BandungBergerak.id - The singing of divine service was heard loudly from outside the Sabilulungan Hall building of the Bandung City Police (Polresta), Soreang, Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, August 13, 2023. The time shows 10.30 WIB. The Second Sunday Worship Service of the Soreang Bethel Indonesia Church (GBI) congregation took place solemnly.

Pastor Harefa, who led the worship service, preached with the theme "The Unshakeable Kingdom". In the middle of it, he and the congregation sang the song Jesus God Ordinary. Some of the congregation sang while clapping their hands in a regular rhythm. Nearly 100 adults attended the service. For children, the service was held separately on the lower floor of the hall.

After the service was over, near noon, the Pastor, Shepherd, and three other people released the congregation at the exit. They shake hands, greet each other, and exchange news. It always ends with a "God bless!" greeting.

The hall building in the police complex is of course not a real house of worship for the GBI Soreang congregation. They have been forced to do so since June 11, 2023. It all started with the rejection of the residents of the Parahyangan Kencana Soreang complex for faith formation and Christian Religious Education (PAK) activities in one of the houses in the complex on May 28, 2023.

PAK activities by the GBI Soreang congregation have been going on since 2015. About 30 Christian children from elementary school (SD) to high school (SMA) who came from the Parken complex asked the pastor for grades because there were no Christian teachers and lessons in their schools.

The pastor of GBI Soreang, a clergyman and lecturer at a Christian Theological College in Bandung, argued that it was not objective to give grades without a teaching and learning process. He then communicated with the parents to have their children attend lessons at home. Faith formation and PAK are held outside of Sunday.

Meanwhile, the adult congregation of GBI Soreang has been conducting faith formation in homes in turn. To be able to worship on Sundays, they have to go to Bandung City. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, all activities stopped. Faith formation was conducted online several times. Sunday worship to Bandung City could not be done due to restrictions.

After the pagebluk eased, faith formation and PAK activities resumed. However, both parents and children were still unable to worship on Sundays. Apart from distance and time, they are also constrained by the small costs that must be incurred.

Through discussions, it was agreed that in the Shepherd's house in Soreang, in addition to continuing to hold faith formation and PAK, Sunday worship was also held for the congregation. This Sunday service has been going on since October 2022. More than 100 people attend each service.

Then came that fateful day. The pastor of GBI Soreang was summoned to a meeting at the RW (Community Association) Hall which was attended by the Head of the Neighborhood Association (RT) and the Head of the Community Association (RW), the Village Head, the Police Chief, and other officials. Helpless, he signed a statement letter to stop all activities.

"I was forced to sign the STATEMENT because they said that the community had been restless about our activities, and the community intended to carry out raids on us," as quoted from the GBI Soreang Pastor's press release regarding the chronology of events to stop faith formation, worship, and Christian Education activities.

Met after the worship service at the Sabilulungan Hall, the pastor of GBI Soreang, who did not want to be named, appreciated the assistance by the police who lent the Sabilulungan Hall to be used as a place of Sunday worship. In an emergency situation, when the congregation was confused and desperate due to residents' rejection, this offer was a great relief. Now worship can be done relatively comfortably and safely.

However, the pastor also realized that this facility was temporary. It is impossible for the congregation to worship in the police complex forever. GBI Soreang plans to find alternative social facilities (fasos) to be used as a place of worship.

"If you want to refer to the PBM (Joint Ministerial Regulation) of the Two Ministers, actually the most responsible is the Regional Government," said the Pastor. "(Please) Facilitate us, you see! So how can our needs be facilitated by the local government by providing social facilities."

The pastor explained that the absence of a church means that hundreds of GBI Soreang members have to travel to Bandung every weekend. Due to the long distance, this routine is certainly not effective in terms of time, energy and cost. The presence of a church building close to the people is crucial.

Currently, Christian Religious Education (PAK) activities continue in the Shepherd's house. There is already permission from the Christian Community Development (Bimas) of the West Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The participants are 24 students from all levels of education. Meanwhile, faith formation activities outside Sundays are still carried out in rotation in the homes of the congregation.

