Dominica - Kerk In Nood

REPORT 2012 2012
LIBERDADE RELIGIOUS RELIGIOSA FREEDOM NO IN THE MUNDO WORLD
AID TO CHURCH IN NEED
(ACN) International

Religious Freedom
in the World
Report 2012
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International

Publisher
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International
Bischof-Kindermann-Str. 23, D-61462 Königstein
Editor
Attilio Tamburrini
Chairman of editorial committee
Peter Sefton-Williams
Editorial committee
Reinhard Backes
Marc Fromager
Javier Menendez-Ros
Roberto Simona
Secretariat of editorial committee
Nathalie Rüttimann
Collaborators
Paolo Affatato, Asia News, P. Stefano Caprio, Rodolfo Casadei,
Centro de Libertad Religiosa (CELIR UC) de la P. U. C. de Chile, P. Bernardo Cervellera,
Camille Eid, Annie Laurent, Luca Mainoldi,
Andrea Morigi, Oscar Sanguinetti
Translation into English
Pierre Rossi, Francesca Simmons
Proof reading/Revision
Frank Davidson, Rafael D’Aqui, Nathalie Rüttimann
Graphics
Centrocopie Verbano - Gruppo CCV
Via Nemorense 45 a/b – I-00199 Rome
Cover image
© JS Design
Maps
© Istituto Geografico De Agostini, 2012
All rights reserved
Production of CD
Centrocopie Verbano - Gruppo CCV
Via Nemorense 45 a/b – I-00199 Rome
© Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International
Bischof-Kindermann-Str. 23, D-61462 Königstein
Reproduction of this text, in part or in whole,
is permitted on condition the source is cited.

PREFACE
Freedom of religion: a human right based on human dignity
Human dignity is the basis and foundation of freedom of religion. In order to talk
about freedom of religion, it is important to keep in mind that the human person
and human dignity are essential points of reference.
Starting from this, we can see that freedom of religion is first of all a human right.
Of course, it entails duties too, in particular that of respecting the freedom of
others. And admittedly, the effective experience of freedom of religion depends to
a large extent on how this duty is respected. However, it would be wrong to view
everyone’s freedom of religion as rooted in other people’s duty not to impinge
upon it. Freedom of religion exists first and foremost as a right that belongs to
each and every person.
The concept of freedom of religion as a human right closely connected to human
dignity has many implications. Here are a few.
First, the human person has a right to freedom of religion even before such a right
can be recognised by the State or any other competent authority. Even though
the State promulgates human rights, it does not create them. It simply recognises
their existence.
This does not mean that State recognition is unimportant. On the contrary, in every
society organised for the promotion of human dignity, democracy and the rule
of law must be accompanied by measures that guarantee the effective protection
of human rights.
Upholding human rights is therefore a vital element in the legitimacy of a democratic
system, and one of the primordial roles of any legal system is to ensure the
protection of such rights. However, the role of the State – important as it may be
– has to be limited with respect to human rights. When a government measure
breaches a fundamental human right, the legitimacy of such a measure is called
into question. This poses the delicate question as to who is competent to decide.
Ultimately, this responsibility falls to the conscience of the individual. Thus, even
at the risk of very painful consequences, conscientious objection is the highest
expression of the choice for dignity.
A second implication of the role of human dignity is that freedom of religion cannot
be viewed in isolation, independently of other fundamental rights. Human dignity
concerns the human person as one, all of his dimensions considered together. In
this sense, human rights must be seen holistically for they are indivisible. When
they are implemented together, in a coordinated and harmonious fashion, they
are mutually reinforcing.

