An anonymous blogger’s blasphemous website posting has led to an attack by Muslims on the Catholic-run School of St. Bellarminus located in Bekasi district, West Java. The angry mob wearing black and claiming to be members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) broke down the gate on the evening of May 6 and smashed the school’s windows, Marsel Jawa, the school’s security guard, told UCA News.
The unknown blogger published offensive statements about Islam in late April on a website purporting to belong to the school.
“Our school has become the victim of a false accusation written on a blog by an unknown person,” Sr Ignatio Nudek, who heads the Educational Foundation of St Bellarminus, told UCA News on May 7.
The offending article was accompanied by a photograph of the Qur’an in a toilet. The website was later blocked by authorities.
“This school does not have such blog. We never disgraced other religions. In fact we have Muslim students too,” the Follower of Jesus nun maintained.
The school reported the attacks to the police.
“Even though the blog has been blocked we want the police to soon investigate the case,” Sister Nudek said.
Three staffs of the school met with representatives of 40 Islamic organizations on April 26, after discovering the blog posting.
“During the meeting, they all understood that we are the victim of the false accusation,” the nun said.
Sr Nudek said the school had also sent official letters containing a clarification of the false accusation to Islamic organizations including FPI and the Forum of Muslims (FUI) as well as local religious leaders.
The school has also reported the attacks to the archdiocese of Jakarta and its commission for ecumenical and interreligious affairs.
“We want this case to be solved as soon as possible. We do not want to make other religious followers, especially Muslims, feel uneasy,” she said.
About 30 policemen remain on guard.
SIC: CTHAS