Officials in Indonesia’s Central Java state have halted the construction of churches and religious tourism facilities under pressure from local council members and Muslim groups.
On September 2nd, Karangana Regent suspended construction of Holyland Bukitdore Religious Tourism Compound Immanuel Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Immanuel, Gkim) of Indonesian Bethel Church (GBI, GBI) of Indonesian Bethel Church.
The suspension letter said several community groups oppose the project and believe that social conflict will arise. Solobalapan.com, construction may continue once community issues are resolved. It has been reported.
“This suspension of construction is intended to maintain subsidized conditions and prevent social conflict,” the regent wrote according to Solobalapan.com. “Local governments have an obligation to prioritize the interests of the broader community.”
Government officials passed a decision on September 3rd to directly halt construction on the site Surakarta Anugerah Family Foundation. Members of the Karangana Regency Council said the construction of the church building and religious tourist facilities was not in compliance with the original permit.
“The original permission was to build a church, but what was actually built was a religious tourism site similar to Miniyousalem,” said Sarjono, a spokesman for the Prosperous Party of Justice (Parthi Kiederan Sejara) of the Karanganyar Regency, a party closely associated with Muslim Hizbus Taurir. “The residents were not involved in the development of the religious area and were not aware of it.”
Wawan Pramono, a spokesman for the great Indonesian movement party (Gerakhan Indonesia Raya), issued a similar statement saying, “Many residents don’t know about the construction of sacred sites. The construction process must be stopped until the permit issue is resolved.”
The Gondang Gre Hoislamic Community Forum (Forum UMat Islam, FUI) held at Karangana Regency on August 1st, submitted a letter of objection to the local government. Two more political parties than they met on August 6th. The Karanganyan government met with protesters on September 1 to respond and ultimately recommended that the combined construction be postponed.
Kompasiana.com author Ahmad Rosyidi has shown that the rejection of religious tourist facilities came not only from the Gondangrejo Islamic Community Forum (Forum Umat Islam, Fui), but also from the Industrial Unit Focus (Fokus Unit Industri, FUI) in the Solo Yasa area. He said Solorayahui asked the community to sign a statement against the development project.
“The issues in this project continue to this day, Friday, September 12th,” Ahmad said. “The solidarity convoy coordinated by FUI Soloraya was held in the village of Pressungan in the Gondangjo district of Karangana Regency.”
Ahmad cited the statement from the Muryani statement in Karanturi village, saying the project was legally valid and had obtained a construction permit. According to Ahmad, local residents had already received funds from land sales used at the proposed religious tourism site.
On August 26, the Karangana Regency government has expressed its commitment to secure the construction of a prayer park in Holyland, fokusjateng.com reported.
“We are committed to ensuring that our community is comfortable worship and that our investors can safely invest,” Regional Secretary Timotius Suryadi said during the Plenary Meeting of Rep. Karangana Regency. “The government will establish a project monitoring team. If the permits are not matched, they will be reviewed.”
‘disaster’
Various videos of Muslim groups circulating have described the construction of church buildings and religious tourism areas as a religious disaster of Islam, according to Fokusjateng.com.
Gosamtv concluded with a video release on September 7th with 1,113 people labeling the site’s structure as a disaster of Islam and calling for prayer (Takbir).
“We, the Muslim community in Sololaya, have firmly declared the construction of Bukitdore, Karganyal) cities, churches, dormitories, orphanages and other buildings.
Another video released by Gosamtv shows a declaration of opposition to the construction of a Christian place of worship, preceded by a meeting of dozens of people attended by several civil servants, clergy and well-known figures.
The video released by the Anis Rasyid Baswedan volunteer account, which has around 80,000 members, shows a Muslim figure from the Karanganyar Islamic Community Army (Laskar Umat Islam Karanganyar, Lakik) who opposes the project.
“Muslims are calling for rejecting this project as it will be a religious disaster for the future of our Muslim communities, our children and grandchildren,” the video said, claiming that the site is Muslim with a population of 99% and therefore the development is on 40-47 hectares of land in the area that should be Muslims.
“Go ahead and build the project,” the video says. “But we build something that benefits our communities. If people are Muslims, why build churches and theological universities?
According to Instagram account Ka.Solowiduran, the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of Prayer Hill’s construction took place on April 22, 2024. Along with Pastor Obaja Tanto Setiawan, Global Shepherd Staff, Donor Representatives, Construction Committee and attendee contractors, participants hoped that the compound would be a blessing for many.
Intercessional prayers and the release of a pair of pigeons marked the beginning of the city’s railway construction under the work.
“Let’s continue praying for the construction of urban railways until God’s vision of raising harvesters and blessings to many is truly fulfilled,” the account owner wrote.
