Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – At the end of his sermon, a Muslim preacher in South Jakarta switched to a favourite subject: Kristenisasi, or the Christianisation of fellow believers.
Pointing to a private secular school owned by a Christian family nearby, he started on his offensive, which would later stir up a storm in the otherwise peaceful neighbourhood on the fringe of the capital.
"That school is a breeding ground for Christianisation, and it is US-funded," the cleric said. "It is our responsibility to reject its presence in this community." Recalled to me by a first-hand witness – the school's Islamic studies teacher attending the event who immediately objected to the cleric's accusation – this episode took place a year ago in a neighbourhood I once lived in.
Memories flooded back when I read reports of the plight of a Catholic school in another part of the sprawling city. Last month, thousands of students, teachers and staff of Sang Timur School were barred from entering the school after a local Muslim youth group erected a 2m-high concrete wall at its entrance.
Twelve years after the school was built, residents of the neighbourhood in West Jakarta now reject its presence because it had been used for church services on weekends. The school was also accused of converting some residents to Catholicism. Never mind that many of its students, from elementary to high school level as well as children with disabilities, are Muslims.
Although the walls were knocked down by the local authorities three weeks later, and even with the new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stepping in to try to solve the dispute, the community remains unhappy about the school's presence.
An effort to diffuse tension by former President Abdurrahman Wahid, who heads the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic group, received a humiliating response. The blind cleric was booed during talks with community members there when he said Indonesia was not an Islamic state and criticised them for denying a child's right to education and religious freedom.
While it is a stretch to say these two unconnected incidents represent a nationwide trend, they reinforce the fear of minority religious groups in the country, particularly the Christians, of growing intolerance within some Muslim communities.
While Christians comprise only 10 per cent of the country's population of 215 million people, they are often perceived as more affluent and also Western-oriented. This is partly because many of the Christians are ethnic Chinese, apart from some distinctive ethnic groups from North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, Flores and the Malukus.
During the past two years, there have been reports of churches being stormed by Muslim groups or large service gatherings being banned at the last minute.
Unreported stories of hostilities against the minority groups also abound. The cleric's accusation of the private school in my old neighbourhood had been preceded by attacks from unknown perpetrators, who threw firecrackers into the classrooms.
Some Islamic Internet sites and publications widely available at news-stands carry stories of "forced conversions" by Christians, some through kidnapping, in addition to "United States and Zionist-led conspiracies" against the religion.
Regardless of their accuracy, these reports can be a very effective means to inflame those who are inclined to intolerance towards other faiths.
The degree of intolerance ranges from subtle gestures such as refusing to shake hands with a non-Muslim to extreme measures by groups with violent reputations.
The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), after lying low for a year, has returned to targeting "places of vices", including cafes, nightclubs and pool halls. It recently smashed up a restaurant in the predominantly expatriate district of Kemang in South Jakarta. FPI leader Habib Riziq Shihab was freed last year from a seven-month jail term for organising attacks in the city.
During the authoritarian regime of former President Suharto, people who incited destruction were called "provocateurs" and jailed. But police inaction against the FPI – four people were named suspects but none has been arrested – is fuelling another suspicion, that official reluctance to deal with religion-related issues is encouraging even more hostilities against minority groups.
Yet, what is worrying moderate Muslims and non-Muslims in Indonesia are not hardline groups like the FPI – it is the fear that the beliefs they advocate have permeated more segments of society, from kampongs to university campuses.
The high rate of unemployment and poverty, as well as the growing number of educated middle-class Muslims unhappy with the domination of Western-influenced culture, can breed religious zealotry.
Indonesian law requires that the government and other religious groups be consulted before a place of worship is built. But Christian groups say they are running into opposition from some Muslim leaders. As a result, some church services are held in unlikely places such as shophouses, hotel meeting rooms and school buildings, often creating another set of problems when local residents are upset by the "misuse" of a site for worship.
Although most of Indonesia's 160 million Muslims remain moderate, this could change unless the government and mainstream Islamic groups start paying more attention to the problem.
President Yudhoyono has considered becoming an advocate for moderate Islam, promoting peace in hot spots like the Middle East. Before he takes on such a role, perhaps he ought to take a closer look at the state of religious harmony at home.