From Compass Direct:
Muslim protestors have attacked at least four churches over the past three weeks in the regions of East Java, West Java and North Sumatra, Indonesia.A crowd of approximately 100 people attacked the Gereja Protestan Indonesia (GPI) church in East Bekasi on January 9. Government officials had given permission for the church to renovate an old house which they had used as a church since 1975. However, leaders of the local Amar Ma’arut mosque encouraged Muslim neighbors to protest against the renovations. Church members met with local government and mosque officials on January 12 and agreed to suspend renovations temporarily.
Meanwhile, two other churches were attacked in Surubaya in late December and early January, and a bomb was placed in another church in Medan, North Sumatra. Muslim protestors forced the two churches in Surabaya, East Java, to close their doors. The pastor of one of the churches received death threats from the attackers.
But according to the shari'a, NO new housese of worship for non-Muslims, and NO improvements or repairs to already existing houses of worship, can be permitted (as the Copts can testify). Nothing new here; a completely logical application of Muslim doctrine. So what's the fuss? In the Muslim view, once a land has become subjugated to Islam, all non-Muslims exist on sufferance. Those uppity Christians in Indonesia are being treated exactly as, according to the shari'a, they should be treated (and as the Iraqi Christians are now beginning to be treated again, after a brief period of pseudo-secularism under Saddam Hussein, who worried more about Shi'a clerics; for him the Christians, weak and inoffensive, could be exempt from persecution because, for their own reasons, they could be expected to lie low and do nothing against the regime (even an occasional "court Christian" such as Tariq Aziz proved useful in dealing with foreign govenrments)-- they had no alternatives, within the context of a country where the only alternative, Islam, would for Christians likely be even worse.
It seems that the same old thing is happening again, or has it ever stopped? How many killings are we not hearing about? It seems that there isn't one place in the world where Islamists aren't active causing some sort of havoc.
Nathan,
Japan, Iceland, Greenland, Cuba?
jay
Jay,
Japan has a small community of Pakistani & Iranian immigrants, believe it or not. Also a few Japanese converts. There is at least one mosque on Iceland. Don't know about Greenland. As for Cuba, haven't you been reading the Islamic propaganda which claims that Columbus saw a mosque on Cuba when he first landed there, because the Native Americans were all descendents of Muslims?
I am sure that they will find the "remnants of a mosque" under the ice In Greenland and Antarctic or some obscure reference somewhere in an" ancient text" to justify their claim even to the frozen realms of the earth.
I am sure that Erik the Red was really a "secret" Muslim. And why? Well, because, because. . .he had red hair, and the Prophet used to die his hair and beard red with henna! All red-haired people are obviously living by Islamic precepts.
In fact, Ireland and Scotland all used to be Muslim too. You can tell by the red hair.
So there!
Susan,
I was pretty certain the islands had small groups of Muslims when I wrote that, but they're in small enough numbers that they're probably keeping a pretty low profile. Cuba is communist so there's no state support for any kind of religion. (OTOH, both Castro and Islam are anti-US). Japan has a very homogeneous culture. I think that it would be hard for the Muslims to make a lot of headway there.
Hey, has anyone ever considered the challenges of Ramadan in the far north or south at the "wrong" time of year?
jay
As far as Muslim "discoveries" in the New World, show me the maps. And the early Muslims knew the Earth was round. So what. Eight or nine hundred years earlier, Erasothenes (spelling?) calculated the size of the Earth within a 10 % error. Not too bad for over 2000 years ago.