Why were police forced to fire tear gas outside an Indonesian church?

Witnesses claimed the protest was violent.

Parishioners were caught within the walls of their new church in Bekasi city, Indonesia, as several hundred members of the Forum for Bekasi Muslim Friendship threw rocks and bottles in protest.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the Catholic Herald, the Santa Clara church in Kaliabang, a neighborhood of Bekasi City, has been a point of Muslim resistance since its inception.

Members of minority religions aren't recognized by the state and are therefore vulnerable to extreme and persistent discrimination.

Military Islamic groups often protest against the religious minorities without police intervention, but the church in Bekasi has been at risk since June 2015, when it received a permit to build the church.

Many claim the church leaders used false identity cards to get the permit, leading to greater actions against the Catholic Church.

In April last year, a Muslim group tore down its sign and sealed off the church before demanding the mayor cancel the permit.

A private group, Asian Human Rights Commission, filed an appeal on the church's behalf and requested supporters send letters to ten of Indonesia's top leaders, including its president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

With fears of persecution in their own church buildings, about 12,000 Catholics in the Bekasi region alone meet in store fronts or at different business premises to worship.

Meanwhile, the Santa Clara church remains under construction, its parishioners standing strong together to see it through to completion.

When the mob of protestors appeared, police did as well.

They protected the church and its members by firing tear gas into the crowd when it surged forward to invade the building.

While some threw bottles and rocks into the site, no damage was reported.

Fr. Raymundus Sianipar said officers suggested he leave the area for safety reasons but, in the end, he was fine.

Ismail Ibrahim, a cleric and organizer for the protest, claimed his group would only disperse when authorities agree to cancel the church's construction permit.

In the meantime, the church continues to grow and come together to bring hope and a place of worship to the region's Catholic community.

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