It’s the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, and it used to be celebrated as a place where many religions coexisted peacefully. However, in more recent years, Indonesia’s reputation has turned to something darker. With rising religious intolerance, including the high-profile blasphemy trial of the former governor of Jakarta, we’re seriously concerned about the state of religious freedom in Indonesia.
- Sunday 23 July
Today, please pray for Ahok, a Christian and the former governor of Jakarta. In early May he was sentenced to two years in prison on false blasphemy charges. He was forced to drop the appeal against his charges because of threats of violence against himself, his family, and his lawyers. Pray that Ahok would be released from prison soon.
- Monday 24 July
Ahok’s sentence is just one of the signs of growing intolerance towards religious minorities. Please pray that this worrying trend would reverse, and that Indonesia would once more be a place of diversity and peaceful coexistence.
- Tuesday 25 July
The Ahmadiyah community has been facing rising discrimination and harassment for over a decade. Now, their mosques are regularly closed and they face periodic attacks. Please ask God to protect Indonesia’s Ahmadi Muslims today.
- Wednesday 26 July
During a recent trip to Indonesia, we visited an Ahmadi mosque in Depok which had been forcibly closed down – for the seventh time since 2011. It was the last remaining Ahmadi mosque in the area. Please pray that the 400 Muslims who used to gather there can find somewhere else to worship.
- Thursday 27 July
The Ahmadiyah community is often targeted by the government. A 2008 decree essentially makes it illegal for them to share their beliefs with other people, and has allowed local authorities to set up their own anti-Ahmadiyah laws. Pray that these laws would be repealed.
- Friday 28 July
Today, please pray for the restoration of pluralism in Indonesia. The country has a proud tradition of tolerance that is in danger of vanishing – pray that God would work powerfully to strengthen Indonesia’s tradition of ‘Pancasila’: its founding national principles of unity and peaceful coexistence between religions.
- Saturday 29 July
Father God, we were so shocked and saddened by the guilty verdict in Ahok’s case. Please watch over him as he begins serving his sentence, and protect him and his family and lawyers from the violence that’s been threatened against them. Amen.