COMPASS DIRECT
Global News from the Frontlines
July 19, 2002
E-Mail Version
Compass Direct is distributed monthly to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who
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Copyright 2002 Compass Direct
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IN THIS ISSUE
CHINA
(1) House Church Leaders Shaken by Cult Kidnappings
Christians determine more vigilance is required.
(2) Christian Bookstores Open in China
Modest breakthrough still leaves much to be desired.
(3) China’s New Church Leaders
Appointees signal the government’s intention to maintain strict control.
(4) Persecution in Southwest China
Local officials close minority churches.
COLOMBIA
(5) Weary Christians Look to the Future
Some welcome the president-elect’s hardline stance, others fear a bloodbath.
(6) Priest Gunned Down
The murder in Cali followed evening Mass.
INDIA
(7) Secret Circular Encourages Killing and Maiming of Christians
Illegal tactics are used to spread extremist Hindu idealogy.
(8) Translation of the Secret Circular
(9) Thousands of Christians Forcibly ‘Reconverted’ to Hinduism
Hindus recruit for an evangelistic brigade.
(10) Politically Savvy Christians Win
Uniting Votes with Muslims defeats a pro-Hindu candidate.
MALAYSIA
(11) A New Day or a Colored Dawn?
Malaysia’s leadership succession raises religious freedom questions.
NIGERIA
(12) Anglican Church Condemns State Governments
Islamic law threatens peaceful co-existence.
(13) Islamic Extremists Kill a Christian Policeman
Radical Muslim preacher claimed the officer trampled a Quran.
PAKISTAN
(14) Pakistan Sentences Another Christian to Death
Now two are on death row and five are appealing life sentences.
(15) Under the Shadow of Pakistan’s ‘Black Laws’
(16) Eleven Pakistani Christians Currently Jailed on Blasphemy Charges
(17) Jailed Pakistani Christian Attacked in His Cell
Violence against alleged ‘blasphemers’ escalates.
PERU
(18) Evangelical’s Prison Release Stalled***
Judicial complexities continue to thwart justice in de Vinatea’s case.
ROMANIA
(19) Restitution of Greek-Catholic Churches Unresolved
Churches were confiscated during the communist regime.
(20) A Draft Law on Religions by the End of the Year?
An interview with Laurentiu D. Tanase, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs.
TURKEY
(21) Stranded Iranian Family Granted Visa Extension***
Turkish court convicts Iranian Muslim for harassing converts.
(22) Christian Acquitted of Slander Charges***
Diyarbakir church construction still stalled.
(23) Turkish Police Close Iskenderun Protestant Church***
Congregation’s activities are accused of ‘offending society.’
VIETNAM
(24) Church Leader Felled by Heart Attack
Pastor faced high expectations from colleagues and heavy pressure from authorities.
(25) Hundreds Attend Pastor’s Funeral
***Indicates an article-related photo is available electronically. Contact Compass Direct
for pricing and transmittal.
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(1) China House Church Leaders Shaken by Cult Kidnappings
Christians Determine More Vigilance is Required
by Alex Buchan
LONDON (Compass) -- On June 19, the China Gospel Fellowship declared that 34 of its
evangelists mysteriously kidnapped two months earlier by a shadowy cult called Eastern
Lightning (EL) were safely back with their families, ending one of the most bizarre
events in Chinese house church history.
“This incident has shaken us to the core,” said one of the leaders of the China Gospel
Fellowship (CGF) in Hong Kong in May. “The kidnappings were so well planned, the
enemy so clever, that it is quite clear that the fight against cults will have to be conducted
at a much higher level of vigilance than before.”
According to sources in the CGF, the incident began in the fall of 2001 when a young
woman joined a house church in Tanghe, Henan province. She showed all the outward
characteristics of deep piety, and it was through her an invitation was issued to 34
evangelists and teachers to come to various locations on April 16, 2002, and allegedly
receive teaching from representatives of the Haggai Institute of Singapore, a well-known
missions training college.
The invitation was completely bogus, however. The leaders arrived at their various
points and were transported in twos to houses in remote locations. At first, they did not
suspect abduction. Their mobile phones were taken away as “a security precaution,” but
after a day or two they began to suspect something was terribly wrong.
According to one source, “The leaders were subjected to concentrated teaching by
Chinese men that began to sound very strange. They realized these were not teachers
from the Haggai Institute, and pretty much by the second day all realized they had fallen
into the clutches of the Eastern Lightning cult.”
Also known as Lightning from the East, this group believes that Jesus has returned to
China in the form of a woman, Mrs. Deng, and that orthodox forms of Christianity have
been superceded and must be repudiated. The CGF estimates the cult has over a million
members in 20 provinces.
The cult is known for its coercive and violent tactics in winning converts and
punishing those who leave. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the China Gospel
Fellowship -- an umbrella term for a number of large Henan- and Anhui-based house
church movements -- set up prayer teams in each region affected and reported the
disappearances to the police.
Some of the CGF leaders were able to escape and others were gradually released,
sometimes with police intervention. Families of the kidnapped evangelists gathered in
Beijing and continued to pressure the authorities until all were released. By June 19, the
CGF released a statement on their website (www.chinaforjesus.org) saying all 34 were
finally accounted for and that “the EL conspiracy to undermine and destroy the church
has ended in utter failure.”
They did add, however, that a few of the kidnapped evangelists were “... not doing
well because of the drugs given to them.”
The ramifications of the kidnappings have rippled out to all sections of the house
churches. One leader in Wenzhou said, “It has made me much more wary of people
suddenly joining the church. It puts a lot of questions in your mind like, are they genuine?
What if they are really EL? Is that handsome young man that has joined the fellowship
under orders to seduce my wife?”
The good news, according to three house church leaders in Shanghai, is that “the
attack on the house churches was effectively repulsed ... the CGF displayed great unity,
coolness and organization in the midst of this crisis.”
The bad news, they added, was that “Eastern Lightning are getting more bold. This is
the first time they have attempted a mass kidnapping. They may well try again. We will
have to be so much more vigilant.”
A former “Shouter,” Mr. Zhao Wei Shan founded the cult in 1989. He soon joined
forces with a woman called Mrs. Deng, and together they began to teach that a new
kingdom era had begun. Taking their name from the text in the New Testament book of
Matthew (24:27), “For as lightning comes from the East,” they taught that Jesus had
returned to earth in the form of a Chinese woman -- Mrs. Deng. They argued that no one
needed to read the Old Testament, because Jesus superceded Jehovah, and now no one
needs to read the New Testament, because the female messiah has superceded Jesus.
Their tactics for spreading the message are well known. First, they target successful
house church groups. It seems they do not go after non-Christian movements, only
Christian ones. Second, they show great patience, sending members to infiltrate
fellowships and wait up to two years before declaring themselves as Eastern Lightning.
Third, they can be extremely immoral and ruthless. It is not uncommon for EL adherents
to try to make pastors fall in love with them, to break up marriages, and even to
physically attack and threaten those who prove unresponsive.
For some observers, what is even more worrying is that EL, which is most active in
remote, rural, poorer areas, has lots of money.
“This is the mystery we all need solved ... where do they get their funds?” said a
Shanghai pastor.
The kidnappings are case in point. It took large sums of money to arrange transport
for all the evangelists to so many separate locations. It was clear that many large homes
were owned and operated by EL for brainwashing purposes. There is speculation that
Mrs. Deng is now living in the U.S. and raising funds there.
China’s government deplores the rise of cults, but house church leaders are not slow
to point out the hypocrisy of the official stance.
“Chinese Christians will always be troubled by cults because the government does not
allow us to have freedom to practice religion,” said a Beijing house church leader. “If we
had, we could print literature, hold seminars, and even use the media to spread good
teaching around, but we are still an underground movement thanks to the government.”
China continues to have one of the world’s fastest growing churches. Many estimate
that more than 3 million people become Christians each year, adding to the 60-90 million
Christian population.
[Return to Index]
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(2) Christian Bookstores Open in China
Modest Breakthrough Still Leaves Much to be Desired
by Xu Mei
SHANGHAI (Compass) -- A new Christian bookstore opened in Shanghai on April 1.
Run by a young Christian entrepreneur, it is one of a handful of public Christian
bookstores now operating in China.
But this is a Christian bookstore unlike any overseas. At first glance it looks very
similar, with its modern décor and rows of paperbacks and Christian giftware. But closer
inspection reveals that not one Bible is for sale. In fact, the owner of another Christian
bookstore in a northern Chinese city was recently fined 10,000 RMB ($1,200) for
illegally selling Bibles.
The Shanghai manager explained that it is now possible to obtain permission to open
“speciality” bookstores from the municipal government, and he proudly showed his new
certificate. However, only books with an ISBN number are allowed to be sold. The ISBN,
or International Standard Book Number, is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies
books and book-like products published internationally.
Christian books (including Bibles) published officially by the China Christian
Council and the Amity Press are only given a provincial imprint and therefore are not
permitted to be sold openly to the public.
Across China there are a few hundred large official state churches in cities that
operate book tables or small book rooms. These are usually open only on Sundays to
churchgoers and are not open to the general public. The range and number of titles in
state-church book rooms are still very limited. The 2002 catalogue for the China
Christian Council lists only 88 book titles (excluding Bibles and hymnbooks).
In sharp distinction, these new retail outlets are open to the public and represent a
pioneering breakthrough. At least five stores are now open in major cities. Most opened
during the last few months. The one in Shanghai attracts about 50 customers and
browsers every day, of whom more than half are non-Christians. Knowledge of the
existence of the shop is passed by word of mouth.
The owner does not expect to make a profit in the near future. It is expensive to stock
the shop with Christian titles. Across China, many secular publishers for reasons of profit
are publishing the occasional Christian book. These range from erudite academic books
on the theology of Thomas Aquinas or Luther to Bible dictionaries and even illustrated
Bible storybooks. Most come in modest print-runs of 2,000 to 10,000. The key for the
manager is to call upon a range of “scouts” who track down new titles all over the
country. These are then sent from the various publishers in small quantities to the
bookshop.
The continuing growth of the Chinese church means that there is an insatiable
demand for Christian literature of all kinds. It also means that the supply of Christian
books from overseas is still an urgent necessity.
However, the opening of these few Christian bookstores is a significant, if modest,
breakthrough. The hope must be that censorship and control will ease still further, to
allow for the publishing of Christian material within China on a scale commensurate with
what is probably the largest evangelical church community in the world.
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(3) China’s New Church Leaders
Appointees Signal the Government’s Intention to Maintain Strict Control
by Xu Mei
BEIJING (Compass) -- At the end of May, China’s state-controlled Protestant church
held its national conference in Beijing. New leaders were appointed for both the Three
Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and the China Christian Council (CCC), known in
China as the lianghui -- the “two organizations.” Both are firmly controlled by the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although nominally independent as “people’s
organizations,” both are supervised by the Religious Affairs Bureau and the CCP’s
United Front Work Department.
Rev. Cao Shengjie, who was born in 1931 and has been assistant general secretary of
the CCC since 1980, was appointed president of the CCC. Mrs. Cao has a poor reputation
among many older Chinese Christians. She belongs to the generation of church leaders
who in the 1950s collaborated with the Party and today are dubbed by many Chinese
Christians as laosanzi -- “old Three Self.”
As such, she is politically motivated and well-trained in the liberal theology, which
neatly dovetails with communist ideology. According to several well-placed Christian
sources within the TSPM, she is nicknamed “Mrs. Marx” by many pastors. During
China’s Cultural Revolution, a decade of anarchy that started in the mid 1960s, she
reportedly led Party cadres to search believers’ homes to confiscate Bibles.
