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Indonesia is the home of the largest single Muslim community of the world. Its Christian community, about 10% of the population, has until now received no overall description in English. Through cooperation of 26 Indonesian and European scholars, Protestants and Catholics, a broad and balanced picture is given of its 24 million Christians. This book sketches the growth of Christianity during the Portuguese period (1511-1605), it presents a fair account of developments under the Dutch colonial administration (1605-1942) and is more elaborate for the period of the Indonesian Republic (since 1945). It emphasizes the regional differences in this huge country, because most Christians live outside the main island of Java. Muslim-Christian relations, as well as the tensions between foreign missionaries and local theology, receive special attention.
This book tells the story of the contacts and conflicts between muslims and christians in Southeast Asia during the Dutch colonial history from 1596 until 1950. The author draws from a great variety of sources to shed light on this period: the letters of the colonial pioneer Jan Pietersz. Coen, the writings of 17th century Dutch theologians, the minutes of the Batavia church council, the contracts of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) with the sultans in the Indies, documents from the files of colonial civil servants from the 19th and 20th centuries, to mention just a few. The colonial situation was not a good starting-point for a religious dialogue. With Dutch power on the increase there was even less understanding for the religion of the muslims . In 1620 J.P. Coen, the strait-laced calvinist, had actually a better understanding and respect for the muslims than the liberal colonial leaders from the early 20th century, convinced as they were of western supremacy.
Catholics never constituted more than three per cent of the Indonesian population, one-third of the total number of Christians. The author looks closely at the rivalry with Protestant missionary activities, as well as the race with Islam in many regions of the outer islands that came under Dutch rule in the early twentieth century.
Catholics in Independent Indonesia: 1945-2010 concludes Steenbrink’s three volume historical account of Catholicism in Indonesia with a detailed report of the survival and growth of this minority religion in Muslim Indonesia since its independence in 1945. Colonial Catholicism survived in the independent Republic of Indonesia during the nationalist Sukarno regime (1945-1965) and regained a new dynamic during the general religious revival that was part of the New Order of Soeharto after 1965. From a Dutch-inspired institution it became a fully Indonesian steered community with a modern and international character. The second half of the book will deal with the different regional developments in this vast country.
This first of two volumes documents the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Indonesia from 1808, when, after two centuries, priests were again allowed in the Dutch colony, until 1903, when the the number of Catholics, only 27,000 at the time, started to grow spectacularly. The story of slow growth among the indigenous population, with many setbacks, is illustrated by 98 documents, which are included in their complete format and original language (mostly Dutch). Half of the book contains a lenghty introduction in which the history of Catholic missionary effort is spelled out, with, of course, a lot of attention for the islands where the Catholic clergy was actively engaged in proselytizing. This introduction is the first survey in English on the subject.
Indonesia is a multicultural and multireligious nation whose heterogeneity is codified in the state doctrine, the Pancasila. Yet the relations between the various social, ethnic, and religious groups have been problematic down to the present day. In several respects, Christians have a precarious role in the struggle for shaping the nation. In the aftermath of the former president Suharto's resignation and in the course of the ensuing political changes Christians have been involved both as victims and perpetrators in violent regional clashes with Muslims that claimed thousands of lives. Since the beginning of the new millennium the violent conflicts have lessened, yet the pressure exerted on Christians by Islamic fundamentalists still continues undiminished in the Muslim-majority regions. The future of the Christians in Indonesia remains uncertain, and pluralist society is still on trial. For this reason the situation of Christians in Indonesia is an important issue that goes far beyond research on a minority, touching on general issues relating to the formation of the nation-state.
Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History 2 (CMR2) is the second part of a general history of relations between the faiths. Covering the period from 900 to 1050, it comprises a series of introductory essays, together with the main body of more than one hundred detailed entries on all the works by Christians and Muslims about and against one another that are known from this period. These entries provide biographical details of the authors where known, descriptions and assessments of the works themselves, and complete accounts of manuscripts, editions, translations and studies. The result of collaboration between leading scholars in the field, CMR2 is an indispensable basis for research in all elements of the history of Christian-Muslim relations.
Introduction /Frans Wijsen and Peter Nissen -- 'Mission is a Must'. A missiological profile of Rogier van Rossum. /Peter Nissen -- The Epistle to Diognetus - An Open Dialogue /Leo Meulenberg -- The Conversion of a Missionary: Reflections on the Life of Martin of Nantes (1638-1714) /Jan Rietveld -- Missio ad gentes in the Spirituality of St. Vincent De Paul /Gerard van Winsen -- Church, Colonialism and Nationalism in Tanzania /Albert de Jong -- Searching for the heart of the Mayas Five hundred years of spreading Christianity in Guatemala /Mario Coolen -- The Trinity on Mission /Michael Amaladoss -- The Evolution, Involution and Revolution of the Concept and Reality of Mission and Evangelizati...
Moluccan Conflict -- The Birth of FKAWJ -- For the Defense of the Muslim Umma (Muslim Community) -- The Fatwas on Jihad -- Structures of Mobilization -- From Apolitical Salafism to Jihadist Activism -- Back to the Qur'an and Sunna -- Tawhid -- Ahl al-Sunna wa'l Jama'a -- AI-Wala wa'l-Bara -- Hizbiyya -- Hakimiyya (Sovereignty) -- Democracy -- Jihad -- Toward Which End? -- When Identity is Shaken -- Social Composition -- Becoming Acquainted with Islam -- Reborn as True Muslims -- Identity Shaken by the Waves of Modernization -- Enclave -- An Alternative System? -- The Drama of Jihad in the Moluccas -- The Theatrical Dimension of the Mission -- The Road to the Moluccas -- On the Jihad Battlefield -- Rajm -- Winning the Battle with the Media -- Changing Plot -- Post-September -- Malino Agreement -- The End of the Drama -- Conclusion -- List of Abbreviations and Glossary -- Bibliography.
Understanding and managing inter-religious relations, particularly between Muslims and Christians, presents a challenge for states around the world. This book investigates legal disputes between religious communities in the world’s largest majority-Muslim, democratic country, Indonesia. It considers how the interaction between state and religion has influenced relations between religious communities in the transition to democracy. The book presents original case studies based on empirical field research of court disputes in West Java, a majority-Muslim province with a history of radical Islam. These include criminal court cases, as well as cases of judicial review, relating to disputes con...