Not concerning India, but Eritrea which neighbours Ethiopia and of which it was formerly part. Makes for an interesting case study.
Preliminary background information:
http://home.planet.nl/~hans.mebrat/eritr...igions.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The population of Eritrea is equally divided between Christian (Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic and Lutheran protestants) and Muslim religions.
The conversion of Axum to (a subsect of Orthodox) Christianity dates from the forth century A.D. when Syrian missionaries introduced a Monophysite doctrine to the Axumites. From a region which was approximately coextensive with modern Eritrea, the Christian kings of Axum extended their power and influence far a field.
Islam spread to Eritrea around 615 AD with the arrival of Osman Bin Afan...
Catholicism was first brought to Eritrea by the Jesuit Fathers in 1600. In 1632, this order was expelled for wanting to Latinize the country. In the nineteenth century the Italians began to bring Eritrea under their protection and introduced Roman Catholicism.
(Italy attacked Etiopia in the Nazi era, at which time Eritrea was still part of Ethiopia)
The protestant presence in Eritrea is small. Missionaries appeared in the 19th century and established the Lutheran and Evangelical church. These organizations have been allowed to continue to practice. New groups however, have been discouraged from establishing a base in Eritrea.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->There is also a tiny Jewish presence in Eritrea after the majority moved to Israel.
And here is the (one of the?) Original African Religion of the Eritrean populace:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->There is also a small community of Kunamas (Gash-Setit), who practice their own traditional religion, centered around worship of Anna, the creator, and veneration of ancestral heroes. <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What's curious to note, however, is that Orthodox christianity, islam, catholicism even protestantism are officially recognised religions in the country - in fact they're the only ones officially allowed (that means, the traditional belief system isn't! - but this is a christoislamic country, what does one expect?)
About the tolerance of <b>christoislamic</b> Eritrea toward newer christo and islamic religions:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3343635.stm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->23 December, 2003
<b>US condemns Eritrea over religion</b>
[Photo caption: The Catholic Church is one of the four recognised religions]
Respect for religious freedom in Eritrea has deteriorated over the past year, according to a United States Government report.
Members of unsanctioned religious groups have been harassed, detained and tortured, the State Department says.
An Eritrean Government spokesman has condemned the report, calling it inaccurate and extremely superficial.
The State Department publishes an annual report into religious freedom around the world.
<b>Renouncing faith</b>
Only four religious groups are officially sanctioned in Eritrea - the Orthodox church, Catholics, Muslims and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea.
"Some of the detainees had reportedly been rolled around in oil drums, abused by fellow prisoners and the women sexually abused" - US State Department report
In May last year it was decreed that all other religious groups should cease their activities while they awaited registration from the government.
According to the State Department report, in the 19 months since the decree, no new religious group has been recognised by the government.
For those who have secretly tried to practise their religions, the report has accounts of their alleged mistreatment.
"Some of the detainees had reportedly been rolled around in oil drums, abused by fellow prisoners and the women sexually abused," the report said.
"Some of the detainees reportedly suffer from partial paralysis and other physical injuries as a result of their torture".
The harassment was said to have continued until they recanted their faiths.
<b>'Extremists'</b>
According to the report, Jehovah's Witnesses are singled out for particularly harsh treatment as they refuse on principle to perform national service.
Some were said to have been detained for more than eight years.
The incidents have been compiled from the foreign press, human rights groups, religious leaders and family members.
But Eritrea's initial response has been to question the accuracy and reliability of the sources for the report.
A government spokesman called it "scandalous and based on unreliable reports. These new extremist groups whether Christian or Muslim must abide by the laws of our country."
Yemane Gebremeskel also said contrary to the report, some religious groups have been registered and were operating in the country.
