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Indonesia: Christians banned from Christmas home celebrations in West Sumatra

Dec 21, 2019 2:00 pm By Christine Douglass-Williams

“Governments on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have banned Christians from celebrating Christmas in private homes, according to a report Thursday from International Christian Concern.”

This comes on the heels of the announcement that Indonesia was set to deploy 200,000 police to protect Christmas celebrations from Islamic jihad massacres. The country’s President Joko Widodo has reportedly warned that the Indonesian “constitution guarantees the freedom of religious belief,” but the evidence does not match his words. Indonesia has been experiencing a surge in “conservative Islam.”

Back in 2012 it was reported that Sumatra was characterized by a strong presence of “Islamic extremists” and “some local groups – supported by government leaders….launched a violent anti-Christian campaign.” Little to nothing has changed.

“Christmas Celebrations Banned in Muslim West Sumatra,” by Thomas D. Williams, Breitbart, December 19, 2019:

Governments on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have banned Christians from celebrating Christmas in private homes, according to a report Thursday from International Christian Concern (ICC).

This year, authorities have barred Christians from holding worship services and Christmas celebrations in Sungai Tambang, Sijunjung Regency and Jorong Kampung Baru, Dharmasraya Regency in West Sumatra, ICC said.

Officials have justified the banning of Christmas celebrations on the grounds that they were not carried out in places of worship, but rather in private homes.

“They did not get permission from the local government since the Christmas celebration and worship were held at the house of one of the Christians who had been involved. The local government argued that the situation was not conducive,” said Sudarto, director of PUSAKA (Center for Inter-Community Studies).

Christians usually celebrate Christmas and the New Year in a quiet way, he said, because a license to celebrate in a public fashion is never granted.

“It has been going on for a long time, so far they have been quietly worshiping at the home of one of the worshipers, but they have applied for permission several times. Yet the permit to celebrate Christmas was never granted,” he said.

“The house where they performed worship services was once burned down in early 2000 due to resistance from residents,” Sudarto said, which is in violation of Indonesia’s written law that guarantees religious freedom.

This week Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs published its Religious Harmony Index, according to which the province of West Sumatra is in the second to last position, at number 33 of the country’s 34 provinces. Only the province of ACEH was found to be lower.

In response to the report, the provincial governor, Irwan Prayitno, acknowledged that there are local regulations, such as the rules of reading the Koran and wearing of the hijab, but insisted that they are based on “the aspirations of society.”…

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Filed Under: Featured, Indonesia, Muslim persecution of Christians Tagged With: Center for Inter-Community Studies, Christmas, Jorong Kampung Baru, Sijunjung Regency, Sudarto, Sumatra, Sungai Tambang, West Sumatra


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Comments

  1. Lydia Church says

    Dec 21, 2019 at 2:42 pm

    If I lived there I would…

    celebrate Christmas in my own home ANYWAY,
    celebrate Christmas outside of my own home ANYWAY,
    do it in not such a quiet way either.

    Don’t bother asking for or waiting for ‘permission,’ as this will never be granted by the enemies of God.
    I wouldn’t even bother.
    Me? Ask for permission?!?! Or wait for it? What have you been smoking?!
    I don’t need to ‘ask for permission’ to worship the God of the Bible!
    It would be an insult to God to ask man if we ‘may’ worship the God of the universe!
    I will never even ask for any sort of registered official ‘permission’!
    They can take it and they know where they can put it!

    If the people of God would be ‘waiting for permission’ to worship God as He requires,
    the nation of Israel would still be in Egypt to this day!!!

    So guess again folks!

    • gravenimage says

      Dec 21, 2019 at 9:30 pm

      Grimly, Lydia, this would lead to attacks not just against you but against all of your Christian neighbors. All Christians in Indonesia make up less than 10% of the population.

    • Infidel says

      Dec 21, 2019 at 9:36 pm

      This is like in Wahabi countries like Qatar or Saudi Arabia, where if your neighbors find out that you’re celebrating a non-Islamic religion, you’ll be in trouble.

      Indonesia should make its way onto the Travel ban list, along w/ Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Qatar and Malaysia

    • Andrew says

      Jan 1, 2020 at 5:39 pm

      you wouldn’t want to do it. you don’t know how scary Muslims are in Indonesia. when i was a kid, every time i saw Muslim in white rob, that’s always a sign of danger. some other gangs won’t hesitate to stone other people or burn them alive to death, police can’t do anything.

  2. Beneath the Veil of Consciousness says

    Dec 21, 2019 at 6:15 pm

    Did Trump include Indonesia on the list of countries banned from immigrating to the U.S.A.? If not, he should do so posthaste.

    • gravenimage says

      Dec 21, 2019 at 9:32 pm

      Agreed–but I would make an exception for persecuted Christians and other Infidels.

    • Infidel says

      Dec 21, 2019 at 9:33 pm

      Absolutely! It’s ridiculous that countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia are not on that list. They should be, along w/ Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia

  3. gravenimage says

    Dec 21, 2019 at 9:31 pm

    Indonesia: Christians banned from Christmas home celebrations in West Sumatra
    ………………….

    Christians even banned from *celebrating in their homes*. This is where Shari’ah leads.

  4. ana says

    Dec 21, 2019 at 11:52 pm

    Joko Widodo is a liying scamming criminal and he always has been.

  5. Save Europe says

    Dec 22, 2019 at 12:36 am

    And what would happen if Muslims were prohibited from celebrating Ramadan in their homes in the West? Yep, more threats of violence as a result.

    One cannot ‘win’ with these Koranderthals.

  6. OREN WYSOCKI says

    Dec 22, 2019 at 1:21 am

    muslims guilty of christianphobia! I am sure the left will treat it identical to the other way around, they are always talking about equality. In G-d I trust.

  7. Crusades Were Right says

    Dec 22, 2019 at 11:45 am

    Apparently, Muslims are “persecuted” if non-Muslims are allowed to practise THEIR religion!

    I wonder if Western governments are screening Muslim immigrants to check if they too believe Christians shouldn’t be allowed to celebrate Christmas in their own country? Nah, only kidding! As a wise man once said: “To do so would be…” Etc. lol

  8. Truth Triumps says

    Dec 23, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    This confirms the Prediction of Great Hindu Sage Vyas, 5000 years ago is Correct. visit
    http://forum09.faithfreedom.org/viewtopic.php?p=100562
    Bhavishya Purana: The Prediction of Demonic Islam (5000yrs)

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