local administration.

According to a lawmaker from House of Representatives Commission III on human rights, Eva K. Sundari, the commission received complaints about the forced closure of 20 churches from the United North Sumatra Alliance on Monday.

The core of the problem is the contradictory regulations between the 2007 gubernatorial decree on the guidance of the construction of houses of worship and the 2006 joint ministerial decree governing the construction of houses of worship.

‘Under the ministerial decree, a house of worship can only be built if it has secured the approval of 90 worshipers while the gubernatorial decree requires the approval of 150 worshippers,’ Eva said Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

The ministerial decree also requires the approval of 60 local residents of different faiths.

Worse still, Eva said, was a local edict that forbade Muslims from approving the construction of houses of worship other than mosques, which made it impossible for the churches to fulfill the requirements.

Not only have new churches been forced to close but also the Pakpak Dairi Protestant Church, which was established in 1932. It too is likely to be demolished, she said.

‘Guidance from the home minister is needed so that the local consultative forum and the police can be fair and neutral for all citizens and not bow down to intolerant groups,’ she said.” Source – The Jakarta Post.

Moderate Indonesia? – “Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim country by population (with over 200 million Muslims constituting a demographic of just under 90 percent of the population) — is often held up as an example of a modern, moderate Islamic democracy. Indeed, this is precisely how David Cameron — the current UK prime minister — characterized Indonesia in a visit to the capital Jakarta back in April, addressing students there with the following remarks: ‘The people of Indonesia can show through democracy there is an alternative to dictatorship and extremism. That here in the country with the biggest Muslim population on the planet, religion and democracy need not be in conflict.’ But is this conventional wisdom accurate?” Read more.

Flashback: Massive Increase of Radical Islamism Spreads Throughout Indonesia, Including ‘Top-Quality’ Universities – “The suicide bombing of a church in Central Java on Sept. 25 pointed not only to a new level of attacks on religious minorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country but to a political bent that accommodates Islamist extremism. ‘Radicalization of Islamic teachings and understanding is a problem in Indonesia,’ admitted Dr. H. Nasaruddin Umar, director general of Islamic Community Guidance under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. ‘There’s a need to re-explain the concept of jihad.’ Pino Damayanto, aka Ahmad Yosepa Hayat, who blew himself up wounding over 20 members of the Sepenuh Injil Bethel Church (Bethel Full Gospel Church) in Solo on Sept. 25, apparently believed it was his religious duty to kill ‘the enemies of Islam,’ according to his understanding of ‘jihad.’” Read more.

MNN – “The rise of covert persecution tactics on Christians in Indonesia may be moving this country up the rankings on the World Watch List of worst places for Christians to live.

According to Compass Direct News, last year Indonesia had a total of 64 cases of violation on Christian freedoms. This year, Indonesia has reached nearly two-thirds of that number already with 40 Christian freedom violations in these first five months.

22 churches have been forced to close down by the Indonesian government this year. 18 of those occurred just within the last month in the Aceh Province after the election of a hard-line Islamic governor.

Direct violence has also increased. On May 17, 600 Islamists threw bags of urine and ditch water at 100 members of the Philadelphia Batak Christian Protestant Church in Eastern Indonesia. So far this year, the extremist group, Islamic Defenders Front, has carried out two attacks on the Gereja Pentakosta di Indonesia church.

If this trend of persecution continues through the year, marginalization of Indonesian Christians will have increased by 50%. This will be the third year in a row that persecution has gone up.

However, the trials Christians in Indonesia face don’t always make the news.

Greg Musselman with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada says, ‘The persecution is not as violent [in Indonesia] as in places like Nigeria, which gets a lot of coverage, but it’s an ongoing situation there. Christians are marginalized, and with the rise of more of a militant Islam, there’s concern that it’s going to become even worse in Indonesia.'” Read more.

Flashback: Indonesia: Anti-Christian Incidents Nearly Double in 2011, Worst May Be Yet to Come – “Acts of violence and intolerance against Christians in Indonesia almost doubled in 2011, with an Islamist campaign to close down churches symbolizing the plight of the religious minority. The Indonesian Protestant Church Union, locally known as PGI, counted 54 acts of violence and other violations against Christians in 2011, up from 30 in 2010. The number of such incidents against religious minorities in general also grew, from 198 in 2010 to 276 in 2011, but the worst is perhaps yet to come if authorities continue to overlook the threat of extremism …”Read more.

The Cypress Times – “Washington, DC – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that over the past month, Saudi officials have been making conflicting statements when asked why a group of 35 Ethiopian Christians were arrested at a prayer service in a private home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last December.

The statements were made over a period of several weeks after staff members from multiple Congressional offices began calling the Saudi embassy in Washington D.C. to inquire into the situation. The calls began soon after ICC held a series of meetings during the last week of April on Capitol Hill to raise awareness of the case and to ask for calls from Senators, Representatives, and their staff to the Saudi Embassy.

On Monday, May 7th, a Congressional office told ICC that a source close to the Saudi ambassador had indicated the Christians were arrested as part of an investigation into a large scale human smuggling ring. This explanation contradicted the original rationale published by Human Rights Watch in January that the group had been accused of the ‘illicit mingling of genders.’

Then, just three days later, Sarah Nezamuddin, a representative from the Embassy, told a separate Congressional office that the Christians had all been arrested for having issues with their work permits. ICC proceeded to provide a list of the prisoners with legal work permit numbers to the Congressional office, and after some follow up, Ms. Nezamuddin changed the explanation and said that the Christians were involved in both drug and human trafficking.