Mr Gebremeskel said: "Anybody has the full right to practise any religion but external funding for various political purposes that come under the smokescreen of religious movement are not allowed."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3663654.stm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->17 September, 2004
<b>Religious persecution in Eritrea</b>
By Jonah Fisher
Former BBC correspondent in AsmaraÂ
[Photo caption: The Catholic Church is one of four approved religions]
If you are Catholic, Muslim, or a member of the Orthodox and Evangelical churches in Eritrea then it seems you can breathe easy.
However, those who believe and practise minority faiths are routinely persecuted, according to human rights groups.
Two years ago the Eritrean government introduced a registration system for religions which forced groups to submit information about themselves in order to be allowed to worship.
Apart from the four mentioned, other faiths have not been recognised.
And human rights groups have regularly complained that people practising minority religions have faced harassment.
(Note that in the statement above, only christo and islamic minority religions are considered, not the African religion: that does not county you see, what with its unsaved kaffirness.)
<b>Secret meeting</b>
I went to visit a small part of a Christian Pentecostal Church that has been banned from meeting for the past two years.
When I arrived in a small dark room of a private house, 12 men and women face away from each other, looking to the corners of the room.
Lit by just a small lamp, some of them are singing, some praying, occasionally one breaks into prayer and collapses to the floor.
(Collapsing on the floor is one of those spastic fits that Pentecostals go into. They think it's being filled with the holy spook. But all established christian churches recognise it for the fraud it is.)
The congregation has divided into small groups. There are 10 other gatherings just like this, taking place across Asmara tonight.
These people are very trusting of each other - just by being here and praying together.
There have been numerous occasions reported around Eritrea of neighbours and friends of worshipers informing the authorities.
<b>Arrests</b>
[Photo caption: President Isaias Afewerki does not allow political dissent either]
"We were put into a metal shipping container... During the day it very hot and at night very cold" - Samuel
A few days later I arranged to meet a man, who I will call Samuel.
Samuel was attending a religious service, just like the one I was at, when soldiers arrived.
(The inevitable Christo persecution of fellow christos follow - in this case it's real, just like it was of the various christian sects persecuting each other to death in the Roman empire, but <i>unlike</i> the massive christo lies of pagan Roman persecution of christians)
"I was praying with six people at a house one evening and the soldiers came into the house, watched us for one minute and said these meetings are forbidden," he told me.
"We were beaten with sticks and then taken to a police station."
Samuel told me that he and the other Pentecostals had spent the next three months being moved between different locations where they were regularly beaten.
"We were put into a metal shipping container with nine Jehovah's Witnesses; one of them was in his 90s. During the day it very hot and at night very cold".
Eventually Samuel said he was released after signing a document in which he promised to return to Orthodox Christianity.
<b>Persecution</b>
His case, it seems, is not an isolated one. I spoke to one American journalist while she was in Eritrea, undercover, researching religious persecution.
Â
She asked that I not mention her name, so that she can return to the country.
She told me she repeatedly heard from individuals telling her police had taken them off and beaten them after interrupting them praying at home with friends.
They were then told they were an enemy of the people and forced to either sign a paper or kept in jail if they wouldn't sign and left in containers.
"All of these things are just happening repeatedly over and over from <b>people of all different Christian denominations and the Jehovah's Witnesses</b>. So it is very pervasive of any group that are not part of the four major religions," she said.
(Note how interviewee says 'christian denominations AND the jehovah's witnesses' - being a typical christo, she doesn't accord christo status to certain christo sects either)
The evidence she has seen herself is undeniable, she says. "I've seen the scars on people's legs, I've seen their tears and it's very real and they live under a lot of fear."
I was asked to leave Eritrea before I could get a government response to my research and experiences, but a statement from the foreign ministry rejected accusations of religious persecutions from the United States.
The government seems to have decided that anyone who does not follow a certain standard is an enemy of the people, is an enemy of the state.
It is afraid that people who consider their highest allegiance to be God, at some point may not be patriotic and follow the state's instructions.
