Faith Is a Human Right

2. Jahrgang

MARTIN MBS TEXTE 41 BUCER 2005 SEMINAR

Thomas Schirrmacher Faith is a Human Right

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Faith is a Human Right ...... 3 The author ...... 7 Impressum ...... 8

Originally published as: Thomas Schirrmacher. „Glauben ist ein Menschenrecht“. ai-Journal (Journal of Amnesty International Germany) 8/2000: 6–9. From the German Journal of Amnesty International Germany Translated by Cambron Teupe

1. Auﬂ. 2005 Thomas Schirrmacher Faith is a Human Right

Faith is a Human Right Thomas Schirrmacher

In many countries of the world, people punishable by death if the accused does still suffer persecution and discrimina- not recant.” (www.state.gov/g/drl/irf) tion, because they belong to a particular Even if few are actually convicted for con- religion. Religious liberty and human verting Moslems – such cases are seldom rights are very closely related to each other made public – this law breaks Article 18 – countries which restrict religious free- of the Universal Declaration of Human dom normally transgress against other Rights (UNO, 1948), which explicitly human rights, as well. includes the right to change religion. Donato Lama, a Catholic Philippino, Christians are particularly threatened by had been working in Saudi Arabia for Saudi intolerance towards other religi- ﬁfteen years, when policemen, searching ons. The majority of Christians in Saudi his home in October 1995, found a photo Arabia are foreign guestworkers. Catholic of him at his devotions. Accused of evan- and Evangelical Philipinos, especially, are gelising, he was arrested and incarcerated frequently swindled, and imprisoned for without contact to the outside world, fet- months, tortured and deported. tered and beaten. In December 1996, he was condemned to a year and a half prison Article 18 of the Universal Declara- and seventy lashes of the whip. tion of Human Rights ( UNO, 1948) In its biannual statistic for 2000, the „Everyone has the right to freedom of Christian organisation Open Doors desi- thought, conscience and religion; this gnated Saudi Arabia the country with the right includes freedom to change his least religious freedom. A 1999 report by religion or belief, and freedom, either the US government on religious liberty alone or in community with others and says of Saudi Arabia: “Freedom of religion in public or private, to manifest his does not exist. Islam is the ofﬁcial religion religion or belief in teaching, practice, and all citizens must be Muslims. The worship and observance.“ Government prohibits the public practice of other religions. Private worship by non- Not only non-Moslems suffer persecu- Muslims is permitted. … Under Shari‘a tion – Islamic groups which do not agree (Islamic law), upon which the Govern- with the Hanbalitic school, such as Shiites ment bases its jurisprudence, conversion and the Islamic sects, are also attacked by by a Muslim to another religion is consi- the religious police ‚Muttawwa‘. Such per- dered apostasy. Public apostasy is a crime secution of religious groups other than the

