Oct 24, 2007
International Religious Freedom Archive
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1. Sweden's Education Ministry Re-writes Rules for Religious Schools (Oct. 15)
2. Iranian Students Sentenced for Publication of "Un-Islamic Images" (Oct. 17)
3. Jehovah's Witnesses Banned in Tajikistan (Oct. 18)
4. Pakistan: Students at Catholic-Run School Forced to Veil (Oct. 23)
5. Pakistan: Dargai Students Told to Wear Burqa or Risk Death (Oct. 23)
6. Uzbekistan Continues to Censor Religious Literature (Oct. 24)
Feature: How religious freedom is "shrinking" in India, from Ecumenical News International
Update: Agence France-Presse reports that the upper Shari'a court of Tudun Wada, Nigeria, has lifted the ban on Shehu Sani's play, Phantom Crescent, after ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction. Sani's play was banned from being performed or distributed following a complaint lodged by the Concerned Shari'a Forum of Zaria, Nigeria.
1. Sweden's Education Ministry Re-writes Rules for Religious Schools
October 15
Sweden
The Associated Press reports that the Swedish government is in the process of drawing up a set of new guidelines for the teaching of religion in the country's schools, rules which would also apply to private confessional schools. Sweden's Education Minister, Jan Bjorklund, explained that the new rules would protect students "from every form of fundamentalism" by making it impossible to introduce religious elements into classes in other subject areas, such as biology. Sweden's 73 confessional schools, which are mostly Christian, are still governed by Sweden's education laws; the new laws, which must be approved by the parliament, would not enter into force before 2009.
2. Iranian Students Sentenced for Publication of "Un-Islamic Images"
October 17
Tehran, Iran
Agence France-Presse reports that three Iranian university students, arrested after "anti-Islamic images" appeared in student newspapers at Tehran's Amir Kabir University last spring, were sentenced by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on October 16. Ehsan Mansouri received a sentence of two years in prison, while the others, Ahmad Ghassaban and Majid Tavakoli, received sentences of two and a half and three years, respectively. At least one of the defendant's families has alleged that the students were tortured while in prison, in order to make them confess.
3. Jehovah's Witnesses Banned in Tajikistan
October 18
Tajikistan
Forum 18 reports that Tajikistan's Jehovah's Witness community has been stripped of its legal status and banned from operation in the country. Tajik officials, when contacted, cited conscientious objection to military service and public displays of faith as their main grievances against the community. Due to their religious beliefs, Jehovah's Witness refuse military service, but as Tajikistan has yet to implement an alternative, civilian service, many Jehovah's Witnesses end up in jail for their refusal to serve. The ban prohibits any religious activity by Jehovah's Witnesses anywhere in the country; the community plans to appeal.
4. Pakistan: Students at Catholic-Run School Forced to Veil
October 23
Sangota, Swat Valley, Pakistan
AsiaNews reports that a public, albeit Catholic-run high, school in the Swat Valley, Pakistan, recently received threats from a group called "Sacrifices of Islam" (Janisaran-i-Islam) which accused the school of converting students and promoting "un-Islamic behavior". The group also called for the dismissal of all Christians employed by the school, asking that they be replaced by Muslims. The local government appeared to agree with the letter, asking all female pupils at the school to cover their heads, in order to preserve "local Islamic morality." Several students have stopped attending the school, with about half of the non-Muslim students planning not to come back.
5. Pakistan: Dargai Students Told to Wear Burqa or Risk Death
October 23
Dargai, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan
ADN Kronos International reports that local militants near the town of Dargai, in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, have demanded that local schoolgirls wear a burqa to school, saying that they would "blow up" female students who failed to obey their demands. Attendance at the threatened schools has dropped radically, as many girls are from poor families and cannot afford to purchase or sew a burqa. Given the danger, several pupils have opted to suspend their education. The militants, called "Janbaz Taliban", have recently sent threatening letters to girls' schools in the area, though they had initially targeted video and CD shops, many of which have now been abandoned.
6. Uzbekistan Continues to Censor Religious Literature
October 24
Uzbekistan
Forum 18 reports that the Uzbek government, which is known to confiscate and destroy religious literature during police raids, continues to impede the delivery of religious literature shipped to the country from outside sources. Shipments are often never delivered or held for long periods of time; most recently, a shipment of literature for the Jehovah's Witnesses community was stopped by Uzbek customs and has now been held for over a year. In addition to the Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Protestants, and Hare Krishna have all reported problems. Even when legally-imported literature is available, many people have cited concerns about having their religious affiliation identified based on the literature they receive.