Indonesian Police Foil Planned ISIS Attack on Pope Francis

Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar (L) shakes hands with Pope Francis after an interreligious meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on Sept. 5, 2024. Tiziana Fabi/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Indonesian police claim to have foiled a plot to assassinate Pope Francis during his visit to Jakarta, which they characterised as “an attempted attack.”

Seven people have been detained after a raid on the home of one suspect by Indonesia’s national police anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, which allegedly found bows and arrows, a drone, and ISIS propaganda materials on Sept. 6.

The suspects are being referred to only by their initials: HFP, LB, DF, FA, HS, ER, and RS. They come from various regions, including Bangka Belitung, West Sumatra, Jakarta, and West Java.

Colonel Aswin Siregar, a spokesperson for Detachment 88, said authorities have yet to determine if they belong to an organised terrorist cell.

While many details are still being withheld, police sources say the suspects were angered by the Pope’s scheduled visit to the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, and by the government’s request to suspend the public broadcasting of the Islamic call to prayer during the visit.

Threats on Social Media

The evidence against the men alleges HFP called for documenting and studying the security protocols at Istiqlal Mosque before the Pope’s visit, and planned to send somebody to the mosque to check in person.

LB allegedly uploaded a threatening picture of a bomb in the comment section of an Indonesian news site’s Instagram post about the Pope’s arrival.

DF made a post about carrying out an attack during Pope Francis’ visit, while FA used social media to provoke people to burn down places of worship or churches during the Pope’s visit.

HS posted a threatening comment on the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia’s YouTube channel, saying, “I WILL BOMB THE POPE. I’M A TERRORIST. BE VIGILANT. WAIT FOR NEWS.”

ER, who had publicly pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014, posted on Facebook “BBBOOOMMM...!!!” in response to an item on the Pope’s mosque visit.

The most direct threat came from RS, who used TikTok to say “I’m at the [Presidential] Palace, going to shoot the Pope.”

Multi-Faith Nation

Pope Francis arrived in Jakarta on Sept. 3 for a three-day stay, part of his 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region.

His visit to the mosque passed without incident, and he was warmly welcomed by Istiqlal’s grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, and representatives from Indonesia’s six officially recognised religions—Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

Indonesia is a predominantly Islamic country, where 87 percent of the population identifies as Muslim and about 10 percent as Christian.

The majority of Muslims are Sunnis—a proportion the Pew Research Center estimates as high as 99 percent. The small Shia minority resides mainly in Jakarta.

Catholics make up about 3 percent of the population, with Protestants accounting for 7 percent.

The country has long celebrated its religious tolerance, enshrined in its constitution as Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). In recent years, it has seen a rise in Islamic religious conservatism, raising concerns about the decline of the country’s multi-faith tradition.