Date: Friday 3 March 2006
Subj: India:Hindutva advances while Communal Violence Bill flounders
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
The Shabri Kumbh Mela, held 11-13 February in Dangs, Gujarat, was established specifically to "consolidate Hindus", usher tribals into the "Hindu mainstream", and deal a "death blow" to Christian missions in Dangs. The Kumbh was the climax of a massive Hinduisation campaign that combined the Hinduisation of animism, the Hinduisation of tribal culture, with an intense anti-Christian propaganda campaign that included incitement to kill Christians. (see previous WEA RLC India posting and prayer bulletin, plus article: link 1)
That the Kumbh ended peacefully, without any bloodshed, is a testament to the power and mercy of God who intervened for his people in answer to the prayers of many.
Shabri Kumbh Mela 2006 may be over, but the Sangh Parivar's (body of Hindu nationalist organisations) re-energised Hindutva campaign is only beginning. While protesting the negative press which forced Gujarat's State government to provide armed police protection to Dangi Christians, the Sangh is boasting "great gains" in Dangs. And the "success" of the Dangs experiment is motivating the Sangh to replay this strategy in other tribal dominated districts across the nation.
One Hindutva mouthpiece, Organiser, boasts: "Let all the secular Taliban and left creepers wail and beat their chests but the ongoing march of the Vanvasi rights and assertion of their cultural identity shall not be stopped." (Link 2) A translation of the double-speak in this sentence could read like this: All those who support secular politics, real religious liberty, environmentalism, and the rights of India's indigenous peoples can complain and protest all they like, but the Sangh Parivar's Hindutva campaign to convince the Adivasis that they are Vanvasi Hindus whose security and identity is threatened only by Christians shall not be stopped.
As the Sangh's Hindutva forces advance through the tribal districts persecution of Christians is increasing in both frequency and intensity. According to the Sangh, hundreds of tribal Christians are (with the help of RSS paramilitary forces) seeing the error of their ways, realising they have been deceived and exploited by the Christians, and are now "returning home" to Hinduism. Violence against individual believers, pastors and evangelists, whole churches, and church and mission property is being reported constantly, especially in tribal dominated districts and especially in BJP-ruled states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisigarh and Jharkhand.
The central government is working to address the issue of communal conflict. However, the draft Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, is terribly, dangerously flawed. The Bill increases the power of state governments, but a Bill that increases the power of governments cannot protect minorities from government-sponsored terrorism.
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SHABRI KUMBH ONLY THE BEGINING
The Sangh Parivar is not out to save souls. Its goals are purely political, rooted in power lust. The primary goal of the Sangh Parivar is simply to consolidate the Adivasis (indigenous peoples, called Vanvasi, forest peoples, by the Sangh) as part of the Hindutva fold before the 2009 federal elections. Religion is simply a tool with which to achieve social engineering for political gain.
The Sangh wants the BJP returned to power in the centre in 2009, with a majority so that it can rule outright, without being compromised by coalition partners. Even if Christians pray for God to protect every Christian in India from Hindutva violence, the Sangh can still achieve its political goal if it converts enough tribals to Hinduism to ensure BJP majority rule from 2009. If that happens, it could safely be predicted that India's secular constitution will be changed, national anti-conversion laws enacted, and a Hindutva dictatorship established.
SEEKING FOUR MORE "SOCIAL" KUMBHS
Abhishek Kapoor reports for Ahmedabad Newsline: "End of the three-day Shabari Kumbh here marked the beginning of a new experiment on mobilising Hindu forces. Led by the RSS, organisations have planned to use this new tool — more such kumbhs across the country in a semi-religious setting — to gather Hindus to counter Christian missionaries and conversions.
"According to plans, these congregations would be different from the regular Kumbh Melas held at Prayag, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nashik and focus on reform and social engineering within Hinduism to consolidate its followers as a single block. The concluding public meeting, led by Shankaracharya Saraswati of Joshimath, announced that all tribals including Nagas, Mizos, Santhals, Orans, Bodos, Mundas and Gonds, belong to Hindu fold.
"The Shankaracharya mooted the idea of more social kumbhs that would bring Hindus together on one platform. He suggested four new kumbhs sites in tribal dominated states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and the North-East." (Link 3)
Abhishek Kapoor notes that the aims of the Shabri Kumbh are first and foremost political: "The religious significance of kumbh could be termed low as many of the visitors were cadres mobilised by saffron organisations during the past three months.
"Interestingly, Dangs, like all tribal areas in the State, has been a traditional Congress bastion with a difference that it stayed with the party even after the 2002 violence handed all assembly seats to the BJP.
