Muslims are helping protect Christians in Indonesia from terrorist attacks:
As church congregations offer up Christmas prayers here this weekend, thousands of Muslims will help keep the peace, standing guard outside. After warnings of terrorist attacks over Christmas, police stepped up security, deploying over 17,000 officers in Jakarta, two-thirds of the city's force. Joining them in protecting hundreds of churches are some 7,000 guards from 11 different Islam-linked organizations. Police are hoping "Operation Candle," which will run from Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, will be a symbol of goodwill between Christianity and Islam, ending a year that has seen many tests of Indonesia's religious harmony. It's part of a bid by authorities to move beyond physical security to include an ideological campaign against violent strains of Islam. "Having Muslims and Christians work together for security, the authorities are hoping to show that pluralism is still strong," says Sri Yunanto, an Indonesian expert on radical Islamist groups.Mashallah! Now this is what I like to see!