Indonesia

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Official name: Republik Indonesia

Area: 1912988 km²

Government: Democracy

Official languages: Indonesia Monetary unit: Rupiah (IDR)

Cities:

DEMOGRAPHY

Population: 234,693,997 (July 2007 est.)

Population density: 125/km²

ECONOMY
GDP (PPP): US$977.4 billion per person: US$4,458 </small>

LIFE & LIBERTY
HDI 2004 0.711/small>

Contents

[edit] Geography

  • Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a nation of 17,508 islands in the Malay archipelago, making it the world's largest archipelagic state. Indonesia's 17,508 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited, are scattered around the equator. The five largest islands are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (shared with Malaysia), Papua (formerly Irian Jaya and shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi. Other larger islands include: Madura, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Timor (shared with the country Timor Leste).
  • The Mentawai Islands are a chain of about 70 islands off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Siberut (4,030 km²) is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai (Pagai Utara) and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan). The islands lie approximately 150 km off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait.

[edit] Location

[edit] Terrorism

  • In June 2007, police arrested Abu Dujana, a senior military leader of the militant group Jemaah Islamiah who police suspect was involved in the 2003 bombing of the Marriott Hotel. Authorities hoped that his arrest would strike a blow to the group's operations. About two dozen people died in Sept. 2005 when suicide bombers attacked tourist sites in Bali. The attack was eerily similar to the one that took place two years earlier.

[edit] History

  • The Krakatoa volcano eruption occurred in 535 AD. The earth was cracked by a volcanic eruption in the Krakatoa region of modern Java, Indonesia. Once, the islands of Java and Sumatra were connected as one large island: but no longer. A region nearly 30 miles in diameter shattered and fell below the ocean, forming the Sunda Strait.
  • Indonesian ex-leader Soeharto, 86, has died after suffering multiple organ failure for the second time this month. He died at January 27, 2008, 1310 local time (0610 GMT) after slipping into a coma, doctors said. Soeharto had been hospitalized for 23 days, getting treatment for various illness. Soeharto (June 8, 1921 - January 27, 2008) was an Indonesian military and political leader. He served as a military officer in the Indonesian National Revolution, but is better known as the long-reigning second President of Indonesia, holding the office from 1967 to 1998.

[edit] Climate

[edit] Natural Resources

[edit] Disasters

  • May 29, 2006, the engineers of the Lapindo company's gas exploration site drove their drills to a depth of almost 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) in East-Java 20 km from Surabaya, into what is known as the "Kunjung formation," where they hoped to encounter oil and, more importantly, natural gas. Instead they created a mud volcano blowing out hot mud and gas fumes. Pressure from massive layers of rock is draining a huge, subterranean reservoir of mud, forcing the steaming material to the surface, where it has slowly inundated the surrounding flat countryside. The geyser bubbles, gurgles and occasionally emits loud bursts, constantly spurting steaming, inky dark mud from the bowels of the earth. This mud volcano or geyser that has formed in the middle of this densely populated area is apparently the world's largest, as well as the first triggered by human activity. The muck is rising by the hour, spewing mud at a rate of about 125,000 cubic meters a day. The disaster has already displaced some 21,000 people from a number of villages and housing complexes and has so far submerged more than 600 hectares of farm land, claiming 20 factories, 15 mosques, a cemetery and 18 schools, also main roads, a bridge.
  • September 30, 2009: Thousands of people are trapped under rubble and at least 1100 are dead after two strong earthquakes (7,6 and 7) shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials say. The epicentre was about 50km (30 miles) off the coast in the Indian Oean, near the city of Padang. It destroyed more than 135,000 houses and buildings and bridges, a shopping mall in Padang reportedly collapsed, as did at least one hospital and one school. It comes hours after a tsunami triggered by an unrelated earthquake in the South Pacific killed more than 100 people across a number of islands. Pray for those who have been bereaved and for the survivors and that many more may be brought out of the rubble alive.
  • Rescue workers have been working constantly to find and save those trapped in the rubble. “Our prediction,” said the head of the Indonesian health ministry’s disaster centre, “1115 have died.” 2500 more have been injured Some landslides have caused the high number of deads. Crews of international workers – firefighters and others skilled in using special equipment to sift through the rubble – have been racing to Indonesia, along with engineers, aid teams, and health care professionals. (3 October 2009 und Ergänzungen 16. Oktober 2009)
  • The Indonesian National Disaster Management Chief said that the 7.9 magnitude earthquake destroyed 135,488 buildings, 65,380 homes, 2,164 schools, 51 hospitals and 1,003 mosques and other religious buildings. About 30 bridges collapsed and roads in the province suffered damage in 178 locations. More than 1,100 people were killed. The Province Department of Commerce and Industry expects that at least “200,000 people will be out of a job” in retail, hotel and other tourism-related businesses, forced to close their doors. The removal of debris and the demolition of destroyed buildings and homes are under way. The official government rehabilitation and reconstruction phase began on November 1 and they estimate it will last approximately 6 months. Most who lost their homes are still living outside in temporary shelters, some still without water and electricity.
  • We can praise God that the final death toll was lower than first feared, but the report gives you an indication of the extent of destruction the earthquake caused. (October 2009)
  • Up to 70 people are feared dead after being trapped under piles of mud when a landslide hit a village near the Indonesian city of Bandung. Pray for the grieving relatives and families and for those that now have to rebuild their lives and homes. [February 2010]

[edit] Demographics

  • With a population of over 220 million (AD 2000), Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation. Nearly half of this population is concentrated on the island of Java, which is one of the most densely populated places in the world.