Trying to come up with a hierarchy of rights is a tricky undertaking though.
As legitimate as it might be when it is meant to ensure a better protection of
desired values, like life and matters of the spirit, a pecking order often leads to
priorities that do not fully respect human dignity. This is the case, for example,
when civil and political rights are seen as less important than economic, social
and cultural rights, or vice versa.
The need for a global approach must also not obscure another necessity, namely
paying as much attention as necessary to the protection of high-order values.
In particular, the spiritual dimension in human dignity is so important that it
requires special attention if we want to implement effectively freedom of religion.
The latter deserves special attention because it touches what is the highest value
in humans. Moreover, respecting this freedom in any society constitutes an excellent
test to measure how human rights are generally respected in that society.
Being rooted in human dignity, freedom of religion concerns not only the whole
human being but also each individual. Like other human rights, freedom of religion
is universal. It cannot be culturally relativised by claiming that it belongs to
another culture.
That said, we must acknowledge that the ways of defining and expressing
this freedom of religion have evolved over time and that distinct historical and
sociological factors have influenced this evolution in each particular society.
Consequently, no one society can necessarily be based on the desire to impose
its notion of religious freedom on others. Instead, each society must be capable
of engaging in dialogue with societies that hold different ideas. But the need for
mutual respect between cultures should not lead us to relativise freedom of religion
or base it only on the lowest common denominator. Here again the original
reference to the dignity of the human person must serve as common ground and
will not permit of minimalist or exclusively negative approaches.
The fundamental reference to human dignity has another implication as well.
Since every human being is not only a unique and irreplaceable individual, but
is also by nature a social being that actively relies on others, his affiliation to a
social group or organised society are indispensable to his fulfilment.
His rights make no sense unless he can exercise them with others. Freedom
of religion especially makes no sense if it is limited to an individual’s inner self.
It has no reason to exist unless it can be exercised in the social context in which
the individual lives.
Consequently, individuals who share the same religion have a right to practise it
together. Thus, the group they constitute is also entitled to freedom of religion.
This means that freedom of religion must be exercised in ways that are visibly meaningful
in society so long as public order and other groups’ rights are maintained.
In some Western societies, freedom of religion developed mainly as the right
not to believe under the historical circumstances of the 18 th and 19 th centuries.
It is important though to remember that its corollary is the right to believe, openly
and as a group.

Conceptualised in this manner, freedom of religion is essential to the common
good, defined as “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social
groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their
own fulfilment” (Gaudium and Spes, 26.1).
A society can be said to respect the public good if it helps to create the conditions
that allow each individual to fulfil his potential in all the dimensions that
his human dignity allows. Hence, society must reject all forms of totalitarianism,
including religious totalitarianism. By the same token, it cannot settle for a purely
individualistic approach.
Since government institutions are just and legitimate to the extent that they aim
for the common good, the State and other public bodies have a duty to respect
freedom of religion and ensure that it is respected. Likewise, if public authorities
have a duty to promote the public good, so do private individuals, groups and intermediate
bodies. Not only is it incumbent upon the State to respect freedom of
religion but so do the various social actors.
As part of the common good, freedom of religion benefits each member of society,
as well as society as a whole. Seen in terms of its positive (right to believe) and
negative (right not to believe) aspects, freedom of religion favours peace as well
as individual and collective wellbeing.
Denying the spiritual dimension of the human person or relegating it to the inner
self fails to meet the challenges that humanity’s natural religious aspirations generate
in society, especially when they are expressed in ways that are perceived
as threatening by other segments in society.
A solution that meets the needs of human dignity requires the recognition and
protection not only of the right not to believe, but also of the right to believe, at both
the individual and group levels, including in ways that are meaningfully visible to
all, within the constraints of public order and an obligation to uphold the rights of
those who hold different ideas.
Societies that violate freedom of religion not only abuse individuals, but also the
community. Even though the path to an open and constructive attitude is full of
pitfalls, it is the only one by which we can respect everyone’s dignity as well as
the good of every human community
Nicolas Michel
Professor of international law (Geneva)
and consultant
for the Pontifical Council Justice and Peace

