That tactic is being employed among other efforts in a concerted campaign of Islamization, including the migration of Islamic supremacists to Christian areas. “Bishop concerned about Islamization in Indonesia,” from Aid to the Church in Need, October 7 (thanks to Twostellas):
Bishop Hubertus Leteng of Ruteng expressed his concern about growing Muslim extremism during an interview with the Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), which supports persecuted and other suffering Christians.
Speaking during a visit to ACN”s international headquarters near Frankfurt in Germany, he said, “In some places, the political power of Muslims is growing as more and more important positions on the local political level are being held by Muslims.”
He continued by saying that the government now had a drive to appoint more Muslim school teachers.
He added: “Increasingly it is being demanded that Church schools offer Islamic religious instruction as soon as a few Muslim students are enrolled.”
He pointed out that Islamization was well underway on other predominantly Christian islands, including the Maluku islands.
The bishop said Christians in his diocese on the island of Flores were resisting these efforts towards Islamization.
The bishop said that “religious fanatics” were moving to Flores from islands such as Java, where he claimed that problems with religious extremism were much worse.
But he added that Islamization was creating tensions within the Muslim population of Indonesia as well, with many rejecting the “Arabization” of their religion.
Bishop Leteng reported that local Muslims were “resisting increasing radicalization.” Instead, Islamization is being largely driven by militants from the Middle East, he said.
Then there is the Islamic Defenders Front, a homegrown group that has operated with virtual impunity, while Indonesia is somewhat more vigilant about groups with international jihadist links.
The bishop stressed that the Church places great value on promoting mutual respect between Christians and the Muslim community.
Keyword: mutual. Those who seek to subjugate non-Muslims (Qur’an 9:29) find the notion of reciprocity an ungodly affront.
He went on to say that the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country are “characterized more by economic segmentation and ethnic rivalries and have more to do with the political system than with the nature of Islam itself.”
Of course, Islam itself has an inherent political agenda in its sense of entitlement to rule, and that is weighing ever more heavily on Indonesian politics.
The Catholic Church is seeking to raise its profile in Indonesia, particularly in the coastal regions, through its work in education and health.
That alone will provoke fury from Islamic supremacists, who want to purge the visibility of non-Islamic religions from public life. As a result, the Catholic charities are almost certain to be accused of proselytizing no matter what they do, and that is forbidden under Sharia.
In the Diocese of Ruteng, almost 674,000 of the 717,000 inhabitants are Catholic.
With a population of around 233 million and a Muslim majority of about 80 percent, Indonesia is the world’s most populous Islamic nation.
Christians represent a minority of close to 11 percent.