Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on all government members and the community to prevent violence against any faith, saying that the state guaranteed every citizen religions freedom.

The president has ordered minister of religious affairs and head of local administrations to quickly find a solution to the closure of Christian houses of worship, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said in a statement on Sunday.

"The state guarantees the freedom of its citizens to practice their religion and also guarantees that they can conduct religious rituals," Andi quoted the President as saying.

Around 90 percent of Indonesia's population of some 220 million follow Islam but the Constitution guarantees equal status to all state-recognized religions.

Commenting on reports of forcible closures of 23 Christian churches in the staunchly Muslim provinces of West Java and Banten in recent months, the President warned organizations and members of the community not to take the law into their own hands, either in regard to their own religion or to that of others, Jakarta Post daily reported on Monday.

The National Police chief has been instructed to enforce the law against perpetrators of the closures of churches, including the actors behind them.

Thousands of Christians and a number of leading Muslim figures,including former president Abdurrahman Wahid, rallied on Saturday to protest the closures.

Source: Xinhua