[edit] Peoples

  • A full list of all 775 people groups in Indonesia you will find in the list of the Joshua Project Joshuia Project.
See also Peoples of Indonesia for a list of the least-reached peoples.

[edit] Administrative Divisions

[edit] Provinces

  • The country is divided in 29 provinces (plural propinsi-propinsi, singular propinsi), 3 special regions (plural daerah-daerah istimewa, singular daerah istimewa) and 1 special capital city district (daerah khusus ibukota). Each province has its own political legislature and is headed by a governor. See Provinces of Indonesia for more details about these provinces.

[edit] Cities

  • The cities of Jakarta and Surabaya are key cities in reaching the rest of Indonesia. The capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, has at least 1,000 churches and thousands of cell groups. Pray that the lives of Christians in these cities will be able to spiritually impact their whole country.
Jakarta
Malang
Medan
Palembang
Semarang
Solo
Surabaya

[edit] History

[edit] Economy

[edit] Government

  • Indonesia is the world's third largest democracy after India and the USA. Pray for the alleviation of burdening issues like poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption and holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations.
  • Religious freedom, tolerance in jeopardy
  • Indonesia has suffered major setbacks in upholding religious freedom and tolerance, enshrined in the Constitution, as evident in a series of attacks on pluralism in 2008. Worse, the government, through its own policies, has seemingly given carte blanche to hard-line groups to flourish and attack minority groups they deem “deviant”, Pramono Tantowi, director of the Center of Religious and Civilization Studies, told the forum held at the headquarters of Muhammadiyah, the country’s second largest Muslim organization. Pramono said a joint ministerial decree, issued earlier this year, banning the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect from spreading its teachings, showed the government’s support for violence in the name of religion at the expense of minority groups. “The government has failed to protect its citizens. It should have acted as a mediator that stands above all parties and protects individuals’ right to exercise their freedom of religion,” Pramono said. He added the proliferation of radical groups this year indicated a worrying trend toward Islamic fundamentalism.
  • The adoption of sharia-based ordinances in several areas, including a bylaw that criminalized women who go out alone at night is an example of violence against women. This bylaw violates the basic principle of presumption of innocence.
  • Two explosions in Jakarta, Indonesia resulted in the deaths of at least nine people on July l7, 2009, which were carried out by two suicide bombers. The took place at the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriot hotels in the capital city of Jakarta. More than 50 people were injured. No one has taken responsibility for the acts. According to authorities, the bombs themselves were homemade. The president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, visited the scene, calling it a “cruel and inhuman attack. ” He said the crimes were being invattacksestigated and could not confirm whether or not they were the work of Jemaah Islamiah – an extremist group active in Indonesia. The attacks came just days after peaceful, fair presidential elections were held on July 8, 2009. Many tourists and foreign visitors have cancelled or cut their trips short as a result of the acts of terrorism
Pray for God to comfort the families of those who died in this barbaric act. (II Corinthians 1:3,4)
Pray for the Lord to speed the healing of those who were injured. (Acts 3:16)
Pray for the protection of Christians in this region. (Psalm 61:3)
Pray for the LORD to give government leaders wisdom and discernment in responding to these terrorist acts. (Proverbs 1:7)
Pray for the organizers of the bombings to be caught and swiftly brought to justice. Pray for their sentences to be made public, and that other terrorists groups or insurgents will be discouraged and dishearten to go forward with any future terrorists acts. (Proverbs 21:15)
Against the enemy who is trying to bring terrorism back to Indonesia, after such a strong effort has been made by the government and the people to bring peace to Indonesia.
Pray for the Islamic people of Indonesia to see the violence and death that the enemy brings and for their hearts to be open to and receive the peace and life that can only be found in Jesus Christ. (John 10:10)
The hearts of those planning and trying to execute terrorist acts will be healed. Pray the extreme hatred they have for others that would cause them to take their lives and the lives of innocent people would no longer remain in their hearts.
Pray GOD will give Believers strategies on how to reach and successfully minister Salvation to those involved in terrorism.
Pray those involved with terrorism would have an encounter with GOD that would reveal to each of them that HE is a GOD of love and not of hate.
PRAISE for:
The other bombs in the hotel did not go off on the 18th floor which would have caused the loss of many more lives.
Many people were protected and unharmed in the midst of such a terrible event.
  • Indonesian National Police Chief announced on 17 September 2009 that Noordin Mohammad Top, Indonesia's most wanted Islamic militant, was killed in a police raid along with three other terrorists. Among four bodies recovered after the raid on a village house in Solo, Central Java, a decapitated corpse was identified as Noordin's — fingerprints taken from it matched those of Noordin that were obtained from Malaysia. He was resonsible for the Two explosions in Jakarta and many other terrorist attacks in the country. According to a police intelligence officer, the renter of the house, "Susilo", Noordin's close associate Bagus Budi Pranoto, alias "Urwah", and suspected bomb-maker "Maruto" were killed in the raid, along with Noordin. Police were led to house after arresting Indonesian militant Rohmat Puji Prabowo at a market place in Solo on 16 September.