MBS TEXTE 41 3 Thomas Schirrmacher Faith is a Human Right state religion occurs in many countries. been almost eradicated in Iran, the coun- Another universal trend can be observed try of its origin. In other countries, such in Saudi Arabia, as well. Cases dealing as Egypt, its members are oppressed in with religious liberty are frequently left up every way possible. In Turkmenistan, to the secret police instead of being taken the Baha‘is lost their registration in 1997, to court. because they could no longer exhibit five In states which limit religious liberties, hundred Turkmenien members, and are other human rights are frequently igno- no longer allowed to hold worship ser- red, as well. There is a close relationship vices. In June 1999, the members of the between the two. Millions suffer infrin- Bahaí center, Ashgabat, were warned by gements of their human rights simply government officials against distributing because they belong to a certain religious religious literature. The Baha‘is repre- group. sent the most heavily persecuted religious Religious freedom is a fundamental group in the world. human right. Article 2 of the Universal In Pakistan, blasphemy against Islam Declaration of Human Rights condemns or Mohammed is punishable by death. discrimination due to race, color, gender, Due to their beliefs, Christians are always language, political convictions or religion. in danger of being accused of blasphemy. Article 18 defines the contents of freedom In May of this year, the brothers Rasheed of thought, conscience and religion (see and Saleem Masih were condemned to above). thirtyfive years of prison and high fines, Human rights and religious liberty have because they are alleged to have spoken of a common origin. The first human rights Islam and Mohammed disrespectfully. catalogues were composed in France in The infringement of religous freedom, opposition to a tyrannical church. In the which takes on many forms, is not always United States, they were drafted primarily carried out by the State. Religious people by men who had fled religious persecu- are especially opposed to groups different tion in Europe. The demand for religious from the dominant faith of their society liberty has thus strongly influenced the and governments often tolerate such per- development of the idea of human rights. secution. India and Pakistan are examples. For many years, the issue of religious Ayub Masih has survived two attempts on freedom was overshadowed by the occup- his life after fanatic Moslems had sworn ation with Communism. Since the fall of to kill him. All forteen Christian families the Soviet Union, however, Islamic states in his home village in Pakistan had to flee which persecute their citizens on religious and hide. Ayub Masih is less afraid of the grounds have attracted attention. government than of Islamic extremists, Not only Christians are affected. The since two Christians aquitted by the Baha‘is suffer relentless persecution in courts have already been murdered. many Islamic states. This new religion, Countries without a state religion also which developed out of Shiite Islam, has persecute believers. In China, Christians

PRO MUNDIS 4 Thomas Schirrmacher Faith is a Human Right have been arrested and condemned to believers to return to their native religion, long imprisonment. Members of Charis- since the Vietnamese Constitution of matic or unorthodox groups are condem- 1992 limits religious liberty to the right to ned without due course of law to ‘reedu- practice one’s national religion. cation throug labor’. In July 2000, the One form of religious limitation is the religious group Falun Gong was outlawed. forced registration of religious groups, Since then, thousands have been arrested such as in Turkmenistan. In its ‚Con- for practicing their faith or for protesting cerns in Europe‘, Amnesty International against the prohibition. Many have been reports a wave of police raids on Protestant condemned to prison for up to eighteen churches. Adventist and Baptist worship years. At the same time, the government services are interrupted, religious groups has increased its supervision of other ille- are dissolved and clergymen are fined. gal religous groups, including Christian Officially registered religious groups enjoy groups not belonging to the two churches liberty, but nonregistered groups face all officially sanctioned by the State. Out- sorts of chicanery. To obtain registration, lawed groups include many Evangelical a group must overcome several hurdles. churches and Roman Catholic churches One problem is the requirement that the which do not wish to join the indepen- group include at least five hundred adult dent Chinese Catholic church. According Turkmenish citizens as members. At the to estimations, there are some sixty mil- moment, only the Russian Orthodox lion Protestants in home churches and Church and Sunni Moslems are approved. about eight million Roman Catholics in The Jehovah’s Witnesses are also under the undergrounds. In Tibet, where the pressure: a nineteen year old Witness, Chinese authorities persecute Buddists, Kurban Sakirow was condemned to two hundreds of Buddist nuns and monks are years in prison in April of 1999, because in prison. he refused to serve in the military because In Cuba, Evangelical churches are fre- of his faith. quently visited by the secret police, who Religious persecution does not always want to prevent evangelistic activities. It is originate with the State. Especially in illegal to speak about the faith in public, Latin American countries with drug church buildings may not be built or mafias or guerilla armies, local bosses repaired, private meetings are not allowed. persecute believers. In Peru, Christians In spite of these difficulties, experts esti- who protest against the mafia, the drug mate that there are 10.000 home churches business or state terrorism, live in great in Cuba. The Vietnamese government danger. Seven hundred pastors have been attacts native Christians in a massive pro- murdered, and no one knows how many paganda campaign. A major target is the laymen have been killed. Many innocent 150.000 to 300.000 Hmong who were Christians have also been imprisoned as converted in a revival beginning in 1985. terrorists. The government wants to force these

