In recent weeks, 23 churches closed in Java. From AP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Vice President Jusuf Kalla asked Muslim militants to stop closing Christian churches after Christians complained that militants had shut 23 churches in recent weeks on the island of Java.
“It is the responsibility of all of us to stop such kind of violence,” he told a gathering of Muslim leaders, urging them to promote tolerance.
Moderate Muslim leaders like former President Abdurrahman Wahid have urged the government to take stern action against militants involved in the incidents.
Wahid and Kalla might find jihadists more ready to heed their calls if they worked to refute the jihad ideology.