Mob Attacks Boarding House at Indonesian Theological School

(Compass) – An angry mob has twice attacked a boarding house at a theological school in Pulo village, Makasar district, east Jakarta , causing more than $10,000 in damage. The Arastamar Theological School ’s boarding house served students from other provinces. The mob included members of the Front Pembela Islam (FPI or Islamic Defender’s Front); the FPI had accused the school of building a church. Local eyewitnesses say government officials accompanied the unruly crowd that attacked without advance warning. When the mob attacked a second time, students were able to turn them away. Local Muslim leaders such as Habib Hussin, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia , have objected to the presence of the school, despite every attempt by school management to meet legal requirements.