GUIDE TO USING THIS REPORT
Aims and methodology
This report has been compiled with the support of a group of researchers, scholars
and journalists who have gathered and made available information derived
in the main from international sources, from reports by various different religious
groups and from on-the-spot eyewitness accounts. The aim has been to provide a
broad yet detailed picture of religious freedom in the world with the greatest possible
objectivity. It tries to allow the different religions, faiths and religious groupings
to speak for themselves, avoiding any value judgements as to the beliefs or convictions
underlying their religious practises and teachings.
The objective and the utility of this report consists, we believe, principally in
making available, within the context of an organised whole, such news, facts,
situations and personal testimonies as otherwise risk being passed over in silence
or lost amid the bombardment of daily information. We hope it will give a
more comprehensive understanding of the rights and duties pertaining to religious
freedom, and to human rights more generally, which is the specific focus
of this report.
Structure and format
The country entries record and describe the current situation and the most recent
events with regard to religious freedom in the countries concerned.
They are set out according to the following format:
-- a summarised description of the legal and institutional framework in relation to
the right to religious freedom
-- the reporting of any improvement or deterioration in the situation during the
period under examination
-- the reporting of episodes of intolerance or persecution committed by the authorities
or by religious groups against other groups.
Legal and factual sources consulted
As far as the information sources generally are concerned, these are listed in the
appendix after the relevant section. These are derived, as can be seen from the
religious sources cited, from a variety of different faiths and denominations; for
the rest, the reports are furnished by international organisations and agencies

that are concerned with the issue of human rights and, more specifically, religious
freedom. For other information, obtained locally, the sources are sometimes not
cited, for reasons of personal safety.
Special thanks are due to the staff of the Projects Department of the International
Headquarters of ACN, whose dedication in checking the information given and, in
many cases, direct knowledge of the problems involved have contributed greatly
to the successful realisation of this project.
Statistics
The statistics given are drawn from a variety of sources, which have been chosen
on the basis of their credibility and trustworthiness.
The most basic data, as to the number of inhabitants, is for many countries
the result of estimates and not based on genuine census reports, which either
don’t exist in these countries or are scientifically unreliable. The reported data is
obtained from the data supplied by the UN.
The religious makeup of the various countries is the aspect that is the most complex
and difficult to verify, as students of this field know all too well. For some
countries scientifically credible studies do exist, but for others one sometimes has
to rely on figures from directly interested parties, which clearly do not provide us
with a verifiable picture.
Given the need to make a choice, we have decided to use for Christians generally
and for the other religions and movements, the reported data and estimates
provided by the World Christian Database (WCD), considered by scholars of
the sociology of religion one of the most reliable sources. In a few cases,
indicated appropriately, estimates of experts were used which were felt to offer
a promise of reliability.
The statistics about refugees and internally displaced people come from the
website of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and
of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee
Council (IDMC).

