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Vol. XVIII x No. 7 AUGUST 2006 |
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Asia is the continent where a great majority of states apply laws that limit religious freedom, and where the highest number of people sees this fundamental right violated. It ranges from the death penalty, for those who change religion, to the demand for registration for all or some faiths; from prison, for those who do not adhere to the State religion, to the requirement to form part of particular “national associations”; from a ban on wearing religious symbols to having to dress according to codes of the State religion. Abuses, repression, violence… once again, freedom of worship was widely violated across the world in 2005. It is a reality that – albeit significant differences – impinges upon all continents. Direct sources of information, testimonies, official documents, press articles and news supplied by several human rights organizations, contribute to the drawing up of the 2006 report, which is the work of the Italian Section of “Aid to the Church in Need.” The 2006 report reveals that the global situation of religious freedom is still extremely delicate. But Asia is the continent where a great majority of states apply laws that limit religious freedom in several ways, and also where the highest number of people sees this right violated. China weighs heavily on this painful record, thanks to laws obliging believers to subscribe to specific government-controlled associations, and which allow for the use of all sorts of abuse against those who are not members: arrests; tortures; at times, death; and destruction and sale of sacred buildings. But religious freedom is violated not only in the world’s most populated country, but also in the one which ranks second – India. Here, a gradual restricting of spaces of freedom is under way, with growing Hindu nationalism that, on the one hand, increases attacks against Christians (there have been deaths, too) and, on the other, promotes “anti-conversion” laws that destroy freedom. But restrictions of varying degrees of severity, legal or de facto, also exist in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, North Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Laos, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Palestinian territories, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. The terrorism threat A chapter was dedicated wholly, in Asia, to the threat of terrorism that pushes many Christians to choose the path of exile in the West. This was the case in Iraq, where between August and October 2004 alone, between 10,000 and 40,000 Christians left the country, and in Palestine, where there is a high risk of extinction of Catholic communities of the Eastern Rite. Equally worrying is the situation in Indonesia, where Islamic terrorism and extremism, embedded in local political conflicts and personal interests, represent a real obstacle to guarantees of freedom of worship. At the end of 2005, sources within the Jakarta public security services warned of the presence of at least 3,000 Indonesians ready to undertake terrorist and suicide attacks across the archipelago. In Africa, too, although the situation has eased with the end of some civil wars, the worst waves of violence took place in Angola, Ivory Coast and Sudan while the conflict in Uganda continues. Radical Islam is on the rise in some countries, bringing with it considerable restraints on religious freedom. The current situation in Somalia is extremely worrying, as are the tormented country’s prospects. If, on the one hand, some states like Morocco and Tunisia have introduced principles promoting tolerance, Algeria has passed a law punishing conversions from Islam, and in Egypt, the clash between fundamentalist Muslims and Coptic Christians appears to be taking root. There are difficult, but not dramatically so, situations in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria and Rwanda. In America, meanwhile, apart from Cuba, where political limitations are still imposed, there are no serious problems regarding religious freedom. In some states, life proved difficult at a number of levels for religious groups defending and promoting human rights. This happened in Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica and Mexico. Even Europe was not completely exempted from concerns about respect for religious freedom. Here problems arise, above all, from the spread of a secular attitude and a “monitoring” approach towards religion pervading some states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. This last group includes Belorussia, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldava and Russia, although possibilities of positive developments could be discerned in the last. Turkey is a unique case: its desire to join the European Community is pushing the authorities to take steps towards ensuring respect for religious freedom. But much remains to be done, not least at the level of civil society, where signs of penetration of Islamic extremism can be seen, as revealed by the murder of the Italian missionary, Fr Michele Santoro. <WM / www.asianews.it A guarantee of development and democracy Guaranteeing religious freedom is a condition for the growth of democracy and economic development. This was the main message that emerged during the presentation of the eighth report on religious freedom drawn up by the Italian Section of “Aid to the Church in Need.” Magdi Allam, a Muslim journalist of Egyptian origin, said the report revealed the state of the wider, most invoked political freedom and freedom of expression. He said: “The reason for this is that religious freedom incarnates transcendental values that are the bases of faiths and of our humanity: the sacredness of life and human dignity. But also of democracy. If it is violated, whether by theocratic regimes, or by Communists or by formally democratic governments, then even wider political freedom is diminished.” This is why Allam considers the report as an indicative “reflection of the absence of wider freedoms.” And in fact, the report reveals a critical situation in 2005, especially in the Asian continent, where religious persecution particularly targets Christians but does not spare Muslims – witness Iraq or Pakistan. In his intervention, which was focused on China, Fr. Cervellera, director of Asia News, said: “Religious freedom is the litmus paper of the development of a country… In China, there is a great transformation under way, not only social but also religious,” he continued. “Whoever is thinking of securing economic ties with China and other countries, like Saudi Arabia, by putting the need for respect for religious freedom in brackets, is heading for a big disaster.” The missionary said: “Respect for religious freedom is held to be a threat for the country’s stability, however it is a necessary condition to guarantee development of democracy and the economy in China, where disdain for human life generates dangerous social tensions and is destined to blow up.” Among instruments that may be used to exert pressure on governments in a bid to nudge them towards effective religious freedom, Fr. Cervellera, in tune with Magdi Allam, indicated mass media. The two journalists launched an appeal to the media: “Tell the truth, denounce with courage and honesty episodes of persecution and violence”, keeping attention focused on the problem, without taking refuge behind what is politically correct. One case in point is news circulating about the unofficial bishop of Zhengding, Msgr. Giulio Jia Zhiguo. Some information agencies said he had been freed from prison. In reality, the bishop, who is very ill, was merely accompanied by public security officials to a hospital, where he was guarded by six policemen day and night. Magdi Allam recalled some examples pertaining to the situation in Iraq, where innocent local civilians were killed but those who carried out the acts did not qualify as “terrorists,” the preferred term for them was “insurgents.” <WM (www.asianews.it) Copyright © 2003-2006 World Mission Magazine |
The
worst in religious freedom