Writing in the TSPM magazine Tianfeng in September 2000, Cao stated: “Over the
past 50 years, the Chinese church in its theological reflections has not been concerned for
such doctrinal abstractions such as ‘the Trinity’ or ‘the Two Natures of Christ.’” She
continued in the same article to attack evangelical theology and Wang Ming Dao, China’s
most noted evangelical preacher in the 20th century. She also strongly attacked overseas
ministries, condemning their efforts to “evangelize China” as the work of “hostile
forces.”
She concluded: “We will never support the ‘evangelization of China.’ Because if we
do not pay attention to the welfare of the Chinese people but go about ‘preaching the
gospel’ on a great scale, we will not only politically fall into the camp of enemy forces
but we will harm the church itself. … Is our theology actually compatible with socialism
or with the demands of overseas hostile forces?”
It is not surprising that some evangelical pastors working within the TSPM and CCC
are now stating that the “theological construction” campaign pushed by Cao and other top
TSPM leaders to make all Christian theology “compatible with socialism” is a dangerous
heresy.
Less is known about Elder Ji Jianhong, who was appointed chairperson of the TSPM
at the May conference. He was born in 1932 and comes from a Little Flock background.
The Little Flock church was founded by Watchman Nee.
Since 1980, he has been working in Jiangsu province for the TSPM. According to one
source, he became more politically motivated to support the CCP during the 1950s. At
that time, he reportedly came under strong pressure from authorities and was forced to
denounce his father at one of the many political campaigns that tore the church apart
during that troubled period.
Chinese pastors working under the TSPM/CCC umbrella report that they see little
hope of genuine openness under the new leadership. Rather, their appointment is a sign of
the Party and the government’s intention to maintain strict control of the church through
the old TSPM hierarchy and a politicized theology.
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(4) Persecution in Southwest China
Local Officials Close Minority Churches
by Xu Mei
HONG KONG (Compass) -- A letter written by a Christian living in Zhaotong in the
southwest province of Yunnan details recent persecution by local government officials
and police.
Zhaotong is a remote area of northeastern Yunnan. According to reliable reports,
there are about 150,000 Protestant Christians there, mainly belonging to the Miao
minority tribal group. They are the faithful successors to the original converts of
Methodist missionaries who preached the gospel about a century ago.
The letter, dated April 4, 2002, states:
“In November 2001, the pastors, elders and deacons of 16 churches here were
severely attacked by the police. The reason was that in November 1999, two of the local
church pastors reported a case of corruption in which the township head, the police and
local government secretary had killed a farmer’s sheep worth 150 RMB. They were
criticized and received political re-education, so thereafter they hated religion.
“On November 9, 2001, the Christian leaders were notified by village government
security officials to go to the township government office to attend a legal studies class.
Presiding over that day’s conference were the heads of the Public Security Bureau, Wu
and Long, the township head, Lu, and other leaders from legal, governmental, United
Front and Religious Affairs departments.
“At that day’s meeting, township head Lu announced that the Christian organization
headed by X* was dissolved. They gave as their reason that ‘religious bodies which have
not been permitted by the government are illegal religious organizations.’ They also said
that Hong Kong and Taiwan Christian radio stations were overseas and gave out
propaganda that the church set up by the Three Self Patriotic Movement was wrong, so
listening to them was to accept control by foreign forces. They also said that Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Macau are overseas, so the local police confiscated all the Bibles,
hymnbooks and Christian books sent to us by Christian radio stations.
“They detained Mr. Gu, a local Christian, for 15 days. But I have decided with two
other fellow workers to set up a small gospel team to preach the gospel to the minority
peoples. Please pray for our Christian church here in Yunnan.”
The letter reveals the narrowness of local Communist officials who close churches
and confiscate Christian literature. In this case, they appear to treat Hong Kong and
Macau as if they were not part of China and even ban listening to Christian radio stations.
But it also shows the spirit of Chinese Christians who are determined, even under
persecution, to continue to engage in vigorous evangelism.
*Name withheld for security.
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(5) Weary Colombian Christians Look to the Future
Some Welcome the President-Elect’s Hardline Stance, Others Fear a Bloodbath
by Deann Alford
AUSTIN, Texas (Compass) -- Colombia’s president-elect Alvaro Uribe campaigned with
the slogan “Firm hand, big heart” and promised a hard line against rebels who have
waged war on the country for 38 years. Colombians frustrated with war and death voted
him into power by a landslide on May 26.
Some Colombian Christians, like many of their fellow citizens, welcome Uribe’s firm
hand. Others are cautiously optimistic that he’s moving the country in the right direction - away from years of futile peace talks with guerrillas bent on waging war.
Others, however, fear that the man who takes office August 7 will start a bloodbath
that will pour even more misery on war-ravaged Colombians.
“People are tired of terrorism. They’re going to do whatever it takes to take action
against this problem,” said Pedro Hernandez, head of the Medellin pastoral association
AMEM and national director of Christ for the City International (CFCI).
And people are tired of corruption. Voters regarded second-place finisher Horacio
Serpa, who finished with 31 percent of the vote to Uribe’s 53 percent, as a status-quo
candidate who tolerates corruption and openly supports former president Ernesto Samper.
Corruption scandals clouded Samper’s 1994-1998 administration. Samper has admitted
that his campaign received millions of dollars in narco-trafficking money.
In contrast, Uribe, as Medellin’s mayor in the early 1980s and as governor of
Medellin’s department, or state, of Antiochia, gained a reputation as a clean politician.
“Many feel Uribe will bring Colombia into the 21st century by knocking out useless
bureaucracy and a political system given to corruption,” said missionary Andrew
McMillan, who pastors Christian Faith Community Church in Medellin. “But the true
reform comes from people with renewed hearts who want to serve and not rape the
country.”
Asked whether Uribe would end the war, Hernandez said, “No. This problem of so
many years isn’t going to end from one event to another. It would be very hard that one
man could be the whole solution. I’m not with those who look to the new president as if
he were the new messiah. But he could be the start of something different.”
Stay Out of Politics
“Most people feel we are in for a hard time followed by recovery,” McMillan said.
“The church should keep its distance from Uribe not so much for fear of the FARC but
for not confusing political power with Kingdom power.” The FARC, or Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, is the nation’s largest and most powerful guerrilla group.
The church is staying out of politics in Medellin, and that’s a good thing, says
Medellin-based CFCI missionary Kelly Green. “If the church just sticks to preaching
Christ and meeting the social needs of Colombian society, she’ll be better off,” he said.
Colombia’s war pits the FARC and other leftist guerrilla groups against the nation’s
army and rightist paramilitaries. Added to the mix are narco-traffickers linked with all
sides. With the rest of the war-torn nation’s citizens, Colombia’s Christians suffer threats,
violence and kidnapping. The war has displaced upwards of 3 million Colombians from
their homes. No place in the country is safe as the warring sides bring their battles to
Colombia’s cities.
The evangelical church made no political endorsement in the election, though some
individual pastors did publicly support Uribe for president. Around Holy Week, Cesar
Castellanos and his wife Claudia Rodriguez of the International Charismatic Church of
Bogota invited Uribe to speak at their church. Uribe’s website posts an article about a
May 20 campaign-closing service at that church that claims 6,000 Christian supporters
attended.
“But as a result of that, FARC immediately targeted all ministers and pastors as a
military target,” said a Colombia watcher who asked not to be identified. “It’s because of
this meeting that [Uribe] attended where they just blanketly said that the church was
identified with him as far as the FARC is concerned.”
In mid April, the FARC forced 11 evangelical churches in Arauquita, a town near
Colombia’s Venezuelan border, to close because, FARC leaders allege, evangelical
Christians supported presidential candidate Uribe.
Ricardo Esquivia heads Justapaz, a Bogota-based Mennonite peace group that
provides humanitarian aid to refugees and promotes non-violent solutions to Colombia’s
conflict. He is also a leader of CEDECOL, Colombia’s evangelical church alliance.
Esquivia said that FARC threatened CEDECOL because, the rebels believed, the church
supported Uribe. CEDECOL issued a communiqué affirming that it wasn’t supporting
any candidate.
“What Castellanos did was very wrong,” Hernandez said. “When Castellanos
presented Uribe in the church, it wrongly gave the message that Uribe was from the
evangelical church. It exposed our brothers in rural areas even more to the conflict.”
Frontline NGOs
Esquivia says that Uribe’s plan to create a “community state” calls for the state to
contract with non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, to carry out social services that
relieve misery, in essence privatizing relief work. Uribe’s 100-point “Democratic
Manifesto” says that his plan will reduce red tape and thus get aid more efficiently to
those who need it.
The plan means that the state will control NGOs, Esquivia says. The state won’t
necessarily fund these social services but rather rely on the NGOs to pay for the added
work they’ll be asked to carry out, freeing more state funds for the war effort. He
questions what will happen when an NGO opts to end a relief program.
While churches aren’t mentioned in Uribe’s plan, “It’s implied because [churches] are
among NGOs,” he said. Currently, Bogota church groups are receiving people who fled
from their homes in San Vicente del Caguan when the FARC ordered all government
officials to leave and closed some two dozen churches. One Colombia watcher estimated
600,000 evangelicals were among the 1.5 million people who fled the area.
In Chocó state, where three months ago 119 people were killed as they hid in a
church during a battle, virtually all believers in the region were displaced. “The church is
directly affected by all these actions,” Esquivia said.
And making churches and other NGOs into state agents jeopardizes their political
neutrality, which could make them targets in the conflict.
Esquivia fears that Uribe’s plan to strengthen presidential power and cut the size of
Congress will hinder democracy. It will, he fears, limit citizens’ -- and the church’s -voices to counter anything they may disagree with.
What could prove to be Uribe’s most controversial proposal is creating a millioncitizen national information network to combat the FARC. His plan even calls for arming
some of the 1 million citizens.
Adam Isacson of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for International Policy, says
the plan is based on Convivir, or “Coexistence,” a program that Uribe set up during his
1995-1997 tenure as Antiochia’s governor. President Andrés Pastrana ended the program
because of the violence it brought about, Isacson said. Uribe’s 100-point plan uses the
word “convivir” to describe his proposal.
A Colombia watcher who lived in Antiochia during Uribe’s governorship said that if
Convivir is set up on a national level, it will mean a bloodbath.
“The church really suffered” under Convivir, the Colombia watcher said. “There were
a lot of pastors killed. Let me tell you, the church is not going to be exempt from
[suffering]. FARC has a real strong hold on Colombia. Pastrana gave them time to dig in
their heels.
“[Such a plan] is just going to cause more heartache, more widows, more [orphaned]
children,” the Colombia watcher said. “We’ve already got 3 million refugees internally.
Our situation is second to Sudan. What are you going to do with all the widows and
children? All the people who are displaced don’t have a place to live.”
True Change
“Anyone here can get a weapon,” said OMS missionary Jeannine Brabon, who is
Hebrew professor at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia in Medellin and the Antioquia
regional president of Colombia Prison Fellowship. “This is not the answer; it only
generates more violence. La violencia aflora en el corazon del hombre -- ‘Violence
blossoms in the heart of man.’ I know the change has to come from within the heart.
Many think the answer is military power. But I have witnessed the most violent men,
who once trusted in weapons, turn to the most powerful weapon, the Bible, and it has
transformed their lives, and become their sole defense and protection, the key for holy
living.
“Government legislation will never break the power of moral evil. It is only the
regeneration of the soul of man that can transform fallen society.”
Brabon knows perhaps better than anyone that there truly is hope for peace in
Colombia. She works in Medellin’s Bellavista Prison, where she helped plant a Bible
institute after a revival swept the prison in 1990. Its murder rate plummeted from as many
as 60 a month to one or fewer per year -- only 12 homicides in 12 years. No other prison
is free from weekly deaths and massacres.
