On March 7th, hundreds of Muslims converged on the site of a new church in Bekasi, Indonesia, to protest its construction. After gathering at the construction site, the Muslims used loudspeakers to protest the local authorities who had approved the new church in their neighborhood. Eventually the protest turned violent, with some throwing rocks and bottles. Police had to resort to firing tear gas to disperse the protesters.

The Santa Clara Church had finally received its building permit in June of 2015 after completing a lengthy, burdensome process of gaining the city’s approval for the new church building. In April of last year a similar group of Muslims removed the sign announcing the church’s construction before lodging a complaint with the town mayor. Please pray that the local government will treat minority Christians fairly and not give in to the demands from hard-line Muslims.

Source: AP – Indonesia police fire tear gas on Muslims protesting church