At a time of growing tension, both with Ethiopia and Sudan, it seems the Eritrean government is determined that nothing, not even religion, should fall outside their control.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
At the same link, comments by readers follow (mostly Eritreans) who generally fall into two camps: those who belong to the persecuted minority christoislamic religions and those who belong to the officially recognised religions.
They're at the bottom of http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3663654.stm
- good read. Gives insight into the typical christian-conditioned minds.
A few things are apparent:
- christoislamics persecute amongst themselves as they did in the first centuries of the religion - and most viciously so!
- christos always like persecution, it 'vindicates' their faith. Christian sects that spring up anywhere always work in secrecy and try to huddle up with their jeebus-buddies against the majority 'others' who are persecuting them - whether in reality (as in this case) or in their imaginations (as in the case of Ancient Rome and other heathen places).
- the actual ancient African religion of the place is not recognised of course
- it is clear 'religious freedom' is a term that applies only to christoislamism. Other religions don't count as religions.
So when next some international journalist or Indian christo whines about 'Hindus persecuting christos' in India, they just need to be steered toward the (undoctored, for a change!) reports of christoislamic persecutions against christoislamics.
Christo sects have always threatened even their own kind with their aggressive proselytising, and they always love playing the victims:
- The early christian sects did it to the Ancient Romans, all the while murdering each other (coptics, orthodox Roman Church, Donatists, Arians, Nestorians and other early christian sects - see http://truth.orgfree.com/A2a.htm )
- the Protestants annoyed the Catholics with their existence
- Anabaptists and whatnots annoyed the Protestants with their existence
- later subdenominations annoyed the US Protestant denominations with their existence
- the mormons whine in Greece and Russia where they're not wanted at all, but as usual the 'victims' are the botherers annoying the populace
- another example: Pentecostals vs Catholic Church at http://truth.orgfree.com/C6.htm
- The Jehovah's Witnesses, 7th day adventists, general charismatics and mormons annoy everybody else
- blablabla
They can't stand each other and they'll never have peace. The world's a better place without christoislamism. With christoislamism: there won't be peace until the last man has drawn his gun on his fellow.
Preliminary background information:
http://home.planet.nl/~hans.mebrat/eritr...igions.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The population of Eritrea is equally divided between Christian (Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic and Lutheran protestants) and Muslim religions.
The conversion of Axum to (a subsect of Orthodox) Christianity dates from the forth century A.D. when Syrian missionaries introduced a Monophysite doctrine to the Axumites. From a region which was approximately coextensive with modern Eritrea, the Christian kings of Axum extended their power and influence far a field.
Islam spread to Eritrea around 615 AD with the arrival of Osman Bin Afan...
Catholicism was first brought to Eritrea by the Jesuit Fathers in 1600. In 1632, this order was expelled for wanting to Latinize the country. In the nineteenth century the Italians began to bring Eritrea under their protection and introduced Roman Catholicism.
(Italy attacked Etiopia in the Nazi era, at which time Eritrea was still part of Ethiopia)
The protestant presence in Eritrea is small. Missionaries appeared in the 19th century and established the Lutheran and Evangelical church. These organizations have been allowed to continue to practice. New groups however, have been discouraged from establishing a base in Eritrea.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->There is also a tiny Jewish presence in Eritrea after the majority moved to Israel.
And here is the (one of the?) Original African Religion of the Eritrean populace:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->There is also a small community of Kunamas (Gash-Setit), who practice their own traditional religion, centered around worship of Anna, the creator, and veneration of ancestral heroes. <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What's curious to note, however, is that Orthodox christianity, islam, catholicism even protestantism are officially recognised religions in the country - in fact they're the only ones officially allowed (that means, the traditional belief system isn't! - but this is a christoislamic country, what does one expect?)
About the tolerance of <b>christoislamic</b> Eritrea toward newer christo and islamic religions:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3343635.stm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->23 December, 2003
<b>US condemns Eritrea over religion</b>
[Photo caption: The Catholic Church is one of the four recognised religions]
Respect for religious freedom in Eritrea has deteriorated over the past year, according to a United States Government report.
