UPGs
Reach Out to
Java Pesisir Lor
By EunBin Cho
The
Java Pesisir Lor is an Indonesian
sub–ethnic group under the main group of Javanese.
Although they speak Javanese, they are very direct
and aggressive unlike the rest of the reserved and
easy-going Javanese. Their population of 34,074,000
live in small cities of Central Java, West Java, and
Southwest Java. They build bamboo-framed houses
and modern brick homes side by side, which form a
closely connected community.
The 97.20 % of the Java Pesisir Lor practice Sunni
Islam. Therefore, they put priority in reading their
Qur’an, which is believed to be a revelation from
God. There are two distinct groups among these
Muslims: the mystic “abangan’ and the orthodox
“santri.” The mystic Muslims perform religious ritual,
“Selametan Rasulan,” to earn favor and receive
blessings from Mohammed and other spirits. In
contrast, Orthodox Muslims mediate Sheik Abdul
Kadir Jaelani’s holy book, Manaqib, in order to earn
favor.
This region with highly populated Muslims is part
of the 10/40 Window, the area that includes majority
of world’s Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists and high
concentration of UPG’s. Among the Java Pesisir Lor
people, only 2.80% define themselves as Christians.
This small group of people face persecution from
their world. Because there are very few missionaries
in the region, the progress of the Christian mission is
very slow. Although some evangelical resources are
available, active church planting has been banned in
the past years.
We live in the same island, Java, with the Java Pesisir
Lor people. However, most of us are not aware of
these unreached people and the persecuted Christians.
Because Jesus gave us the mission to go out and make
disciples of all nations, we have the responsibility to
reach out to these people. Though not everyone is
available to move into the mission field and spread the
gospel, every one can pray for these people,
because prayer is the way that every single Christian
can get involved in mission. We should pray that the
Holy Spirit will reveal himself to many Muslims
through the few Christians and missionaries in the
area; and that God will strengthen and bless these
persecuted Christians.
Source : http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=12334&rog3=ID
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