“I see the Lord working. We see tremendous opportunities” for the gospel, she said.
As many as 6,000 inmates from all sides in the war are jailed at Bellavista. Right now
about 500 of them are Christians who were leftist guerrillas, rightist paramilitaries, police
officers, military men, murderers for hire and drug traffickers.
“All these young brothers are studying together, learning about the Bible in the
prison. If you want to see what can be done, come to Bellavista. We have all the warring
factions here, and they all live peacefully.”
Brabon cited a recent example of the difference Christ has made in Bellavista: All its
5,000-plus prisoners gave up their food on Mother’s Day. It was sent to the families of
119 victims of the Boyaja massacre in Choco. Sixty families of believers were affected
by this tragedy and had to flee.
A lesson for Colombian Christians is that less than 10 percent of Bellavista’s inmates
have had an impact on the rest. In comparison, Hernandez estimates that eight percent of
the Colombian population is evangelical.
“The whole prison is not converted,” Brabon said. “but the Christians are a nucleus of
salt, which has an effect on the entire prison.”
She added, “Intercede for the church in Colombia that it might be a pure and holy
channel through which the Holy Spirit may flow freely. The strength of the church
behind bars in Bellavista is the transparent, holy living -- it portrays a powerful message
in a corrupt society.”
[Return to Index]
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(6) Priest Gunned Down in Colombia
The Murder in Cali Followed Evening Mass
by David Miller
MIAMI, Florida (Compass) -- A gunman shot Father José Hilario Arango to death at
close range in front of the Santa Teresa church in Cali on June 27, just after the priest had
celebrated evening Mass.
Arango became the third Roman Catholic priest to die at the hands of assassins in
Colombia this year. In April, gunmen murdered Father Juan Ramon Nuñez in nearby
Huila state as he served communion in his church. That murder followed the highly
publicized assassination of the Archbishop of Cali, Isaias Duarte Cancini, on March 16.
Police suspect members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) of
involvement in the Nuñez murder and believe Cali drug traffickers, allied with corrupt
politicians, masterminded the attack on Archbishop Duarte. At press time, the
investigation into the death of the 47-year-old Arango continues.
According to witnesses, a lone gunman approached Father Arango as he was leaving
the Santa Teresa church at 7:30 p.m. and fired three pistol shots into the priest’s head and
neck. As the assailant fled, onlookers reportedly called police on a cellular phone.
Officers responded and chased the suspect into a nearby wood. A gun battle ensued.
Police shot and killed German Oquendo, a close friend and house mate of Father Arango.
They later charged Oquendo, 22, with the priest’s murder.
However, parishioners who knew Oquendo say that it is unthinkable that the young
man would have killed José Arango.
“The day he was killed, the father and I met for prayer from 6:00 to 7:30 a.m.,”
Robinson Cataño, a fourth-year seminary student told the Bogotá daily El Tiempo.
“Afterward we talked about German and how proud he (Arango) was of him.”
Oquendo, an accounting student at Cali University, lived in the parish household and
assisted Father Arango with youth ministry. According to family members, the priest
referred to the young man as “my nephew” and was helping Oquendo complete his
professional studies.
Some observers believe the FARC might be responsible for Arango’s murder. A
report in the Vatican news service Zenit described the slain priest as “critical of leftist
rebels” and pointed out that his murder came just days after the FARC demanded that
mayors and other community leaders voluntarily resign from office or face assassination.
Regardless of who killed Arango, the crime left Colombia mourning yet another
fallen church leader. Since 1988, homicides have claimed the lives of 29 Roman Catholic
priests and 65 Protestant pastors.
“These acts of violence leave us in complete dismay,” said Father Edgar de Jesus
Garcia. “We ask God for His help, may He have mercy upon us.”
Father de Jesus Garcia assumed the post of Archbishop of Cali following the
assassination of Isaias Duarte in March.
[Return to Index]
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(7) Secret Circular in India Encourages Killing and Maiming of Christians
Illegal Tactics are Used to Spread Extremist Hindu Idealogy
by Alex Buchan
LONDON (Compass) -- Raping Christian women during riots, selling Christian girls into
the flesh trade, recruiting doctors to dispense poisoned drugs and assassinating anti-caste
activists -- these are only four of 34 anti-Christian tactics recommended in a chilling and
confidential circular from India’s elite Hindu extremist organization, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
With instructions that “this paper is to be burned and destroyed after passing these
instructions along,” the undated RSS circular, numbered 411/RO 303 11/RSS C03, is
believed to have been in circulation for two years and originates from the RSS
headquarters in Nagpur, Maharashtra state. Sent to local RSS operatives, it recommends a
series of mostly illegal tactics to spread Hindutva, the extremist ideology that demands
India become a Hindu state.
“It frightens me that the leaders of our country, while telling the world they respect
freedom of religion, are really working for an organization that has no problem killing,
raping and poisoning those of other religions to advance their agenda of Hindu
extremism,” said a pastor in New Delhi. “This is a wake-up call to the church. We cannot
argue that persecution is just a spontaneous over-reaction of a few Hindus to overaggressive evangelism, but it is a carefully planned chaos originating from the Hindu
extremists themselves, with the long-term implications all worked out.”
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna
Advani are both leading members of the 750,000-member RSS, which directs the many
other organizations that serve the Hindu extremist agenda, including the governing
political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Indeed Advani, a notorious hardliner,
was promoted in June after a cabinet reshuffle, where the BJP has 56 ministers in a 77member cabinet. Christians are bracing themselves for an onslaught of extremist rhetoric
as the BJP seeks to reverse electoral losses during 2002.
Terror Campaign
The four-page circular, in the form of a memo, calls for a terror campaign to be
waged against tribals, Backward castes, Muslims and Christians. Detailed instructions are
given that include violence. Article 7 calls for “induction of Christian/Muslim girls into
flesh trades.” Article 11 calls for “mass rapes of Muslim/Christian women during riots …
no mercy to friends and acquaintances.” Article 32 calls for “killing of anti-Hindus and
anti-Brahmins to continue. Disposal of bodies as per direction.” In other words, if a
Christian condemns the Brahminical form of Hinduism, which insists that the poor stay in
low castes, they are a legitimate target for assassination.
Yet the violence is not confined to riots, rape, or assassination. Almost incredibly,
Article 4 calls for doctors to be recruited and induced to inject newborn Christian babies
with diseases that will handicap them. The full article states, “Promotion of Hindutva
among doctors and chemists, disposal of expired and specious drugs to Christians, tribals
and Muslims. Injection for handicapping newborn Christians ….”
The circular contains a total strategy for persecuting, weakening and marginalizing
the Christian, tribal and Muslim communities through economic boycotts, media
onslaughts and conflict provocation.
This includes the deliberate plan to starve non-Hindu groups. Article 26 calls for
“malnutrition of Christians to continue. Liquor poisoning as per direction. Food
poisoning to continue.” Said a pastor after reading this, “This is sheer fascism, the kind of
ethnic cleansing that went on in Bosnia, and it’s all happening in a so-called democracy
receiving lots of Western aid.”
Lies Recommended
In the propaganda area, lies are recommended. Article 12 calls for local RSS leaders
to “place images/idols under the ground near non-Hindu religious structures … new
literature to be fabricated to prove all old churches … are old Hindu structures.” This has
proved a durable tactic. As one pastor in Bangalore put it, “The easiest way to get a mob
together to destroy a church is to say that it has been built on a Hindu site.”
Indeed, one could argue that the entire electoral fortunes of the BJP were built on this
tactic, when Advani raised thousands of disgruntled Hindus to storm the Babri Masjid
mosque in December 1992, triggering massive tension that swept the BJP into power in
1996 and 1998. He claimed the mosque was built over the birthplace of the Hindu god
Ram.
RSS operatives are directed to destroy Christian literature, disseminate their own, and
print lies about other religions if it serves to advance Hindutva. Even the promotion of
“superstition” among the tribal populations is a legitimate tactic, as that weakens the
Christian influence.
Provocation is another tactic, not only of non-Hindu groups, but also of police and
armed forces against these groups. The circular also calls for the recruitment of antiMuslim writers, the infiltration of communist groups and increased control over
newspapers.
The manipulation of education is not left out either. More and more Backward caste
Christian children are to be admitted to RSS run schools, and “history teaching as per
direction.”
Of course, none of these tactics will come as a surprise to India’s Christian
community. But the actual documentation proving that much of the recent persecution
against them originates at the highest level and is meticulously planned is significant. The
RSS is an extremely secretive organization and only rarely do internal and highly
confidential circulars fall into Christian hands.
Three Significant Areas
The significance of the circular can been seen in at least three areas, according to a
group of India watchers polled by Compass.
First, the church at large needs to awaken to how well organized the Hindu extremists
are. They have funds, long-term vision and utter ruthlessness in the pursuit of their aims.
“We’ve been too naïve for too long. It’s clear that there is a complex background to
most incidents of persecution, and we have to have a better understanding of all the
forces that are arraigned against us,” said a Bombay pastor.
Second, it shows that the Hindu extremist leaders are not just about motivating mobs
to intimidate Christian evangelists -- the kind of incident that dominates persecution
reporting. Rather, the extremist leaders are more often using stealth tactics, for example,
infiltrating educational and mass media spheres, organizing malnutrition and changing
the entire culture over the long term.
As one India watcher said, “The persecution of Christians in India is not primarily
about mobs letting off steam. It’s about ruthless men in high places changing a culture of
tolerance into a culture of intolerance by carefully crafted lies and cleverly creating
chaos.”
Third, it should help other nations to realize how serious a problem the RSS-inspired
violence is against religious minorities. Western nations have been slow to register the
fact that as of the late 1990s, India is among the world’s worst countries for the killing of
Christians. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reckons that since the BJP formed the
majority in the national government in 1998, there have been over 100 deaths of
Christians at the hands of Hindu extremists and well over 1,000 acts of anti-Christian
violence.
Needless to say, with the BJP in government, prosecutions are impossible in the vast
majority of these incidents.
Not all of India’s 40-million-plus Christians are in the firing line. The violence is
targeted at the evangelists and those working to empower the lower castes. But the level
of violence is expected to rise throughout the rest of this year as the BJP returns to a more
nationalistic agenda to regain votes.
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(8) Translation of the Secret Circular
Instruction to the RSS officials to harass the origins among the suppressed Adivasis
[indigenous peoples], OBC [Other Backward Castes], Muslims, Christians.
To Local Leaders,
In addition to the old ones, some additional duties are being entrusted. Some are to be
modified. Instruct the patriots and volunteers. Reactions to be reported to headquarters.
This paper is to be burned/destroyed after passing the instructions.
1. Procurement of firearms and explosives to be intensified.
2. Winning back Awarnas [literally, “those without caste,” a synonym for Christians]
and Backwards to fight against Muslims and Ambedkarites [untouchables that converted
to Buddhism].
3. Promotion of Hindutva among officials to be intensified.
4. Promotion of Hindutva among doctors and chemists, disposal of expired and
specious drugs to Awarnas, tribals and Muslims. Injection for handicapping newborn
Awarnas, Shudra’s [lowest caste in the Hindu system] children. Blood donation camps.
Pronunciation of “Om” and “Jai Shri Ram” [Praise to Lord Ram] in the areas of newborn
children of Awarnas and Backwards.
5. Boycott of anti-Hindu (anti-Brahmins) pseudo-secular programs.
6. Personal help of offenders to increase income from liquor, health narcotics, drugs,
gambling, lottery in Backward’s and Awarna’s areas population. In government offices,
organizing more religious functions Jagran Chanda for new Mandir construction/old
Mandir, [collecting donations to build temples] propaganda. Hindu businessmen and
banias during riots. Bania [caste of traders] to be looted in non-Hindu, Muslim areas.
