IRFN (Sep. 13-20): North Korean Army Seeks to Eradicate the "Cancer" of Religion

Sep 18, 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. Fifth Jehovah's Witness Sentenced in Turkmenistan (Sep. 13)
2. North Korean Army Seeks to Eradicate the "Cancer" of Religion (Sep. 13)
3. Belarus: Baptist Fined for Organizing Church Activities (Sep. 14)
4. Malaysian State Set to Monitor Muslims During Ramadan (Sep. 16)
5. Schoolchildren in Indonesia Forced to Wear Islamic Dress (Sep. 17)
6. Restrictions on Religious Practice Increase in Uzbekistan (Sep. 17

Features:
The US State Department's office of International Religious Freedom releases its 2007 report, citing major concerns about Iraq and Afghanistan. The full report can be read on the State Department's website.

China Aid Association reports that Cai Zhuohua, a Chinese house church pastor, has been released from jail after serving a three-year sentence for printing and distributing Bibles and other religious materials. While in prison, Cai spent 10 to 12 hours a day making sports equipment that will be used in the 2008 Olympics.

1. Fifth Jehovah's Witness Sentenced in Turkmenistan
September 13
Ashgabad, Turkmenistan
Forum 18 reports that on September 12, the Azatlyk District Court in Ashgabad handed down a two-year suspended sentence to Begench Shakhmuradov, a Jehovah's Witness who had refused to perform compulsory military service. Shakhmuradov, the fifth Jehovah's Witness to receive such a punishment in recent months, was sentenced to a year in prison in 2005 for his refusal to serve in the military. The conditions of his current sentence are unknown, but will likely include having to report to the police on a regular basis and restricted travel and movement.

2. North Korean Army Seeks to Eradicate the "Cancer" of Religion
September 13
North Korea
AsiaNews reports that the North Korean army, worried that its soldiers are displaying an interest in religion, has distributed a booklet entitled "Saving Our Soldiers from the Threat of Religion". The pamphlet aims to "eradicate [religion] without delay" as religion is "spreading like a cancer inside North Korea's armed forces". The book identifies religion as something embraced by North Korea's enemies, and regards belief as a "poison that corrupts socialism and paralyses class consciousness." Those who wish to publicly practice their religions in North Korea must join religious organizations controlled by the communist party, and worship of the current leader, Kim Jong-Il, and his father, Kim Il-Sung, is encouraged.

3. Belarus: Baptist Fined for Organizing Church Activities
September 14
Brest, Belarus
Forum 18 reports that officials in Belarus have fined Viktor Orekhov a sum amounting to nearly two weeks' wages as a punishment for "the creation or leadership of a religious organization without state registration", a charge which Orekhov denies. Orekhov, a Baptist, had helped to set up a summer camp for children on private land in Brest, a south-western region of Belarus, after the Baptist community was barred from renting public facilities as it had in previous years. Officials defended the fine as "lenient", asking, "What European country would tolerate a group of people doing what they like, completely ignoring the state and law?"

4. Malaysian State Set to Monitor Muslims During Ramadan
September 16
Kelantan, Malaysia
Reuters reports that the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), the hardline Islamic party which governs the northern Malaysian state of Kelantan, has established patrols in the state during the month of Ramadan to ensure that Muslims keep the fast and refrain from smoking and drinking. Ten plainclothes officers will be dispatched to monitor food outlets, where those who are caught breaking the fast will be fined 20 ringgit ($6). Vendors caught selling food to Muslims during daylight hours, on the other hand, will be fined up to 500 ringgit ($144).

5. Schoolchildren in Indonesia Forced to Wear Islamic Dress
September 17
Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia
AsiaNews reports that schoolgirls in the northern part of Sumatra are being forced to wear the Islamic headscarf in state schools, regardless of their religious affiliation. Most recently, in Padang, two girls from a Catholic family were asked by their teacher to return to school with a jilbab, the Indonesian version of the headscarf. Since 2002, nineteen Indonesian states have implemented norms which were intended only for Muslims, but have eventually been applied to the population at large. Since that time, several non-Muslim students have reported being pressured by their teachers into wearing the headscarf to school.

6. Restrictions on Religious Practice Increase in Uzbekistan
September 17
Uzbekistan
Forum 18 reports that restrictions on religious practice have increased in Uzbekistan, including restrictions on Muslim prayer since the holy month of Ramadan began on September 13. In various areas across the country, authorities have confiscated religious literature and attempted to close places of worship, and in the Karakalpakstan region in northwest Uzbekistan, all non-Muslim and non-Russian Orthodox religious activity continues to be banned.