Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Violations of religious freedom, oppression and discrimination are the damages to religious minorities that are still being recorded today in many countries in the world: states the 2010 Report on Religious Freedom in the world, published by “Aid to the Church in Need”, presented in Rome today.
The Report, which contains 194 dossiers relating to different countries, offers a large map on a continental level. In the Americas, countries such as Cuba are cited, where “the situation is unchanged with regard to legislation and the repressive administrative practice against religious phenomenon, but there are signs of openness such as the authorization to engage in previously prohibited religious acts”.
In Northern Africa, “is where there are problems caused by the coincidence of religion with politics, both in the legislation of the majority of them and in the widespread mentality among the majority of population. The consequence of this is that the citizen with full rights is only the one that professes the dominant religion, while religious minorities in most cases are tolerated, or seen as a threat to social stability.” In the reported case of Ethiopia that “compared to an exemplary legislation from the standpoint of religious freedom, unfortunately presents incidents of social intolerance, especially in areas where there is a Muslim majority”, while “the practice of religions other than Islam provokes reactions of intolerance in the whole territory of Somalia, and conversions are discouraged by forms of ostracism and social marginalisation.
In the Middle East, the report said, “in Turkey it is not yet possible to openly convert to Christianity for the Turks, because of discrimination against converts” and notes that “Saudi Arabia and Yemen remain the Gulf countries in which a strict Islamic law, which includes for example the death penalty for so-called apostasy, prevents each and every manifestation of religious practice, even privately, despite the presence in Saudi Arabia of about one million immigrant Christian workers.”
In Iraq “life is becoming increasingly more dramatic for the ancient Christian communities, now under threat of extinction, subjected to systematic terrorist aggression,” while “in Iran Shiite Islam, in its most fundamental form and guaranteed by religious authorities, remains the State religion. This leads to discrimination and violence against other religions and even against Sunni Islam.”
In Central Asia, “the republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, all more or less present serious problems, not only with regard to religious freedom, but also in relation to other human rights.” In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan “from 1986 to 2010 at least 993 people were charged with desecrating the Koran or defaming the Prophet Muhammad, victims of the controversial anti-blasphemy law.” India continues to record “an increase in violence based on religion or ethnic origin”, and Orissa is case in point.
North Korea “remains one of the countries with the most inhumane living conditions for citizens. Religious freedom is denied in every aspect and the information available about what is happening in the country is scarce and difficult to find.” The report also cites obstacles and serious restrictions in China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. In the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, cases of violence have focused on Christian and Muslim groups regarded as “heretics” by the orthodox, such as the Ahmadis. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/11/2010)