7. Induction of Awarnas/Muslim girls in flesh trades.
8. Retardation of physical and mental development of school-going children,
specially Awarnas and Ambedkarites, by harmful eatables, through volunteers, vendors
and teachers.
9. More and more SC/ST [basically lower caste] Awarna’s students to be admitted to
our schools. History teaching as per direction.
10. Provocation of communal riots against Muslims/Ambedkarites/Buddhists to be
instilled. During riots, deployment of men of the volunteers far away from their own
localities with new local goondas. Provocation of police/armed forces against antiHindus.
11. Mass rapes of Muslim/Awarna women during riots. No mercy to
friends/acquaintances. Surat model to be followed.
12. Placing images/idols under the ground near the non-Hindu religious structures to
be continued. Headquarters to be contacted for help needed. New literature to be
fabricated to prove all old churches, masjids, stupas, as old Hindu structures.
13. Publication of anti-Muslim/anti-Buddhist literature to be intensified. More
materials to be fabricated to prove Samrat Ashoka [past Buddhist king of India] a nonBuddhist.
14. Destruction of anti-Brahmin literature, Dalit literature, Ambedkar literature and
communist literature to be accounted. Checking of entry of such literature in
public/government/libraries to continue.
15. Propagation of our literature on Ambedkar amongst Awarnas and Backwards.
16. Keeping backlog (SC/ST) as per directions. [May refer to intelligence gathering
on target groups.]
17. Production of more stickers, calendars, pamphlets of Lord Ram.
18. Acceleration of Ramkathas and Jagrans. [Revival meetings]
19. Propagation of superstition in Awarnas and Backwards has to be intensified. Use
of Sadhus and Babas [ascetics] to continue.
20. Hinduization of Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs to continue. Worship of Rama in more
and more Jain temples. Patna Path to be followed. Development to be reported to
headquarters.
21. Attack against communism/communist/Awarnas/Shudras to be used.
22. Anti-Mandal [policy of reverse discrimination in favor of lower castes] agitation
to be held up.
23. Provocation of conflicts between different castes among Awarnas/Backwards.
Kootniti [possible code word -- meaning uncertain] to be followed.
24. Damaging of Ambedkar’s statue to be continued.
25. Practice of Gandharvism [possibly prostitution] against Awarnas and
Ambedkarites without condition. Exposing the genitals of girls, kisses, photographs. Use
light intoxicants.
26. Malnutrition of Adivasis/Awarnas to continue. Liquor poisoning as per direction.
Food poisoning and slow poisoning to continue.
27. Control over newspaper to be increased. More materials to be written (antiMuslim/anti-Mandal/pro-Hindu/pro-Ram). More local newspaper editors to be influenced
under Hindutva.
28. Winning more leaders from Backward communities (SC, ST/OBC) for our
political party, under the spirit of Hindutva. Usual methods to be followed.
29. Winning anti-Muslim writers, leaders from the Muslim community and antiMandal writers from Backwards to continue. Use of pseudo-secularism coin.
30. Persuasion of traders and jeweller-bankers to practice policies of economic drain
of non-Hindus.
31. Observation of activities on non-Hindus and anti-Hindus/anti-Brahmins to be
reported to headquarters.
32. Killing of anti-Hindus and anti-Brahmins to continue. Disposal of bodies as per
direction.
33. Poornima [Festival of Full Moon] meetings of volunteers to continue.
34. Whistles to continue. [Tactic of blowing whistles to draw youths to attend
meetings.]
“Jai Shri Ram”
411 / RO 303
11 / RSS C03
(Translated by Abhijeet Prabhu)
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(9) Thousands of Christians Forcibly ‘Reconverted’ to Hinduism in India
Hindus Recruit for an Evangelistic Brigade
by Abhijeet Prabhu
BANGALORE, India (Compass) -- Over 5,000 Christians have been reconverted to
Hinduism by the militant World Hindu Council (Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or VHP) during
the past two years, and Christian leaders claim the reconversions are forced. The VHP is
an organization that is increasingly being supported for its anti-Christian activities by
expatriate Hindus from Britain and the United States, sources revealed.
The VHP released the figures in mid June, proudly claiming that over the past two
years Christians from the Oram, Munda and Khadia tribes in the Sundargarh district of
Orissa province in northeast India have been reconverted to Hinduism.
Sundargarh has a population of 2 million, of which over 400,000 are Christians.
There are over 1,100 churches in that district.
In the latest reconversion drive, 143 tribals belonging to 46 families of the Oram,
Munda and Khadia tribes were reconverted at a special function organized by the
Rourkela unit of the VHP at Tainser village on June 16.
The VHP claims that they do not force the Christians to reconvert, but that the
conversion of a Christian to Hinduism must be seen as a “homecoming.”
However, Christian leaders have two objections to these reconversion drives. First,
they claim the conversions themselves are coerced, because the VHP uses intimidation
and violence in the villages. Second, the tribals -- who mostly became Christians 100
years ago -- were never Hindus in the first place, making it nonsense to talk of their
“homecoming” to the Hindu faith.
The Global Council of Indian Christians has demanded an inquiry into the
conversions.
Sajan K. George, the national convener of the council, said that the conversions were
done in contravention of the provisions of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act and with
the connivance of the government.
The VHP claims that conversions were not forced but a result of mobile health
programs that have been launched to counter Christian medical work in that district.
Meanwhile, the VHP is seeking applicants for Hindu evangelists. The applicants must
be “resolute Hindus, ready to die for their religion.”
Ironically, the VHP wants to recruit its evangelists from the state of Kerala.
According to the VHP, more than 80 percent of India’s Christian missionaries hail from
Kerala, and the VHP thinks that its evangelistic cadre could marshal a fitting reply.
After a month-long training program, the Hindu recruits will be dispatched to tribal
areas to stop conversions to Christianity. They would also help return converted Hindus
to their origins.
The VHP had earlier claimed that thousands of youth were ready to fill the new posts.
Expecting a large response, it had limited the first group to 100. But the numbers fell
short of its expectations, forcing it to extend the application date.
Another setback to its drive is that the age of more than half of those who have
applied is between 40 and 60 years old.
However, VHP organizing secretary Kummanam Rajasekharan said he was satisfied
with the numbers. “It is just the beginning. Teething problems are there. Once the first
batch is out, more youth can be attracted,” he said.
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(10) Politically Savvy Christians Win in India
Uniting Vote with Muslims Defeats a Pro-Hindu Candidate
by Abhijeet Prabhu
BANGALORE, India (Compass) -- Persecution has given Indian Christians a new
shrewdness in politics, as they are uniting with Muslims in Dhumka to defeat a Hindu
extremist candidate in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heartland state of
Jharkhand.
In a stunning turn of events, Christians in Dhumka mobilized during the last week of
June and defeated the pro-Hindu candidate to the Lok Sabha (House of Commons) in the
National Parliament by a substantial margin.
The action may reverberate around the country if Indian Christians, who have thus far
been politically shy, fight the fundamentalist Hindu bullet with the secular ballot.
Dhumka has had a sizeable tribal Christian population. But ever since a Catholic
priest named Fr. Christudoss was stripped and paraded naked down the main street in full
view of the local authorities in September 1997, Christians had become the target of
Hindu fundamentalism.
Christians aligned themselves politically with the local Muslim population and
pledged to vote against the local pro-Hindu BJP candidate, who was sponsored by the
ruling national party.
The result was a stunning defeat for the BJP’s Romesh Hembrum and an
overwhelming victory for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Shibu Soren. The
JMM party represents tribal interests and contains a number of Christians.
Soren’s victory margin of nearly 95,000 votes included votes from the non-Christian
and non-Muslim tribal communities, which form 40 percent of the state’s nearly one
million voters. Muslim voters number 160,000 while Christian voters number over
60,000.
The pro-Hindu BJP loss has deeply embarrassed Prime Minister Vajpayee’s ruling
party.
Observers were also surprised that Christians did not vote for S. Marandi, the
candidate of India’s main opposition Congress Party who is a Christian. Marandi secured
less than a sixth of the total votes.
“The main aim of the Christians was to defeat the BJP that, in their opinion, is once
again becoming pro-Hindu,” said a news analyst. “They knew that Soren stood a better
chance than Marandi and therefore voted for the JMM,” he added.
“It is remarkable that the hitherto exploited tribal Christians are becoming so
politically discerning that they will not even be tricked into voting for a token Christian,
unless they are convinced that both the party and the individual will take up their cause
seriously in Parliament,” Rev. L. Minz, a local Lutheran pastor, told Compass. “We now
have a tribal voice in Parliament who will hopefully take up the cause of the tribal
Christians and other minorities in Jharkhand. If only Christians all over the country
become more seriously involved in the political process, we will be able to combat the
BJP on their own turf,” he added.
Jharkhand had become a BJP stronghold in the last decade. The Christians and other
minorities, however, continued to largely vote for the Congress Party. But the Congress
Party did not keep its promises, sources said.
Meanwhile, a church was vandalized and statues of Jesus and Mary were smashed,
police said, in the neighboring district of Ranchi, where tribal Christians are most
dominant.
The statues, gifted by the Vatican to the local Catholic church in 1998, were regarded
as precious by the local community. However, they were found destroyed in the early
hours of Sunday, June 30.
Opposition politicians say the attack is part of a conspiracy to fuel communal tension
in the state.
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(11) A New Day or a Colored Dawn in Malaysia?
Malaysia’s Leadership Succession Raises Religious Freedom Questions
by Christopher Epp
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Compass) -- Religious freedom often hangs on the
shoulders of one leader whose identity intertwines with that of the country he rules. One
such leader is Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has led Malaysia for
the last 21 years. Mahathir announced his resignation on June 22, leaving in question the
direction of religious freedom in this Southeast Asian country, which is threatened not so
much by his successor as by the political party Parti Islam si-Malaysia (PAS).
After pleadings from his fellow leaders, Mahathir quickly recanted his resignation
only to announce three days later that he would step down in late 2003 and Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would succeed him. Mahathir was a stabilizing if
controversial force in this Muslim-dominated, multi-ethnic country made up of Malays,
Indians and Chinese. The latter two groups have the largest Christian populations.
Mahathir’s strong-minded leadership bent all independent institutions, such as the
press and the judiciary, to his will. And while his departure raises concerns about the
future of religious freedom, most Malaysian Christian leaders are cautiously optimistic.
“The new prime minister will continue to uphold the constitutional provision for
religious freedom in the sense that it is enshrined in the constitution,” said Rev. Wong
Kim Kong, general secretary of Malaysia’s National Evangelical Christian Fellowship
(NECF).
Malaysia’s Constitution upholds religious freedom but prevents proselytizing among
Muslims. Article 11 states, “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions
may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.” The fourth clause
adds, “[F]ederal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or
belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.”
Analysts believe Abdullah is better able than Mahathir to fend off ultra-nationalist
Muslims such as the PAS from gaining too much ground in the country’s leadership.
“He can’t live up to Mahathir’s record on the economy, but he can respond better to
the question of the Islamization of Malaysia,” said Professor Shamsul A.B. of the
University of Malaya. Abdullah comes from a long line of religious teachers and Muslim
scholars with Arab ancestry. These credentials may allow him to engage Malaysia’s
political conservatives on a different level than Mahathir, who was more confrontational.
But Abdullah’s strong Islamic credentials frighten some observers, since it could
mean that Malaysia’s identity will become increasingly Islamic and hold greater authority
over the church.
