Religious Affairs Ministry Offices Can be Used for Temporary Worship Places

Author: Andree Nizar
November 28, 2023

Kantor Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. Photo : Kabar24

SEAToday.com, Jakarta - The Religious Affairs Minister, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, issued Circular Letter (SE) Number 11 of 2023 regarding the utilization of Religious Affairs Ministry offices as temporary houses of worship on Thursday, (11/16). This circular is issued to all provincial and regency/city regional head offices of the Religious Affairs Ministry in Indonesia.

Head of the Religious Affairs Ministry's Religious Tolerance Agency, Wawan Djunaedi, said on Tuesday (11/21) that there are still religious people who have not conducted worship in an orderly, comfortable, and safe manner. This is due to the unavailability of places of worship, resistance from the community, or lack of facilities from local governments, so the Religious Affairs Ministry provides these facilities.

However, there are several requirements that must be fulfilled, such as preparing worship equipment independently, determining the duration of each worship activity for a maximum of 2 hours, submitting an application to the local office of the Head of Religious Affairs Ministry, and others.