"However, the BJP remains optimistic about the kumbh's returns. Talking to Newsline, a minister in the Modi government said the party would reap dividends out of the kumbh for next 10 years without much hard work. 'Our margins in the Assembly seats of Ahwa Dangs were as low as 50 and seven votes. With the kind of mobilisation that has taken place, we do not see much difficulty. If the kumbh gets institutionalised, it would be an added advantage,' he said." (Link 3)
GOING HOME
According to the most recent edition of the Organiser, Christians are "returning" to Hinduism by the hundreds. This is of course, pure propaganda, presenting the "homecoming" as an act of awakening when in reality it is a forced conversion made under duress. One cannot underestimate the confusion, fear and intimidation felt by tribal Christians when pressured by Hindutva forces to convert or suffer. The fact is, these believers suffer no matter what they do. If they are born again believers, their fearful acquiescence will break their hearts (as Peter's did: Luke 22:62) and they will need to rediscover their Lord's merciful forgiveness and loving acceptance. If they stand firm, they will be persecuted and their loved ones and children will suffer with them.
The Organiser reports, "About 335 Christians belonging to 55 families returned to their original roots at a function held at Soharpat village of Gumla district in Bihar." The speaker at the conversion ceremony, Shri Sudarshan Bhagat demanded (ironically) that the state government put a complete ban on conversion. According to the Organiser: "He said the Christian missionaries had been trapping local gullible Vanvasis and converting them to Christianity... He appealed to all people of the community who have somehow adopted Christianity to come back to their original roots, [that is, not animism, but Hinduism]."
The Organiser also reports, "In another function held at Bhojpur village of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh, over 300 Christians returned to Hindu fold. They also converted the local church into a temple. The father of the church himself installed the pictures of goddess Durga, Vaishno Devi and Hanuman in the new temple. After returning to Hindu fold, he also said the missionaries took unfair advantage of his poverty and used him for conversion in the area." (Link 4)
Speaking at the Shabri Kumbh Mela on 11 February, Hindu teacher Morari Bapu railed against conversions (to Christianity), and made a special public appeal to Christian missionaries to follow Christ and obey the Bible by not converting people to Christianity!
Ahmedabad Newsline reports: "Quoting from a chapter on Luke in the Bible, Bapu said even Christ's word forbade conversions... 'When the Bible says do not convert, please don't. It is great that you are good medicos, and have the money to help poor and ailing. But once they have been healed, let them go back home (their parent religion) as good doctors do. Ghar jana koi gunah nahin hai,' he said, quoting from a Gujarat Sahitya Prakashan translation of the book." (Link 5)
Morari Bapu also invited Dangi Christians to convert, or "return" to Hinduism, saying, "Anybody can make a comeback to his home. Just have a dip in the holy Pampa Sarovar and worship Shabari Mata, you will be back home." (Link 6)
Bapu deliberately manipulates the term "home", deceitfully interpreting it as "former religion" rather than home where you live. According to Bapu's interpretation, when Jesus healed the paralysed man and then said, "...take your mat and go home" (Luke 5:24); or when Jesus told the healed demoniac to "Return home..." (Luke 8:39); he was really telling them to return to their former religion. Bapu did not address all the other healings where people were not exhorted to "return home"; he did not address "follow me". What he did do though, was sow seeds of doubt, confusion and anger in the hearts and minds of many down-trodden, illiterate tribals (including Christians), who may now be tempted to see Christians as essentially hypocritical and unfaithful to their own religion.
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DRAFT COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL FLAWED
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Due to the Sangh's mobilisation of Hindutva forces and programs, violence against Christians, particularly in tribal dominated areas, is escalating in both frequency and intensity. While the Indian government is making an effort to address this issue, the draft Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, is terribly flawed. The Bill is presently making its way through public discussion and parliamentary debate.
The fundamental flaw in the bill is that it actually increases the powers of state governments. Clearly this is totally useless when sectarian state governments are in collusion with sectarian, communal organistations. In Gujarat, both the massacre of Muslims in 2002, and the Shabri Kumbh Mela of February 2006, were actively supported by Gujarat's BJP state government.
Two critiques of this Bill can be found at Link 7.
They include "A People's Critique" of the Bill, by ANHAD (Act Now For Harmony and Democracy), HRLN (Human Rights Law Network) and Jan Vikas, and published in the Milli Gazette; as well as a report written by the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Network and published in Tehelka.
According to these critiques the core sections of the Bill from Chapter II to Chapter VI, relating to the prevention of communal violence, the investigation of communal crimes and the establishment of special courts will only come into effect if the state government issues a notification. What's more, it is not mandatory that the state government act at all, even if notified by the central government. Meanwhile, civil society remains powerless to initiate or control prosecutions when communal crimes occur.