Nevertheless, many Malaysian Christians are hopeful current religious freedoms will
be maintained. Abdullah is a substitute in the eyes of the Malaysian people for the more
extreme PAS. However, he must walk the delicate balance between upholding
constitutional provisions for religious freedom and keeping the more extreme Muslim
forces at bay.
“Being new [the prime minister] will be cautious in doing anything that exceeds what
is provided in the constitution,” said Rev. Wong.
Another Malaysian Christian echoes this confidence. “We are not worried because
Mahathir has made preparations,” she said. “We do not see any threat.”
The real threat to religious freedom in Malaysia is the PAS, which has grown in
power in recent years.
“Despite what Mahathir has done, how is it that PAS has taken control of one state,
then two, and keeps them?” said an observer who asked not to be identified. “PAS has no
respect for non-Muslims. This is the main worry.” PAS has asserted that they will take
control of Malaysia’s Parliament.
The Terengganu state government in northeast Malaysia, which is dominated by PAS,
passed a bill on July 8 to implement the Islamic penal code, including death by stoning
for adultery and cutting off hands and feet for theft. However, PAS has little chance of
imposing the proposed law as the federal government has vowed to block it, the BBC
reported.
The state government in Kelantan, the other Malaysian state controlled by PAS,
passed similar laws in 1993, but they have never been enforced because of federal
government opposition, the BBC report said.
Malaysia Stats
Population: 23.3 million
Malay (Muslim): 65.1%
Chinese (mostly Buddhist): 26%
Indian (mostly Hindu): 7.7%
Other: 1.2%
Of the above groups, Christians (mostly Chinese, Indians, East Malaysians) make up
9.1% of the population.
Source: National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia
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(12) Nigeria’s Anglican Church Condemns State Governments
Islamic Law Threatens Peaceful Co-Existence
by Obed Minchakpu
KADUNA, Nigeria (Compass) -- The Nigerian Anglican Church condemned the Kaduna
state government in northern Nigeria for the religious conflicts between Muslims and
Christians that have threatened peaceful co-existence in the state.
The church also condemned other northern state governors where sharia, or Islamic
law, is being practiced, for persecuting Christians and propagating a system that has
nothing to do with Christians.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the church’s synod on June 16, the church
leadership urged Nigeria’s federal government to “contain ethno-religious conflicts that
have become the hallmark of the peoples’ existence in the country.”
The Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, Anglican Bishop of Kaduna, who signed the
communiqué, described as worrisome “the incessant destruction of lives, property, and
the attack on Christians.”
The Anglican Church said, “The present situation calls for caution and restraint.”
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(13) Islamic Extremists Kill a Christian Policeman in Nigeria
Radical Muslim Preacher Claimed the Officer Had Trampled a Quran
by Obed Minchakpu
KATSINA, Nigeria (Compass) -- A Christian policeman was killed on June 6 by
Muslim extremists in Katsina state in northern Nigeria after he warned an Islamic
preacher to stop inciting Muslims against Christians.
While preaching to a crowd at the Batsari market, the Muslim leader accused the
Christian officer of trampling a Quran, the Muslims’ holy book. The accusations attracted
other Muslims who reacted by clubbing the Christian to death.
“The killing of the policeman led to pandemonium, and quite a number of people
sustained various degrees of injuries,” said S.D. Fakai, the Katsina state police
commissioner.
The commissioner described the Muslim preacher as “notorious” and said he was
directing abusive language at Christians. Then, thinking he was about to be arrested, the
preacher began shouting “God is great” while accusing the officer of trampling the
Quran.
“Soon after the [preacher’s] alarm, there was fighting between Muslims and
Christians and pandemonium in the market, which almost spread to the police station,”
Fakai told Compass. Police mobilized and quickly brought the crowd under control.
“A few suspects were arrested and the incident is under investigation,” Fakai said.
Christian-Muslim tensions have increased in northern Nigeria during the last three
years as fundamentalist Muslim leaders have pushed for the implementation of Islamic
law.
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(14) Pakistan Sentences Another Christian to Death
Now Two on Death Row, Five Appealing Life Sentences
by Barbara G. Baker
ISTANBUL (Compass) -- Another Christian was sentenced to death in Pakistan, joining
Ayub Masih in the line-up of Pakistani Christians on death row for alleged blasphemy
against Islam.
Augustine Ashiq “Kingri” Masih, 25, was convicted June 29 by the Faisalabad
District and Sessions Court on charges of slandering the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
Under the mandatory execution statutes of Section 295-C of the Pakistan penal code,
Masih must be hanged for the alleged offense.
Presiding Judge Chaudhry Mohammed Rafique also assessed an additional fine of
50,000 rupees ($830) against the young Christian.
Masih was jailed in May 2000 on accusations that he made derogatory remarks
against the prophet Mohammed while some Muslim acquaintances were questioning him
about changing his religious faith.
Two years earlier, Masih had reportedly converted to Islam in order to marry a
Muslim girl, taking the name Mohammed Abdullah. Under Islamic family law, a Muslim
woman is forbidden to marry a non-Muslim man.
But the young man was never allowed to marry the girl after converting to Islam, a
representative of the Catholic community to which Masih and his family belong told
Compass on July 1. Months later, Masih officially changed his religion back to
Christianity. The laws of Pakistan allow citizens to change their religion, although
Muslims who do so are branded “apostates” and subjected to strong family and societal
pressures.
According to a three-page inquiry report obtained by Compass which the local deputy
commissioner of police prepared on the incident, Masih’s accuser, Rana Mohammed
Nisar, had questioned Masih on March 17, 2000, asking whether it was true that after
“embracing Islam” he had returned to Christianity.
Nisar claimed that Masih told him in the presence of four other eyewitnesses that he
had become a Muslim so he could commit adultery with Muslim girls, declaring, “Your
prophet was also very fond of this practice.” Nisar told the police he slapped Masih for
these remarks, but then some 15 to 20 Christians nearby came to Masih’s aid, giving
Nisar a beating that put him in the hospital. Muslims and Christians reportedly threw
bricks at each other during the clash, which was eventually broken up by local police.
The police commissioner’s superior, identified only by his handwritten initials RDM,
initialed the police inquiry on April 27, authorizing a formal case to be filed against
Masih on May 3 at the Ghulamabad police station in Faisalabad.
In a statement reported on July 1 by the Daily Times, Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan (HRCP) head Afrasiab Khattak declared that Masih’s verdict should be appealed
“because we know that previous cases like this were eventually discarded by higher
courts.”
Now moved to death row in the Faisalabad District Jail, Masih must file a high court
appeal of his judgment. Masih has already served more than two years in jail without
benefit of bail.
Local human rights advocates confirmed that although they had long been aware of
this case, they had not been in direct contact with the prisoner, his family or his lawyer
since the June 29 verdict. “I think he had a court-appointed lawyer,” said a representative
of the HRCP, which is trying to obtain a copy of the official verdict.
Kingri Masih is the second Christian sentenced by Faisalabad’s lower courts in the
past two months under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws.
Elderly Christian Given Double Life-Sentence
Despite only hearsay evidence, an elderly Christian named Aslam Masih was
convicted of alleged blasphemy on May 7. Faisalabad Additional Sessions Court Judge
Mian Safdar Saleem ordered the defendant to serve double life-sentences in prison, along
with paying a fine of 100,000 rupees ($1,660).
Illiterate and in his 70s, Aslam Masih was accused in November 1998 of preparing a
charm with verses from the Quran to hang around a dog’s neck. The defendant, who was
badly beaten and never given proper medical treatment, has been jailed without bail ever
since.
The prosecution’s star witness denied before Judge Saleem’s court that he had even
been present at the incident or lodged any complaint against the elderly Christian. “He
accused the police of making up his statement,” the Daily Times reported on May 9. His
defense lawyers had also argued that it violated criminal procedure codes for the sessions
court to hear this particular case, since it had not been registered by either provincial or
federal government representatives.
The high court appeal for Aslam Masih, who is “very weak physically, and shaking
all the time,” is expected by his lawyers to take at least two more years.
Currently two Christians are on Pakistan’s death row on blasphemy charges, with five
more appealing life sentences and an additional three still under trial, awaiting their
verdicts.
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(15) Under the Shadow of Pakistan’s ‘Black Laws’
by Barbara G. Baker
The Pakistan government claims that international critics are unfair in allegations that the
1986 amendments to its harsh blasphemy laws target the country’s religious minorities.
According to Interior Ministry statistics, nearly 75 percent of the country’s blasphemy
cases registered every year implicate Muslim citizens. But except for a few prominent
cases, most Muslim defendants are granted bail soon after their arrest, while judicial
proceedings continue on their case.
By contrast, Christians charged with blasphemy are routinely refused bail by local
judges, who justify their incarceration as “protection” from possible attacks while under
trial. As a result, a Christian victimized by blasphemy charges typically spends years in
jail until his verdict by a lower court, and years more while his probable conviction is
being appealed to the higher courts. Once acquitted, as all have been to date, most flee
the country for asylum abroad in order to escape ongoing extremist threats against their
lives.
The bulk of blasphemy cases accusing minority citizens are filed against Ahmadi
(Qadiani) members, a sect defined by Pakistan law as heretical and thus non-Muslim.
During 2001, human rights activists confirmed that at least 40 Muslims, 23 Ahmadis,
10 Christians and two Hindus were known to have been charged under Sections 295-A, B or -C for committing alleged blasphemy against either Islam, the Quran or Mohammed.
[Return to Index]
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(16) Eleven Pakistani Christians Currently Jailed on Blasphemy Charges
Sentenced to Death:
Ayub Masih* (35): Arrested in Arifwala near Sahiwal on October 14, 1996, Ayub Masih
was accused of blasphemy against Mohammed by encouraging a Muslim villager to read
Salman Rushie’s book, The Satanic Verses. He was convicted and sentenced to death on
April 27, 1998, by the Sahiwal Sessions Court. After more than three years on death row,
his appeal was denied on July 25, 2001, by the Multan bench of the Lahore High Court.
His final appeal is now pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Unmarried, he is
in a solitary cell in the New Central Jail in Multan. He has survived two attempts on his
life since his arrest.
Ashiq ‘Kingri’ Masih (25): Arrested in Faisalabad on May 3, 2000, Kingri Masih was
accused of slandering Mohammed to some Muslims who questioned him about changing
his religious faith. Born into a Christian family, the young man had reportedly converted
to Islam in an effort to marry a Muslim girl, but later changed his religion back to
Christianity. He was convicted and sentenced to death on June 29, 2002, by the
Faisalabad Sessions Court. Unmarried, he is on death row in the Faisalabad District Jail,
with an appeal pending before the Lahore High Court.
Appealing Life-in-Prison Sentences:
Aslam Masih (70+): Arrested in Faisalabad on November 5, 1998, Aslam Masih was
accused of preparing a charm containing verses from the Quran to hang around a dog’s
neck. He was convicted on May 7, 2002, by the Faisalabad Sessions Court, which
sentenced him to serve double life-sentences in prison. The verdict is under appeal before
the Lahore High Court. He is imprisoned in the Faisalabad Central Jail.
Amjad and Asif Masih (29 and 28): Arrested in Jhang near Faisalabad on February 4,
1999, for allegedly selling drugs, these two Christians were later accused of burning
some pages from the Quran in their cell. According to a local bishop, police officers who
failed to extort bribes from the two men fabricated the blasphemy charges. They were
convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 21, 2001, by the Jhang Sessions
Court. Their appeal has been pending before the Lahore High Court since April 2001.
Amjad is married with four children, and Asif is unmarried. They are imprisoned in the
Jhang District Jail.
