The Indonesian government will no longer use, in Bahasa, Indonesia’s national language, the term “Isa Al-Masih,” a word of Arabic origin, to refer to Jesus Christ and Christian holidays. An end will thus be put to the decades-long practice of using the term routinely used by believers of the Islamic religion, who draw from the Arabic terminology in the Quran. Beginning in 2024, public institutions will use the term “Yesus Kristus in both documents and speeches,” which baptized Indonesians of all denominations use in their prayers and liturgies. “There will be a change in nomenclature, as far as the names of holidays are concerned, in accordance with the Minister for Religious Affairs,” said the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, in recent days, reporting that “the name Isa Al-Masih will be changed to Yesus Kristus.” The deputy minister for religious affairs, Saiful Rahmat, specified that the change was requested by representatives of Indonesian Christians.
The measure has generated mixed reactions and opinions in the public, which have also emerged in the Indonesian media. According to some Christians, it is the right decision because, in Christian liturgies the word “Isa Al-Masih” is never used, but “Yesus Kristus” is used. According to others, the change was unnecessary because “people already know that saying Isa Al masih refers to Jesus Christ, and the name is interchangeable.”