The Bill contains a clause for punishment of public officials who fail to perform their duties. Yet even here there is both a failing and a loophole. The Bill fails to hold accountable those in positions of command and authority such as the Chief Minister. What's worse, police who fail to perform their duties, being either passive or partisan in the face of communal violence, cannot be charged with an offence unless the state government sanctions the proceedings. As "A People's Critique" notes, "In the context of state governments with communally driven malafide intent, the chances of even police officials being punished under this clause are very remote."
Another flaw in the Bill is the definition of "communal violence", which is limited to a list of already criminalised offences, and does not cover many communal crimes such as mobilisation with incitement through hate speech, literature, media and teaching. The Bill also has a very narrow definition of sexual violence which fails to address issues beyond rape, such as stripping, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence.
As the critics of the Bill note, what is needed is a law which makes it mandatory for the government to act in clearly codified ways before, during and after communal violence. And the law needs also to remove impunity, so that state governments, authority figures, and police that fail to act to prevent violence may be charged, tried and punished.
Regarding the power of the central government to intervene (which obviously is only beneficial if the central government is non-sectarian), "A People's Critique" comments: "Section 55 requires the Central Government, in cases where it is of the opinion that 'there is an imminent threat to the secular fabric, unity, integrity or internal security of India which requires that immediate steps' to 'draw the attention of the State Government to the prevailing situation'; and to direct it 'to take all immediate measures to suppress' the violence. If the state government fails to act, the Bill provides first for the central government to declare any area within a State as 'communally disturbed area' under this Bill; but this is not significant because, as we observed, such declaration does not require mandatory actions by the state government to control the violence. The Bill also provides for central 'deployment of armed forces, to prevent and control communal violence', which would have been very significant, but the provision is neutralised by the requirement that this central deployment is legally permissible only in the event of 'a request having been received from the State Government to do so'. In other words, only the state government still retains the power to decide about the deployment of armed forces to control communal violence."
As noted in the report in Tehelka, this proviso, that the central government must wait for a request from the state government before it can intervene is "a ridiculously retrogressive provision given the fact that even today the Centre is under no obligation to wait for consent when the situation goes out of control".
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) India: The dictators of Hindutva aim for 'death blow' in Dangs
WEA RLC News & Analysis. by Elizabeth Kendal, 26 Jan 2006
India: Shabri Kumbh Mela Threatens 8000 Christians in Dangs
WEA Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin - No. 364 - Wed 08 Feb 2006
Eliazabeth Kendal
Apex court acts on anti-Christian video
3 February 2006
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=1835
2) The grand mingling in the Shabri Kumbh
By Tarun Vijay 26 February 2006
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=119&page=14
3) RSS wants more such kumbhs
Abhishek Kapoor. 13 February 2006
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169683
4) 600 Christians return to Hindu fold
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=120&page=30#2
5) From kumbh, Modi sends out a warning to missionaries
Abhishek Kapoor, Sunday , February 12, 2006
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169474
6) At RSS meet, Modi, saints oppose Christian missionaries
Ahwa (Gujarat) | February 12, 2006
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=247133&cat=India
7) Betrayals and Missed Opportunities: The Communal Violence Bill, 2005. A People's Critique of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005. By ANHAD, HRLN & Jan Vikas The Milli Gazette Online. 8 February 2006
http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/20060208-communal-bill.htm
All that hot air
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main16.asp?filename=Cr021806all_that.asp
Friday, March 3, 2006
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
PRAYER: India -- Sharbri Kumbh Mela threatens 8000 Christians in Dangs
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin - No. 364 - Wed 08 Feb 2006
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INDIA: SHABRI KUMBH MELA THREATENS 8000 CHRISTIANS IN DANGS
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Over the weekend 11-13 February 06, Hindu nationalist groups and their militant factions will hold a major Kumbh (Hindu festival) in Dangs district, Gujarat, northwest India. Called 'Shabri Kumbh Mela', in future it is to be held every four years. Its official website openly declares the aim is to '...deal a death blow to such anti-dharmic and anti-national activities' as Christian missions. The central slogan for the Kumbh is 'Hindu Jago, Christi Bhagao' (Hindus arise, throw out the Christians). The two main aims of the Kumbh are to convert the tribals to militant Hindu nationalism, and to get rid of Christianity because it challenges the status quo and threatens to liberate the enslaved tribals. Dangs is being targeted because Gujarat is 0.05 percent Christian whilst Dangs is 5 percent Christian. Moreover, the Hindu elites have political and economic interests in either co-opting or ridding themselves of the despised, sub-caste tribals. So they will co-opt as many as possible into militant Hindu nationalism, and then set them against the Christians.
