Muslim-Christian co-operation in Jakarta.

Java -- On January 14, 2005, Fr. Thomas Harsidiyono was killed in Java in an apparent robbery attempt.

Over 40 Catholic and Protestant houses of worship, mostly in West Java, have been burned down by Muslim extremists, or closed by local authorities, during 2005, usually in response to complaints from Muslim hard-liners about the presence and activities of Christians.

Despite these closings, thousands of Catholics were able to attend Christmas services at schools and other buildings owned by Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization. Din Syamsuddin, who chairs Muhammadiyah, extended the offer during a gathering of religious leaders at the organization's headquarters in downtown Jakarta. The gathering was arranged in order to send a message of peace to religious worshippers across the country ahead of the three major holidays: Christmas, New Year's Day, and the Islamic Day of Sacrifice on January 10.

To prevent a repeat of the bloody events of Christmas Eve in 2000, when bombs rocked 29 churches in and around Jakarta, killing 19 people, Din asked Muslim youth  organizations to help guard churches across the country (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 22, 2005). Still, on December 31, 2005, a bomb exploded at a crowded Christian market in Palu, in central Sulawesi, killing seven people and wounding 53. The reason: the selling of pork, forbidden to Muslims.