Indra Budiari, Jakarta – Religious minorities are continuing to struggle to find appropriate places to worship in Jakarta even though the capital is seen as the most tolerant city in the country.
Pressure from intolerant groups is ongoing and the city administration often finds itself powerless in dealing with such groups.
Recently, the South Jakarta mayor issued an official letter stating that no religious activities could take place at the Batak Karo Protestant Church (GBKP) in Tanjung Barat, Pasar Minggu.
The issuance of the letter was allegedly a response to protests from neighboring residents against activities at the GBKP because it lacked a building permit (IMB) for a church.
The church applied for an IMB in 2004. However, a year later the city administration issued an IMB for a home office, not a house of worship.
The absence of the license was used as grounds for protests by intolerant groups, which led to the closure of the church as demanded by the mayor's letter on Sept. 30.
Following the issuance of the letter, residents of Tanjung Barat's community unit (RW) 04 staged a rally, protesting "any church buildings" in their area.
The church's Pastor Penrad Siagia said Friday he had subsequently filed another letter with the Tanjung Barat district office to process the IMB. However, in August the district head told him that it would not be issued in the near future as most of the congregation came from outside of Tanjung Barat.
"Since then the permit issuance has gone nowhere. This is a result of the city administration's negligence," he told The Jakarta Post.
He added that the congregation had agreed to the South Jakarta mayor's advice to hold its next Sunday service at the Pasar Minggu District Office. However, he said he would still push the city administration to issue the appropriate IMB as soon as possible. "We have the right to hold Sunday services and we will fight for it," he said.
South Jakarta Mayor Tri Kurniadi said that as the church had yet to secure an IMB for a house of worship, it would be better for the congregation to avoid undertaking religious activities at the site.
Resistance from local residents, he said, would be a consideration for the city administration in deciding whether to issue the license. He added that he had received a petition with 500 signatures from people objecting to the church.
Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saefuddin also commented on the issue, saying he wanted the GBKP congregation and neighboring residents to understand and tolerate one another so that the congregation could continue to worship while the IMB was being processed.
Should the congregation and the residents fail to agree, the municipality has a responsibility to play a role in finding a concrete solution.
The Christian congregation is not alone in its struggle for a place of worship in Jakarta, with another incident that made headlines last year also leaning toward intolerant groups.
In July 2015, the Jakarta administration sealed a house in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, that had been used as a place of worship by Ahmadiyah followers, after a crowd of locals objected to Friday prayers at the house and claimed the congregation had committed blasphemy against Islam.
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama urged the South Jakarta administration not to seal the mosque, but a red notice remains on the property's fence 15 months later, while a banner opposing the minority group is still displayed nearby and no Friday prayers have taken place at the mosque since.
Aryudi Prastowo, head of Ahmadiyah's East Jakarta and Bukit Duri branch, said Friday that the congregation from the sealed mosque had become scattered across other Ahmadiyah mosques in Jakarta.
"It's the best that we avoid holding Friday prayers in Bukit Duri as there are still intolerant groups there and we don't want to fight violence with more violence," he said.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/08/minorities-still-fighting-places-worship.html