Vatican City, Oct 7, 2011 / 17:39 pm
The President of the Bishops Conference of Indonesia says the rise of radical Islam is resulting in increasing problems for the local Catholic Church.
“I have to say that we’ve become worried over the last 10 to 15 years because these groups really are making themselves present and felt amongst Indonesians,” said Bishop Martinus Situmorang in an Oct. 6 interview with CNA .
Catholics make up about 3 percent of Indonesia’s 245 million-strong population. According to the charity Aid to the Church in Need, the Asian country has seen a rise in Islamic fundamentalism since early 2009, with reported violence ranging from church buildings being burnt down to fundamentalists forcing the cancellation of Easter services.
“It is quite alarming in a sense, but it’s also alarming our Muslim brothers and our Muslim leaders are not happy with them. But they don’t know who they are or how to deal with them,” he said.
Bishop Situmorang stressed that relations with Muslims in Indonesia – who make up 85 percent of the population – are generally very good. He said that there are “bad incidents” of Christians being targeted but qualified that “(we) are not persecuted.” Indonesia is “a free country and very democratic,” he added.
His fear, though, is that some elements within the national and local governments are struggling or unwilling to uphold a national constitution that enshrines the principle of religious freedom.