For the second week in a row, Muslims in Tangerang City, Indonesia, blocked the congregation of the Indonesian Bethel Church (GBI) Gerendeng Pulo from holding Sunday worship. On Sept. 21, about 20 Muslim residents gathered outside the church’s meeting place in a shophouse, confronting the congregation under police supervision. Similar interference occurred the week prior on Sept. 14, when worshippers were prevented from meeting on the second floor of another shophouse. Church leaders insist their gatherings do not disturb the surrounding community, yet opposition has continued.

Rev. Karundeng Gerung, who has led the church for 18 years, expressed grief and exhaustion over the repeated disruptions, saying, “Every time we worship, people come to stop us.” He explained the problems began after the congregation moved locations without securing approval from local religious leaders. Church members are now appealing to authorities, insisting that the government honor its constitutional duty to protect their right to worship under Article 29 of Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution. “The state must guarantee the constitutional right of the Gerendeng GBI congregation to worship,” one congregant said, lamenting the state’s silence as these violations continue.

SOURCE: ICC