Does this quote sound familiar? It should, because this amazing statement of faith mirrors Paul’s response in Philippians 1:21 when he says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Just think, that while Paul said this nearly 2,000 years ago, here is a woman today on the other side of the world saying the same thing. Sometimes we forget that we don’t have to look that far back to find heroes of the faith!
This month we are focusing on Indonesia, and when we met together to pray we heard many testimonies from believers in Indonesia who are putting Christ above everything else in their lives. Even their families and their own physical safety. If you weren’t there to see it, I highly recommend checking it out from GCC’s library. It is called “Indonesia: Island Jihad”. Below is the information we compiled about Indonesia, but in order to fully understand this country, you should also read the blog post entitled “Sharia Law.” This will be helpful information to refer back to whenever we discuss Muslim countries.
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Basic Info: Indonesia is an archipelago made up of more than 13,000 islands, which is roughly three times the size of Texas. While about 6,000 are inhabited, there are only approximately 1,000 of which are permanently settled. Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous nation and is home to 300 ethnic groups. It also contains the largest Muslim population in the world (about 185 million). It is made up of 30 provinces, 2 special regions, and one capital city district. The provinces consist of regencies and cities. Each of these have their own local governments and parliamentary bodies.
Government: Indonesia declared independence from the Netherlands after they were occupied by the Japanese during WWII. It is now a republic based on the 1945 constitution providing for a separation of executive, legislative, and judicial power. In trying to compromise between those who favored an Islamic state and more secular Muslims, Indonesia basically became a religious nation without a state religion. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Muslims are typically given preferential treatment. All citizens are required to carry an identification card which includes their religion. The president, elected for a five-year term, is the top government and political figure. The president and the vice president were elected by popular vote for the first time on September 20, 2004. Foreign politics, defense (armed forces/national police), system of law, and monetary regulation are all controlled by the national government. However, since Law Number 22 Year 1999 (revised by Law Number 32 Year 2004), local governments have greater autonomy to administer the law in their area without interference from the national government. Aceh is one of two special regions that has its own Islamic syari'ah law (only for Muslim citizens), flag, and province song. Any decision or law made by the national government, which directly affect Aceh's administration, needs to be consulted with the local government or legislative body. They also receive direct funding from foreign investments. Aceh is estimated to have the largest gas reserves in the world, and they also possess a significant amount of oil.
Religion: Around 99 percent of Indonesian Muslims are Sunnis. The remaining two million are Shias, who mostly live in Aceh province. Shi'a Muslims believe the study of Islamic literature is a continual process, and is necessary for identifying all of God's laws. Unlike Sunni Muslims, Shi'a Muslims believe that they can interpret the Qur'an and the Shi'a traditions with the same authority as their predecessors, and that the door to ijtihad was never closed. However, the number of Christians is growing. In the past 40 years, the number of evangelical Christians has grown from 1 million to 11.5 million.
Shariah Law: A conservative tide is challenging the moderate, tolerant traditions of Indonesia. As many as 50 communities have adopted Shariah regulations in recent years. Back in 1945, Islamists failed in their attempt to insert into the Constitution ‘the seven words’. In English they are “with obligation for Muslims to practice Shariah.” Islamist delegates to Parliament tried again to insert the phrase in later years, but were thwarted in 2002. The exception is the province of Aceh, which fought a separatist war against the government and was granted special autonomy. It has adopted a fairly strict Shariah law known as Shafi'i. This is a conservative school that emphasizes the opinions of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad that includes public canings. It is believed that economic hardship is encouraging the popularity of Shariah ordinances among people whose lives have not improved under democratic rule. Difficult times caused a rise in crime, prostitution and narcotics and an epidemic of alcoholism that affected many villages. In 2006, a bill proposed by lawmakers in the Indonesian province of Aceh would have imposed Sharia law on all non-Muslims, the armed forces and law enforcement officers. There was reported to have been a significant amount of bribery occurring at that time in the special committee reviewing this bill.
Martyrs: Muslims have been trying to close down the churches. In September of 2004, 12 house churches were shut down in Bandung City (capital city of West Java) alone. In mid-2005, a campaign was begun by militant groups in West Java to force the closure of churches in the area. Dozens of churches have been forced to close while the authorities have done little to protect the Christians. Militant Islamic militia groups, such as the Laskar Jihad, have orchestrated an Islamic jihad against Christians in some areas of Indonesia, killing thousands of people and destroying hundreds of churches and homes, often supported by government troops. This is particularly true in areas where Christians are the majority, such as Central Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands. Unfortunately some of the young people in the predominantly Christian areas retaliated against Muslim villages when persecution broke out. In 2002, a peace treaty was signed between the Christians and the Muslims and, for the most part, the treaty has held, despite some incidences of violence. In October 2002 the Laskar Jihad announced that they were disbanding and many of its members left the Maluku area. However, it is believed that the group merely went underground and may be responsible for the attacks that have threatened the peace accord since.
Prayer Requests
*Pray that peace will continue in those areas where violence had previously reigned. Pray that both Christians and Muslims will learn to live in peace.
*Pray that Christians in Indonesia will have the freedom to share their faith without fear of intimidation.
*Pray that those pushing for a stricter Islamic state will fail and that Indonesia will truly be free for those of all religions.
This article is licensed under the <"http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" Wikipedia article "Indonesia". Material also taken from Voice of the Martyrs at www.persecution.net/india.htm, World Fact Book by CIA, and New World Encyclopedia.
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There are a few more things to know about Indonesia. The first is that the region of Aceh was near the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and they were devastated by the tsunami that followed. It killed approximately 230,000 people and left 500,000 others homeless. The perception that the tsunami was punishment for insufficient piety in this proudly Muslim province is partly behind the increased emphasis on the importance of religion post-tsunami. This has been most obvious in the increased implementation of Sharia law, including the introduction of the controversial 'WH' or Syariah police. The group is known as the Syariah Supervisors (Wilayatul Hisbab, WH) and they work in cooperation with the city police of Aceh. Wilayatul Hisbab was formed in February of 2003 as a legal body to assist police in enforcing Islamic law. As sharia police, Wilayatul Hisbab’s task is to process offenders and then surrender their files to the sharia court. There are about 2500 people employed in the WH.
The second thing to think about is this quote by an Indonesian man from “Wear the Crown” as he talks about Christians. He says:
“We hear them preach of love and peace and right living, but when we look at their countries we see immorality, disrespect, greed, and violence. We have learned not to trust them. We do not want their lifestyles to invade our values, ravage our lifestyles and destroy our cultures.”
If I had read this quote before learning about Sharia Law, it would not have made any sense to me. But now that I know for most Muslims there is no distinction between what is considered secular and what is considered sacred, it makes perfect sense. If America is known as a ‘Christian nation,’ what must people think of Christians when they look at American culture today? It is no wonder that people are distrustful of us and our message. Let us pray that by the transparency of our lives, we can direct people back to the God who redeems us from our culture and from ourselves.
The last thing is that we have a video about some women who have dared to share Christ’s love, regardless of the cost. May we be inspired to live out our faith as well.
Indonesian Christians Jailed for Preaching Gospel to Muslims (May 31, 2007)
