International Perspectives International Perspectives ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Proceedings of Conferences Proceedings of Conferences on Religious Freedom on Religious Freedom 2010 - 2012 2010 - 2012 Freedom of religion is a universal value. The freedom to profess and practice one’s faith, to believe, and the freedom of expression and behaviour in public life as believer, is a birth right of every human being. It is ingrained in every human heart. This is what we, Europeans believe. Those rights are justly recognised under international law. The promotion of international religious freedom is one of the priorities of the European People’s Party (EPP) Group at the European Parliament. It is a priority for me, as Vice- Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for interreligious dialogue and intercultural activities – Jan Olbrycht MEP As there can be no security in Europe unless there is also security in the Mediterranean; likewise, there can be no security in the Middle East and North Africa or any other part of the world unless there is (also security and) full respect for religious freedom between Muslim majorities and other religious minorities. It should be stated that this kind of interaction also applies to interactions between other religious majorities and religious minorities. The EU has got to take this on board. Indeed, “a closer inspection of the obvious can show us a way forward and help shape our approach to a given problem.” Getting to grips with this is vital in making progress towards a solution. “Seriously understanding the religious dimension of the public sphere is vital in many situations.” – Joe Vella Gauci COMECE Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) in the European Parliament 60 Rue Wiertz B-1047 Bruxelles T + 32(2) 228 32113 www.eppgroup.eu [email protected] Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) 19, Square de Meeûs B-1050 Brussels, Belgium T + 32(2) 235 05 10 www.comece.eu [email protected] Brussels, 14th August 2013 ISBN: 978-2-9601408-0-4 Published by: EPP Group Edited: COMECE © COMECE, EPP Group Translation&Design: Irmina Nockiewicz International Perspectives ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Proceedings of Conferences on Religious Freedom 2010 - 2012 collected by Joe Vella Gauci TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD JAN OLBRYCHT Freedom of religion - a universal value 9 INTRODUCTION JOSÉ LUIS BAZÁN 11 The Right to Freedom of Religion in International Perspective CHAPTER 1 PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS - 2010 1 ARIE DE PATER 25 Serve the Suffering 2 BERTHOLD PELSTER 34 A Catholic charity working to help persecuted Christians 3 BRIAN J GRIM 42 Government and Social Restrictions on Religion in a Global Context 4 BARANI EDUARDO HIIBORO KUSSALA 52 Persecution of Christians in the Sudan may encourage them to choose Secession in the forthcoming Referendum 9th January 2011 5 LOUIS SAKO 63 In Iraq: Persecuted Christians but we are not giving up 6 T M JOSEPH 66 Religious Freedom in India: Challenges and Opportunities 7 KOK KSOR 71 Vietnamese Military and Police Forces Attack Degar Christians CHAPTER 2 THE CHRISTIANS IN THE ARAB WORLD – ONE YEAR AFTER THE ‘ARAB SPRING’ - 2012 1 JOE VELLA GAUCI 81 Tensions and aspirations of Arab Christians 2 ARIE DE PATER 84 Challenges for Christians in the Arab World 3 BERTHOLD PELSTER 90 Christians in the Arab Context after the Uprisings 4 BRIAN J GRIM 96 Rising Restrictions on Religion: Part of the Context of the Arab Spring 5 DIMYANOS KATTAR 121 On the Situation of Christians in Lebanon 6 CORNELIUS HULSMAN 127 The Harms of Misreporting on Egypt’s Christians 5 7 YOUSSEF SWEIF 142 Sons of the Land: Christians in the Arab World 8 PIERBATISTA PIZZABALLA 145 Christians, One Year after the Arab Spring CHAPTER 3 CYPRUS: AT THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES AND RELIGION - 2012 1 JOE VELLA GAUCI 155 The Catholic Presence in Cyprus 2 PORFYRIOS PAPASTYLIANOU 160 Religious Freedom in the Republic of Cyprus 3 JOE VELLA GAUCI 169 The Catholic Presence in Cyprus 4 GIOVANNA PARRAVICINI 175 Cyprus. At the Crossroads of Cultures and Religions CHAPTER 4 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WORLDWIDE REPORT - 2012 1 PETER SEFTON-WILLIAMS 185 Religious Freedom in the World 2 ANDRZEJ HALEMBA 192 Religious Freedom in some Countries of the Middle East and Pakistan 3 JOE VELLA GAUCI 201 Conclusion APPENDIX 1 MATTHEW HASSAN KUKAH 205 Persecution of Christians in Africa: Context, Contents and Opportunities 2 AUTHORS 232 POSTERS AND PHOTOS 1 Persecution of Christians - 2010 245 2 The Christians in the Arab World – One Year after the Arab Spring - 2012 257 3 Cyprus: At the Crossroads of Cultures and Religion - 2012 267 4 Religious Freedom - Worldwide Report - 2012 273 6 FOREWORD INTRODUCTION FOREWORD JAN OLBRYCHT FREEDOM OF RELIGION - A UNIVERSAL VALUE Freedom of religion is a universal value. The freedom to profess and practice one’s faith, to believe, and the freedom of expression and behaviour in public life as a believer, is the birthright of every human being. It is ingrained in every