The strategy the Hindu nationalists use is to convince the tribals that, though they think they are indigenous animists or Christians, historically they are Hindu forest dwellers who will be better off returning to the Hindu fold. Hindu nationalists have been busy Hinduising tribal rituals by giving them Hindu names, saying they are just corrupted Hindu practices and then adjusting them to suit Hindu sensitivities. They have also invented a whole new mythology to justify creating a Hindu pilgrimage site and festival to the Hindu goddess Shabri in Dangs.
The Hindu nationalists have produced high quality CDs that exhort the tribals to kill Christians as the Hindu god Ram killed the demon Ravana. The NGO 'ANHAD' (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) filed a petition concerning the CD, which suggests Christians should be attacked and beheaded.
On Friday 3 February, the Supreme Court viewed the CD and sought responses from the central government, the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the Shabri Kumbh Mela organising committee. According to ANHAD, the disc has been widely distributed and openly sold in Gujarat, Maharashtra and in northeastern states. ANHAD states the CD 'makes constant references to the evil forces and foreign powers that are out to destroy the Hindu religion, while simultaneously flashing pictures of churches and the cross on the screen as if to insinuate that the Christian community is the evil force and the foreign power that the Hindu community has to reckon with'. They say it also encourages viewers to adopt aggressive attitudes and militant methods. The CD also has 'a caricature of a headless Christian priest wearing a cassock and holding a cross. In place of the head is a question mark symbol. The caption on the top of this picture literally translates into church: in the name of service'.
Swami Aseemanand, one of the key instigators of the Kumbh, believes the Shabri Kumbh Mela will '...end missionary activity in Dangs'. In 1999 Aseemanand told the Times of India, 'Dangs cannot know peace so long as even a single tribal remains Christian.'
The Hindu nationalist state government in Gujarat is actively supporting this initiative. They have given Hindus saffron coloured flags to fly outside their homes, making Christian homes easy to identify. While the government has refused to cancel the event, advocacy from Indian and foreign groups has forced them to increase security. However, when Hindus massacred Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, police with Hindu nationalist sentiments joined in the pogrom. The
Dangs population of 186,000 includes 8000 Christians. The Hindu nationalists plan to bring in some half million Hindus for the festival. Please fast and pray for the safety of the Dangi Christian community this weekend.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:
- the Spirit of God to breathe great peace into the Dangi Christians and great spiritual wisdom into their Christian leaders; may he draw them into prayer and increase their faith.
- God to spread his protection over each Christian family and individual, surrounding them with his favour as with a shield.
- God to intervene profoundly so that wicked, exploitative, violent schemes will be frustrated and scuttled. Psalm 146:9
- God to bless the advocacy of Indian and Christians worldwide, working through the Supreme Court and central government, and putting an end to the crimes of the Hindu nationalists: their incitement to violence; their forced conversion campaigns; and their intimidation and violent persecution of religious minorities.
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
The Persecution of Palestinian Christians
Date: Tuesday 7 February 2006
Subj: Palestinian Territories - 1.
The Persecution of Palestinian Christians.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
A detailed and scholarly description of the suffering of Palestinian Christians can be found in a recently published work entitled: "Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society" by Prof. Justus Reid Weiner, under the auspices of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs. (The monograph may be downloaded freely from this site, but it is also available through Amazon.)
Professor Weiner commences his monograph with a brief look at the wider issue of "Christians living in a Muslim world". He notes, "Despite the liberal and secular trends that gained strength from the middle of the nineteenth century, this statute [Islam] continues, to this day, to influence cultural, social, and legal practices. Moreover, the recent resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism entails a reversion to historical, cultural, and religious traditions that do not reflect modern social standards."
Pros. Weiner then narrows his focus to examine the plight of Christians under Palestinian Authority (PA) rule. He notes that the Palestinian Authority's Draft Constitution declares that "...in the State of Palestine... the religion of Islam will be the official religion", and "the Sharia will be the primary source of legislation".
As Weiner explains, the PA's promotion of Sharia (Islamic Law) immediately placed Christians in a precarious position, as Sharia does not afford them equality before the law. Escalating hardship and lawlessness, combined with the inequity of Sharia, makes Palestinian Christians exceedingly vulnerable, and their life increasingly unbearable. According to Prof. Weiner, while the intifada and the economy are significant factors forcing Christians to flee the Palestinian Territories, religious persecution at the hands of increasingly intolerant Muslims is the primary catalyst.
Prof. Weiner's research indicates that the present high rate of Christian emigration out of the Palestinian Territories is not normative, but a response to a phenomenon. He believes that the phenomenon that is driving Palestinian Christians from their homeland is the escalating hostility and persecution they are experiencing due to the dramatic escalation of Islamic extremism in the PA-administered territories. He says this is a direct result of the systematic and pervasive radicalisation of Palestinian Muslim society.