The Shepherd invites all stakeholders not to suspect Christianity as something scary. Just like other religious communities, Christian congregations also want to take a role and contribute to society.

"And if the procedure is not complete, doesn't that mean it has to be closed, doesn't it have to be muzzled?" he said. "Just keep going so that the rights can be obtained."

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Cross Dismantled, Bible Discarded

Another story about the tangle of permits to build houses of worship in Bandung Regency comes from the Pasundan Christian Church (GKP) Dayeuhkolot. Built on land that has been owned since 1994 on Jalan Sukabirus, Citeureup Village, this church has never obtained a permit. What came in waves were various rejections.

The pastor of GKP Dayeuhkolot, Cliff Edward Kasakeyan, said that in the span of 2005-2007 the church was demonstrated by two groups calling themselves "Anti Apostasy". Waves of demonstrations occurred, large and small. Some, which involved quite a lot of people, were even anarchic.

"They were violent too, and damaged things. Crosses were dismantled, worship tools were taken out, including chairs. The Bible was thrown away," Cliff told BandungBergerak.id when met at the GKP Dayeuhkolot building, Sunday, August 13, 2023.

Considering the safety of the congregation, the GKP Dayeuhkolot Assembly sought an alternative house of worship in the Immanuel Hospital complex in Bandung City. Thus, from 2008 to 2020, the congregation of GKP Dayeuhkolot conducted Sunday services at the Rehuel Chapel of Immanuel Hospital, which is eight kilometers away. The GKP Dayeuhkolot building is used for small services other than Sundays.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, the congregation could not go to Immanuel Hospital. They worshipped online in their homes, while church officials led the service from the GKP Dayeuhkolot building via live streaming.

Towards the end of 2022, Sunday services were held on a limited basis at GKP Dayeuhkolot. However, again due to residents' rejection, the congregation had to return to worship at the Rehuel Chapel of Immanuel Hospital. Some congregants who find it difficult to come to the chapel can worship online from the GKP Dayeuhkolot building.

The rejection occurred in November 2022. Residents reported to the RT, RW, and Village administrators. Several village officials then went to Pastor Cliff, who at that time was conducting self-isolation due to exposure to Covid-19. Ignoring the pastor's advice not to get infected, they forced their way in and emphasized that there should be no worship activities because there was no permit.

Cliff argued that despite the pandemic, people should still get services and strengthen their faith through online worship. Only church administrators and a limited number of congregants were present at GKP Dayeuhkolot. Hearing Cliff's reasoning, the authorities stated that they were "not responsible if anything happened". 

At that time the GKP Dayeuhkolot congregation had entered the Advent period, preparing to welcome Christmas. After the rejection, GKP Dayeuhkolot was only used twice for services. The situation became increasingly heated and stressful. The congregation finally asked permission from the Immanuel Health Institute so that one of its halls could be used for Christmas celebrations. Since then, GKP Daeuhkolot Sunday services have been held in the Immanuel Hospital neighborhood in Bandung.

Pastor Cliff said that efforts to obtain a permit to build a house of worship, starting with collecting signatures from users and residents, had been attempted since 1993. But until 2023, the dream was never realized.

In January 2023, Cliff again communicated with RT and RW administrators. The church is committed to following the mechanism in accordance with the law, as regulated by the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Religion and the Minister of Home Affairs Number 9 and Number 8 of 2006 concerning Guidelines for Implementing the Tasks of Regional Heads / Deputy Regional Heads in Maintaining Religious Harmony, Empowering Religious Harmony Forums and Establishing Houses of Worship. This regulation is also known as the Joint Ministerial Decree on Houses of Worship.

Chapter 4 Article 14 of the PBM states that houses of worship must fulfill administrative requirements and technical building requirements. In addition to these requirements, the establishment of a house of worship must meet special requirements, including a list of names and identity cards (KTP) of the users of the house of worship of at least 90 people authorized by local officials, local community support of at least 60 people authorized by the village head or village head, as well as written recommendations from the head of the Ministry of Religious Affairs office and the district or city Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB).

