Indonesian judges sentenced three women on September 1st to three years in
prison for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian Sunday School
program, "Happy Sunday". Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun
received the sentence after judges found them guilty of attempting to
convert children under the Child Protection Act of 2002. The Sunday school
teachers had instructed the children to get permission from their parents
before attending the program, and those who did not have permission were
asked to go home, according to Jeff Hammond of Bless Indonesia Today. The
three women were relieved that they had not been given the maximum five-year
prison sentence and plan to appeal the conviction but were devastated at the
prospect of being separated from their children.
As they have done throughout the trial, Islamic extremists made murderous
threats both inside and outside the courtroom. Hammond said several
truckloads of extremists arrived; one brought a coffin to bury the accused
if they were found innocent. "The ladies, witnesses and judges were
constantly under the threats of violence from hundreds of Islamic radicals
who threatened to kill the three ladies, witnesses, pastors, missionaries
and even the judges if the women were acquitted," Hammond said.
Since the first accusations were made, Muslim authorities in West Java
have forced Zakaria's church to close. Muslim leaders have forced at least
60 unlicensed churches in West Java to shut down over the past year, with
minimal intervention from the government.