AP

PLAN TO MAKE IT EASIER TO BUILD CHURCHES MEETS STRONG OPPOSITION

INDONESIA: Opposition has emerged to a proposal by Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to do away with the role of a Muslim-dominated body that has complicated efforts by minority religions to build houses of worship. Indonesia’s vice president last week warned against the effort to end the role of the Muslim-dominated Interreligious Harmony Forum (FKUB). Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, whose term ends in October, told reporters that the minister of religious affairs should not have made the proposal. The FKUB is not a government department.

      Indonesia Minister of Religion Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumashad had announced that the government was planning to change regulations for construction of houses of worship to make it easier for religious minority groups to establish them. Stating that taking recommendations from the FKUB into consideration complicates efforts by minority religious communities to build houses of worship, Yaqut then promised that the new regulations would be issued soon. The last-minute appeal by the vice president of Joko Widodo’s administration, however, has concerned a number of human rights and Christian leaders, believing that the problem with Ma’ruf Amin’s statement could represent the great power behind him — the power of Islamists who are not always in line with moderate Indonesians. [Source: Christian Post]

CHURCH CLOSURE THREATENED AHEAD OF NICENE CREED ANNIVERSARY

Türkiye (MNN) — One city in Türkiye has a single operating church building. Now, that building may be facing closure. Last month, the three congregations that meet in this historic building received an eviction notice from a government official. The notice said the building was structurally unsafe and the congregations would have to move out before August 24. Turkiye’s history of quakes makes structural integrity an issue everyone is invested in.

However, there is no corrosion. There are no cracks. The building is one of the safest in the city. What is unique about [the church] is that it is the only church building in Türkiye in which three different sects of Christianity all share [the] facility: Syrian Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant.

There was a similar threat of closure in 2016 which was later resolved. The pastor of one of the three congregations, who we’ll call Irik, suspects this is also intended to prevent Christians from gathering to celebrate a significant anniversary next year. This city was where the Council of Nicaea was held. 2025 marks the 1,700th anniversary of that council. So there will be people descending on his city from all over Christendom, all over the world, to mark this anniversary.

NEW SAT-7 PROGRAM REACHES ISOLATED BELIEVERS IN TAJIKISTAN

Tajikistan (MNN) — Fewer than one percent of Tajikistan’s population is Christian, and believers are rare in rural districts and villages. Christians can’t gather legally and face persecution if they confess their faith. Women, more so. SAT-7’s Joe Willey says the need for encouragement has never been higher. A new satellite television program is part of a wider strategy to increase support for Tajik Christians in their lives of faith. .

US SUPREME COURT STOPS RULES ALLOWING BOYS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS

Earlier this year, the Department of Education under President Joe Biden announced new Title IX regulations, which were scheduled to go into effect this month. The new regulations defined sex discrimination as including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The rules would have required schools receiving public funding to allow boys who identify as trans to enter girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms and athletics. In a 5-4 decision, the  United States Supreme Court has refused to allow the Biden administration’s rules requiring Title IX anti-discrimination law to include gender identity and sexual orientation to take effect. [Source: Christian Post]

MAN ALLOWED TO LIST CHRISTIAN FAITH ON ID CARD AFTER CLERICAL ERROR

EGYPT: After over a decade of persistent denial of his religious identity, an Egyptian Christian man has successfully corrected the religious affiliation on his identification documents, marking a significant victory for religious freedom in Egypt. Referred to only as Elias for security reasons, the resident of Cairo faced a clerical error by the Egyptian authorities that incorrectly listed him as Muslim on all official identification. Elias’ case is just one of numerous cases where religious minorities are harassed or discriminated against when they request to change their religion on their identification documents, according to the legal advocacy group ADF International Director of Global Religious Freedom Kelsey Zorzi. “Despite years of legal challenges and attempts to change the law to reflect religious freedom standards, the situation has remained largely unchanged,” she added.

This error significantly affected Elias and his family life, restricting their participation in Christian activities and barring his children from attending Christian schools. 

Egypt’s government speaks positively about the Egyptian Christian community. Still, the lack of serious law enforcement and the unwillingness of local authorities to protect Christians leave them vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. Churches and Christian non-governmental organizations face restrictions on building new churches or running social services. Converting from Islam to Christianity is controversially linked with terrorism. [Source: Christian Post]

– compiled by Guido Kettniss