An Indonesian city administration official talks to priests of the Batak Christian Protestant Church in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia. — Photo by AP

JAKARTA: Indonesian Christians appealed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for protection on Monday after Muslim vigilante groups, backed by police, surrounded their homes and forced them to leave.

More than 100 members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) were forced to evacuate seven houses in Rancaekek Wetan village outside Jakarta on Sunday as Muslims staged angry protests over unauthorised religious services.

The Christians say they have been forced to hold services inside their homes because the local government has repeatedly knocked back and ignored requests to approve a church or authorise another venue for their place of worship.

The protesters included members of violent vigilante groups which have close ties to the security forces in the Muslim-majority country.

“The situation was quite tense yesterday. If we didn't ask them (the Christians) to leave, there would have been bad consequences. We tried to avoid any destruction or physical attacks,” local police chief Hendro Pandowo said.

“They don't have any permit to use the houses as places of worship. We can't arrest (the Muslims) as they got a permit to hold the protest.”

“If the place was legally designated as a church, we'd provide security protection. Otherwise, we can't do much as it's against the law.”

HKBP Reverend Hutagalung said the Christians would continue to worship in their houses and urged Yudhoyono to uphold religious freedoms enshrined in the country's constitution.

“We'll continue to worship there whatever the consequences,” he told AFP.

“We want President Yudhoyono to give us a guarantee that we'll be able to practise our faith freely without any intimidation from other groups.”

Sunday's incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between Protestants and Muslims in the Bandung and Bekasi areas near Jakarta in recent months, including the stabbing and beating up of church leaders.

The unresolved tensions — and Yudhoyono's failure to rein in violent extremist groups — have undermined the country's reputation for tolerance which US President Barack Obama held up as “Indonesia's example to the world” during a visit in October.