“But when our students leave the school building, they are insulted and called dogs or pigs…”
Indonesia: Christian School Attacked, Teacher Appeals For Protection,” from AKI, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
Jakarta, 20 March (AKI) – A teacher from a Christian school in Indonesia which was twice attacked by a radical Islamic group has launched an appeal to the authorities to protect the school and students. “We leave the police to defend us but up until now no one has been punished for what was done and our students continue to be insulted,” said Nicodemos Sabudin, a teacher at the Arastama evengelical and theological school, SETIA.
Located in the eastern areas of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, the school became the target of an attack on 8 March, when dozens of Muslims surrounded the building calling for the closure of the dormitory “because it disturbed the community.” The siege came to an end when the dormitory, which was still under construction, was razed to the ground.
It disturbed the community? These Christians got off easy. They could have been subjected to the punishment prescribed in Qur’an 5:33 for those who disturb the community.
Sabudin described how “a hundred Muslims were present the following day calling for the closure of the school, but fortunately there were no acts of violence.”
Ah. Moderates.
The teacher said that it’s the first time that there have been problems with Muslims and those that had participated in the protest were not local residents.
“They said that they were part of the Front Pembela Islam,” said Sabudin.
The Front Pembela Islam is a Islamic radical group well-known for its raids conducted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan against bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The group is often accused of having connections with the underworld.
“The FPI threatened to continue the protest as long as the school remained open,” said Sabudin, who added the situation has remained calm in the past few days. “But when our students leave the school building, they are insulted and called dogs or pigs,” said the teacher.