Many converts from Islam experience varying degrees of persecution from their families, usually in the form of isolation, verbal abuse, etc. Children of Christians often face verbal abuse; they are called infidels and are sometimes made to sit at the back in class.
Only a small percentage of converts endure physical violence for their Christian faith. However, in 2018 18 Christians were killed and many more wounded in a co-ordinated suicide bomb attack on three churches in the city of Surabaya.
The level of persecution depends on the region of Indonesia concerned. In hot spots such as West Java or Aceh, radical Islamic groups are strong and exert heavy influence on society and politics.
Once a church is seen to be proselytizing, as many evangelical and Pentecostal churches do, they soon run into problems with radical Islamic groups. Non-traditional church groups also experience difficulties getting permission to build churches. Even if they manage to meet all legal requirements, or even win court cases, often local authorities still ignore them. There have been reports of Catholic churches having difficulties obtaining building permission as well.
After the 2018 attacks on churches in Surabaya, the violence score in Indonesia has returned to a more normal level, resulting in a decreased score and lower rank.
Open Doors is helping to strengthen the church in the face of rising Islamic extremism and religious intolerance in the country, especially with the increasing threat from Islamic State (IS) (see news report on ‘Baghdadi’s dead but IS ideology lives on in Southeast Asia’.) The scope of our work includes the following:
NB! Dokumentet er på engelsk
Leder: President Joko Widodo
Befolkning: 269,5 mill.
Kristne: ca. 32,8 mill.
Hovedreligion: Islam
Regjeringsform: Republikk
Plassering: 49
Siste år: 30
Score: 60/100
Siste år: 65/100
Indonesia 22. april 2019
"Han alene er min klippe og min frelse. Han er min borg. Jeg skal ikke rokkes..." Salme 62,3
Indonesia 30. januar 2019
Den tidligere kristne guvernøren Ahok ble løslatt den 24. Januar, etter å ha sonet to år på grunn av et påstått tilfelle av blasfemi, som angivelig fant sted i en tale september 2016.
Indonesia 15. mai 2017
Indonesiske myndigheter i Bogor, West Java, har forbudt tre kirker å drive med religiøse aktiviteter.