Indonesia (MNN) — In Indonesia, a group of lay Catholics and a major Muslim organization have renewed a interreligious commitment to peace. The partnership promotes social justice and harmony between different religious groups.
Bruce Allen with MFI says such alliances are not uncommon in Indonesia. “I’ve seen this many times. Let’s say the MFI provides building materials so that the MFI partners can meet in a church instead of a house. Muslim neighbors come to help build the building. church. They say: ‘I am a Muslim, but we are neighbours, we help each other’.
“So that’s the perspective taken by these two groups.”
Cultural factors
Indonesia gained independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1949. The government realized it needed to unify 6,000 inhabited islands and attempted to enshrine religious tolerance in the constitution.
Allen says this attitude offers many opportunities for MFI partners. “They will invite their Muslim neighbors, and the Muslim neighbors attend their services. This openness allows spiritual conversations and evangelism to continue. But the are pockets of persecution.
Persecution may exist on an island, or even part of an island, and not in other areas. The Global Watch Listwhich describes the most difficult countries for Christians, ranks Indonesia 28th. Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world in terms of population.
how to pray
Pray for perseverance among Indonesian Christians and for their love to reveal Jesus to their neighbors.
For those who are persecuted, Allen says, “Pray that they turn to biblical guidelines for how to deal with persecution, which includes blessing and forgiving your enemies. These are perhaps the most difficult instructions in the New Testament.
But also pray that interfaith work between religious groups will create change in Indonesian society, removing pockets of persecution and replacing them with harmony.
The header photo shows a Catholic church in Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of Bennylin, CC BY-SA 4.0