Pastor Cliff, who had conveyed his plan to seek residents' signatures and get their feedback on the church, was asked to wait by the RW officials. They would first discuss with the RT administrators. It was promised that as soon as there was a decision on the license, news would be delivered. "But there hasn't been any news until now," Cliff said.

GKP Dayeuhkolot, which is part of the administrative area of RW 13 Citeureup Village, currently has around 84 families as its congregation, spread across Baleendah and Dayeuhkolot Subdistricts, Bandung Regency. The land owned is already certified in the name of the church. Similarly, the taxes that have been paid are in the name of the church.

Met at the RW Hall on the evening of Tuesday, September 5, 2023, the Chairman of RW 13 Citeureup Village, Agus Beni Gunadi, said that his party did not prohibit worship, but guarded the government's determination that the GKP Dayeuhkolot building was a residential house. Agus, who was accompanied by 13 RW administrators that night, claimed that they had proof of the government's decision.

"So we position (ourselves) as officials of the Republic of Indonesia, that we must obey the law what is determined by the government," Agus said. "So on that basis we guard the rules that have been decided by the government, that's all."

During the interview, Agus and the RW administrators also expressed their objection to the discussion of the Dayeuhkolot GKP license. According to them, the problem has been resolved and all parties can respect each other. If this issue is discussed again, the RW administrators are worried that there will be disintegration, both within RW 13 of Citeureup Village in particular and in the Bandung Regency area in general.

BandungBergerak.id has also attempted to confirm the incident experienced by GKP Pasundan to officials of Citeureup Village, Dayeuhkolot District. On Monday, September 4, 2023 afternoon, it was known from the service officer that both the Village Head (Kades) and the Village Secretary (Sekdes) were not in the office. No phone number could be provided to schedule a meeting.

During a second visit before the afternoon break the following day, the village head and village secretary were again not in the office. Another staff member at the village office said that the village head had recently recovered from an illness and that Tuesday was his scheduled visit. It is not known when the village secretary will come to the office.

Problems related to church establishment permits in Bandung Regency have arisen for a long time and continue to recur. In December 2010, for example, several Christian churches were sealed by Islamic mass organizations. BBC Indonesia reported that hundreds of people carried out the sealing because a number of residential houses had been used as places of worship and therefore disturbed residents.

In March 2022, the church congregations of HKBP Betania in Rancaekek and HKI South Bandung in Baleendah were denied worship activities. The same reason was given by the rejectionists: the houses of worship did not have Building Permits (IMB) and disturbed the peace of the surrounding community.

The Indonesian Church Association (PGI) in its statement demanded the seriousness of the government to handle similar cases because "it has happened repeatedly but no complete solution has been offered by the government". They also asked the Bandung Regency Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB) and the Regent to facilitate dialog.

Referring to data from the West Java Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of Christians in Bandung Regency in 2020 was recorded at 180,865 people. The number of churches is 12 units with no additions since the previous three years.

Meanwhile, the number of Catholics in 2021 was recorded at 12,132 people. The number of churches is two units. Although it is a permanent building, it is known that the two parish churches in Bandung Regency stand on land that is part of a military complex. One is in Dayeuhkolot, the other at Sulaeman Air Force Base, Margahayu. Efforts by Catholics to build a new church building in Gedebage, which will serve people in the eastern area of Bandung City and Bandung Regency, have not yet come to fruition since they began almost 20 years ago.  

The head of the Bandung Regency Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB), Eri Ridwan Latief, claims that it is not difficult to establish a church in Bandung Regency. The rules are clear, namely in accordance with the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Religion and the Minister of Home Affairs. He also said, as long as he included supporting data, the proposal to resolve the problem to FKUB was guaranteed to be resolved.

