By Shelley Smith
 |
Retaliation and violence towards Christians in regions of the Middle East and in India has increased and is spreading. The Taliban, other fundamentalist terrorist groups, and Hindu extremists are using acts of violence against Christian religious groups and others to convey their message of intolerance of Christian proselytizing and other conversions to continue their acts of terrorism and limit religious freedoms. This has lead to property destruction, physical violence, kidnapping, and death to Christians and other innocent people.
During October 2007, in Rajasthan, India, the Islamic religious shrine, Ajmer Shrief was attacked, two persons were killed, and several injured. In May 2008, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, six bombs exploded within 15 minutes in marketplaces close to Hindu temples killing about 100 persons and injuring 400.
In Orissa, India, that is governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Hindu extremists attacked Christian villagers and churches in the Kandhamal district destroying 700 Christian homes, affecting 22 Christian owned businesses, and damaging approximately 100 Christian churches.
According to the Associated Press article Followers of Ancient Faith Caught in Iraq’s Fault Lines, September 30, 2008, Bhubneshwar, India, the violence has worsened. It has been estimated, according to the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India that 40 Christians have been killed and attacks on Christians who make up 2.5 percent of India’s population of 1.1 billion, has spread to the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The International Religious Freedom Report 2008, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor states the India Constitution provides for freedom of religion, but there are some state level laws and policies that impose limits of this freedom by enacting and amending “anti-conversion” laws to restrict and regulate religious proselytism. This was defined as “conversions” occurring only between denominations of Hinduism, but is not effectively policed.
In Kabul, Afghanistan, it is prohibited by law to proselytize. In Kabul, the AP article Taliban gunmen kill Christian aid worker in Kabul, October 20, 2008, by Amir Shah, states Taliban gunmen, who claimed responsibility, open fired on a Christian aid worker, killing her as she was walking to work. The group stated they targeted her because she was spreading the Christian religion.
Quoted within the article, “This woman came to Afghanistan to teach Christianity to the people of Afghanistan,” militant spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, told The Associated Press. “Our (leaders) issued a decree to kill this woman. This morning our people killed her in Kabul.”
There has been an increase of kidnappings in Kabul of Westerners and during mid-August, three women who worked for the aid group, International Rescue Committee were shot and killed in a southern province of Kabul. During 2007, the aid group Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprise (SERVE) experienced the terror of kidnapping. In southern Afghanistan, 23 South Korean workers were taken from a group and taken hostage. Two were killed and the rest were later released. During 2001, two Americans and eight international aid workers were imprisoned for Christian proselytizing. They were later freed.
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi Christians began receiving death threats and what followed was murder of religious leaders, threats of violence, or death if they do not abandon their homes and businesses. There was further destruction and bombing of Christian churches and other places of worship. Radio Free Europe Iraq: Christian Population Dwindling Due To Threats, Attacks, May 31, 2007, by Kathleen Ridolfo, states that not only had there been kidnapping and murder, but 27 churches have been destroyed and due to fear and intimidation by threats, other churches and monasteries had been abandoned. Some Christian leaders believe there is a campaign of ethnic-cleansing being conducted against the Christians and many are being driven out by Islamist fundamentalists and criminal gangs and are fleeing Mosul after two suicide bomber attacks.
In May 2008, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) announced its 2008 recommendations for countries that engage in or conduct the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. The Commission’s recommendations for 2008 are Burma, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. The countries whose conditions that do not rise to the statutory level and the CPC believes requires close monitoring are; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria. In 2007, Iraq was placed on the Commissions Watch List and the CPC continues to have serious concerns about its’ religious freedom conditions.
About the Author
Shelley Smith is an expert in analysis and research on varied national and international issues, homeland security, terrorism and counterterrorism, law enforcement, criminal justice systems, and other. Smith has an A.S. in Criminal Justice with Honors and a B.A. in Intelligence Studies. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Intelligence Studies Capstone with a concentration in Middle Eastern Studies at American Military University.
Comments are closed.