[edit] Religion

[edit] Islam

  • Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country. One out of every 11 or 12 Muslims in the world live on the island of Java.
  • Apart from adhering strictly to the religion of Islam, the local people do believe in “tempat keramat” that is places possessing supernatural qualities, shrines, sacred spots. Worship and presenting offerings in these places are commonly done in order to get blessings, political power, riches, or even salvation.

[edit] Buddhism

  • Most Buddhists are Chinese, numbering about 1.7 million (0.8%) and significant in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Due to Chinese settlement on Borneo, Buddhism continues to thrive. The Borobudur temple, a massive complex in Central Java, was built more than 1,100 years ago (three centuries before Islam) and is still active.

[edit] Hinduism

  • At one point in its history Indonesia was dominated by Hinduism. After the arrival of Islam, Hinduism's position was steadily eroded and pushed east to the island of Bali. Today this is the remaining significant concentration of Hindus in Indonesia.

[edit] Christianity

  • Jakarta and Surabaya are key cities for the gospel in Indonesia. Almost every ethnic group has a presence there. Jakarta (the capital) is now over 13% Christian, with over 1,000 registered churches and thousands of cell groups. A spiritual movement in Jakarta and Surabaya is having an impact on the whole country.

[edit] History

[edit] Churches

[edit] Church and State Relations

  • Although Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, it is not an Islamic state. Aceh is the only one of Indonesia's 33 provinces that is allowed to enact and enforce Shari'a law, by virtue of a special autonomy arrangement. [1] However, 22 district and municipal governments have adopted Shari'a based bylaws. There have been numerous cases of violence by radicals against Christians.
  • The provinces Maluku and Maluku North: A tragic cycle of revenge led to both Muslim and some Christian atrocities. Enormous destruction of property and over 400 churches and some mosques. May communal harmony be restored and the deep wounds be healed.
  • Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Mrs.Ratna Bangun and Mrs. Eti Pangesti, three Indonesian women who were jailed after allowing Muslim children to attend their Christian children's club, were released about one year early from their three-year prison sentence on June, 8 2007. The three women were jailed in 2005, after the Indonesian Clerics Council accused them under the Child Protection Law. The women had run a children’s club called “Happy Week”, in which they sang Christian songs, played games and did Bible studies with children. Following the request of a Muslim grandmother to let her granddaughters attend, the women began allowing Muslim children to come along. All the Muslim parents were aware that the club was run by Christians and involved Christian teaching. However, after a day-trip was organized by the women, to which parents were also invited, complaints were made about the “Happy Week” club to the police. The women were arrested on May 13th 2005. They were accused of trying to entice the children to convert against their wills.
  • 2007 they were relaesed from jail. Praise Jesus for the early release of Rebekka, Ratna and Eti are now reunited with their families. During their time in prison, they did not waste their time but openly witnessed to the other prisoners and the prison staff. It is reported that they “transformed” the prison, cleaning and scrubbing the cells, working in the garden and painting a room for use as a church. Praise God for how He turned what the devil intended for evil, into something that furthered His kingdom for His glory!

[edit] Mission

  • Give thanks that the harsh extremism of Islamists has repelled many moderate Muslims and the legalisms of Islam, such as forbidding the eating of pork, has made Christianity more attractive to animists.
  • The creeping Islamization of Indonesia is eroding the long-prevailing communal tolerance and religious freedom. Pray for the frustration of these plans, discrediting of Muslim extremism and a re-examination by many Muslims of their own religion in the light of Scripture. Pray that Muslims may seek true relationship with God through Christ.

[edit] Broadcasting

[edit] Cross-cultural Work

  • These organisations send out workers to other countries, mainly to places, where the Gospel is not much known.
  • Sending WEC INDONESIA member of WEC International, concentrating sending out church planters to Least-Reached abroad, contact: E-mail: indosb@linkmail.org.
  • Navigators Indonesia, contact: setyabudi@livingoutthecore.net.
  • Badan Pengutus Lintas Budaya (BPLB) - OMF International - sends out workers to East Asian countries: contact e-mail: <hardvoice@gmail.com>

[edit] Councils and Networks

[edit] Future Trends

[edit] For More Reading

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