According to Bowie, as Eri Ridwan Latief is often called, the issue of establishing houses of worship is not only a technical issue at the regulatory level, but also tactical. PBM is not important as long as the surrounding community has accepted it. That is why church managers must be good neighbors.

"I am a Banjaran person. There is a Pentecostal Church, the community accepts it and does not need a permit. This means that our community has accepted it," said Bowie when met on the sidelines of the FKUB coordination meeting throughout West Java, Thursday, August 24, 2023 at the Sutan Raja Hotel, Bandung Regency. 

Bowie, who was recently appointed Chairman of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) of Bandung Regency, said that minority groups should not dwarf themselves and narrow their space by calling themselves a minority group. Humanitarian footing with neighbors is important, in addition to the footing of the rules that must be implemented.

Bowie actually asked that church administrators not become "baperan" or prude. When technical and tactical efforts have not been made, do not rush to call the community rejecting. When the RT asks questions about the church establishment process, it should not also be called rejection. "If for example it's stuck, why don't you want to discuss it?" he said.

Bowie also mentioned the issue of a group of people who worship not in a house of worship, but in a residential house. When problems arise, it is not right if it is then impressed as "disturbing worship" because the place is not a house of worship.

Oo Sodikin, Head of the Islamic Guidance Section of the Bandung Regency Ministry of Religious Affairs, said that his agency works in accordance with the applicable rules, both related to recommendations for the establishment of houses of worship and related to written opinions for temporary permits. Recommendations will be given as long as all requirements from below, namely 90 signatures of users and 60 signatures of local residents, have been obtained.

"So don't let the permit be given, then there will be problems from the community, right? Because what is feared, if religious differences have arisen, we must also be careful," said Sodikin when met in his office, Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

Regulation is the Root of the Problem

The Bandung Legal Aid Institute (LBH) has repeatedly advocated cases related to the establishment of houses of worship in various regions in West Java. What happens a lot is the rejection of the masses or the majority community around the location. The base of the problem is none other than the rules made by the state itself: Joint Ministerial Regulation (PBM).

"If we look at it as a whole, the roots are also in state policies related to the requirements for the establishment of houses of worship," said LBH Bandung Advocacy Division Head Muit Pelu by telephone, Saturday, September 2, 2023. "Now, this is an obstacle."

Muid explained, in the field the conditions for permits to build houses of worship in PBM are actually used as a loophole to make construction difficult. Not making it easy. In a polarized environment, the issue of Christianization, or also Islamization, is strong.

In several cases assisted by LBH Bandung, the solution then taken is the provision of temporary places of worship. According to Muit, this solution, as found in the GBI Soreang case, actually does not solve the main problem. Religious minorities are still not free and comfortable to worship.

What is often misunderstood is that each religion and sect has its own peculiarities in matters of worship. Protestant Christianity has many sects, each of which needs a church building.

Muid encourages people who are prevented from building houses of worship to inventory the problems, then convey them to policy makers. The hope is that the policy makers will not only sit in the office, but come to the conflict area and listen directly to the voices of the victims. It is the responsibility of the government to take a clear position and alignment in the fulfillment of human rights of every citizen.

"The requirements in the PBM should be lowered," said Muid. "Even if it can be given the freedom for everyone or certain religious communities to build houses of worship with easy conditions."

Chairman of the Inter-Religious Umar Network (Jakatarub) Arfi Pandu Dinata said that in many cases of establishing houses of worship for minority religious groups, FKUBs still often "play safe" or apathetic. In fact, this forum should be able to proactively help find alternative solutions.

"FKUB has a mandate to promote, strengthen the values of harmony in the midst of society," said Arfi by telephone, Thursday, August 24, 2023. "So it doesn't just provide recommendations, but is proactive."

Local governments, according to Arfi, must take primary responsibility for the service of establishing houses of worship. Guaranteeing freedom of religion and belief (KBB) is a state obligation. Civil society movements, such as Jakatarub, can support it through interfaith work that ground the issue of diversity.

