Indonesia: Christians offer peace in response to Islamist attacks

Two improvised explosive devices were found in the town of Ambon in front of the Synod Office of the Protestant Church of the Molucca islands of Indonesia, as well as the Maranatha Christian church. The two unexploded bombs were taken away by police. After the explosion of the bomb outside a church in Solo (Central Java) on Sunday September 25, local sources report that fear and concern has since grown among Indonesian Christians.

 The watchword for the Christian faithful, at this stage is "not to yield to provocations" and "not to fall into the temptation of war and violence". "Nobody wants to fall into the trap of religious war", underlined the head of the Synod of the Protestant Church of the Moluccas, Rev. Dr. John Ruhulessin in a statement sent to the FIDES news service. The Christian leader invited the faithful to remain calm: "We must be wary of those who spread hatred and work to destroy our brotherhood".

Other Christian leaders emphasized a message of peace and reconciliation:  the President of the Indonesian Communion of Churches, Rev. Andrew Yewangoe, called every believer to "act as a true Christian, abandoning plans for revenge, which only cause bigger problems ".  With regards to the attack in Solo, Rev. Arthur Rumengan, Secretary General of the Evangelical Christian church, urged the police to identify the culprits, saying that "every religious community has the right to feel safe during worship". According to Rev. Rumengan, a terrorist group known as Cirebon has been blamed for the suicide attack on September 25. He said that Cirebon is "a splinter group that wants to create havoc and does not act in the name of religion".  For this reason, said the pastor, "Christians and Muslims must work together to maintain harmony and peace among religious communities".