Religious leaders are expressing dismay after hardline Islamists staged protests against a planned Catholic church in Tangerang, West Java, located about 25km from Jakarta. The incident is being described as an attempt to sow religious division in the area.

Catholics from the Saint Bernadette Parish say they have a permit to build their church, which will accommodate about 11,000 followers. They have expressed puzzlement over the September 22nd protest, which lasted for around three hours.

"We have not even set a stone yet. I do not know many of the protesters. I do not know how this can happen, because so far we have support from the religious leaders here," Paulus Dalu Lubur, the pastor of Saint Bernadette, told Khabar Southeast Asia by phone.

Yuli Widariyanti, who lives near the proposed church site, also said the crowd surprised her.

"I am also amazed. I live not far from here, but I do not know many of them, and there were at least 200 people," Yuli told Khabar.

She said she saw many leaflets advertising the demonstration, saying area Muslims, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and other Islamic organizations were forming the "Sudimara Pinang United Islamic Forum".

The leaflets claimed that a majority of local residents oppose the church, and denied that it has a proper building permit. They also sought to portray the church as a threat to Islam, arguing that if church construction goes ahead, its members will convert area Muslims over the next decades.

Muslim clerics denounce show of intolerance

Muslim religious leaders in Tangerang, however, say it is wrong to stir up religious tensions.

A cleric in Tangerang, Abdullah Muslim, said the situation is saddening because it will continue the religious segregation of Muslims and Christians – and it could also lead to violence.

"All fellow Muslims and Christians, please be calm. We should respect religious tolerance here in our community. Let our authorities be involved in this matter. It is important that we are not provoked by any party interested in tearing apart our tolerance," he told Khabar on September 23rd.

"We need to be aware that conflict can possibly occur because of this, and at the end everyone can be victims. Death, suffering, what for?" he said.

According to Antonius Benny Susetyo, secretary of the interfaith commission of the Indonesian Bishop Conference, the Saint Bernadette obtained its building permit on September 11th.

"We will see if the authorities will be able to solve this problem and provide us with the necessary security," he told Khabar over the phone.

Youth being misled by hardliners?

Ihzan Ali Fauzi, a lecturer at Paramadina University Graduate School, told Khabar that Indonesia still faces a challenge in its achieving its goal of "unity in diversity".

"We need to appreciate differences among society to be a multicultural society," he told Khabar. "Religion plays an important role in defining multiculturalism."

Bagus Sutopo, a 23-year-old student at Muhammdiyah University, said it is important for youth to embrace pluralism.

"Whoever organized the protest in West Java seems to have taken advantage of youth involvement," he said. "When I saw the protest on TV, most of the protesters were relatively young. This means that we need to introduce the value of pluralism and multiculturalism, and of course at this point, religious differences, as part of our youth's education."

"We need to start by respecting each other's religion," he added. "It seems West Java has been struggling with this."