IRFN (February 4-13): Kazakhstan Rules Restrictive Religion Ammendments Unconstitutional

Feb 13, 2009

Feature: The report of the Special Rapporteur, Asma Jahangir, on freedom of religion or belief during her 2008 mission to India, may be found here.  Among other key issues, Jahangir's report discusses the negative impact that religion laws have on conversion in India.

1.  Kazakhstan: Restrictive Religion Amendments Ruled Unconstitutional

ASTANA – The government has dramatically reversed legislation curtailing religious freedoms after the measure and the jailing and expulsion of two religious activists caused an international outcry, the Washington Times reported on February 13. A spokesman for the Kazakh Embassy said on February 12 that the amendments did not dovetail with international human rights law and were sent back to committee. On February 4, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) assessed the law as not complying with human rights standards. The amendments bolstered the main religions in the country - Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church - whose leaders have been asking the government to crack down on religious minorities. "We are pleased that Kazakhstan has finally listened to the international outcry about the draconian religious registration law," said Bennett Graham, international programs officer at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. "It is encouraging to see the balance of powers play out in this budding democracy. Human rights groups around the globe had complained about the amendments, which ratcheted up penalties for unregistered religious groups such as Baptists and Jehovah's Witnesses, and increased from 10 to 50 the minimum number of members a religious organization must have in order for it to register.

2.  Armenia: Two New Restrictive Religion Draft Laws

YEREVAN – Religious minorities have expressed alarm at proposed amendments to Armenia's Religion Law and Criminal Code that began passage through the country's parliament on 5 February, Forum 18 reported on February 9.  In particular, they are worried about proposed punishments of up to two years' imprisonment for those outside the dominant Armenian Apostolic Church, which choose organize campaigns to spread their faith in public in addition to concern over a proposed five-fold increase in the number of members required to register a religious organization. "If we don't react this Law will be adopted," Rene Leonian, head of the Evangelical Church of Armenia, told Forum 18 from the capital Yerevan on February 9. "If it is adopted, it would create an intolerant atmosphere in the religious field."

Members of several religious communities told Forum 18 that they had received no warning about the beginning of the parliamentary process concerning the two draft laws.

3.  Somalia: President Announces Readiness to Practice Sharia Law

MODADISHU – Somalia's newly elected president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed told Islamist leaders and commanders of government forces on February 9 that he was ready to practice Sharia law, AllAfrica reported on February 9. Mr. Ahmed was looking for reconciliation between the various factions in Somalia and encouraged the fostering of peace and forgiveness. Sheik Abdulqadir Ali Omar, the leader of the Islamic Courts Union and Gen. Abdi Hassan Awale( Qeibdid), the commander of the Somali police forces shook hands and announced their reconciliation. Said Dhere, the commander of the Somali military forces and some caretaker government ministers also attended the meeting on February 9. Mr. Ahmed, a young cleric and former opposition leader, was elected as Somali's president in Djibouti, and he faces a daunting task of bringing change to the war-torn nation, which has not had a central government for eighteen years.

4.  UK: Home for Retired Missionaries Wins Legal Case

BRIGHTON – Brighton and Hove council has agreed to restore  funding to Pilgrim Homes after the organization launched a legal action for religious discrimination, the Telegraph reported on February 7. The council had cut £13,000 of funding after accusing the home – which has former missionaries and a minister among its residents – of "institutional homophobia." Officials had told Pilgrim Homes to ask the pensioners about their sexual orientation four times a year under its "fair access and diversity" policies developed from New Labor's equality laws. It also wanted the home, which has 39 single Christian residents aged over 80, to use elderly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in its leaflets. The home, run by a 200-year-old charity that cares for older Christians, has now agreed to withdraw its legal action after the council said it would restore the funds - which paid for a warden, retract the homophobia accusation, and drop the request for details of residents' sexual orientation. Andrew Jessop, chief executive of the charity that has 10 Christian homes across the UK, said he was "delighted" and "relieved" that the council had backed down. "We are a Christian organization for older Christians, and our chief concern has always been to protect their best interests," he said.

5.  Saudi Arabia: Only Mosques Designated as Official Places of Worship

RIYADH – A Saudi Arabian official says mosques can be the only places of worship in his country, rejecting pressure to change heavy restrictions on religious besides Islam, the AP reported on February 6. A representative told a United Nations meeting that the kingdom allows other religions in private, but the vice president of the Saudi human rights commission said February 6 that establishing houses of worship for non-Islamic religions was too sensitive an issue. Zaid Al-Hussain informed the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that there could be no debate. Other countries have urged Saudi Arabia to abolish laws that breach basic human rights such as freedom from discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.

6.  Iran: Baha’i Community Receive Historic Apology

TEHRAN - A historic open letter signed by more than 40 Iranian intellectuals apologizing for their society's treatment of the Baha'is over the past 150 years was made public on February 3, Iranian.com reported on February 4. The letter follows an alarming series of events in January 2009, a month that saw a pronounced escalation in the Iranian Government's attacks on the Baha'i community. Fear for imprisoned leadership continues as all seven members of the leadership of the 300,000 Baha'is in Iran remain in prison. The five men and two women arrested in March and May 2008 are in Evin Prison in Tehran. The men are together in one cell with no beds. Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran is the attorney of record for the Baha'i leaders.  She has not been allowed access to the prisoners or their files, as reported by MACLEANS.CA on February 3. At least 40 Baha'is are imprisoned throughout Iran for no reason other than their religious belief. Reports of governmental discrimination include Radio Free Europe, CNN International and AFP.