Ulma Haryanto & Zaky Pawas, Jakarta – A long-awaited church in West Java faces the prospect of not being built at all, following objections by local Muslims.

The 5,000-member Mother Theresa Catholic Church has since the 1990s held its services at the Trinitas Catholic School in the Lippo Cikarang residential complex in Bekasi, pending a permit to build a permanent church on an 8,000-square-meter lot.

"As the congregation grew and the government issued the 2006 Joint Ministerial Decree on Houses of Worship, we decided to apply for a building permit for our own church building," Father Dani Sanusi, secretary of the Indonesian Bishops Conference's (KWI) Justice and Peace Commission, said on Thursday.

The decree requires neighbors' approval for houses of worship to be built. "We've already filed the paperwork and obtained the approval of the local residents, but now we're being accused of forging their signatures," Dani said.

He said those making the charge should be questioned about the claim. "We're not politicians. This is about a house of worship – something that's purely for religious piety – so why would we fake the residents' signatures?" he said.

However, Madrais Hajar, head of the Bekasi Council of Ulema, argued the church was unpopular with locals, citing almost daily demonstrations in September against what was rumored would be "the biggest church in Asia."

"The people of Bekasi refuse to allow the biggest church in Asia to be built here because the majority of Bekasi residents are Muslim," he said. "Why would they build it here? It's like they're challenging us Muslims."

Madrais said the protests, which he said drew "thousands of people," were finally called off after the Bekasi administration said it would not issue a permit to the congregation.

However, Dani dismissed the rumor of the church's size. "If we want to build such a church, we'd do it in East Nusa Tenggara, where Catholics are the majority," he said.

Bekasi Police on Thursday confirmed that the church had applied for a building permit. "Yes, they have forwarded a request to the Bekasi district administration, but they have not secured a permit as yet. Don't ask me why, because I don't know," Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Setija Junianta said.

He also denied reports of public protests of the proposed church. "There were plans a couple of weeks ago to hold a protest, but it never happened," Setija said. "We spoke to those who wanted to protest, a guy named Dahlan, and had a dialog with him. And it never happened."

Bernard Abdul Jabar, from the Bekasi Muslim Forum, said the congregation had never sought approval for their church from the Bekasi Interreligious Communication Forum (FKUB) or the city administration.

Bernard said the Muslim forum had circulated its own petition in opposition to the construction of the church – an idea he said had been suggested by the Bekasi administration.

"In the past few months we've held intensive talks with the administration about this issue," Bernard said. No city administration officials were available for comment.

Dani said he knew nothing about the petition. "But I'm sure with such rumors going around, it'll be sent to us soon," he said. "And when it is, we can always sue the Bekasi administration in court."

He added he remained optimistic about the congregation's prospects for a favorable verdict in the event of litigation. "We believe there are still a lot of honest judges left in the country," Dani said.

Members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) of Pondok Timur Indah, Bekasi, have faced protests and attacks while trying to worship. The HKBP has also had trouble securing a permit to build a church.