School curriculum in PA-run schools is infamous for its glorification of suicide bombers, its radical Islamic fundamentalism, its denial of Israel's right to exist, and its denigration of non-Muslims. As a pre-election Hamas video boasts, "We succeeded, with Allah's grace, to raise an ideological generation that loves death like our enemies love life." (Link 1)
For more information on the what Palestinian children and youths have been fed through PA-run schools and media, see links below.
Weirner describes the persecution of Christians as "diverse and widespread", adding that "institutionalised discrimination pervades virtually all realms of life and has become an inexorable part of Palestinian Christian existence".
In his monograph Prof. Weirner details the various forms this diverse, widespread, institutionalised discrimination and persecution takes. In summary, Christian communities and individuals suffer the following:
MARGINALISATION
The deliberate and strategic marginalisation of Christians in the Palestinian Territories is achieved by means of gerrymanders combined with Muslim immigration that alter the demographics of a formerly majority Christian area. This of course has drastic implications for local elections.
Bethlehem is a classic case. In 1990 Bethlehem was 60 percent Christian. After the PA acquired control of Bethlehem in 1994, Chairman Arafat extended the city's municipal borders to include the 30,000 Muslims living in nearby refugee camps. He also encouraged Muslims in Hebron to immigrate to Bethlehem. After nine Christians members of the Bethlehem City Council were driven to resign their posts in protest of Islamisationist policies, Arafat appointed a Muslim from Hebron as Governor of the Bethlehem District. The entire political structure of Bethlehem was then gradually cleansed of Christians. Christians are leaving. By 2001, Bethlehem was only 20 percent Christian.
BOYCOTTS AND EXTORTION
Christians suffer economic hardship as Muslims boycott their businesses. Islamic militants have also forced some Christians to close their businesses. The practice of extortion of Christian businesses is so widespread that one Christian businessman interviewed told Prof. Weiner, "There isn't a Christian businessman exempt." He said that around 90 percent of Christian businesses in Bethlehem have been forced to close. Those that remain in business are paying protection money to militants.
Christians in business in the Palestinian Territories are also harassed, beaten and robbed by PA police (Weiner cites examples). They are targeted simply because they are Christian. Refusal or inability to pay bribes can lead to torture and even death. These atrocities are committed with impunity.
NO PROPERTY RIGHTS
Prof. Weiner also explains that, in violation of international human rights norms, Palestinian Land Law prescribes the death penalty to anyone selling land to Jews. According to Weiner, Jerusalem's Arafat-appointed mufti, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri has issued a fatwa to the effect that death will be the penalty to anyone selling land to any non-Muslim. This law extends to Christians, so that they cannot sell land to each other.
In addition, adds Weiner, "...internationally recognised holy sites in the West Bank are threatened, being vandalised and desecrated by the PA without consequence." The impunity granted to those who attack Christians and Christian property only encourages Muslim criminals to break in to churches and monasteries to steal valuable items.
RAPE OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN
According to Weiner's research, violence against Christian women in the Palestinian Territories was rare before the PA took control. Christian women testify that before 1993, security was such that they could walk the streets in safety. However, after the PA took control, Christian women could be attacked with impunity. Weiner gives several reasons for the sharp rise in sexual violence against Christian women since the PA took control of the Palestinian Territories: the rise is Islamist attitudes (such as Muslim superiority and contempt of infidels); the denigration and relegation of Christians to dhimmi (second class citizen) status with limited rights and no equality before the law; combined with the PA's inaction, regardless of whether that is due to lack of authority or lack of will. Once again, Muslim criminals know they can rape Christian women without fear of retaliation or legal consequence.
Weiner reports that many Christian girls are being advised to dress as Muslims to avoid problems. "The abuse of Palestinian Christian women," writes Weiner, "extends well beyond verbal harassment and intimidation. The widespread occurrence of rape by Muslim men against Christian women exemplifies perhaps the most blatant denial of basic human rights as a result of religious identity."
One Palestinian Christian girl (aged 23) told Prof. Weiner that Muslim men often rape Christian women purely to render them undesirable to Christian men. "She can't get married, at all, after that," she said.
According to Weiner, Christian girls are also being forced into marriages with Muslim men. He retells the story of a wealthy Christian family man who had to resort to force to protect his daughter. A Muslim family came to his home, their son dressed for a wedding and accompanied by a sheikh and 15 Muslim men. They demanded that he hand his daughter over for marriage. After opening fire on the Muslim entourage, the Christian family had to immediately flee the Palestinian Territories. Other girls are less fortunate. There are even reports of PA officials leveling death threats at Christian families to force them to hand over their daughters for marriage to a Muslim.
