Islamic hard-line groups hold congress to deal with, growing number of Christian conversions

Islamic hard-line groups hold congress to deal with, growing number of Christian conversions

Christian devotees raise hands while singing during a Christmas mass at a stadium in Jakarta December 5, 2009.

Approximately a hundred thousand Christians gathered for the celebration in Jakarta's biggest stadium. BEKASI: Hard-line Islamic groups in Bekasi kicked off a two-day joint congress on Sunday, where the main agenda would discuss the perceived increase in conversions to Christianity in the city. The congress, held at the Bunga Karang Hotel and next Sunday at Bekasi Islamic Center, was attended by 200 people representing non government-linked Islamic groups in the city, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), the Bekasi Movement Against Apostates and the Islamic Ummah Forum. “The congress will come up with a set of guidelines for Bekasi Muslims and the local government in dealing with this problem of growing Christianity,” Murhali Barda, the head of the Bekasi branch of the FPI, told The Jakarta Post. “We will pass the guidelines to the local administration, but they will choose whether to accept it.” Rapid development in industrial and housing areas is turning Bekasi, located in the outskirts of Jakarta, into an increasingly culturally and religiously diverse city, but leading to religious conflict, mainly between Muslims and Christians. Last month, a Christian school was attacked after a former student allegedly posted a picture on the school’s blog showing him placing a Koran in a wrong place.
— JP

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