AREA
652,090 Km²
AFGHANISTAN
Religious freedom is extremely limited in Afghanistan. According to the Afghan
Constitution of 2004, “The religion of the State [. . .] is the sacred religion of
Islam”, de facto making Sharia (Islamic law) the law of the land. Freedom of religion
or freedom of expression are not explicitly protected but the Constitution
does say that “Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and
perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law”. However,
another clause states that, “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions
of the sacred religion of Islam”, and stipulates that the legal system must implement
this clause, applying Islamic law where there is no other law. Moreover,
any changes that conflict with the principles of Islamic law are forbidden1 .
Dissenting from the prevailing orthodoxy is punishable by law. Afghan jurists
and civil society organisations, although becoming more important, have not
hesitated from saying that respect for human rights is not guaranteed 2 . Ordinary
Afghans are not allowed to discuss the role of religion in society, the status of
religious minorities or the interpretation of Islamic precepts.
Under the Constitution, judges must be trained in Afghan law and Islamic jurisprudence.
The Supreme Court has a special office staffed by clerics, the General
Directorate of Fatwas and Accounts that issues fatwas (legal rulings) on
religious, social, moral and cultural matters.
Above all there is the Ulema Council in Kabul, which includes influential
Sunni scholars and imams and advises President Hamid Karzai on legal and
religious issues.
In 2010, the Council asked the president to enforce Sharia at the national level,
and on several occasions, it has issued rulings limiting freedom of expression,
women’s rights and media freedom.
1 The Constitution of Afghanistan, January 26 th 2004
2 Agenzia Fides, February 26 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
29,117,489
REFUGEES
66
Muslims 99.9%
Christians 0.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
448,000
AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan, the freedom to convert (from Islam) is totally denied. In 2011,
the government prosecuted people for “religious offences” like apostasy
and blasphemy.
The Taliban and other illegal armed groups favourable to a rigid application of
Islam have also carried out acts of violence and intimidation against Afghan
citizens.
Despite the presence of international military forces for more than ten years,
religious minorities are still faced with an uphill battle just to exist.
Under Afghan law, religions other than Islam cannot be preached, and many laws
discriminate against religious minorities.
The Afghan Penal Code allows judges to refer to the Sharia any matters not
explicitly covered in the code itself or the Constitution, such as apostasy and
conversion. Consequently, such crimes can be punished with the death penalty.
In 2011, although no official execution was carried out by the State for apostasy,
some summary executions did take place. Two Christian men were also arrested
on apostasy charges.
AFGHANISTANIn
Apostasy and summary executions of Christians
Afghanistan’s tiny Christian community is vulnerable and has to practise in hiding
since there are no Churches in the country. Its members have been targeted for
arrests and violence. The few Afghan Christians that do exist are mostly converts
from Islam, and are thus forced to hide their faith at risk of their lives.
Their situation worsened when a local TV network, Noorin TV, broadcast a tape
in 2011 showing a few Afghans undergoing baptism in May 2010.
The video sparked a storm of criticism from the country’s conservative religious
establishment. President Karzai was forced to declare that his government would
seek out the converts, thus legitimising a “convert hunt” in 2011.
More than 20 people were arrested. Eventually, they were all released except
for one man, Said Musa, whose case attracted the attention of the international
community and media.
Musa was held for six months in a Kabul prison, where he faced the death penalty.
He was eventually freed under US and international pressure 3 , and later left
the country with his family.
Shoaib Assadullah suffered the same fate. Arrested in October 2010, he was
held in prison for six months in Mazar-i-Sharif on charges of “proselytising”
because he gave a Bible to a friend. He too was released, in April 2011 4 .
3 AsiaNews, February 25 th 2011
4 International Christian Concern, April 20 th 2011

The brutal execution of Abdul Latif, an Afghan Muslim from the Herat area who
had converted to Christianity, has been described as “an example”, however.
A video posted online shows four Taliban beheading the Christian man before
a camera, as a warning to any Afghan who might want to follow the religion of
the “infidel” 5 .
Siegbert Stocker and Willi Ehret, two Christian humanitarian workers in Afghanistan,
also paid with their lives for their commitment on Afghan soil. They had been
abducted in August 2011, probably by the Taliban 6 .
A year earlier, the Taliban had also targeted other aid workers from Christian organisations,
accusing them of Christian proselytising under the guise of social work.
Often, the only solution for Christians is to flee the country. To avoid death or persecution,
seven Afghan families who converted to Christianity escaped to India
where they still face the danger of repatriation, however 7 .
Shia Muslims and other minorities
The situation of Afghanistan’s Shia Muslim minority has improved considerably
since the end of the Taliban regime, which ruthlessly persecuted them.
Most Shias are Hazara, an ethnic group that was harshly discriminated against
in the past for a variety of political, ethnic and religious reasons. Today, Shia
Muslim Hazara fully participate in public life; some of them even occupy important
positions in parliament and the Karzai administration.
In 2011, Afghan Shias were able to publicly celebrate their traditional holidays
without incidents.
Other religious minorities have also seen their situation improve since the fall of
the Taliban. For example, Hindus and Sikh have been permitted to practise their
faith and have their own public places of worship and during 2011 they did not
report any major incident.
By contrast, the country’s small Baha’i community continues to lead an underground
existence. In 2007, the General Directorate of Fatwas and Accounts
ruled that the Baha’i faith was a “form of blasphemy”.
5 World Magazine, June 22 nd 2011
6 Serving in Mission, September 9 th 2011
7 International Christian Concern, May 13 th 2011
AFGHANISTAN

