IRFN (September 7-12): Muslim Indian Artist Cleared of Obscenity Charges

Sep 12, 2008

Feature:  On September 12 Pope Benedict XVI addressed the strict separation between church and state in France at the beginning of his week long visit to the nation.  Pew Forum has more.

1.  South Korea: President Regrets Alleged Religious Bias

SEOUL – South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak, has apologized to Buddhist monks who have accused him of appointing a primarily Christian cabinet, the AP reported on September 9. Of the fifteen cabinet members, twelve are Christian and one is Buddhist. In August, the Buddhists monks held a protest rally that drew 60,000 people.  During the rally, the monks called for the President to apologize and for the country’s police chief to step down for discriminatory practices.  In televised comments, President Lee said, "It is deeply regrettable that the heart of the Buddhist society has been hurt by words and deeds by some officials that could cause misunderstanding."  The government has also since revised the code of conduct for public officials to include a clause that they should maintain religious neutrality when carrying out their duties.

2.  India: Muslim Artist Cleared of Obscenity

NEW DELHI – India’s Supreme Court has refused to bring criminal charges of obscenity against MF Husain, a controversial Muslim artist, the BBC reported on September 9.  Hardline Hindus brought the charges against Husain for painting a nude goddess in the shape of India.  The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Husain’s paintings were not obscene and said nudity was common in Indian iconography and history.  In 2007 the art auction house, Christie’s, faced pressure from Hindu expatriates to withdraw Mr. Husain’s work.  

3.  Russia: Condemns South Park Episode as Anti-Religious

MOSCOW – Russian prosecutors have labeled an episode of South Park as extremist and issued a warning on September 8 to the Russian TV station that broadcast it, the AP reported on September 8.  The Prosecutor General’s Office did not identify the offending episode but said that it "offends the honor and dignity of Christians and Muslims and insults the feelings of believers irrespective of their faith." Russian prosecutors opened their investigation into the South Park episode after receiving complaints from Russian Protestant leaders.  The head of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians, Konstantin Bendas, has said that the cartoons should be banned as they contain "covert and overt propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia as norms of sexual life."

4.  France: Scientology on Trial

PARIS – The Church of Scientology is set to be tried in French court for “organized fraud” and, if convicted, the Church could be banned, the BBC reported on September 8.  The charges are being brought against the Church by a woman who claims that in 1998 she handed over 20,000 Euros to Scientologists on the streets of Paris.  The French branch of the Church claims that it has been cleared of similar charges numerous times.  France does not recognize the Church of Scientology as a religious faith.  It is designated as a commercial operation by the government and is kept under close surveillance.

5.  Vietnam: Catholics Defy Government in Land Dispute

HANOI – Hundreds of Catholics have been holding daily prayer vigils since August 15 on a plot of land they are demanding be returned to the Thai Ha Church, the AP reported on September 7. This is the second time this year that Catholic protestors have occupied state-controlled land that once belonged to the Church. City officials have pleaded with them to leave, but once rumors circulated that the Virgin Mary had come to lend her support, the number of protestors increased. Tensions increased in August after parishioners and two priests said dozens of police used stun guns and clubs to disperse a crowd of nearly 300 that had gathered outside a police station near the disputed land. The Archbishop said that although the Hanoi diocese does not organize the vigils, he nevertheless supports them.

6.  France: Robbery Trial Postponed Until End of Ramadan

PARIS – A Rennes city court’s decision to postpone a robbery trial until after the holy month of Ramadan has incited anger from the secularist sector of France, the International Herald Tribune reported on September 7.  Leonard Bernard de la Gratinais, the lead prosecutor in the case, has denied that the schedule change was based on religious concerns.  However, several observers argued that the request to reschedule the trial had been filed by the Muslim defendant explicitly on the grounds that he would be fasting and therefore at a disadvantage during the proceedings.  "This is secular France, one and indivisible, that is attacked in its foundations, its integrity flouted, its values disowned," a conservative newspaper, Le Figaro, said of what the change in court date means for the nation.