human heart. This is what we, Europeans, believe. Those rights are justly recognised under international law. The promotion of international religious freedom is one of the priorities of the European People’s Party (EPP) Group at the European Parliament. It is a priority for me, as Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for interreligious dialogue and intercultural activities. The release of this publication is an important part of those efforts. It is a clear-eyed look at the state of religious freedom in different parts of the world. It incorporates a broad spectrum of contributions: from academics and researchers, to faith leaders and representatives of religious organisations. Some of these individuals showed immense bravery in coming forward and sharing their observations with Members of the European Parliament. Their stories show that we, as an international community, have a lot of work to do. The contributions identify global problems of discrimination and violence against Christians and other religious groups, including the troubling issue of the increasing use of laws governing blasphemy and apostasy. These laws are frequently used to repress dissent, and to harass political opponents. Laws such as those violate fundamental freedoms of expression and religion. When religious freedom is undermined or attacked, not only those unjustly targeted are threatened, but also the given country’s own stability. Thus, attacks on religious freedom are both an ethical and a foreign policy concern for the European Union. 9 Because we defend others’ rights of religious freedom in Europe, the EU needs to press various leaders worldwide to do more to safeguard freedom of belief and to promote religious tolerance. That is why the EU must urge all countries, especially those identified in the contributions, to take action to safeguard this fundamental freedom. This publication encourages decision-makers and the broader public to work on, and discuss those matters in a cross-cultural and international perspective. While serious challenges to religious freedom remain, I will continue promoting religious freedom as an integral part of our political engagement. Jan Olbrycht MEP Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament responsible for interreligious dialogue and intercultural activities 10 INTRODUCTION JOSÉ LUIS BAZÁN THE RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FROM AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Religious freedom, a cornerstone fundamental right Religious freedom is an inalienable and universal fundamental human right, recognised by major International and European Human Rights legal instruments. It is the foremost of human rights for it expresses the most fundamental reality of the person,1 and, as stated by Arcot Krishnaswami the United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Sub- Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, it is probably the most precious of all human rights.2 Religious freedom is at the pinnacle of all other freedoms,3 “[and] to the extent that it touches upon the most intimate sphere of the spirit, one can even say that it underlies the raison d’être, intimately anchored in each person, of the other freedoms.” 4 1 Benedict XVI, Speech to the Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See for the traditional exchange of New Year greetings, 9 January 2012, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/january/documents/hf_ben- xvi_spe_20120109_diplomatic-corps_en.html 2 Arcot Krishnaswami, Study of discrimination in the matter of religious rights and practices, United Nations, New York, 1960, viii. Krishnaswami was referring to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Religion/Krishnaswami_1960.pdf 3 Benedict XVI, Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, 14 September 2012, point 26, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente_en.html 4 John Paul II, Religious freedom and the final Document of Helsinki, 5: cf. L’Osservatore Romano, 15 November 1980. See also Pope John Paul II, Letter to the heads of state of the nations who signed the Helsinki Final Act (1975) on the eve of the Madrid Conference on European Security and Cooperation, 1 September 1980, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1980/november/documents/hf_jp_ ii_spe_19801114_atto-helsinki_en.html 11 As rightly pointed out by Pope John Paul II, the right to religious freedom “is also a point of reference of the other fundamental rights and in some way becomes a measure of them. For it is a matter of respecting the individual’s most jealously guarded autonomy, thus making it possible to act according to the dictates of conscience both in private choices and in social life.” 5 Actually, the right to religious freedom is the gateway which is intimately connected to many other fundamental rights and freedoms such as: freedom of expression (e.g. in the distribution of religious texts), conscience (e.g in relation to compulsory military service), assembly (e.g for worship), association (e.g founding a religious community), the right to equality and non-discrimination (e.g.