PERVASIVE PA INCITEMENT
Prof. Weiner's research makes it clear that the negative attitudes held by Palestinian Muslims against their Christian counterparts are supported by the overwhelmingly Muslim PA leadership. Mosques broadcast sermons that drive home the Quranic injunction not to partner with, trust or befriend Jews or Christians, providing Muslims with religious justification for their religious intolerance.
Weiner quotes Joseph Farah, a Lebanese-American Christan editor of the WorldNetDaily online, as saying of Christians under the PA, "They are being driven out. They are being murdered. They are being raped. They are being systematically persecuted. They are being harassed. They are being intimidated." Weiner reports that Palestinian Christians under PA authority are discriminated against "...in the field of education, the receipt of medical benefits, and other government aid". A Lutheran pastor told Weiner, "...if food aid is brought in from Saudi Arabia, Christians are told that they are not entitled to receive any because they are not Muslims."
PA POLICE
According to Prof. Weiner, PA security personnel frequently combine ignorance of the law with Islamist sentiment to become persecutors rather than protectors. Christians are often imprisoned on trumped up charges of collaborating with Israel. Apostates can expect to be punished mercilessly through torture in PA prisons. Weiner writes, "The attitude of the police toward Christians constitutes one of the most egregious forms of institutional persecution... When subjected to harassment and worse by Muslim extremists, Palestinian Christians usually opt not to report incidents to the PA police... Palestinian Christians remain silent because they consider the PA police to be hostile to them."
ABUSE OF CHRISTIAN SITES
As has been well documented before, Islamic militants frequently choose to launch their attacks on Israel from Christian churches and homes, in order to draw the Israeli response to those sites.
CHRISTIAN DENIAL
Prof. Weiner's monograph contains material that will help people understand why Palestinian Christians are often quick to deny their suffering. Some Christian leaders deny the sufferings of Christians in order to retain privileges from the PA: for example, access to the media, or permission to travel – privileges that are granted in exchange of the dissemination of PA propaganda. Some deny the sufferings of Christians because they are simply blinded by Palestinian nationalist aspirations. But most are simply acting (or rather, not acting) out of fear of violent retribution – they are paralysed into silence by threat of terror, crippled by dhimmitude.
Weiner reports that one Christian cleric in Jerusalem compared the behaviour of Christian dhimmis to that of battered wives and children. A vulnerable, trapped, battered wife knows she cannot afford to provoke her abuser's wrath. For the victim it is easier, psychologically, to blame oneself (or to gain the approval of the abuser, blame the abuser's "enemy") and it is easier, physically, to avoid confrontation all together.
PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS: "SACRIFICIAL PAWNS"
Weiner recounts one horrific case of a Palestinian apostate and persistent evangelist named Ahmad El-Achwal, a married father of eight, who struggled for seven years with persecution that included severe torture in PA prisons (the horror of which is described in Weiner's text), as well as frequent severe beatings and death threats from Hamas. Ahmad El-Achwal was murdered on his doorstep by Islamic militants, on 21 January 2004. US State Department officials, who were fully informed, had persistently refused to address his case.
Weiner regards Palestinian Christians as the sacrificial pawns of the Middle East peace process. He writes, "The importance of monitoring the PA's record, even during the ongoing violent intifada, cannot be overstated... The future of the Palestinian Christian community and any other religious minority living under the PA will rest on the potential for religious tolerance...," something Weiner fears is unlikely, at least in the short term.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
Teach Kids Peace. http://www.teachkidspeace.com/
Teach Kids Peace is affiliated with Middle East Media Watch. It
monitors and documents progress in children's education for peace.
This site contains analysis of Israeli and PA educational materials.
ALSO
2003 Palestinian Authority Textbook Calls for Jihad and Martyrdom
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2203
Incitement in the Palestinian Authority After the Aqaba Summit
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2003
Subj: Palestinian Territories - 1.
The Persecution of Palestinian Christians.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
A detailed and scholarly description of the suffering of Palestinian Christians can be found in a recently published work entitled: "Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society" by Prof. Justus Reid Weiner, under the auspices of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs. (The monograph may be downloaded freely from this site, but it is also available through Amazon.)
Professor Weiner commences his monograph with a brief look at the wider issue of "Christians living in a Muslim world". He notes, "Despite the liberal and secular trends that gained strength from the middle of the nineteenth century, this statute [Islam] continues, to this day, to influence cultural, social, and legal practices. Moreover, the recent resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism entails a reversion to historical, cultural, and religious traditions that do not reflect modern social standards."
Pros. Weiner then narrows his focus to examine the plight of Christians under Palestinian Authority (PA) rule. He notes that the Palestinian Authority's Draft Constitution declares that "...in the State of Palestine... the religion of Islam will be the official religion", and "the Sharia will be the primary source of legislation".