Finally, on May 21st, in a meeting with staff members from multiple Congressional offices, representatives from the Saudi government said that the 35 Christians had been arrested for visa issues, but that they were also involved in some form of smuggling ring. When pressed for specifics, the Saudi officials reportedly demurred and changed the topic. At least one Congressional staff member left the meeting with the impression that neither Saudi official actually knew why the Christians were arrested in the first place.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Unprecedented’: Saudi Security Forces Raid Christian Prayer Meeting in Jeddah and Arrest 42 Christians, Many Beaten and Threatened with Death – “International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi security forces arrested 42 Ethiopian Christians at a prayer gathering in Jeddah on Thursday … at the home of an Ethiopian Christian in the Al-Safa district of Jeddah. Those attending the service were reportedly beaten and threatened before being arrested. ‘Security officials broke [into] the house and captured… beat and threatened them for death… They divided the men and the women and they are torturing them [in prison],’ an Ethiopian and Eritrean Christian immigrant community living in Europe wrote in a desperate appeal for help to the ambassadors of European embassies in Riyadh on Friday.” Read more.

Compass Direct News – “Authorities in Iran this week ordered the closure of a church in the capital, Tehran, amid a government campaign to crack down on the few recognized churches offering Farsi-speaking services, according to a human rights group.

The order came from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence branch on Tuesday (June 5). The Revolutionary Guard, also known as Sepah, is known for its military aggression.

‘Unfortunately, it is now official – the church in Janat-Abad [district] was ordered to shut down,’ said Monsour Borji, an Iranian Christian and advocacy officer for rights initiative Article 18. ‘If no reverse decision is made, this Sunday [June 10] no meeting will be held.’

Article 18 is a London-based initiative of the United Council of Iranian Churches (Hamgaam), which seeks to defend and promote religious freedoms in Iran. Hamgaam is composed of Iranian Christian churches in Europe.

The church in Tehran’s northwestern district of Janat-Abad belongs to the Assemblies of God (AOG) Church in Iran. Originally it was located in Karaj, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Tehran, but authorities ordered it to shut down some years ago, Borji told Compass.” Read more.

Flashback: Fearing ‘The Growth of Christianity Like Never Before’ Iranian Authorities Escalate Crackdown on Christians in Ahwaz, Shiraz, Esfahan and Kermanshah – “The Islamic Republic of Iran has intensified its crackdown on Iranian Christians during recent weeks. This has resulted in the arrest of a number of Christians in Ahwaz, Shiraz, Esfahan and Kermanshah… ‘Today, the regime of Iran crackdowns on Christians, especially Christian converts, for it is observing the growth of Christianity like never before. This fact has made them concerned… What this religious regime tries to demonstrate is that there is only one legitimate religion and all other religions are illegitimate… During past years underground or house churches were the main targets of arrests and pressures. However, gradually the Islamic regime’s authorities also included evangelical churches among their targets.’” Read more.

AINA – “Clashes broke out Saturday between Muslim and Coptic students in the Assiut University women’s dorms after a Coptic student reportedly proselytized Christianity to Muslim students, leaving 12 students and supervisors injured.

A Coptic law student had distributed proselytizing leaflets and booklets in university dorms with her friend, an engineering student, a security source said.

The booklets they handed out were titled ‘The Lord invites you’ and ‘Salvation Ship.’ They also gave pictures of some Christian figures to Muslim students in their rooms and in the building’s study hall. The law student also encouraged them to convert to Christianity.

‘These actions raised the ire of Muslim students,’ the security source said.

The students and supervisors who were injured were trying to resolve the dispute, the source said. They sustained injuries to their heads and bodies.

Some Muslim students had said they reported the Coptic students’ actions to the building management, but that the management failed to stop them.

The two sides started fighting amid shouts of sectarian chants, and when the building supervisor tried to intervene, women from both sides started beating her.

Demonstrations by both sides started and lasted until 3 am Sunday.

University president Mostafa Kamel, Vice President of Student Affairs Adel Ryan, Assiut Governor Major General Al-Sayed al-Borai and security and military leaders visited the dorms.

Kamal and the security leaders met with both parties to calm the situation, and he threatened to expel the students involved in the clashes from both parties and cancel their exams if there any new riots.

Dozens of Christians and Muslims protested in the vicinity of the university dorms after Christian students called their relatives, who gathered outside, prompting Muslim students to do the same. The two groups chanted sectarian slogans.

Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s mostly Muslim population. Several sectarian disputes have occurred since the uprising last year as a result of Muslim citizens converting to Christianity or vice versa, as well as disagreements over building churches.” Source – AINA.

Flashback: Egypt: Rising Islamic Leader Declares ‘We Will Launch a Campaign of Islamic Conquest Throughout the World’, ‘Exterminate’ Christians Who Get In the Way of Sharia – “A rising leader in the radical Islamic movement in Egypt that has become a major political player since the demise of Hosni Mubarak’s regime says Christian churches may need to be blown up and Christians exterminated to allow the advance of Islamic law, or Shariah. The comments come from Sheik ‘Adel Shehato, a senior leader with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist group… The sheik, a senior jihadist leader, responded to a question about using violence against Christians, who make up a substantial minority in Egypt.” Read more.