BANDA ACEH - With flickering candles and the sound of organs, hundreds of Catholics held a muted Christmas Eve mass in Indonesia's Aceh province, the only one under ultraconservative Islamic law in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Christmas decorations are not allowed on the streets of Aceh -- the only Indonesian province to implement strict Sharia law that includes punishments like flogging -- where 98 percent are Muslim and just 6,000 Catholics live.
The Sacred Heart Catholic Church, built almost 100 years ago by Dutch colonial rulers and the only one in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, was allowed to hold a ceremony Tuesday evening for a crowd of 500 faithful.
"I don't find any difficulty in terms of relationship with believers of other religions. So far, the religious tolerance here is excellent," the church's pastor, Father Agustinus Padang, told AFP.
Aceh has been widely criticised by rights groups for punishments of moral offences under the strict law, such as public canings for alleged adultery.
But the province's special autonomy excludes non-Muslims from those, and Catholicism is one of the nominally secular country's six official religions.
The church, located in the heart of the city and a stone's throw away from the grand mosque, is bare of any Christmas ornaments on its exterior.
A tight security presence of more than a dozen police and soldiers was also visible because of several attacks against Christians in Indonesia in recent years.
But inside the colonial-style church, worshippers celebrated with a tall Christmas tree, fairy lights, and a choir singing the Indonesian version of "Holy Night".
The sound of the Islamic call to prayer echoed around the church while preparations were underway for the Christmas celebration.
Catholics in the city prefer a muted celebration that focuses on self-reflection, so Christmas paraphernalia was only put up 24 hours before the big day, according to church administrator Baron Ferryson Pandiangan.
"Catholics in Banda Aceh assimilate well with other religions, despite the rules that Aceh must be managed with Islamic sharia law. It doesn't bother us at all," Pandiangan said.
There are only 19 Catholic churches in Aceh, while Protestants have more than 180 churches.