As Weiner explains, the PA's promotion of Sharia (Islamic Law) immediately placed Christians in a precarious position, as Sharia does not afford them equality before the law. Escalating hardship and lawlessness, combined with the inequity of Sharia, makes Palestinian Christians exceedingly vulnerable, and their life increasingly unbearable. According to Prof. Weiner, while the intifada and the economy are significant factors forcing Christians to flee the Palestinian Territories, religious persecution at the hands of increasingly intolerant Muslims is the primary catalyst.
Prof. Weiner's research indicates that the present high rate of Christian emigration out of the Palestinian Territories is not normative, but a response to a phenomenon. He believes that the phenomenon that is driving Palestinian Christians from their homeland is the escalating hostility and persecution they are experiencing due to the dramatic escalation of Islamic extremism in the PA-administered territories. He says this is a direct result of the systematic and pervasive radicalisation of Palestinian Muslim society.
School curriculum in PA-run schools is infamous for its glorification of suicide bombers, its radical Islamic fundamentalism, its denial of Israel's right to exist, and its denigration of non-Muslims. As a pre-election Hamas video boasts, "We succeeded, with Allah's grace, to raise an ideological generation that loves death like our enemies love life." (Link 1)
For more information on the what Palestinian children and youths have been fed through PA-run schools and media, see links below.
Weirner describes the persecution of Christians as "diverse and widespread", adding that "institutionalised discrimination pervades virtually all realms of life and has become an inexorable part of Palestinian Christian existence".
In his monograph Prof. Weirner details the various forms this diverse, widespread, institutionalised discrimination and persecution takes. In summary, Christian communities and individuals suffer the following:
MARGINALISATION
The deliberate and strategic marginalisation of Christians in the Palestinian Territories is achieved by means of gerrymanders combined with Muslim immigration that alter the demographics of a formerly majority Christian area. This of course has drastic implications for local elections.
Bethlehem is a classic case. In 1990 Bethlehem was 60 percent Christian. After the PA acquired control of Bethlehem in 1994, Chairman Arafat extended the city's municipal borders to include the 30,000 Muslims living in nearby refugee camps. He also encouraged Muslims in Hebron to immigrate to Bethlehem. After nine Christians members of the Bethlehem City Council were driven to resign their posts in protest of Islamisationist policies, Arafat appointed a Muslim from Hebron as Governor of the Bethlehem District. The entire political structure of Bethlehem was then gradually cleansed of Christians. Christians are leaving. By 2001, Bethlehem was only 20 percent Christian.
BOYCOTTS AND EXTORTION
Christians suffer economic hardship as Muslims boycott their businesses. Islamic militants have also forced some Christians to close their businesses. The practice of extortion of Christian businesses is so widespread that one Christian businessman interviewed told Prof. Weiner, "There isn't a Christian businessman exempt." He said that around 90 percent of Christian businesses in Bethlehem have been forced to close. Those that remain in business are paying protection money to militants.
Christians in business in the Palestinian Territories are also harassed, beaten and robbed by PA police (Weiner cites examples). They are targeted simply because they are Christian. Refusal or inability to pay bribes can lead to torture and even death. These atrocities are committed with impunity.
NO PROPERTY RIGHTS
Prof. Weiner also explains that, in violation of international human rights norms, Palestinian Land Law prescribes the death penalty to anyone selling land to Jews. According to Weiner, Jerusalem's Arafat-appointed mufti, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri has issued a fatwa to the effect that death will be the penalty to anyone selling land to any non-Muslim. This law extends to Christians, so that they cannot sell land to each other.
In addition, adds Weiner, "...internationally recognised holy sites in the West Bank are threatened, being vandalised and desecrated by the PA without consequence." The impunity granted to those who attack Christians and Christian property only encourages Muslim criminals to break in to churches and monasteries to steal valuable items.
RAPE OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN
According to Weiner's research, violence against Christian women in the Palestinian Territories was rare before the PA took control. Christian women testify that before 1993, security was such that they could walk the streets in safety. However, after the PA took control, Christian women could be attacked with impunity. Weiner gives several reasons for the sharp rise in sexual violence against Christian women since the PA took control of the Palestinian Territories: the rise is Islamist attitudes (such as Muslim superiority and contempt of infidels); the denigration and relegation of Christians to dhimmi (second class citizen) status with limited rights and no equality before the law; combined with the PA's inaction, regardless of whether that is due to lack of authority or lack of will. Once again, Muslim criminals know they can rape Christian women without fear of retaliation or legal consequence.
