Paul Marshall

China's persecuted churches

0>! hinas underground Christians are the target of what they themselves describe as the most brutal repression since the early 1980s when China was just emerging from the terror of the Cultural Revolution. Mindful of the democratization role played by the various Christian churches within the Soviet empire, Beijing decreed in 1994 that all Christian worship must occur within government-sanctioned associations. Since then, and with increasing intensity, China has set out on an aggressive course to eradicate underground Christian churches within its borders. If the Chinese government succeeds, it will have struck a mortal blow against freedom. The ramifications of religious persecution in China extend far beyond those Catholics and Protestants who choose to pray independent of government control. These Christians are the last nationwide stronghold of independent thought and expression in China. In a land of 1.2 billion people, there is no samizdat press, no Moscow Helsinkistyle human rights groups, no Solidarity labour union. The U.S. State Departments 1996 Human Rights Report said it all:

EXPORTING BLASPHEMY RESTRICTIONS: THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE AND THE UNITED NATIONS

The 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have campaigned to ban criticism of Islam or Islamic governments through a UN Defamation of Religions Resolution This resolution seeks to redefine religious freedom as enforced respect for religion itself, and especially for Islam. Through it, the OIC is attempting to extend Islamic blasphemy restrictions to United Nations member states. Its passage would legitimize the idea that speech criticizing religious beliefs is a human rights violation rather than the exercise of a protected human right. Authorities from liberal democratic countries should oppose the resolution and defend freedom of expression.

The Ambiguities of Religious Freedom in Indonesia

There is controversy about the extent of religious freedom in almost every country in the world. Governments are likely to stress the positive aspects in their polity while human rights defenders a...

The Greater Middle East

Although it is strongly interdependent with the rest of the world in the supply of energy, the greater Middle East region has been little penetrated by ‘globalizing’ trends, especially those that tend to emancipate the individual.1 Most states of the region are of relatively recent creation, many borders are still disputed and interstate relations are generally of a brittle, competitive when not outright adversarial character. In 2004 the most potent conflicts in the region were over sovereignty in Iraq and between Israel and the Palestinians, although the repercussions are apparent beyond these nations’ borders and they are not the only sources of instability in the region. There are tensions or unresolved border issues outstanding between Iran and Iraq, between Iran and the small Arab states in the Persian Gulf region, and between Iran and Afghanistan. Syria remains technically at war with Israel and has come under mounting pressure from the United States—as well as from France, other European states, Israel, some Arab states and the United Nations (UN)—over its presence and conduct in Lebanon. State structures and interstate relations are called into doubt not just by such governmental disputes but by the strength of transnational elements such as tribal connections, diasporas, sects and modern terrorist movements. During 2004 almost all the countries in the region experienced some sort of terrorist incident and, whether allied to the USA or not, all the regional governments share a fear of radical Islamist militants, either associated with or inspired by al-Qaeda. Many experts have depicted the USA’s long-term strategic presence in the region, and more specifically US policies in Iraq and with respect to the Palestinians, as aggravating the problem. At the strategic level, the possibility exists that Iran will develop a nuclear weapon capability and that the USA could take military action against it. As of early 2005, however, the US Administration was indicating a preference for a diplomatic solution to its differences with Iran. Meanwhile, there has been an expansion of multilateral initiatives and engagements in the region. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has increased its role in both Afghanistan and Iraq and has offered to assist other states with military preparedness and performance, counter-terrorism,

PATTERNS AND CONTEXTS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND PERSECUTION

Abstract Religious oppression is on the rise in the majority of the most populous countries-China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc. Radical Islam, Communism/post-Communism, South Asian religious/ethnic nationalism, and intra-religious repression all create environments of religious persecution. Western responses to the rise of religious persecution have been hampered by a persistent “secular myopia” among media and government elites which prevents them from seeing the enormously important role religion plays in human events. If we are to take religious freedom seriously, we must take religion seriously.