Rasheed and Saleem Masih (35 and 31): Arrested in Pasrur near Sialkot on June 2,
1999, these two Christian brothers were accused of blasphemy against Mohammed
during a dispute over ice cream bowls with a Muslim street vendor. They were convicted
and sentenced to 35 years in jail on May 11, 2000, by the Pasrur Sessions Court. Their
appeal hearings have been adjourned repeatedly by the Lahore High Court, now on recess
until September 2002. Both married with children, the brothers are imprisoned in
Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.
Currently under Trial, Jailed without Bail:
Ranjha Masih (54): Arrested in Faisalabad on May 8, 1998, Ranjha Masih was accused
of throwing stones that damaged a shop sign on which was written a verse from the
Quran. He was charged seven weeks later with blaspheming against Mohammed. Trial
hearings on his case did not begin for another two years before the Faisalabad Sessions
Court, which by June 2002 had yet to hear the defense side of the case. He is married
with six children and several grandchildren. He is imprisoned in the Faisalabad Central
Jail.
Pervaiz Masih (34): Arrested on April 1, 2001, in a village near Sialkot, Pervaiz Masih
was accused of slandering Mohammed to several teenage Muslim boys he was tutoring
several months earlier. A well-known high school principal, he has been refused bail, and
the police did not complete their prosecution brief on his case until the first week of July
2002. He is being tried before the Daska Additional and Sessions Court. Unmarried, he
remains imprisoned in the Daska Jail.
Anwar Kenneth: Arrested on September 25, 2001, at the Gawal Mandi police station in
Lahore, Anwar Kenneth was accused of making derogatory remarks against Mohammed.
His case is now under trial before the courts in Lahore, where he is imprisoned in the Kot
Lakhpat Jail.
Shahbaz Masih (24): Arrested on June 4, 2001, near Faisalabad, Shahbaz Masih was
accused of tearing up leaflets with verses from the Quran and desecrating the grave shrine
of a local Muslim holy man. According to his family, the defendant is mentally unstable,
having been admitted to a mental hospital twice in the past five years for treatment. Trial
proceedings in his case began in June 2002. Unmarried, he is imprisoned without bail in
the Faisalabad District Jail.
*The name “Masih” is a derivative of the word for “Messiah” or “Christ.” It is used as a
family name by many Christians in Pakistan to identify themselves as members of the
Christian minority community, which constitutes 2.5 percent of the population.
[Return to Index]
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(17) Jailed Pakistani Christian Attacked in His Cell
Violence Against Alleged ‘Blasphemers’ Escalates
by Barbara G. Baker
ISTANBUL (Compass) -- A Christian high school principal jailed 15 months ago by
Pakistan authorities for alleged blasphemy against Islam has been attacked while asleep
in his cell.
Pervaiz Masih, 34, was struck twice in the head by another inmate before he
awakened enough to wrestle with his attacker and call the jail guards, a Christian human
rights advocacy group in Lahore confirmed on July 6.
According to the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), Masih
was asleep on the night of June 17 when another inmate named Akhtar Bashir attacked
him. His assailant started beating him, drawing blood when he struck him in the face with
a sharp fragment of glass. He also tore Masih’s Bible and other Christian materials in his
cell before prison guards intervened.
“Pervaiz seemed to be under a lot of distress,” Pakistani journalist Sadia Bokhari told
Compass after visiting him in Daska’s Bukshi Khana Jail last week. “He had a slight scar
that could be seen over his left eyebrow from the attack,” she said.
The Daily Times reporter said Masih was well-respected in the Daska prison, where
the jail superintendent has allowed him some freedom of movement within the facility
and even assigned him duties over some prisoners. “Everyone there knows the allegations
against Pervaiz are false,” she said.
But after this attack, Masih admitted to her he was feeling quite insecure. He said he
had no idea why the other prisoner decided to attack him. Masih was allowed to
telephone his brother-in-law, who then informed CLAAS about the incident.
Details on the attack against Masih were only learned when he was brought before the
Daska Additional and Sessions Court for a hearing on his case. After months of delay, the
local police finally submitted their prosecution brief on his case at the July 6 hearing. But
in the absence of presiding Justice Khalid Bashir, the trial was continued until July 20.
Masih has been refused bail since his arrest in April 2001, when he was accused of
slandering the prophet Mohammed several months earlier to three teenage Muslim boys
he had been tutoring. Sajjad Ahmed, a Quran teacher in the Chelay Kay village near
Sialkot, filed the case against him.
According to CLAAS coordinator Joseph Francis, at least 10 other prisoners accused
of blasphemy have been attacked or abused in Pakistan’s jails during the past three
months, in addition to one defendant who was murdered in his cell.
Three alleged ‘blasphemers’ in Faisalabad’s Central Jail, including Christian Aslam
Masih, have been harassed by other inmates, Francis told Daily Times in an article
released on July 8. Threats against another seven, including Christian Anwar Kenneth,
have been reported in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.
Since the June 11 murder of Yousaf Ali in his Lahore cell, local and international
human rights advocates have renewed appeals to the military government of Gen. Pervez
Musharraf to keep prisoners accused of blasphemy in separate cells from other inmates.
Jailed four years ago, Ali was a 60-year-old moderate Muslim whose death sentence was
still on appeal before the high court when a fellow prisoner shot and killed him.
In an open letter to Musharraf on June 21, Amnesty International blasted the
Islamabad government for failing to “clearly and publicly condemn such acts, investigate
them promptly, independently and impartially and ensure that those responsible are held
to account.”
‘Blasphemer’ Label Sparks Deadly Attacks
Meanwhile, the volatile tensions already igniting Pakistan’s fanatic Islamist
movements continue to fuel deadly vigilante attacks against moderate Muslims, as well
as Christian and other minority citizens long targeted by the controversial “black” laws.
On July 5, a Pakistani Muslim was beaten and stoned to death as a “blasphemer” by a
village mob incited by their local mosque prayer leader. The same day, a visiting
American Muslim of Pakistani heritage only narrowly escaped a similar fate by calling
the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad while attackers were pelting his house with rocks and
chanting death threats.
Zahid Shah, 40, was killed in Chak Jhumra near Faisalabad on the night of July 5
after Imam Faqir Mohammed urged villagers over the mosque loudspeaker to “come out
of their houses and kill Zahid,” the Dawn newpaper reported. Local police, who came
four hours later and turned his body over to a relative, described the murder as an
“accidental incident” that was not a “cognizable offense.”
Although the police later registered a case against 300 unnamed villagers for the
crime, it was only after both President Musharraf and Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool
reportedly took “serious notice” of the incident that they identified six persons, including
the imam, as the mob instigators. None have been arrested or charged to date.
Earlier the same day, U.S.-born Faraz Jawed, 30, was attacked after Friday noon
prayers in the village mosque in Jaranwala when he objected to the prayer leader’s speech
cursing the Pakistan government and America.
“Instead of blaming America, you should better tell us Islamic teachings,” Jawed told
Imam Hafiz Abdul Latif, according to a report in the July 8 Dawn newspaper. Angered,
the imam declared Jawed guilty of blasphemy and ordered those in the mosque to kill
him. Although Jawed managed to escape to a relative’s home, the imam called on village
elders to punish him.
But by the time some 50 men armed with iron rods, sticks and guns had gathered to
attack the house where Jawed was hiding, Jawed had called the U.S. Embassy in
Islamabad. In response to the embassy’s request to protect the life of an American citizen
in danger, Jaranwala police promptly came to the scene, Dawn reported. Two cases have
been filed against Imam Latif and 12 other villagers for provoking the attack and
themselves violating Section 295-A of the blasphemy law. The imam and two of the
named suspects were arrested July 7.
“The Punjab government must … ask the police chief and other senior officials for an
explanation why such incidents are on the rise,” the daily Jang newspaper concluded in
an editorial July 8 on the Chak Jhumra stoning.
Since harsh amendments were added to the blasphemy laws in 1986, the vague
statutes have been misused regularly in Pakistan to settle personal grudges, family feuds
and business rivalries. Although no one has yet been executed under the laws, several
hundred have been jailed for years while under trial, and most Christians acquitted have
been forced to flee the country for asylum abroad.
[Return to Index]
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(18) Evangelical’s Prison Release Stalled in Peru
Judicial Complexities Continue to Thwart Justice in de Vinatea’s Case
by Deann Alford
AUSTIN, Texas (Compass) -- The judge in imprisoned Peruvian evangelical David de
Vinatea’s narco-trafficking case told his lawyer that she won’t rule on his bid for early
release until the lawyer withdraws a similar request made to another court.
Lawyer Gino Romero said that Judge Pilar Carbonel Vilchez of the 28th Penal Court
of Criminals in Prison told him June 26 that de Vinatea may be eligible for early release
through a prison benefit called “conditional freedom,” which he has asked for and she has
been named to grant or deny. But, she said, as long as de Vinatea’s March request for
“semi-freedom” is pending in the Second Superior Court of Criminals in Prison, she can’t
rule on the matter.
De Vinatea, 50, is serving a prison sentence for narco-trafficking crimes he says he
did not commit. A coalition of international Christian organizations, citing many judicial
irregularities in his trials and in the legal proceedings concerning his case, believe that he
is an innocent victim of corruption.
From a legal standpoint, “[Carbonel Vilchez’s reasoning] sounds strange, but
judicially it has some validity to it,” Romero told Compass.
Under Peruvian law, prisoners may request “semi-freedom” after they have
completed one-third of their sentences. “Conditional freedom” may be requested after
one-half of a sentence is completed. Prisoners released through semi-freedom are under
greater restriction than those released under conditional freedom.
De Vinatea’s wife, Chely, said that two years ago de Vinatea began asking the courts
for semi-freedom, most recently in March, since he had served more than one-third of his
16-year sentence. Judges denied all four of his requests for semi-freedom. Carbonel
Vilchez herself denied two of those requests.
Romero said he argued to Carbonel Vilchez that two different prisoner benefits were
at issue. De Vinatea asked for semi-freedom before President Alejandro Toledo signed a
March 28 commutation, or reduction, of his 16-year sentence to eight. With the sentence
reduction, de Vinatea is eligible for “conditional” freedom because he has served six
years -- more than half of the now eight-year sentence.
Romero said that he will immediately withdraw de Vinatea’s bid for semi-freedom.
“He has to be freed because now there’s no argument, neither juridic or otherwise,
that justifies his staying in prison for more time,” Romero said.
Corruption, however, is an issue that has clouded de Vinatea’s case from its start in
1995.
“Certainly we can’t be blind to the existence of corruption or dark interests behind
some people or procedures,” Romero said. “There are a lot of criminals who have
committed crimes and have been freed. Unfortunately, I know that justice in my country
isn’t carried out in a just way, with equality.
“What were trying to do is fight so that justice can be carried out,” Romero said.
“There are obstacles, but we’re trusting in God to bring out the truth and bring about
justice. We hope that with national and international support, we can get Colonel de
Vinatea out.”
***Photographs of David de Vinatea and family are available electronically. Contact
Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.
[Return to Index]
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(19) Restitution of Greek-Catholic Churches in Romania Unresolved
Churches Were Confiscated During the Communist Regime
by Willy Fautré
BUCHAREST, Romania (Compass) -- Despite establishing a Mixed Commission for
Dialogue, which brought together Romanian Orthodox and Greek-Catholic
representatives to discuss the restitution of Greek-Catholic churches confiscated by the
communist regime in the late 1940s and given to the Orthodox Church, a number of cases
remained unresolved. Two are now pending before the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg, France, and more complaints may be lodged soon.
The first case concerns the Greek-Catholic Church of St. Vasile Polona. In 1992, the
local Greek-Catholic community began legal action to get back the church, the parish
house and a plot of land for which they have had title deeds since 1892. They asked for
eviction of the current occupant, an Orthodox community.
