IRFN (Oct. 31-Nov. 7): Malaysia Demolishes Hindu Temple

Nov 7, 2007

International Religious Freedom Archive
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1. Transdniester Proposes 10-Year Waiting Period For Religious Registration (Oct. 31)
2. Pakistan: Police Reluctant to Register Crimes with Religious Elements (Nov. 2)
3. Kazakhstan: Ownership of Hare Krishna Farm Transferred to Private Individual (Nov. 2)
4. Malaysia Demolishes Hindu Temple (Nov. 2)
5. Egypt: Two Christians Acquitted of "Defaming Islam" (Nov. 4)
6. Changes Proposed for Uzbekistan's Current Religion Law (Nov. 5)
7. Pakistan: Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief Arrested (Nov. 7)

Features: Paul Marshall details the worsening situation for Iran's Bahá'í community, in The Weekly Standard

Christians continue to flee Iraq, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

1. Transdniester Proposes 10-Year Waiting Period For Religious Registration
October 31
Transdniester
Forum 18 reports that the Parliament of the as-yet-unrecognized state of Transdniester, located near Moldova, has recently proposed a new religion law, which if passed, would impose serious restrictions on the religious freedom of Transdniester's inhabitants. The draft of the law states that new religious communities would have to endure a 10-year waiting period to obtain legal status, during which time they would be unable to produce religious literature, set up educational institutes, or invite foreign religious workers.

2. Pakistan: Police Reluctant to Register Crimes with Religious Elements
November 2
Faisalabad, Pakistan
AsiaNews reports that an 18-year-old Christian girl was abducted and raped by a man who forced her to convert to Islam, but despite the gravity of the case, police in the area were reluctant to register a complaint, fearing repercussions because of the religious element of the attack. The girl, Razia, who was abducted on October 31, found her way back to her family ten days later and is currently receiving medical attention. Meanwhile, her attacker is still free.

3. Kazakhstan: Ownership of Hare Krishna Farm Transferred to Private Individual
November 2
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Forum 18 reports that the Kazakh government has finally succeeded in confiscating a farm owned by Kazakhstan's only Hare Krishna community, and has handed the rights to the land over to the person who sold the rights to the property in 1999. The Hare Krishna community believes that this move will make it more difficult for them to challenge the confiscation of their land, as any court will be able to claim that the expulsion of the community was due to a private issue between the owner of the land and the community, rather than government intervention.

4. Malaysia Demolishes Hindu Temple
November 2
Padang Jawa, Malaysia
The Times of India reports that last Tuesday, local authorities in Malaysia demolished the Maha Mariamman Temple, a hundred-year-old Hindu shrine in Padang Jawa, citing that it was built on private land. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Minister of Works and the head of the Indian Congress, Samy Vellu, explained that the Indian community in Malaysia must built on privately- or government-owned land, as the community does not own any of their own property.

5. Egypt: Two Christians Acquitted of "Defaming Islam"
November 4
Cairo, Egypt
In a story first reported by Deustche Presse-Agentur, two Egyptian human rights activists, Adel Fawzy Faltas and Peter Ezzat, both Christians, have been acquitted by an Egyptian state court of defaming Islam. Faltas and Ezzat, members of the Middle East Christian Association, were detained August 8 and accused of "propagating anti-Islamic material" after authorities found a book in their possession which detailed the persecution of Egypt's Coptic Christians. Despite their acquittal, it is unclear whether they have been released from jail.

6. Changes Proposed for Uzbekistan's Current Religion Law
November 5
Uzbekistan
Forum 18 reports that discussion is under way in Uzbekistan's Religious Affairs Committee to introduce changes to the country's religion law, with rumors that a newer version of the law would contain even more restrictions. The current law, introduced in 1998, banned unregistered religious activity, private religious instruction, religious-based political or social movements, and the propagation of one's faith. The law also severely restricted publication of religious literature and religious education, and imposed membership quotas for religious communities wishing to register with the state.

7. Pakistan: Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief Arrested
November 7
Faisalabad, Pakistan
This past weekend, Asma Jahangir – UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief and head of the Human Rights Commission in Pakistan – was arrested for unidentified activities allegedly “prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order.” Ms. Jahangir is being detained under a sweeping 1960 law that allows for “preventive” arrests without warrants and without charges in the name of state security. In the past 4 days, General Pervez Musharraf ordered the arrest of hundreds of human rights activists, lawyers, and political dissidents in a crackdown on opponents to his continuing military rule.