Religious Freedom Issues October 2001

Sudan: Government Bombs Christian Refugees

The Islamic government of Sudan has stepped up its attacks on Christians and animists in the south of the country. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that Sudanese aircraft dropped high explosive shrapnel-loaded bombs on a refugee village with 20,000 people in the Bahr al Ghazal province. Antonov bombers attacked the village on October 5, 6 and 8. "Christians and their faith are constantly attacked on Sudanese national radio, television and newspapers. Muslim converts to Christianity have been singled out for particularly harsh treatment," says the report.

Azerbaijan: Government Official Tells Adventists to Stop Work

The head of Azerbaijan's secret service told Adventists and other religious minorities to stop their activities. The pretext given was that the government could not guarantee the safety of such groups in the predominantly Muslim country. The Agence-France-Presse report quotes secret service chief Namig Abbassov as saying that the Catholic church, Jewish groups, Hare Krishna devotees as well as Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist churches should "severely restrict their activities, or even better, stop them altogether." The report also mentions that "last year officials attempted to close down the Seventh Day Adventist church in Azerbaijan, but were forced to relent after the then United States ambassador intervened."

Vatican City: Pope says religious freedom is "indispensable" to avoid religious wars

In his October 18 message the Pope called for "each one to take into account the essential requirements of freedom of religion and of conscience…. This is the only hope for warding off the dread specter of those wars of religion that have so often bloodied human history, and which have often forced many people to abandon their own countries…. It is urgent to work so that the name of the one and only God may become what it is, ever more a name of peace and a summons to peace." With a long history of religious persecution itself, the Catholic Church now claims to be committed to the principles of religious liberty.

Nigeria: Adventist Lawyers Condemn Religious Violence

The Nigerian Association of Adventist Lawyers (NAALS) says that religious violence is made worse when governments support and fund either side of the Christian-Muslim conflicts, according to a P.M. News Service report. Thousands have lost their lives in the inter-religious conflict, especially in the northern part of the country. "State funding of Islamic or Christian pilgrimages stirs up religious discord in the country," says the statement, adding that allowing the use of national symbols by a religious group provides false legitimization.

USA: Religious Freedom Report Released

The Seventh-day Adventist Church released this month the Religious Freedom World Report 2001. The report assigns a total of 192 countries to five separate categories of religious freedom, from most tolerant to least tolerant. "There is a global trend away from religious liberty. Intolerance encouraged by the dominant religions or ideologies is on the rise. The separation of religion from the state is no longer a well accepted concept in many areas of the world, as governments interfere in the religious field, and religions in the political arena, to the detriment of all concerned," says primary report author Dr. John Graz. Report available here

Viola Hughes
Phone: 301-680-6683
Fax: 301-680-6695
E-mail: HughesV@gc.adventist.org