Indonesia: Muslim cleric demands closure of church after a decade of functioning

Image: Jihad Watch

After more than ten years of faithfully pastoring a Christian congregation in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, Pastor “Matias” has been ordered to halt all worship services. The directive came from a newly appointed imam of a mosque situated a mere 55 yards from Matias’s church, which operates out of a structure adjacent to his home and draws over 40 worshippers.

The imam justified the order by alleging that the services were creating disturbances in the village. However, underlying tensions appear to trace back to an incident four years earlier that deeply unsettled the local Muslim community.

At that time, a Muslim woman reportedly visited the church after experiencing a series of dreams in which Jesus appeared to her. Moved by these visions, she voluntarily chose to embrace Christianity and be baptized. Her decision quickly became the subject of local gossip and outrage. As anger mounted, several Muslim men approached Pastor Matias, accusing him of attempting to convert the entire village.

In defense of the pastor, the woman later clarified to the men that her decision was entirely her own. She emphasized that Pastor Matias had neither baptized her nor coerced her into renouncing Islam, but rather, she had come to her new faith independently and willingly.

Following the imam’s recent prohibition, word began to circulate that a group of Muslim men intended to physically block the church from holding any further gatherings. Upon learning this, members of the Dayak tribe—an indigenous ethnic group native to Borneo and to which Pastor Matias himself belongs—sought to engage in dialogue with the imam, but he could not be found.

Though many Dayaks traditionally follow animist beliefs, they rallied in solidarity with Pastor Matias. In a powerful show of support, they visited the church and even stayed overnight to protect the premises. Fortunately, the rumored confrontation never materialized, as the group of Muslim men failed to show up.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)