She said IWCNZ has been engaging with both the previous and current government for several years, asking for support.

Rahman said she did not think the council's concerns had been taken seriously.

"We hear so much about immigration policy and who's coming into this country and so much of that is targeted against our community and we know that our community is discriminated against because of fears of terrorism.

"Why was this person not monitored? I think the government needs to come back and engage with us, and let us know what they're going to do, when and how, and it needs to be community-based and community-led.

"About five years ago, the IWCNZ wrote a comprehensive report on the problems we were facing and sent it to the Ministry of Social Development.

"We pushed, but as far as we know, nothing concrete was done with that report," said Rahman.

She said they had received no significant funding.

"At least five years of solid government engagement took place across a National-led and then a Labour-led government.

"We begged and pleaded, we demanded.

"We knocked on every door we could, we spoke at every forum we were invited to."

The IWCNZ and other Mulsim organisations have repeatedly expressed their concerns:

• In October 2016 with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS)
• In December 2016 when the then race relations commissioner Dame Susan Devoy convened a meeting with Muslim women
• In January 2017 with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
• In March 2017 the Human Rights Commission and the State Services Commission organised a full-day meeting with heads of government
• In August 2017 with the Department of Internal Affairs in Hamilton
• With the Department of Internal Affairs and Office of Ethnic Communities over the next few months
• In January 2018 with DIA, OEC and two government ministers from the new government
• In February 2018 at a major security conference

Listen to Catherine Ryan interview

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• thespinoff.co.nz
• Image: radionz.co.nz

All the religious sites are in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province in Sumatra where sharia law is implemented.

"Priests were forced to sign a document agreeing to stop religious activities [in their churches] because they don't have building permits," said Veryanto Sitohang, chairman of the Alliance of United North Sumatra, a human rights group.

"We were informed that intimidation was exercised when these signings took place," he told ucanews.com.

Theophilus Bela, chairman of Jakarta Christian Communication Forum, told The Jakarta Globe that priests were forced to sign a statement to close their churches.

Officials from the province that applies Shariah law supposedly made the demands in a meeting that was attended by several Islamic organizations, including the Islamic Defenders Front.

"It's a blatant act of intolerance," Theophilus said.

The churches closed include buildings belonging to the Indonesian Bethel Church, the Pentecost Church and the Indonesian Christian Church.

Sitohang said all the congregations had met the requirements of a 2006 decree from the religious affairs and home ministries as well as a 2007 regulation set by the governor.

"But it seems the local authorities didn't want them to obtain a building permit," he said.

The 2006 decree states that any religious community not part of the local majority must have at least 90 congregation members and approval from at least 60 people from other religious communities to build a place of worship.

The governor's regulation, however, says congregations must number at least 150 people and approval must come from at least 120 people from other religious communities.

"Such requirements for minority groups are, of course, very difficult to meet since almost 98 percent of people living in the province are Muslims," Sitohang said.

Sources

• UCA News
• The Jakarta Globe
• Image: Quite Normal Blog