The Neighbor Might Beat Cut You Up
| The threat of terrorism in Indonesia is growing under a combination of anti-Western backlash and the coming of Christmas.
Open Doors’ Carl Moeller says despite the promise of stepped-up security, “Christians have been asked by their leadership there to keep their celebrations modest so that it doesn’t unduly provoke Muslim neighbors in Indonesia.” Rev. Simon Timorason, head of Christian Communication Forum of Indonesia says radical Muslim groups have been monitoring the churches more intensely after the Idul Fitri (a major Islamic holiday). This might lead to more church closures. |
A friend of mine lived in Indonesia while working on his doctorate and told me the following, which might help show an additional perspective of the nature of the conflict between Christians and Muslims there. According to him, at one point armed Christians set up roadblocks at which all passersby were ordered to recite the Lord’s Prayer. If they were unable to do so, it was assumed they were Muslims and they were summarily shot. Also according to my friend, it was just such groups of militant ‘Christians’ who were supported financially and labeled as ‘martyrs’ by prominent Christian ministries in the U.S.
How prevalent this kind of thing is in Indonesia I have no way of knowing; however, as in other cases of religious conflict such as that of Northern Ireland, I am rather skeptical of tacking the “Persecuted” and “Martyr” labels onto Christian groups which do not demonstrate the suffering love of the Lord whose name they claim.