Indonesian mob tries to shut church in West Java city

Jakarta, Indonesia - About 50 members of a hardline Indonesian Islamic group attempted to close down a church in a residential area near the West Java city of Bandung but were foiled by police, a report said Sunday.

The group from Forum of Islamic Ulema (FUUI) gathered at a local mosque on Satruday before marching to a house used by a protestant sect in Arjasari, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) south of Bandung, the Jakarta Post reported.

When their request that the church operated by the Missionary Foundation of the Bread of Life close was refused, the crowd began pelting the house, the report said.

Police put a stop to the violence by threatening to arrest the FUUI members, it said.

West Java has seen a series of attacks on churches in the past year, with the Jakarta Post saying that Muslim hardliners had targeted around 30 churches in the province.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim nation with over 90 percent of its population of 220 million following Islam. The law regards all religions as equal.