Christians in Indonesia have supported a plan to end the need for a mandatory nod from the religious harmony forums when building houses of worship, including churches. Source: UCA News.
However, the Muslim-majority nation’s vice president, Ma’ruf Amin, warned against such a move.
Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas last week said the government would soon stop involving the Forums for Religious Harmony, the main arbiter on issues regarding interfaith ties.
The forums are comprised of religious leaders from districts and provinces, in addition to the people’s representatives.
However, a majority of the members are Muslim, and this impacts the decisions on starting or setting up houses of worship, including the construction of churches.
According to current regulation stipulated by a joint ministerial decree in 2006, a government licence for building a place of worship can be obtained only by getting a set of recommendations, including one from the Muslim-dominated forum.
Under the new regulation, which will be enacted as a presidential decree, the application to set up a place of worship will have to be submitted to the ministry with a nod from local authorities like regents and governors, Mr Qoumas stated.
“So soon, hopefully, the establishment of houses of worship will no longer be difficult,” the minister said at a function of the Greater Indonesia Christian Movement in the capital Jakarta on August 3.
However, Mr Amin, a conservative Muslim, warned Mr Qoumas on August 7 that he would disagree with the plan.
He said he knew the dynamics behind the current rule because he was “the one who gave birth to it”.
“So, there is a reason why the regulation exists. Don’t just delete and replace it,” he warned.
Minority religious groups, including Christians, are supporting the minister’s decision. They have repeatedly urged the government to remove the 18-year-old regulation.
Fr Agustinus Heri Wibowo, executive secretary of the Catholic bishops’ council’s ecumenical and interreligious affairs panel, supported eliminating the forum from the application process.
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Indonesian Christians hail move to ease building of churches (UCA News)
