Another Muslim Who Gave Life For Christians

Late Riyanto Sukarmin and the uniform he was wearing

Islam is arguably the most scorned faith on earth largely due to all the  misinformation that have made the rounds since the turn of the 20th century demonizing the faith. Though, the actions of some Muslims have contributed. 

Arguably, the most proliferated misconception about Islam is that it preaches hate for members of other faiths. This has been refuted by several feats of heroics by Muslims with non Muslims being the beneficiaries.

On 10th December, a Twitter account, @KatolikG, inspired by comedy account @NUgarislucu, set up a fundraising effort for a martyr named Riyanto Sukarmin. Riyanto was killed by a bomb in Indonesia on the Christmas Eve of 2000 (December 24th).

On Christmas Eve in 2000, a series of explosions occurred in Indonesia as part of a large-scale terrorist attack by Al Qaeda and their allies. 

The attack involved a series of coordinated bombings of churches in Mojokerto, Mataram, Pekanbaru, Batam Island, Sukabumi, Bandung, Medan and the capital Jakarta. The bombings killed 18 people and injured many others.

Riyanto was a member of the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU), Banser. 

He and four of his companions had gone out to protect Christian sites as all was in full gear for the Christmas celebrations when they got a call about a suspicious package at the Eben Haezer Church in Mojokerto, East Java. 

On getting there, they opened the package and found that it was a time bomb. They tried to evacuate the Church of worshipers but realized that the bomb was set to go off at any moment. That was when Riyanto showed what he was made of. 

He told his colleagues to back away from the bomb and take cover; he then lay down on the bomb covering it with his body till it exploded. It tore his body apart. 

Born on October 19th 1975, Riyanto was the eldest of seven children born to Sukarmin and Katinem (his parents). His remains were buried at the  Pra Pvtkulon cemetery in Mojokerto. 

The fundraiser was able to raise Rp 106 million (US$7,604), though the initial target was Rp 50 million.

Another group of Muslim duplicated this feat in Kenya on December 20th 2016. Read the story here. 

Imam Abubakar Abdullahi

On July 17th 2019, a Muslim cleric in Nigeria, 83 year old Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, was awarded the International Religious Freedom Award prize in America for protecting 262 Christians by hiding them in his house and mosque when their village came under attack by armed herders.