Aug 29, 2007
International Religious Freedom Archive
If you would like to sign up to have these weekly newsletters delivered straight to your e-mail inbox, click here.
1. Canada: Mennonite School, Curriculum Questioned by Authorities (Aug. 22)
2. China: Bishop Arrested for Distributing Pope's Letter (Aug. 23)
3. Eritrea Demands Control of Church-Run Social Services (Aug. 23)
4. Iranian Students Charged with Insulting Sacred Values (Aug. 24)
5. Uzbekistan: Raids on Unregistered Baptist Community (Aug. 24)
6. Iran: More Evidence for Discrimination Against Bahá'ís (Aug. 27)
7. Austrian Politician Proposes Ban on Mosques, Minarets (Aug. 27) 8. Kazakhstan: Raids on Grace Presbyterian Churches (Aug. 28)
Features:
Turkmenistan improves on issues of religious freedom, but concerns still remain, from Reuters
1. Canada: Mennonite School, Curriculum Questioned by Authorities
August 22
Roxton Falls, Quebec
Today's Family News reports that Quebec's only Mennonite community has opted to leave its eastern Canadian town of Roxton Falls rather than send its children to state-run schools after the education ministry deemed the Mennonite school in the area was operating illegally. In its decision, the Ministry cited that the school lacked a permit, hired uncertified teachers and deviated from the standard curriculum. The Mennonite community, for its part, has said that it would not send its children to schools that teach evolution, acceptance of alternative lifestyles, and "low morality standards".
2. China: Bishop Arrested for Distributing Pope's Letter
August 23
Hebei, China
Asia News reports that Msgr. Julius Jia Zhiguo, a Catholic bishop of Hebei loyal to the Pope, has been arrested by members of the Chinese Religious Affairs Bureau in order to prevent him from distributing Pope Benedict's letter to Chinese Catholics and from organizing meetings in which he would have explained the letter's contents. In the time since the letter was published, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a religious organization tied to the Chinese government, has made a concerted effort to block access to the letter, by preventing access to websites that post it and prohibiting its distribution. The text of the letter can be read here.
3. Eritrea Demands Control of Church-Run Social Services
August 23
Asmara, Eritrea
Compass Direct reports that on August 16, the Eritrean government ordered two religious presences in the country, the Catholic Church and the Faith of Christ Church, to hand over control of all their "schools, clinics, orphanages and women's vocational training centers" to the government. Meanwhile, Christian minorities in the area continue to face problems at the hands of the authorities; on August 19, six men and four women from Asmara's Full Gospel Church were arrested by police and detained for "worshipping together".
4. Iranian Students Charged with Insulting Sacred Values
August 24
Tehran, Iran
Radio Free Europe reports that three of the eight students detained in March of this year, in connection with the publication of "impious" journals at Tehran's Amir Kabir University, are set to be formally charged with "muqaddasat", or "insulting sacred values". The three, Ahmad Qassaban, Ehsan Mansuri, and Majid Tavakkoli, have denied any involvement with the journals, and it is suspected that they were pressured to confess while in detention at Tehran's Evin prison. Their case will go to the Tehran Revolutionary court within the next few days.
To read a letter from the students' families detailing their treatment while in prison, please go here.
5. Uzbekistan: Raids on Unregistered Baptist Community
August 24
Khalkabad, Eastern Namangan Region, Uzbekistan
Forum 18 reports that on July 29 and again on August 5, police conducted a raid on a Baptist service being held at the home of Nikolai Zulfikarov. Though Zulfikarov was only present for the second raid, prosecutors have filed a criminal case against him for "illegally organizing a religious community", an offense for which he could face up to five years in prison. The Khalkabad congregation, affiliated with the Council of Churches Baptists, has refused to register on the grounds that registration leads to unwanted state interference in their religious affairs.
6. Iran: More Evidence for Discrimination Against Bahá'ís
August 27
Iran
Bahá'í World News Service reports that another letter instructing government officials to keep Bahá'í students out of Iran's educational system has come to light, this time with explicit instructions to bar Bahá'ís from access to higher education. A copy of the 2006 letter, signed by the director general of the Central Security Office of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, states that universities must expel their Bahá'í students as soon as their religious affiliation becomes known, whether this should occur prior to enrollment or during the course of the student's program. Please visit the link for examples of other letters and directives from the Iranian government which relate to Bahá'í students in Iran.
7. Austrian Politician Proposes Ban on Mosques, Minarets
August 27
Catinthia, Austria
Reuters reports that Joerg Haider, governor of the Austrian province of Carinthia, plans to ask Parliament to alter building laws with the goal of preventing mosques and minarets from being built in the province. Henceforth "religious and cultural tradition" would need to be considered before building plans would be approved, said Haider, who opposed the construction of minarets and mosques as "centers to advertise the power of Islam". A spokesman for Haider said there would be no plans to eliminate Muslim prayer rooms, however, as "Muslims of course have the right to practice their religion". As for mosques and minarets, Haider emphasized, "We don't want a clash of cultures and we don't want institutions which are alien to our culture being erected in Western Europe".
8. Kazakhstan: Raids on Grace Presbyterian Churches
August 28
Kazakhstan
Forum 18 reports that the Grace Presbyterian Church recently suffered a 15-hour raid on its churches in various locations in Kazakhstan. On August 24, members of the National Security Committee, Kazakhstan's secret police, conducted a raid from 10 am to 1 am, beginning at Grace Presbyterian in Karaganda, where they removed documents and computers from the church and checked accounting records and literature. Members of the church who were present were not allowed to leave and were forced to write statements at the request of the authorities. Later, private homes affiliated with the community in Karaganda and a second church in the town of Oskemen were also searched, with similar items removed from the premises.