Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas
Last November, a terrorist in Indonesia bombed a church. This was not the first time he had done terrorist activities. In this case, the terrorist threw a Molotov cocktail at the church.
Per Time Magazine, “A man formerly convicted of terrorist offenses has been arrested for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Protestant church in Samarinda, in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, on Sunday morning, killing a toddler and wounding three other children.”
This was not the first attack in Indonesia last year. In August, a suicide bomber failed to explode a Catholic Church during Mass, but he did attack the priest and injure him with an axe.
Fox News reports, “It was the second explosion at a church in Indonesia this year. In August, a would-be suicide bomber failed to detonate a bomb during Sunday Mass in a church in Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra, but he managed to injure a priest with an axe before being restrained.” One girl who died because of the November attack, was due to respiratory problems and burn injuries, which the doctor could do nothing about.
BBC explains, “‘Marbun suffered extensive burn injuries and respiratory problems and doctors could not save her,’ Mr Setiawan said.”
The perpetrator was identified as part of a local extremists group which are Islamic State (IS) state supporters.
Fox News states, “The attacker has been identified as a militant linked to local extremists supporting the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.”
The one who did the attacks was wearing a black T-shirt which encouraged Jihad involvement. This same man was arrested multiple and released multiple times for his terrorist activities.
Time Magazine explains, “The suspect, who during Sunday’s bombing wore a black T-shirt that read ‘Jihad Way of Life,’ was sentenced in 2012 to three years and six months for his involvement in the “book-bomb” plot in Jakarta a year before. One of the targets was a liberal cultural center called Teater Utan Kayu. He received remission of sentence and was released in July 2014.”
Open Doors seeks to train and equip believers who live in their own countries to share Christ’s hope with the people in their country. In Indonesia, Open Doors does this by training the believers to not fear Muslims.
Open Doors reports, “As challenging as it may be, the seminar attempts to remind Christians to see Muslims not as agents of persecution, but lost souls who repress others because Christ is absent in their lives. Not as people to fear, but to have compassion on.”
Please pray for believers in Indonesia, that they would be able to share Christ’s hope boldly and without fear to their Muslim neighbors.
Fox News: Girl, 2, killed in Molotov cocktail attack on Indonesian church
BBC: Indonesia: Two-year-old girl killed in church attack
Open Doors: Indonesian Believers Learn to Extend God’s Love to Persecutors
