Jusuf Kalla Affirms Church Growth More Than Mosques In Today's Memory, March 29, 2013

Jusuf Kalla (JK) who served as Vice President of Indonesia from 2004-2009 and 2014-2019. (Between)

JAKARTA Memories of today, 11 years ago, March 29, 2013, former Vice President of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla (JK) emphasized that the number of church growth was higher than the mosque. He revealed that there was a role for the government behind it. The growth of the church is proof that religious tolerance is increasing.

Previously, the construction of a minority religious place of worship - especially Christians - was often disturbed. About coming from here and there for various reasons. Sometimes matters of permission. Sometimes also the issue of political turmoil becomes a nuisance.

The construction of places of worship for minority religions is not easy. They often have to work hard with rules and rejections. Licensing may be done. In fact, church construction does not violate and violate the rules because it has received government approval.

All of this does not guarantee that the construction of the church will run smoothly. The construction of the church can not be carried out for various reasons. Even though the stake has been established. This condition makes the narrative of religious tolerance even further.

Instead of being able to coexist in respecting diversity, the problem of building a church has actually brought many problems for religious harmony. This narrative is not just an empty message. Take for example the construction of a church in a residential area managed by PT Gowa Makassar Development (GMTD) in Makassar in 2012.

The church construction received opposition from local residents. Residents of Gottang Village even protested against the construction of the church. They consider the church construction to be present at the wrong location.

Muslim people go through this location, rather than Christians. The rejection was also carried out because the housing developer was considered unfair. Muslims have already asked for the construction of a mosque. However, the business owner chose to present the church first.

Coordinator of the action, Muhammad Jufri Daeng Mangu, said that residents have been fighting for the construction of mosques in the area for a long time, but have not received a response. Without explanation, suddenly there was a church construction.

According to him, previously a meeting was held between the head of the RW and RT in Tanjung Merdeka, which decided that there should be no church construction because its position was in the Muslim-majority population area. It turns out that development still exists. There is even a stake in the location," said Jufri as quoted by Tri Yari Kurniawan in his article in the Tempo newspaper entitled Warga Gottang Rejects Church (2012).

This condition made the former vice president, JK spoke up on March 29, 2013. He admitted that the construction of places of worship often caused problems. However, he said the intensity of the conflict was small, not much. JK asked the Indonesian people not to interpret existing conflicts with an anti-religious attitude.

Rejection usually occurs in the process of building places of worship. Not a problem related to worship. This narrative was proven by JK and said that in the last 20 years the growth of the church actually reached 130 percent, while the mosque was only 63 percent.

This growth is because the government, especially the era of JK as Vice President, upholds diversity. The government actually facilitates the permit to build a house of worship. The government invites all Indonesian people to start adopting an attitude of tolerance. Everything so that all religious people can live side by side and peacefully.

"That is proof that Muslims have great respect for non-Muslims," said JK at the head office of Baitul Muslimin Indonesia, in Pancoran, South Jakarta, as quoted on the Kompas.com page, March 29, 2013.