ABSTRACT
The case study in this chapter, the first of three in this book, focuses on one particular court case that arose in the Indramayu District Court, West Java. It analyses the Indramayu Religion Education Case, in which two Christian teachers and their pastor were found guilty on charges of proselytization under Law 23/2002 on Child Protection. This case is significant because it is the first case in Indonesia in which Christians have been charged and found guilty of the criminal act of deceiving Muslim children to change their religion.1 I use this case to examine how fears of Christian proselytization through institutions such as Christian schools and hospitals are being perpetuated through laws and their interpretation in the courts. I analyze the debate on religious education, and demonstrate how the policy of segregated religious education was extended from public to private schools. Compliance with the new Education Law has varied, however, as a range of new approaches to religious education has emerged. I then turn to the second aspect of the case, child protection, and explore
the implications of the new criminal offence of deceiving a child to change his or her religion. Finally, I look at some of the particular issues of fact, evidence and interpretation that were debated in the Indramayu Religious Education Case, in which three Christian women were convicted for the criminal offence of deceiving Muslim children to change their religion. This case is an example of the influence of radical Islamic leaders at the local level, who lodged criminal allegations with the police concerning Christian proselytization. Combined with the intimidation tactics of radical Islamic groups, these allegations contributed lead to convictions in the local court.