Members of unsanctioned religious groups have been harassed, detained and tortured, the State Department says.
An Eritrean Government spokesman has condemned the report, calling it inaccurate and extremely superficial.
The State Department publishes an annual report into religious freedom around the world.
<b>Renouncing faith</b>
Only four religious groups are officially sanctioned in Eritrea - the Orthodox church, Catholics, Muslims and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea.
"Some of the detainees had reportedly been rolled around in oil drums, abused by fellow prisoners and the women sexually abused" - US State Department report
In May last year it was decreed that all other religious groups should cease their activities while they awaited registration from the government.
According to the State Department report, in the 19 months since the decree, no new religious group has been recognised by the government.
For those who have secretly tried to practise their religions, the report has accounts of their alleged mistreatment.
"Some of the detainees had reportedly been rolled around in oil drums, abused by fellow prisoners and the women sexually abused," the report said.
"Some of the detainees reportedly suffer from partial paralysis and other physical injuries as a result of their torture".
The harassment was said to have continued until they recanted their faiths.
<b>'Extremists'</b>
According to the report, Jehovah's Witnesses are singled out for particularly harsh treatment as they refuse on principle to perform national service.
Some were said to have been detained for more than eight years.
The incidents have been compiled from the foreign press, human rights groups, religious leaders and family members.
But Eritrea's initial response has been to question the accuracy and reliability of the sources for the report.
A government spokesman called it "scandalous and based on unreliable reports. These new extremist groups whether Christian or Muslim must abide by the laws of our country."
Yemane Gebremeskel also said contrary to the report, some religious groups have been registered and were operating in the country.
Mr Gebremeskel said: "Anybody has the full right to practise any religion but external funding for various political purposes that come under the smokescreen of religious movement are not allowed."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3663654.stm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->17 September, 2004
<b>Religious persecution in Eritrea</b>
By Jonah Fisher
Former BBC correspondent in AsmaraÂ
[Photo caption: The Catholic Church is one of four approved religions]
If you are Catholic, Muslim, or a member of the Orthodox and Evangelical churches in Eritrea then it seems you can breathe easy.
However, those who believe and practise minority faiths are routinely persecuted, according to human rights groups.
Two years ago the Eritrean government introduced a registration system for religions which forced groups to submit information about themselves in order to be allowed to worship.
Apart from the four mentioned, other faiths have not been recognised.
And human rights groups have regularly complained that people practising minority religions have faced harassment.
(Note that in the statement above, only christo and islamic minority religions are considered, not the African religion: that does not county you see, what with its unsaved kaffirness.)
<b>Secret meeting</b>
I went to visit a small part of a Christian Pentecostal Church that has been banned from meeting for the past two years.
When I arrived in a small dark room of a private house, 12 men and women face away from each other, looking to the corners of the room.
Lit by just a small lamp, some of them are singing, some praying, occasionally one breaks into prayer and collapses to the floor.
(Collapsing on the floor is one of those spastic fits that Pentecostals go into. They think it's being filled with the holy spook. But all established christian churches recognise it for the fraud it is.)
The congregation has divided into small groups. There are 10 other gatherings just like this, taking place across Asmara tonight.
These people are very trusting of each other - just by being here and praying together.
There have been numerous occasions reported around Eritrea of neighbours and friends of worshipers informing the authorities.
<b>Arrests</b>
[Photo caption: President Isaias Afewerki does not allow political dissent either]
"We were put into a metal shipping container... During the day it very hot and at night very cold" - Samuel
A few days later I arranged to meet a man, who I will call Samuel.
Samuel was attending a religious service, just like the one I was at, when soldiers arrived.
(The inevitable Christo persecution of fellow christos follow - in this case it's real, just like it was of the various christian sects persecuting each other to death in the Roman empire, but <i>unlike</i> the massive christo lies of pagan Roman persecution of christians)
"I was praying with six people at a house one evening and the soldiers came into the house, watched us for one minute and said these meetings are forbidden," he told me.
