Outside a church in Indonesia , a Christian was stabbed in the stomach and the minister, who came to the first victim’s aid, was hit in the head with a wooden plank:
No one claimed responsibility for the attacks. But suspicion immediately fell on Islamic hard-liners who have repeatedly warned members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church against worshipping on a field housing their now-shuttered church.
In recent months, they have thrown shoes and water bottles at the church members, interrupted sermons with chants of “Infidels!” and “Leave Now!” and dumped piles of feces on the land.
Local police Chief Imam Sugianto said Asia Sihombing, a worshiper, was on his way to the field when assailants jumped off a motorcycle and stabbed him in the stomach.
The Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak was smashed in the head as she tried to come to his aid.
The article hints that the assault was motivated by the plans by a Florida church to burn a Quran. But such attacks on Christians in Indonesia have been more common in recent years. Indonesia is, relatively speaking, a religiously tolerant nation, so it will be interesting to see how the country reacts to such outbreaks of violence by extremists.
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