IRFN (April 9-16): Norway Relaxes Ties Between Church and State

 

NORWAY - Norway reached an "historical" agreement between church and state last week, when all seven of the country's political parties agreed that Evangelical Lutheranism would no longer be the official state religion, Reuters reported on April 11th. Under the new agreement, the Lutheran church will be allowed to appoint its own bishops, and Norway's 4.7 million Lutherans will no longer be required to raise their children in the faith. Though state financial support for the church will continue, other faith communities, as well as agnostic and atheist groups, will now receive funding as well. The change in status will require a revision of Norway's constitution, which the Norway Post says is expected to occur in 2012.

 

 

 

HANOI - Vietnamese authorities have used the country's media outlets to launch a smear campaign and calls for action against Catholics demonstrating in Hanoi, AsiaNews reported on April 10th. The demonstrations are related to a property dispute: the Redemptorists, a Catholic missionary order, have asked for the restitution of 60,000 square meters of land on which they had built a church, a convent, and a seminary. The land was taken from the order in 1928, and in 1954, many of the order were imprisoned by the government or deported. Broadcasts in Vietnamese claim that the demonstrators are "occupying state property, disturbing the public order, and holding illegal prayer meetings" and call for "drastic action", though the media is careful to keep such broadcasts out of the country's French and English media, which is geared towards foreigners.

 

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia plans to introduce a new rule for converts to Islam, saying that they must inform their families of their decision to convert and be able to produce documents attesting to such, the Associated Press reported on April 11th. The new rule is aimed at eliminating disputes between local officials and family members over the religion of deceased individuals, a problem which has arisen frequently in the country when Muslim authorities have tried to claim the bodies of non-Muslims for burial according to Islamic traditions. The rule will contain no provisions for conversions out of Islam, which are rarely recognized in Malaysia.

 

 

 

SAMARKAND - Mistreatment of Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims continues in Uzbekistan, where the government recently brought criminal charges against a Jehovah's Witness for "illegal religious activity" and dismissed two imams, Forum 18 reported on April 9th. Jehovah's Witness Olim Turaev has been accused of "illegally organizing a religious community" and "illegally teaching [his] faith", as the Samarkand Jehovah's Witness community to which he belongs lacks legal status. Meanwhile, in eastern Uzbekistan, two imams from Namangan were fired for "teaching Islam to teenagers.” The local head of the state-backed Muftiate was also dismissed. Other imams in the area were given warnings.

 

 

 

TASHKENT - Uzbekistan's Justice Ministry has refused to renew the accreditation of the community's Chief Rabbi and one of his colleagues, while simultaneously threatening to revoke the legal status of a local Jewish charity, citing unspecified "violations in activity,”  Forum 18 reported on April 11th. The Jewish community now fears that the rabbi, David Gurevich, will be forced to leave the country. Gurevich, who was born in Russia but holds U.S. and Israeli citizenships, has worked in Uzbekistan since 1990. Under his leadership, Tashkent's Jewish community, which numbers about 20,000, has opened a yeshiva, a kolel, and a day school, and organized summer camps, youth groups, and charities. Gurevich was subjected to similar difficulties in 1998, when authorities told him they would not renew his accreditation, though they later renewed it and apologized for the "mistake".

 

 

 

TBILISI - Politicians from Georgia's Christian Democratic Party have begun to gather signatures in support of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which they hope will be recognized as "fundamental" to the country the Messenger, Tbilisi's English-language newspaper, reported on April 15th. The party plans to ask Parliament for a constitutional amendment stating that "the official religion of Georgia is Christian Orthodoxy, which is traditionally the religion professed by the Georgian nation" and providing for the "strengthening of [the Orthodox Church's] role in society.” Party leaders, however, say they do not want it to become the state religion, as that would give the church less freedom to conduct its affairs. Meanwhile, the Orthodox Patriarchate, which the party has not consulted in their campaign, sees no need for a constitutional amendment.