Religious Leaders in Indonesia have been trying to resist the rising tension between Christians and Muslims since three young Christians were beheaded on Saturday.
According to the Indonesia-based Jakarta Post newspaper, the Chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Rev. Andreas Yewangoe, denied speculation that religious motives were behind the murders. He added that the Christian and Muslim communities in Indonesia were making good progress in their interfaith relationship."Why did the killings take place as both the Muslim and Christian communities were successfully improving their hostile relationship?" asked Yewangoe as he spoke to the Jakarta Post.
Yewangoe added that some PGI officials were sent to Poso, where the murders took place, to calm down Christians and prevent them from taking revenge.
Din Syamsuddin, Chairman of Muhammadiyah – the second largest Muslim group in the nation as well as a long-standing social-religious organisation aimed at adapting Islam to modern Indonesian life – was quoted by Jakarta Post as saying, "We strongly condemn the incident, and believe me that this has nothing to do with ties between Muslims and Christians."
Syamsuddin condemned the killings and called those murderers "atheists," the Jakarta Post reported.
A former Indonesian president and well-renowned Muslim figure Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid echoed the sentiments, saying, "The murders were perpetrated by heartless people. No religion teaches us to kill our brothers and sisters,” according to the Jakarta Post.
The tension between Christians and Muslims was reignited as three high school students, age 16 to 19-year-old, were beheaded by six unidentified men wielding machetes while on their way to school in the city of Poso, in the province of Central Sulawesi, according to a report by Reuters. Their heads were found at separate sites two hours later by residents.
The beheading has placed strain on the country in light of the escalating violence against Christians and dozens of alleged government-sponsored church closures in West Java. The massive coverage by the media has also drawn much international attention. Reports of the killings were featured across the front pages of virtually all Indonesian newspapers on Sunday, Reuters reported.
The international Christian persecution watchdog, International Christian Concern (ICC), warned of a pattern of persecution against Indonesian Christians in a statement released on Oct. 29th, noting that "Radical Islamists have been increasingly forcing churches to close with and without help from local authorities."
ICC described the beheading of the three Christians on Saturday as "a dramatic turn for the worse."
According to Reuters, the Vatican called the killings "barbaric" in a statement and said the pope would pray for "the return of peace among the people" of the region over the last couple months.