MBS TEXTE 41 5 Thomas Schirrmacher Faith is a Human Right

Columbian Christians are also endan- creating a committee of representative of gered. A liberation army kidnapped 150 many religions and human rights organi- participants in a Catholic mass in May of sations, which annually reports on the reli- this year. Nineteen of these people have gious liberty in the whole world. Christian still not been released. Since Protestant engagement thus serves all religions. The free churches are often the only social theology of all Christian confessions (with institutions which refuse to pay protection few exceptions) makes religious liberty money or to plant narcotics, the mafia for all beliefs a fundamental tenet of our murders their pastors and destroys their faith. Religious persecution concerns not churches. Many Christians have fled into only Christians, but probably half of the the cities, but revival in the endangered victims are Christians. areas provides new victims. Critics constantly insist that persecution Religiously motivated human rights is due to the intensive missionary work activists and social workers are constantly of Evangelicals in the Second and Third threatened when they come to the aid of Worlds. As long as evangelistic efforts persecuted or discriminated minorities. are carried out by persuasion in a peace- In July, Amnesty International instituted ful way, they are protected by religious a program to support Dionisio Vendre- freedom The World Evangelical Alliance sen, who has received several threats on – the international umbrella organisation his life. He is the regional coordinator of of Evangelicals – is quite aware that the the ecclesiastical organisation ‚Commisao present increase in persecution against Pastoral der Terra‘ (CPT) in the Brazilian Christians can be explained by the enor- state Paraná. The organisation combats mous growth of Evangelical churches due the increasing violence in the region and to missions in countries in which human aids victims of violence in legal matters. rights infringements are common. The As many Christian organisations are number of Chinese Christians has grown mainly involved with persecuted Christi- to about fifty five million. Religious liberty ans, they are criticised for neglecting other is inseparable from the right to evangelise. religions. A debate in the German Parli- In Germany the law considers the right ament over the persecution of Christians to the peaceful propagation of one’s own degenerated into a dispute on the question faith (the right to missions) as a funda- of whether dealing with the persecution of mental element of the right to one’s own Christians meant that members of other convictions. religions do not suffer persecution or whe- All people world wide, whether religious ther Christians are more important than or not, should join together to acheive others. In realiy, protection of Christians’ religious liberty and human rights for all. rights to religious liberty has always incre- Religious liberty cannot be disconnected ased the protects of others. and should be available to all. Where it is In the United States, the activities of threatened, all suffer. Christian organisations have succeeded in

PRO MUNDIS 6 Thomas Schirrmacher Faith is a Human Right

ÜberÜber den den Autor Autor

Thomas Schirrmacher holds chairs in ethics, world religions and international development in Germany, USA, India and South Africa, is rector of Martin Bucer Theological Seminary and pre- sident of Gebende Hände gGmbH (Giving Hands), an internati- onally active relief organisation, as well as owner of a publishing house and coowner of a consulting company. He is secreatry of the Religious Freedom Commission of the German Evangelical Alliance and member of the same of the World Evangelical Alliance. He has authored several books on religious freedom and human rights. He has authored and edited 46 books and is listed in Marquis‘ „Who‘s Who in the World“, in „International Who is Who of Professionals“, in „Who is Who in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland“ and in „International Who‘s Who in Distance Learning“. He holds the following degrees: M.Th. (STH Basel, Switzerland), Drs.theol. (Theologische Hogeschool, Kampen, Netherlands), Dr.theol. (Missiology, Johannes Calvin Stichting, Kampen, Netherlands), Ph.D. (Cultural Anthropology, Paciﬁc Western University, Los Angeles), Th.D. (Ethics, Whiteﬁeld Theological Seminary, Lakeland), D.D. (honorary doctorate, Cranmer Theological House, Shreveport).

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