IRFN (December 5-21): Indian Politician Fired Over 'Conversion of Convenience'

Dec 21, 2008

Feature: USCIRF has released a report in support of designating Iraq as a nation of particular concern for 2008.  The USCIRF site has more.

1.  India: Political Leader Fired Over Conversion of Convenience

NEW DEHLI – Chander Mohan, the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, was deposed from his position after converting to Islam to marry for a second time, the Insider reported on December 20. Mohan’s new wife, a former civil servant of Haryana, similarly lost her job over her conversion. It has been alleged that both parties converted to Islam to circumvent the law for bigamy. Hindu men and women often resort to conversion for remarriage in an attempt to avoid messy divorces and to evade the charge of bigamy, an offence under the Hindu Marriage Act. Both Hindus and Muslims disapprove of such religious “conversions of convenience.” Imam Habibur Rahman Sani, an influential Muslim cleric of neighbouring Punjab state, condemned Mohan's marriage as a “fraud” and called for his arrest, while Islamic scholar and Law Commission member Tahir Mahmood said that “If a married Hindu during the subsistence of his first marriage embraces Islam and marries again, it is illegal and punishable under the law, even if the conversion is absolutely genuine.”

2.  Spain: Nativity Scene Removed

MADRID – A nativity scene in the state prosecutors’ office was removed after top judge Pilar Barrero objected to its presence, claiming that its presence was unconstitutional, the AFP reported on December 17. The judge argued that the placement of the nativity scene violated Spain's 1978 constitution, which ensures the separation of church and state. Although some lawyers argued that a nativity scene was a cultural tradition rather than a religious one, the display was removed on the order of the second highest ranking official in the prosecutors' office, Juan Martin Casallo. There is a continued debate over secularism in Spain, where Catholic symbols remain prominent in public life 30 years after the end of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco who had established Catholicism as a "state religion." The Socialist-led government announced last week that it was preparing a new law on religious freedom that aims to give greater respect for religious diversity and secularism.

3.  Malaysia: Denies Plan to Close Catholic Paper

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s government denied any plans to shut down The Herald, a Catholic newspaper, accused of running articles that were deemed insulting to Islam, thus flouting publication law, the AP reported on December 17. The Home Ministry sent a letter to the Herald's publishers earlier this year warning that the newspaper had "committed offenses" by running articles on Malaysian politics and current affairs instead of Christian issues for which it has been given a license. The Herald was also accused of publishing an article that "could threaten public peace and national security" as it allegedly "denigrated Islamic teachings." The Rev. Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, said the Home Ministry has not renewed the paper's license even though it submitted an application months ago, while in past years a license was typically issued far in advance. All Malaysian publications must renew their government license every year. The Herald acts as the main Roman Catholic weekly in Malaysia.

4.  China: Ethnic Unity to be Taught in Classrooms

BEIJING – The Education Ministry has announced that Chinese children will study “ethnic unity” in the wake of the violent religion-related riots in Tibet and unrest in the north-western Muslim region of Xinjiang leading up to and during the 2008 Olympics, Reuters reported on December 16. According to the Ministry’s release, the new classes will incur 14 hours of the school year to help students "recognize the superiority of our government and Communist Party's ethnic policies," and a "basic awareness of the vital nature of ‘encouraging ethnic unity, protecting national unity and opposing ethnic separatism.’" China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups with the dominant Han Chinese making up over 90 percent of the population. Most minorities either have small populations or have largely been assimilated. There are still areas where widespread resentment among non-Han exists, who fear their culture, religious faith and language are threatened by Beijing's rule. China's constitution guarantees religious freedom and equal treatment for all minorities, but both Tibetans and Uighurs regularly complain that their worship is restricted and that they face discrimination in areas such as employment.

5.  Namibia: High Court Charges Newspaper for Defaming Church

WINDHOEK – Namibian newspaper The Southern Times has been ordered by the High Court to pay N$60,000 (US $6,000) in damages against the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God on charges of defamation, the Informante reported on December 11. The lawsuit stems from an article published by The Southern Times on 4 December 2005, in which the newspaper reported that a ‘Satanic sect’ had been banned by State. The story was accompanied by a large photograph of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God’s (UCKG) building, located in Windhoek’s Ausspannplatz area. However, inside the edition it was reported that the ban had actually been placed in Zambia. The High Court on December 9, presided over by Acting Judge Annel Silungwe, maintained the use of photographs of the UCKG building would have given a reasonable reader the impression that the Church was a ‘controversial sect,’ and that “taking the offending publication as a whole, a reasonable reader would readily find that the material is defamatory of the plaintiff (UCKG) … It is inescapable to find that the material complained of is defamatory of the plaintiff.”

6.  Vietnam: Court Convicts Catholics in Land Dispute

HANOI – A Vietnamese court convicted eight Catholics on December 7 on charges of disturbing public order and damaging property during a series of prayer vigils to reclaim confiscated church land, the AP reported on December 8. One defendant received a warning while the others were given suspended sentences ranging from 12 to 15 months. While they decried the verdicts, Catholics were relieved by the light sentences as the defendants could have received up to seven years in prison. The defendants were arrested during a series of prayer vigils held to demand the return of the land near the Thai Ha church. Hundreds of Catholics gathered at the site for several weeks. They knocked down a section of the wall surrounding the land, set up an altar and a statue of the Virgin Mary on the site and prayed for its return. Hanoi authorities say the Thai Ha church and its surrounding land belong to the city, signed over to the government by a former parish priest in 1962.

7.  China: Government Strongly Protests Meeting Between France and Dalai Lama

BEIJING – China has lodged a strong protest against the December 6 meeting between France and the Dalai Lama, the BBC reported on December 7. A Chinese news agency, Xinhua news agency, reported that the Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei summoned the French ambassador to China to protest the meeting. The Tibetan spiritual leader was at a gathering of Nobel Peace Prize winners in Poland when he met the President of France, Mr Sarkozy. In response Beijing cancelled an EU-China summit which France was to host. France is the current president of the EU.

8.  Gambia: British Missionaries Charged With Sedition

BANJUL – Fiona and David Fulton, a British missionary couple in Gambia, were arrested on December 3 and charged with sedition, Reuters reported on December 5. The prosecution accused the couple of writing letters to individuals and organizations abroad to "bring into hatred or contempt, to excite disaffection against the President of the Republic and the government of the Gambia." On The missionary couple was paraded on December 3 by the state television before they were formally charged the next day. David was the chaplain for the Gambian army while Fiona was in charge of the chaplaincy at the airport. The Banjul court has adjourned the case until December 16. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has tolerated little dissent since he seized power in a 1994 military coup.