ALBANIA
AREA
28,748 Km²
ALBANIA
Already in its Preamble, and then in detail in Articles 10 and 24, the 1998 Albanian
Constitution 1 decrees the right to religious freedom and also to equal treatment of
all religions by the State, which also acknowledges their juridical status. Cordial
relations between the various religious faiths have helped to create a generally
positive atmosphere in this country. There is no specific State religion; they are
all equal in the eyes of the civil authorities and there is no religious instruction
in the schools. The majority of Christian believers belong either to the Albanian
Autocephalous Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church. Religious groups do
not need to register, and the predominant religions (Orthodox, Catholics, Sunni
Muslims and the Bektashi Muslim community) enjoy many official privileges and
particular prestige due to their historical presence in the area. All religious groups
are permitted to open bank accounts, however, and to own land and buildings.
No significant institutional or legislative changes have been reported, nor have
there been significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion
during the reporting period.
The imported conflicts
Cause for concern, however, is the activism of young imams trained in Turkey
and Saudi Arabia.
A more intolerant and rigorous version of Islam, different from that traditionally
practised in Albania, is spread by the creation of Islamic schools financed
from abroad.
Many tensions arose between the different Muslim communities, involving in
some cases even Christians 2 .
1 http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/untc/unpan013810.pdf
2 ACNNews, July 18 th 2012
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,194,972
REFUGEES
82
Muslims 61.9%
Christians 31.8%
Catholics 15.5% / Orthodox 15% / Protestants 1.3%
Agnostics / Atheists 6,3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
2,381,741 Km²
ALGERIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
35,422,589
REFUGEES
4,238
Muslims 98%
Agnostics / Atheists 1.8%
Christians 0.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
In Algeria religious matters are regulated by a very restrictive decree dated
February 28, 2006, which submits the practise of all religions, with the exception of
Islam, to administrative authorization and condemns all non-Muslim proselytism.
This decree also establishes a two-to-five year prison sentence and a fine
ranging from 500,000 to 1 million dinars (from 5,000 to 10,000 euro) for anyone
who “incites or constrains a Muslim to convert to another religion, or who, to this
end, uses means of seduction, or didactic, educational, health, social or cultural
institutions, or training institutions, or any other institution or financial means”,
or indeed “fabricates, places or distributes documents, printed material or audiovisual
recordings, or any other instrument or means addressed at weakening
the faith of a Muslim”. Muslims on the other hand have every freedom to preach
and convert.
There are two Churches that enjoy legal status and they are the Catholic Church,
consisting of four dioceses, heir to the colonial period and which survived
independence (1962), and the Protestant Church of Algeria, recognised in
1975, which includes believers from the Reformed Church and neo-Protestant
movements (Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Baptists and Methodists).
Conversions of Algerian Muslims have increased significantly for a number of
years, especially in Kabylie, although conversions also take place in other regions.
Most of the converted now belong to Evangelical movements, which are baptizing
up to six Algerians a day according to official data for 2010, but have few places of
worship since the authorities deny them building permits. In Kabylie, particularly
in Tizi-Ouzou and in surrounding areas, they are also exposed to the hostility
of Muslims. Some Muslims are interested in Catholicism, now that the Catholic
Church is less rigid than it used to be with regard to baptism requests.
However, it suffers from the reaction to the neo-protestants’ apostolic success.
ALGERIA

