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C. Java Indigenous Religion Targeted in Attack

Farouk Arnaz
November 11, 2015 | 5:10 pm
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The debris of a recently burned-down church is seen in Aceh Singkil district. (AFP Photo/Munandar)
The debris of a recently burned-down church is seen in Aceh Singkil district. (AFP Photo/Munandar)

Jakarta. An under-construction place of worship for an religion indigenous to Central Java was attacked and set alight on Tuesday by a group of protesters, adding to a growing list of such incidents in the Muslim-majority country in recent years.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suharsono confirmed that a property belonging to worshipers of the Sapta Dharma faith in the village of Plawangan, Rembang district, was attacked at around noon.

“The perpetrators were locals from the area,” the officer said on Wednesday. “The building was originally a private residence.”

Police, he said, were mediating talks between the congregation and local government officials.

There were no reports of people being injured in the incident.

Rembang Sapta Dharma chairman Sutrisno told Tempo.co that the congregation was building a temple at the property, which was rejected by several locals who began an intimidation campaign to stop construction.

“I am being pressured by a group of people calling themselves the Plawangan Village Islamic People's Forum,” Sutrisno said.

The group, Sutrisno continued, has also been pressuring local authorities to intervene.

“The district head [Suko Mardiono] even told us to temporarily stop construction,” he said.

The incident adds a long list of religious violence affecting the country. Earlier this year an Islamic mass prayer in Tolikara district, Papua, was attacked while a church in Singkil, Aceh, was burned down recently.

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