A group of Muslim men forcibly disrupted worship and religious education activities at a prayer house belonging to the Indonesian Faithful Christian Church’s (GKSI) Anugerah Padang congregation on 27 July in Padang Sarai Village. The men damaged the facilities and the building where the prayer house was located.
The men shouted “Disperse! Disperse!” after they forced their way into the building. With worshippers still inside, several men armed with sticks smashed the building’s windows. Children could be heard crying as their families were forced out of the building, and the attackers started shouting, “Destroy! Destroy everything!” Police arrested nine men in connection with the attack.
The incident left two children, aged eight and eleven, injured after they were hit by hard objects thrown by the attackers. The attackers also destroyed furniture and electronic devices and cut off electricity to the prayer house.
A pastor from the GKSI Anugerah Padang church revealed that the incident occurred during a Christian service and religious instruction at the prayer house, which was attended by roughly 30 children and their parents.
The prayer house was established to provide religious education to Christian children studying in public schools, as they were not receiving Christian education at their schools.
The incident occurred a month after a similar incident in Sukabumi, when a group of people broke up and vandalised a Christian student retreat on 27 June. Some say the recurrence is due to the state’s lack of commitment to protecting citizens’ religious freedom.
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