SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – Muslims in Indonesia on Sunday (Dec. 8) prevented Christians from holding a Christmas service at a pastor’s home, sources said.

At the Cipta Graha Permai housing complex on Tegar Beriman street in Cibinong, West Java Province, Muslim residents blocked the road to the house of the pastor of the Pentecostal Church in Indonesia (GPdI) Tegar Beriman, keeping church members from attending a Christmas service, according to local media citing a video on an X post by John Sitorus (@JhonSitorus_18).

The Muslims claimed the site was not officially approved by the government, but church Pastor Nicky Jefta Makary said he had given prior notice of the 3 p.m. Christmas service to the neighborhood association, the head of the residents’ association, the local police chief and a Military Unit Command, according to news outlet Kilat.com.

A meeting in a private home does not require permission in Indonesia, and Pastor Nicky said he knew the regulations governing Christmas services.

“I remind you that this country is a country that upholds human rights,” he told Kilat.com. “Why are we being hindered, when we want to do something good?”

After tense conversations with the local officials, the pastor changed the venue for the Christmas service to an open field in front of the Cipta Graha Permai Housing marketing office, but the residents also blocked them from accessing the new site by installing an iron bar at the entrance of the complex….