Weiner reports that many Christian girls are being advised to dress as Muslims to avoid problems. "The abuse of Palestinian Christian women," writes Weiner, "extends well beyond verbal harassment and intimidation. The widespread occurrence of rape by Muslim men against Christian women exemplifies perhaps the most blatant denial of basic human rights as a result of religious identity."
One Palestinian Christian girl (aged 23) told Prof. Weiner that Muslim men often rape Christian women purely to render them undesirable to Christian men. "She can't get married, at all, after that," she said.
According to Weiner, Christian girls are also being forced into marriages with Muslim men. He retells the story of a wealthy Christian family man who had to resort to force to protect his daughter. A Muslim family came to his home, their son dressed for a wedding and accompanied by a sheikh and 15 Muslim men. They demanded that he hand his daughter over for marriage. After opening fire on the Muslim entourage, the Christian family had to immediately flee the Palestinian Territories. Other girls are less fortunate. There are even reports of PA officials leveling death threats at Christian families to force them to hand over their daughters for marriage to a Muslim.
PERVASIVE PA INCITEMENT
Prof. Weiner's research makes it clear that the negative attitudes held by Palestinian Muslims against their Christian counterparts are supported by the overwhelmingly Muslim PA leadership. Mosques broadcast sermons that drive home the Quranic injunction not to partner with, trust or befriend Jews or Christians, providing Muslims with religious justification for their religious intolerance.
Weiner quotes Joseph Farah, a Lebanese-American Christan editor of the WorldNetDaily online, as saying of Christians under the PA, "They are being driven out. They are being murdered. They are being raped. They are being systematically persecuted. They are being harassed. They are being intimidated." Weiner reports that Palestinian Christians under PA authority are discriminated against "...in the field of education, the receipt of medical benefits, and other government aid". A Lutheran pastor told Weiner, "...if food aid is brought in from Saudi Arabia, Christians are told that they are not entitled to receive any because they are not Muslims."
PA POLICE
According to Prof. Weiner, PA security personnel frequently combine ignorance of the law with Islamist sentiment to become persecutors rather than protectors. Christians are often imprisoned on trumped up charges of collaborating with Israel. Apostates can expect to be punished mercilessly through torture in PA prisons. Weiner writes, "The attitude of the police toward Christians constitutes one of the most egregious forms of institutional persecution... When subjected to harassment and worse by Muslim extremists, Palestinian Christians usually opt not to report incidents to the PA police... Palestinian Christians remain silent because they consider the PA police to be hostile to them."
ABUSE OF CHRISTIAN SITES
As has been well documented before, Islamic militants frequently choose to launch their attacks on Israel from Christian churches and homes, in order to draw the Israeli response to those sites.
CHRISTIAN DENIAL
Prof. Weiner's monograph contains material that will help people understand why Palestinian Christians are often quick to deny their suffering. Some Christian leaders deny the sufferings of Christians in order to retain privileges from the PA: for example, access to the media, or permission to travel – privileges that are granted in exchange of the dissemination of PA propaganda. Some deny the sufferings of Christians because they are simply blinded by Palestinian nationalist aspirations. But most are simply acting (or rather, not acting) out of fear of violent retribution – they are paralysed into silence by threat of terror, crippled by dhimmitude.
Weiner reports that one Christian cleric in Jerusalem compared the behaviour of Christian dhimmis to that of battered wives and children. A vulnerable, trapped, battered wife knows she cannot afford to provoke her abuser's wrath. For the victim it is easier, psychologically, to blame oneself (or to gain the approval of the abuser, blame the abuser's "enemy") and it is easier, physically, to avoid confrontation all together.
PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS: "SACRIFICIAL PAWNS"
Weiner recounts one horrific case of a Palestinian apostate and persistent evangelist named Ahmad El-Achwal, a married father of eight, who struggled for seven years with persecution that included severe torture in PA prisons (the horror of which is described in Weiner's text), as well as frequent severe beatings and death threats from Hamas. Ahmad El-Achwal was murdered on his doorstep by Islamic militants, on 21 January 2004. US State Department officials, who were fully informed, had persistently refused to address his case.
Weiner regards Palestinian Christians as the sacrificial pawns of the Middle East peace process. He writes, "The importance of monitoring the PA's record, even during the ongoing violent intifada, cannot be overstated... The future of the Palestinian Christian community and any other religious minority living under the PA will rest on the potential for religious tolerance...," something Weiner fears is unlikely, at least in the short term.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
Teach Kids Peace. http://www.teachkidspeace.com/
Teach Kids Peace is affiliated with Middle East Media Watch. It
monitors and documents progress in children's education for peace.
This site contains analysis of Israeli and PA educational materials.
ALSO
2003 Palestinian Authority Textbook Calls for Jihad and Martyrdom
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2203
Incitement in the Palestinian Authority After the Aqaba Summit
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR2003