Court hearings started in February 1992 and continue today. So far, all court
pronouncements have avoided making a final judgment. The court has said, however, that
the Greek-Catholics did not have the right to file a case because more Orthodox believers
were living in the houses surrounding the Church of St. Vasile Polona than Greek-
Catholics. The court also said that this case exceeded the scope of the judiciary and
referred it to the Mixed Commission for Dialogue.
So in January 2001, the Greek-Catholic community, addressing the European Court
of Human Rights, claimed infringement of its rights, including its right to a speedy trial.
They also charged that the Romanian government did not observe Resolution 1123
(1997) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which asked Romania to
solve the problem of the restitution of the confiscated assets, especially regarding the
church.
The Greek-Catholic parish asserted that by depriving them of the use of their place of
worship, the right of the Greek-Catholic believers to free exercise of religion has not been
and is still not being respected. The believers cannot perform religious services in their
own church and are forced to attend religious services in a church that belongs to another
religious denomination and for which they must support with personal financial
contributions.
The Greek-Catholic believers in Bucharest say they are at a disadvantage because of
their religious minority status, which they allege has been used against them by the
national courts and the majority Orthodox Church. They believe the problem is reducing
the number of Greek-Catholics because their community cannot offer normal religious
and education services, especially among their youth.
A second case concerns the Greek-Catholic parish in Sambata, in Bihor county. The
parish started legal action for the restitution of the Greek-Catholic church currently
occupied by the local Orthodox Church. They went to the court asking for a decision that
would allow services in the contested church to alternate between Greek Catholic and
Orthodox.
In October 1996, the Beius Court allowed the application regarding alternating
services, a solution endorsed by the Bihor Court in May 1997. Presiding over the appeal
by the Orthodox parish, which opposed alternating services, the Oradea Court of Appeals
dismissed the two previous rulings in January 1998 and rejected the action brought by the
Greek-Catholics as inadmissible. The Oradea Court argued that the courts do not have the
authority to judge such litigation, which could only be solved by a joint commission
consisting of the representatives from the two religious denominations.
The Greek-Catholics took the case to the European Court in September 2001,
claiming that the ruling of the Oradea Court of Appeals violated rights guaranteed in
Articles 6 and 9 of the European Human Rights Convention. They asserted that the final
decision denying authority of the courts on this issue was a denial of justice and that a
commission consisting of the parties in litigation cannot be considered an independent
and impartial court in the sense intended by Article 6.
They also stated that the refusal of the Oradea Court of Appeals to judge the
application regarding alternating religious services breached the freedom of faith of the
Greek-Catholic believers in the parish.
Mr. Laurentiu Tanase, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs, told Compass, “I think
that the two parties somewhat exaggerate the problem. Before World War II, there were
1.5 million Greek-Catholic believers for 16 million inhabitants, and one Greek-Catholic
church for every 600 worshippers. In the 1990s, there were, according to the national
census, 230,000 Greek-Catholics for 23 million inhabitants, and one church for every 650
worshippers. The Romanian state has guaranteed the restitution of buildings of which it
became owner by confiscation under communist rule and is not responsible for the
remaining controversial issues.”
He added, “With regard to the real estate and movable property of which the state is
not the owner, a Mixed Commission for Dialogue independent from the state has been
created to permit the two churches to come to an agreement.”
However, a member of the Romanian Helsinki Committee told Compass that
Romania is still responsible for the restitution of the religious buildings that the state
confiscated and gave to the Orthodox Church.
“The Romanian state has tried to wash its hands by creating the Mixed Commission,
but it is still a party in the problem.”
[Return to Index]
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(20) Romania
A Draft Law on Religions by the End of the Year?
On June 10, 2002, Compass correspondent Willy Fautre met in Bucharest with Laurentiu
D. Tanase, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs, and asked him about the future of
relations between the state and religious organizations in Romania.
Compass Direct: Since the fall of the Ceaucescu regime in December 1989, Romania
has been living with communist legislation regarding religious matters. Isn’t that strange?
Laurentiu D. Tanase: You are right, and I fully regret this situation. This legislation,
which recognizes 15 religions, is now unsuitable and has become inapplicable as such. A
draft law has been rejected by the Parliament and has been largely criticized abroad, even
in an amended form. For the last 12 years, the situation has been blocked, and I do well
have the intention of unblocking it. Moreover, I can count on the total support of our
prime minister. A draft law should be ready by the end of the year.
Compass: Can you guarantee that the new religious law will respect minority religions?
Tanase: I want to be completely sincere. The new law will be very democratic and in
harmony with the European Convention of Human Rights. I want to respect the prestige
of the majority religion at the same time as excluding all forms of discrimination with
regard to other religions. The law will not be very detailed. It will be short and will evoke
the grand principles that should orient religious life.
Compass: Do you think you will be able get a consensus on this law?
Tanase: The secretary of state for religious affairs will consult with the representatives of
diverse religions in Romania and with foreign experts. After considering their opinions,
the secretary will submit the draft law to various organizations for the defense and
promotion of religious liberty, as well as to the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and other
inter-governmental organizations.
Compass: How will you approach the “cult” question?
Tanase: Recently, a Romanian television station interviewed a selection of people off the
street to find out what the word “cult” brought to mind for them. Baptists, evangelicals,
Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses were the names that recurred most often. What to
do? I am for the organization of conferences … that would contribute to interdenominational dialogue and to better relations between the state and religions. I am in
effect convinced that dialogue leads to tolerance. We don’t want to stigmatize religious
groups that have been called “cults.”
Compass: Still, new religions are not treated the same as recognized religions.
Tanase: It is a bit difficult to give a brief answer to this question. Since 1990, after the
fall of the totalitarian communist regime, religious life in Romania has started to adopt
the normal pace of a modern democratic society. As a result, many associations with
religious aims have been granted legal recognition in order for them to enjoy freedom
without any ideological and political restrictions. Among these associations, we can point
to evangelical and Pentecostal groups, the Mormons, the Baha’is, Jehovah’s Witnesses
and so on. Hundreds of missionaries from various countries and denominations have been
able to come to Romania, and dozens of prayer houses have been built throughout the
country.
Besides religious associations, 15 religions enjoy the legal status called “recognized
religion” -- the Romanian word is culte. They are in fact “historical” religions. They
enjoy some fiscal facilities and are entitled to receive financial support from the
Romanian state. Among them is the Romanian Orthodox Church, whose believers make
up 86.6 percent of the country’s total population, but also the Catholic Church, the
Reformed Church, the Jewish Communities, etc.
It is not easy to change the legal status from a “religious association” to that of a
“recognized religion” because, according to prevailing Romanian legislation on religious
life, there are a series of conditions that have to be fulfilled. Still, the Supreme Court of
Justice recently decided to declare a new religious movement a “recognized religion,”
which is a first. Without questioning the correctness of this judicial decision, it must be
said that its enforcement does have serious implications, especially in the economic,
financial and social fields, with ramifications even for the state budget. That is why the
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs has drawn up an administrative act for
enforcing the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice. This act will have to be approved
by the Romanian Ministry of Finance and others before being discussed in government
session. As you can see, a democratic procedure provides for the access to the status of
“recognized religion” and can be used by new religious movements.
[Return to Index]
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(21) Stranded Iranian Family Granted Visa Extension in Turkey
Turkish Court Convicts Iranian Muslim for Harassing Converts
by Barbara G. Baker
ISTANBUL (Compass) -- Police authorities in central Turkey renewed the expired
residence permits of the stranded Erfani family, showing them a document from the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) headquarters in Ankara
authorizing the surprise visa extension.
Iranian Christian Mahmoud Erfani told Compass by telephone from Nevsehir that he
had been summoned on July 5 by the local police, who informed him they had received
official UNHCR authorization from Ankara to extend the Erfanis’ residence visas, which
had expired on March 28, for another six months.
The Turkish officers told Erfani, who cannot read Turkish or English, that the
document indicated he had been granted formal U.N. refugee status, pending further
procedures to immigrate abroad. No further interviews or application procedures would
be required by the UNHCR, he was assured.
“It’s a miracle!” Erfani said, admitting he had feared the police would give him a
deportation order when he reported on July 5. But so far, he has received no direct
confirmation from either the UNHCR or the Canadian Embassy regarding any change in
the status of his case.
The convert Christian family had been granted temporary residency in Turkey three
years ago, after applying for refugee status with the UNHCR on the basis of the persisting
religious persecution they had faced in Iran. Both Erfani and his wife converted from
Islam to become baptized Christians 21 years ago in their home city of Mashhad.
But without any documents to substantiate their case, the UNHCR rejected the
family’s application and two subsequent appeals. This past April, the Canadian Embassy
in Ankara also denied them immigration status, leaving them liable for deportation back
to Iran by the Turkish authorities.
“I think the appeal I took to the Canadian Embassy two weeks ago has made an
impact,” a relieved Erfani said. On June 18, Erfani submitted a written appeal to the
Canadian Embassy’s denial of his application, based on “new and relevant information”
regarding his case.
Prepared with assistance from the Colorado-based Iranian Christians International
(ICI), the appeal documented specific government persecution of Erfani’s relatives in
Mashhad since the family fled Iran. Both his brother and brother-in-law were repeatedly
detained and interrogated by Ministry of Information (MOI) agents.
He also produced a Turkish court document proving that his family had been
threatened and harassed in recent months by an Iranian Muslim who moved into his
neighborhood in Nevsehir. Identified as Mohammed Amin Ebrahimzadeh, the Iranian
had expressed great interest when he learned that the Erfani family were Christians,
asking for a Bible and Christian literature and posing many questions about their faith,
worship and baptism.
In early April, Erfani invited Ebrahimzadeh to attend the small house church that met
in his home for worship. Ebrahimzadeh observed their prayers, hymns and Bible study.
But a few days later, he came to Erfani’s home at midnight, pounding on the door and
waking up the entire family.
When Erfani opened the door, the man grabbed his collar. “He began insulting my
Christian faith and made offensive remarks about Jesus Christ,” Erfani said. “At the end
of his tirade, he gave us an ultimatum: My family could either leave our apartment and
neighborhood, or expect the worst.”
“As a Muslim, [Ebrahimzadeh] was angry at my family for abandoning Islam and
embracing Christianity,” Erfani stated.
Shaken by the threat, Erfani reported it to the police, who asked him to produce
witnesses. Six of Erfani’s neighbors went on his behalf to testify to the police, who then
detained Ebrahimzadeh. In an April 15 verdict signed by the Nevsehir state prosecutor,
Ebrahimzadeh was found guilty of slander under Article 344 of the Turkish penal code.
“This episode is exactly the sort of treatment my family and I can expect if we are
forced to return to Iran,” Erfani said in his June 18 appeal, “only the persecution could be
much more serious.”
In a separate exhibit attached to the appeal, Erfani detailed his recollection of the
specific questions, answers and comments given during his interview in the Canadian
Embassy two months earlier. A Turkish Muslim immigration officer conducted the onehour interview on April 18.
Noting that “any Muslim must harbor a strong dislike for my family and me due to
our conversion from Islam,” Erfani requested that his appeal and any further interview on
his case be processed through “non-Muslim officers” of Canadian immigration.
A Canadian Embassy official declined to comment on the Erfani case, citing privacy
regulations on all immigration matters.
The UNHCR’s apparent reversal of the Erfanis’ rejected refugee status is expected to
pave the way for Canadian authorities to admit them to the application process for
immigration to Canada, where a Toronto church has pledged sponsorship for the family.
