Wounding charity and charity diplomacy: the dynamics of Mormon Christian charity in Indonesia

Interreligious aid is a contentious issue in Indonesia. Muslim recipients feel compromised when receiving Christian charity as such aid creates uncomfortable indebtedness. This tension is further complicated by a history of antagonistic relationships between Christians and Muslims. This article attempts to delve deeper into these complexities by focusing on the case of Mormon Christian charity. In practice, Mormon Christian charity creates a peculiar field of interplay between donors, recipients, and mediators. By attending to what it refers to as wounding charity and charity diplomacy, this article explores the relationships that emerge from Mormon Christian charitable endeavors—how such aid can be both valuable and wounding for communities and how it becomes a means of making connections for a religious minority group which is under close scrutiny.