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religiousfreedom
Summary
Photo by Nathan Mauger: Iranians at Shia Muslim Mosque in Karbala, Iraq
Despite freedom of religion and belief being
a fundamental principle of international law, there are many violations
of this right in today’s world. No country, or faith community,
has a perfect record where this right is concerned. It’s also
a very complex issue at times, i.e. the balance between rights and
responsibilities, like many other areas of human rights law, is not
always entirely clear.
Since human rights and law are so closely intertwined, freedom of religion and belief is a topic that can sometimes be all too easy to discuss at the abstract level. However, it helps to remember that, in some parts of the world, freedom of religion or belief is a very human concern. Some individuals risk death for their beliefs. Alternatively, others, because they profess a particular faith, are not given the basic rights that many of us take for granted. In sum, it’s an issue that affects real people in all kinds of real ways. Read the excerpts/stories below to see how:
They took me back to my cell, and the next day tortured me again by giving me another seventy-four lashes with a wire cable on the soles of my feet and on my back. … The interrogators often came to my cell in the middle of the night to deprive me of sleep. They wanted the names of all the people who attended my classes, even the children’s classes, and the names of the National Spiritual Assembly members and the local committees.
Tuba Zá’irpúr, a Bahá’í woman killed for her beliefs in Iran in 1983.
They [the military regime] don’t give us identity cards. For example, after we finish high school we are supposed to go to university, but based on identity cards, we have no right to travel, so as a part of that we also don’t have the right to learn anymore. … When they forbid us to travel from place to place that includes education, health and social relations.
From a Muslim villager in Burma where many Muslims are denied rights of citizenship, 2002.
I went to courts to attend hearings where innocent people were being tried for being Christians. I met with the young girls and women who had paid a heavy price to be Christians and I also met some other suffering families. I met men who were tortured by police because they were Christians and with students and unemployed youngsters. They have a lot of questions in their eyes, but I had no answer to their plight. You may have answers.
Nasir Saeed, Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, commenting on the plight of Christians in Pakistan, 2002.
We’ve been strongly reminded of the fact that we’re Jews in chains, chained to one spot, without any rights, but with a thousand obligations. We must put our feelings aside; we must be brave and strong, bear discomfort without complaint, do whatever is in our power and trust in God. One day this terrible war will be over. The time will come when we’ll be people again and not just Jews!
From the Diary of Anne Frank, 1944.
Even if you feel powerless to help in complex situations like these, you can make a difference by combatting ignorance about religion and belief. It is such ignorance, sometimes promoted by religious and political leaders themselves, that often fuels such religious persecution. For example, are fanatic adherents of your own faith putting down those who believe differently?
Swami Agnivesh and Valson Thampu in Harvest of Hate: Gujurat Under Siege spoke very movingly to this theme when talking about religiously-motivated riots in 2002.
What are you achieving in the name of God? A jungle of spite and death where boys roar and range like beasts to slit the throats of neighbours in human sacrifice? Won’t you stop this rape of religion? Or this religious rape? We don’t know what to call it: you get us all so confused.
In regards to this debate, there are also important questions to ask about your own position. Do you really understand what your own religion says about ‘tolerance?’ What can you do when someone humiliates a person with another, and possibly misunderstood, belief system? Can you befriend someone who has a belief system that you do not know much about? Most importantly, what activities can you initiate in your own community to foster inter-religious dialogue? It is only by fighting the prejudices in our own environments that the climate can be created, in the longer term, for eliminating persecution and discrimination based on religion and belief.
Contents
/ Introduction / Persecution
Types / Immunity /
Global Case Studies / United Nations
/ Right&Responsibilities / Hard
Questions / Interfaith Initiatives
/ Summary / Inspiration
/ Resources
| © International
interfaith organisations network 2003 |