According to Arfi, in addition to technical matters such as the interpretation of the rules on 60 supporting residents and the provision of the village head's signature, the issue of permits for the construction of houses of worship also intersects with cultural issues. Advocacy takes a long time because the work done is familiarizing, changing paradigms, and building public awareness.

The issue of church establishment permits in Bandung Regency reflects a grim portrait of freedom of religion and belief (KBB) in West Java. In its annual report, the Setara Institute ranked the most populous province in Indonesia as the province with the highest number of cases of freedom of religion or belief violations for 14 consecutive years from 2008 to 2021. Throughout 2021, there were 40 cases of violations of freedom of religion or belief.

Setara Institute noted that the number of cases of violations of freedom of religion or belief in West Java throughout 2022 fell to 25 cases. Its position at the top of the list of provinces with the highest number of violation cases was replaced by East Java with 34 cases.

Pastor Luspida Simanjutak can tell a lot about the problem of permits to establish houses of worship. Before starting work at the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Persiapan Lembang church a month and a half ago, he had provided services in Medan, Tarutung, Banda Aceh, Tanjung Priok, and Bekasi. Luspida is one of two pastors who were victims of persecution not far from the HKBP Ciketing church, Bekasi in 2010.

HKBP Persiapan Lembang Church stands in a former warehouse in a villa complex on Jalan Peneropongam Bintang, Lembang, which has been rented by the congregation since 2003. Located at the far end, the 4x7 square meter building is squeezed by the large clinic building that has only been in operation for a few months. The walls are painted white, with a cross and pulpit in the center.

The HKBP Persiapan Lembang congregation also has a church house about 300 meters away. The church house functions as a residence for the pastor as well as a meeting hall for various activities other than worship.

At the end of 2022, the church building collapsed in the rain. The congregation and the pastor asked the local authorities to allow them to worship in the church house. Apart from feeling safer, the congregation also no longer needed to pay rent. However, no permission was granted.

"He said yesterday (the reason) was because there were complaints from the residents behind to the RT, that we were not allowed to worship here," said Samsyah, a congregation of HKBP Persiapan Lembang, Saturday, August 26, 2023.

Currently, HKBP Persiapan Lembang has a congregation of nearly 100 people. At certain times, guests from other churches come to worship together. There are also congregations who travel to the Lembang area and stop by the church.

Luspida and the HKBP Persiapan Lembang congregation are well aware that the church house has a residential permit. He is currently studying the situation and approaching the surrounding community. Afterward, if there is a suitable land to be occupied, then his party will take care of the church's IMB.

This is not an easy matter. Luspida had experienced it when he served in Banda Aceh and in Bekasi. Worship can be carried out smoothly and safely, land is available, but to obtain IMB, the church must clash with regulatory walls.

"Coming here (Lembang), there is a place but it cannot be occupied for worship. As a pastor, I am sad. It's the same problem," said Luspida in his typical Batak accent.

Luspida accuses PBM of being one of the obstacles for religious minorities to build houses of worship. Building a church is much more difficult than operating a discotheque. In fact, the constitution guarantees the right of everyone to choose their beliefs and worship freely and without hindrance. 

"That's the value of tolerance, accepting each other," said Luspida. "Don't we live in the same place, the same country?"

One of the few good news about freedom of religion and belief in West Java came in mid-April 2023. After waiting for more than 20 years, the Mother Teresa Parish Church in Cikarang, Bekasi, finally obtained a permit from the government. West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, who came to the church to hand over the documents, then asked all regents and mayors in West Java to imitate the Bekasi Regent Official's fast move. "If it is complete, don't linger!" said the governor, quoted from his press release.

It didn't take long for his words to be put to the test. Exactly two months later, hundreds of congregants of the Bethel Indonesia Church (GBI) Soreang had to go to the police compound every weekend in order to continue worshiping. 

*This report is part of a fellowship program by the Journalists Union for Diversity (Sejuk), translated by Khumaira Birru Al Walidain