"We were beaten with sticks and then taken to a police station."
Samuel told me that he and the other Pentecostals had spent the next three months being moved between different locations where they were regularly beaten.
"We were put into a metal shipping container with nine Jehovah's Witnesses; one of them was in his 90s. During the day it very hot and at night very cold".
Eventually Samuel said he was released after signing a document in which he promised to return to Orthodox Christianity.
<b>Persecution</b>
His case, it seems, is not an isolated one. I spoke to one American journalist while she was in Eritrea, undercover, researching religious persecution.
Â
She asked that I not mention her name, so that she can return to the country.
She told me she repeatedly heard from individuals telling her police had taken them off and beaten them after interrupting them praying at home with friends.
They were then told they were an enemy of the people and forced to either sign a paper or kept in jail if they wouldn't sign and left in containers.
"All of these things are just happening repeatedly over and over from <b>people of all different Christian denominations and the Jehovah's Witnesses</b>. So it is very pervasive of any group that are not part of the four major religions," she said.
(Note how interviewee says 'christian denominations AND the jehovah's witnesses' - being a typical christo, she doesn't accord christo status to certain christo sects either)
The evidence she has seen herself is undeniable, she says. "I've seen the scars on people's legs, I've seen their tears and it's very real and they live under a lot of fear."
I was asked to leave Eritrea before I could get a government response to my research and experiences, but a statement from the foreign ministry rejected accusations of religious persecutions from the United States.
The government seems to have decided that anyone who does not follow a certain standard is an enemy of the people, is an enemy of the state.
It is afraid that people who consider their highest allegiance to be God, at some point may not be patriotic and follow the state's instructions.
At a time of growing tension, both with Ethiopia and Sudan, it seems the Eritrean government is determined that nothing, not even religion, should fall outside their control.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
At the same link, comments by readers follow (mostly Eritreans) who generally fall into two camps: those who belong to the persecuted minority christoislamic religions and those who belong to the officially recognised religions.
They're at the bottom of http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3663654.stm
- good read. Gives insight into the typical christian-conditioned minds.
A few things are apparent:
- christoislamics persecute amongst themselves as they did in the first centuries of the religion - and most viciously so!
- christos always like persecution, it 'vindicates' their faith. Christian sects that spring up anywhere always work in secrecy and try to huddle up with their jeebus-buddies against the majority 'others' who are persecuting them - whether in reality (as in this case) or in their imaginations (as in the case of Ancient Rome and other heathen places).
- the actual ancient African religion of the place is not recognised of course
- it is clear 'religious freedom' is a term that applies only to christoislamism. Other religions don't count as religions.
So when next some international journalist or Indian christo whines about 'Hindus persecuting christos' in India, they just need to be steered toward the (undoctored, for a change!) reports of christoislamic persecutions against christoislamics.
Christo sects have always threatened even their own kind with their aggressive proselytising, and they always love playing the victims:
- The early christian sects did it to the Ancient Romans, all the while murdering each other (coptics, orthodox Roman Church, Donatists, Arians, Nestorians and other early christian sects - see http://truth.orgfree.com/A2a.htm )
- the Protestants annoyed the Catholics with their existence
- Anabaptists and whatnots annoyed the Protestants with their existence
- later subdenominations annoyed the US Protestant denominations with their existence
- the mormons whine in Greece and Russia where they're not wanted at all, but as usual the 'victims' are the botherers annoying the populace
- another example: Pentecostals vs Catholic Church at http://truth.orgfree.com/C6.htm
- The Jehovah's Witnesses, 7th day adventists, general charismatics and mormons annoy everybody else
- blablabla
They can't stand each other and they'll never have peace. The world's a better place without christoislamism. With christoislamism: there won't be peace until the last man has drawn his gun on his fellow.