Christians in Indonesia will now be officially permitted to use the Indonesian term "Yesus Kristus" for Jesus Christ during major Christian holidays, marking a departure from the imposed use of the Arabic term "Isa al Masih" since 1953. This milestone comes after a Christian congregation's lengthy struggle to secure a building permit since 2018.

The breakthrough was formalized in January through a joint decree signed by three government ministers: Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah, Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Abdullah Azwar Anas, and Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Quomas. President Joko Widodo publicly supported the change when he announced this year's annual holidays, opting for "Yesus Kristus" instead of “Isa al Masih.”

Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Saiful Rahmat Dasuki clarified that Indonesian Christians had actively sought this nomenclature change for the commemoration of Jesus Christ's birth, death, and ascension. However, the article questions why successive Indonesian governments maintained the unnecessary and oppressive requirement on terminology for over six decades.

In daily religious practices, including Sunday services, Indonesian Christians typically used the Indonesian term rather than the Arabic one, underscoring the government's unreasonable insistence on the latter during festivities. The decision to lift this requirement addresses the longstanding grievances of the Christian community.

Indonesia houses two major Bible publishing houses, the Indonesia Bible Society and the Indonesian Biblical Institute, both translating the Christian Bible into hundreds of ethnic languages alongside Indonesian. Despite the government's previous stance, these publishers have consistently used the term “Yesus Kristus.”

Gomar Gultom, the chairman of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, expressed gratitude to the government for "ending the confusion" surrounding the use of different names for Jesus Christ. This move potentially signifies the government's increasing recognition of freedom of religion and belief, with the hope that it sets the stage for more comprehensive reforms protecting religious rights for all.

BOB Post