Great Mosque of Medan, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. (Daniel Berthold, Creative Commons)

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – A state-supported organization formed in 2006 to maintain religious harmony and tolerance in Indonesia has delayed recommending whether to support a building permit for a church in North Sumatra Province, sources said.

The Interfaith Harmony Forum (Forum Kerja Sama Umat Beragama, FKUB) in the provincial capital of Medan put off making a recommendation even though the congregation has spent nine years trying to obtain it, having submitted all required documents, according to various sources.

Leaders of the Christ the Answer Tabernacle Pentecostal Church (Gereja Pentekosta Tabernakel Kristus Jawaban, or GPTKJ) seek government approval to construct a worship building in Harjosari 1 village, Medan Amplas Sub-District.

Tensions surfaced on March 5 at Medan’s National Unity and Politics Agency office at a four-hour meeting of GPTKJ leaders, the Indonesian Christian Council (Majelis Umat Kristen Indonesia, MUKI) and the other officials. GPTKJ representative Linda Agustina Hutauruk told the meeting that after purchasing the land, the church spent nine years collecting congregant numbers and ID cards to meet every FKUB requirement.

The FKUB pledged a site inspection within two to three months but offered no immediate recommendation. An unnamed official stated, “We stand in the middle, not taking sides. All religious communities have equal rights – trust us, this will be resolved,” reported Tribarata.tv.com and Wartapenariau.com.

A representative of MUKI’s North Sumatera Regional Branch, Dedy Muritz W. Simanjuntak, said his organization has prepared a team to advocate for religious rights.

“I believe no one should be allowed to suppress the rights of fellow citizens to worship,” he said, adding that he will be working with ethnic-based organizations. “We’re not just preparing a legal team. I’ve also communicated with the ethnic-based mass organizations, and they are ready to back this church. Believe me, one spark on the ground will invite many parties to intervene. We don’t want that to happen because we are partners with the government.”

Complications

The nine-year battle has taken place amid a shift in the previous landowner’s attitude, community resistance, mediation attempts and the FKUB’s refusal to grant a permit for church construction.

GPTJK bought the lot in 2017 from Sri Hartati, who reportedly had used the house and land certificates as collateral for her failure to pay a bank loan. She agreed to allow the land to be used for the church, but it was later discovered that she and relatives had mortgaged the house and land certificates.

To avoid any untoward incidents, the church installed a sign on the land that read, “This land belongs to the Pentecostal Tabernacle Gereja Kristus Jawaban.” Hartati’s family objected to the proposed construction, angrily questioning why the church had not consulted her relatives.

“This reason seems fabricated, because the land owner or heir is Sri Hartati, who is the eldest child,” Wartapenariau.com reported, noting that Indonesian inheritance law grants the eldest child greater rights. “The church sincerely apologized and even admitted their mistake to the family.”

One of Hartati’s relatives erected a building across the entrance, preventing the congregation from using the church grounds. This issue was resolved in 2024 when the owner of the building measuring 3 by 12 meters, which separated the entrance alley from the church’s land, sold it to the church. In exchange, the former homeowner was hired as a sweeper, with all his living expenses covered by the church.

The church has used Hartati’s former house – later demolished in order to build a church building – since then, and it held services at the site on Aug. 18, 2025, and last Christmas season, though residents were concerned, Waspada.com reported. The local government reportedly helped the church move its Christmas services to the Medan Amplas District Office Hall to maintain peace.

A resident identified only as Dian told Waspada.com that the noise of the worship was disturbing her family.

“My family is restless; the noise from inside the house is very disturbing, especially for our children and parents,” Dian told Waspada.id. “We don’t prohibit anyone from worshiping, but it must be done in its proper place. This is a residence, not a church. The building permit clearly states that it is a residence, not a place of worship.”

Opening Door to Extortion

Double-dealing in land involving places of worship for minority groups can lead to fraud, extortion and demonstrations, noted an attorney who requested anonymity.

A church leader in Bandung admitted in 2016 to being extorted despite having obtained a building permit, according to a BBC report on June 7 of that year. Several community organizations held demonstrations claiming that the church’s construction permit was invalid.

“There were repeated demonstrations, and the church couldn’t be used for a while,” the church leader told BBC Indonesia on June 6, 2016. “And then at the end of 2015, the community organizations came and demanded 200 million rupiahs [equivalent to $14,275] so the church could be used. That request was illogical, and there’s certainly no guarantee that no extortion will happen to us again.”

Islamic doctrine contributes to problems in constructing church buildings, said a prominent writer in Surabaya on condition of anonymity.

“Islam considers itself the most perfect religion, and to achieve this ideal, it develops jihad that strives to create a homogeneous reality and deny heterogeneity,” he told Morning Star News. “However, homogeneity is impossible. Thus, Muslims only strive to serve the utopian dogma without recognizing the inevitability of heterogeneity.”

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