Erfani’s wife, Atefeh, who has suffered from advancing multiple sclerosis for the past
eight years, is now in a wheelchair. Their daughters Arezoo, 19, Atoussa, 15, and
Armineh, 9, have not been able to attend school for the past three years while living in
Nevsehir.
The Erfanis’ home city of Mashhad is known as a center of Shiite fanaticism in the
Islamic Republic of Iran. After a local convert pastor was hanged for apostasy in 1990,
the only two Protestant churches in the city were forced to close, and a number of
converts to Christianity fled the country to escape arrest and execution.
Erfani himself was subjected to repeated abductions by the secret police in 1998, who
then forcibly evicted his family and confiscated all their household furniture and
appliances in the spring of 1999. Weeks after moving his family to Tehran, he learned
that other converts were being arrested and questioned about him. Secretly, he packed up
his family and fled with them across the Turkish border on July 1, 1999.
***Photographs of the Erfani family are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct
for pricing and transmittal.
[Return to Index]
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(22) Turkish Christian Acquitted of Slander Charges
Diyarbakir Church Construction Still Stalled
by Barbara G. Baker
ISTANBUL (Compass) -- A Turkish Christian facing up to a year in jail for an alleged
insult against Islam was acquitted on June 26 by a criminal court in southeastern Turkey.
Diyarbakir’s Fourth Criminal Court ordered all charges dropped against Kemal
Timur, a member of a local Protestant Christian congregation who was arrested two years
ago while legally distributing New Testaments in the city.
“We certainly did not expect my acquittal to come yesterday,” Timur told Compass
from Diyarbakir on June 27. His lawyer had advised him not to attend the hearing, he
said, since it was expected that his accusers would fail to produce the documents ordered
at the last hearing, forcing another delay in the case.
“We had argued at the last hearing that it was unnecessary for the police witnesses
who had been transferred to another post to be interviewed by the court,” advocate Kadir
Pekdemir said. “So the judge changed his mind and dispensed with their missing
depositions, ordering the case dismissed.”
“This is the Lord’s work!” Timur declared happily. “It is a miracle for me and my
family,” he said.
Timur, 33, was accused of making a slanderous comment against the Muslim prophet
Mohammed in May 2000, when he was detained for 24 hours for distributing free New
Testaments on a public street.
Turkey’s laws on freedom of religious expression allow such distribution activities,
although police officials routinely arrest individuals on the basis of an alleged complaint
from some “anonymous citizen.”
Timur was released without charge after being held overnight and beaten by local
police, but six months later, the state prosecutor opened a slander case against him.
The acquittal came in the seventh hearing on the case since his trial began on January
30, 2001.
Timur credited the prayers of Christians around the world for his acquittal. Beginning
in March, he said, he has received hundreds of letters and cards in many languages from
various countries, including Germany, England and the United States. “There have been
sacks full of them,” he exclaimed, “and every one told me they were praying for me!”
Inquiries regarding Timur’s case had come to the Turkish government from a variety
of human rights advocacy groups, including the International Sakharov Committee in
Denmark and Sign of Hope in Germany. Four foreign observers were among a dozen
individuals who attended the last hearing on the case in February.
Congregation Sealed Out
Meanwhile, the Protestant congregation to which Timur belongs is still waiting for
official permission to finish its nearly completed church building in Diyarbakir. Ordered
to stop construction last November over so-called “zoning and building code” violations,
the congregation has been sealed out of the premises by government order and forbidden
to finish the building’s interior.
The three-floor structure is designed to include living accommodations for Pastor
Ahmet Guvener and his family, as well as the church’s sanctuary and related facilities.
Guvener was put on trial for making “illegal changes” in the architectural plan of the
building. At the initial hearing on May 28, Guvener said that it was “very obvious” to the
court that his building plans and documents proved that the purpose and required
permissions for the construction had been open and complete. “My next hearing is set for
October 8,” Guvener told Compass, “and I expect it to be the last one.”
“It’s pure harassment,” a recent visitor to the region observed, in describing the
criminal charges made against both Guvener and Timur. “But it’s not clear exactly where
the real objections are coming from at this point.”
In the meantime, the Diyarbakir Council for the Protection of Cultural and Natural
Riches continues to stall on any official response to the church’s revised set of
architectural plans, submitted weeks ago for approval. Guvener and his architect were
told the blueprints will be examined at the council’s next meeting.
***Photos of Kemal Timur, Ahmet Guvener and the unfinished Diyarbakir Protestant
Church are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.
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(23) Turkish Police Close Iskenderun Protestant Church
Congregation’s Activities Accused of ‘Offending Society’
by Barbara G. Baker
ISTANBUL (Compass) -- Turkish security police ordered a Protestant Christian
congregation meeting for 40 years in the southeastern port city of Iskenderun to close its
doors in mid June, declaring the church had “no legal basis” and that its activities were
harmful to society.
Pastor Yusuf Yasmin, 71, was served official notice by the security police of Hatay
province to close and stop all activities of the New Testament Church in Iskenderun.
The abrupt order was dated and delivered on June 14 to Yasmin, who was ordered to
remove the church sign and list of worship services from the building by 5:00 p.m. the
same day.
According to a copy of the directive obtained by Compass, the church was ordered to
close “because your activities will incite religious, sectarian and dervish-order
discrimination; will harm religious and national feelings; and will create offense in the
society.”
Signed by District Security Director Salih Gokalp, the order declared that the
church’s location had not been approved in the municipal zoning plan and that no
religious or other private education of any kind could be allowed on the premises without
the express permission of the Ministry of Education.
The church has met in its current location for the past seven years without previous
complaints from the Turkish authorities.
Yasmin and the majority of his congregation, averaging 80 to 90 worshippers at
Sunday services, are Turkish citizens from a variety of ethnic Christian backgrounds. The
Protestant church has met for worship in the city since 1963, although after its original
place of worship was torn down in 1970, the congregation met in the church facilities of
the local Armenian Orthodox Church for 25 years.
In 1995, the congregation purchased and moved into its own church facility in
Iskendurun’s Piri Reis district, notifying local authorities on June 26, 1995, of the
location and set times of worship, Bible studies and religious seminars.
In compliance with local zoning regulations, Yasmin informed all the other owners of
residences and shops in the building that his church had purchased Flat C to be used as a
place of Christian worship. “None of them had any problem with this, and all of them
signed the notarized forms giving their consent,” Yasmin said.
In an indirect admission, the police order acknowledges that “there is no provision in
our laws concerning the construction and use of ‘places of worship.’” But it goes on to
insist that “it is not possible for places of worship to be built in random places” under the
country’s zoning laws.
“We are not enemies of the state,” a bewildered Yasmin said today by telephone from
Iskenderun. “We love our nation. So why are they doing this to us?” After pastoring and
preaching for 43 years, Yasmin admitted he had found it very difficult to be forbidden to
worship with his congregation for the past month.
A lawyer retained by the New Testament Church confirmed on July 9 that he is
preparing to file a case before the administrative courts on behalf of the Iskenderun
Protestants to regain their constitutional rights to freedom of worship and religious
activities.
Iskenderun is located just 25 miles from Antakya (ancient Antioch), where the New
Testament says Christ’s followers were first called Christians. With a population of
160,000, Iskenderun still bears the name of its 4th century B.C. founder, Alexander the
Great.
***Photographs of the New Testament Church in Iskenderun are available electronically.
Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.
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(24) Vietnam Church Leader Felled by Heart Attack
Pastor Faced High Expectations from Colleagues and Heavy Pressure from Authorities
Special to Compass Direct
HO CHI MINH CITY (Compass) -- The Rev. Pham Xuan Thieu, president of the
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), died of a heart attack on June 24 in Ho Chi
Minh City. He was 61.
The Rev. Thieu, a professor of theology, had been elected president of the ECVN
(South) in February 2001. He was hospitalized with a variety of infirmities only weeks
before his election, which he reluctantly accepted. He later testified to being healed of
“many weaknesses” after he accepted the leadership of the church organization.
After the government confirmed the legal recognition of the ECVN (South) in April
2001, the Rev. Thieu had the task, as he described it, of “rebuilding a building out of
complete rubble.” For 26 years since the fall of South Vietnam to the communist regime,
the ECVN (South) had been alternately ignored, harassed and persecuted. The Rev. Thieu
kept a heavy schedule of visiting churches and of receiving pastors of harassed churches
from around the country.
A friend close to Rev. Thieu recently remarked that he feared the pressure on him was
unbearable. Some of the pressure was from ECVN members whose expectations
following legalization were “unrealistically high.” Government authorities have kept the
church heavily restricted, and a few pro-government pastors were lobbying against
Thieu’s leadership.
House church leaders criticized the Rev. Thieu for his visit to the U.S. in May with
the Bureau of Religious Affairs. But he told friends that he feared consequences from the
government for not going would be worse than criticism for going.
ECVN (South) members are very concerned about the immediate future, a source
reported. Thieu’s successor, ECVN (South) first vice president the Rev. Doung Thanh, is
considerably older than Pastor Thieu, physically infirm and “no longer sharp and astute in
his dealings.”
A funeral service for the Rev. Thieu was held on Friday, June 28. An estimated 3,000
Christians attended. The Rev. Thieu is survived by his wife, Phuong Lan, and two sons.
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(25) Hundreds Attend Pastor’s Funeral
A colleague who attended the funeral of the Rev. Pham Xuan Thieu in Ho Chi Minh City
(formally Saigon) wrote a moving letter describing the experience. Here is a translation
of excerpts from the letter:
Saigon -- June 29, 2002
Dear Brothers,
Concerning the funeral of the Rev. Pham Xuan Thieu -- the Lord was with us.
The ceremony of preparing the body and committing it to a coffin took place at the
ECVN president’s manse at 30 Ho Hao Hon Street, District 1 at 5:00 p.m. on June 25.
The second vice president of the ECVN (South), the Rev. Tang van Hi, preached the
message.
The ceremony of bearing the coffin to the church began at 6 a.m. on June 26. It was
taken to the Saigon Church on Tran Hung Dao Boulevard.
The ceremony of viewing and paying respects began at 8 a.m. on June 26 and
continued until the evening of June 27. There were delegations from the National
Fatherland Front and the National Bureau of Religious Affairs. The consuls general of the
U.S. and Canada also came. Prime Minister Pham van Khai sent a wreath.
Representatives from churches all over Vietnam came as well. There were over 200
wreaths. … On both evenings there was a time for prayer and a message.
The funeral service began at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 28. There were at least 3,000
Christians in attendance and over 100 cars. The service was led by the Rev. Phan Quang
Thieu (pastor of the Saigon Church). The funeral sermon was preached by the Rev.
Duong Thanh (the first vice president of the ECVN -- South). The messages of
condolences were read by the Rev. Le Van Thien. … The Ho Chi Minh City
representative of the National Fatherland Front spoke on behalf of the government. The
widow of Pastor Thieu gave words of thanks. She spoke very sincerely and openly. Her
words of thanks to God moved everyone deeply.
It was after 10 a.m. before the funeral procession left the Saigon Church and went to
the Christian cemetery at Lai Thieu. And it was past 12 noon before we dropped earth on
the coffin in the grave and the committal service was finally finished.
The church is strong as it faces an unknown future. The Lord will care for His
church!
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COMPASS DIRECT
Global News from the Frontlines
Jeff Taylor, Managing Editor
Gail Wahlquist, Editorial Assistant
Suzi Quinones, Design
Bureau Chiefs:
Barbara Baker, Middle East
Alex Buchan, Asia
For subscription information, contact:
Compass Direct
P.O. Box 27250
Santa Ana, CA 92799
USA
Phone: 949-862-0314
FAX: 949-752-6536
E-mail: compassdirect@earthlink.net
www.compassdirect.org