Algerian government in consequence now restricts the number and the
duration of entry visas for all staff of the Catholic Church, priests, religious, and
even the lay employees necessary for the ordinary activities of the Church, while
those who do manage to obtain visas must restrict their activities in the country.
Moreover, occasionally their prayer books have been confiscated at the airport
ALGERIAThe 1 .
For an Algerian, becoming a Christian means being exposed to injustice and legal
hearings in courts, as testified by Mahmoud Yahou, baptised in 1994 and a pastor
since 1998. “Our daily lives are filled with harassment and abuse. There are dirty
looks, the violence of certain statements, absurd rumours concerning the customs
of our communities, not to mention supervision and incessant controls carried
out by the police”. The authorities refused to renew Yahou’s Algerian passport
because as “a Christian he is a traitor to his country”.
The mayor of Ath Atteli, near Tizi-Ouzou, where Mahmoud lives, has ordered
the Christian community to recant. On December 12, 2010, prosecuted by the
judicial system for having opened an illegal place of worship (a simple home)
in that village and for having “provided a house for foreign people” (albeit with
regular visas), Yahou was sentenced to three months in prison with a suspended
sentence and fined 10,000 dinars (100 Euro). Four other Algerian converts were
put on trial with him2 .
Many other similar cases concerning people who converted to Christianity were
reported after the second half of 2010. In September 2010 two Christian workmen,
Hocine Hocini and Salem Fellak, found eating in a train during Ramadan, stood
trial at the court in Aïn El-Hammam (Kabylie) for “an attack and an offence to the
precepts of Islam”, but were then released thanks to the mobilisation of human
rights activists3 .
In May 2011, Karim Siaghi, who converted in 2007, was ordered to appear in court
for “insulting the Prophet” after being reported by his neighbour. He had allegedly
refused to comply with his neighbour who had ordered him to pay homage to
Mohammed, and instead handed him a DVD on the life of Christ.
He was sentenced to five years in prison under a strict regime. The sentence
emphasised that “He denied the charges, but his apostasy is an assumption
of guilt” 4 .
1 Zenit, October 24 th 2010
2 Le Figaro-Magazine, December 24 th 2010
3 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2012 Annual Report
4 Le Figaro, November 23 rd 2011

Algeria is also influenced by the monarchies in the Arabian Peninsula and by the
political uprisings that have taken place in nearby countries (Tunisia, Morocco,
and Libya), where Islamic parties have won the majority of votes in the elections
that followed the 2011 revolutions. This re-Islamization has resulted in the
Algerian State adopting measures restricting the freedom of Muslims.
It is, for example, illegal for Algerians to give their children non-Muslim names,
or to enrol them in private schools, given that the State religion, Islam is not
taught there.
The authorities have also closed down many bars, discotheques and cinemas,
even in Algiers, also supervising a rigorous respect of Ramadan fasting
by Muslims5 .
5 Le Monde, February 1 st 2012
ALGERIA

ANDORRA
AREA
468 Km²
ANDORRA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
85,015
The 1993 Constitution, with Article 11, guarantees full religious freedom for all,
albeit acknowledging the country’s particular relationship with the Roman Catholic
Church, in accordance with the traditions of Andorra, a principality governed by the
French Head of State and the Bishop of the Spanish Catholic diocese of Urgell 1 .
Relations with the Catholic Church are regulated by the Concordat of 2008 2 .
The agreement concerns the appointment of the Bishop of Urgell, the status of
the Catholic Church in Andorra, canonical marriage and religious instruction.
For the period analysed there have been no negative events regards to the respect
of religious freedom.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/es/text.jsp?file_id=187171
REFUGEES
---
2 Pontificia Università della Santa Croce – José T. Martín de Agar, I Concordati dal 2000 al 2009,
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 2010, pp. 19-28
Christians 92.4%
Catholics 88.2% / Protestants 4.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 5.8%
Others 1.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
1,246,700 Km²
ANGOLA
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and the State is generally tolerant
towards all religious creeds and allows for the public practise of religion.
Article 10, as well as establishing the separation between State and Church and
the secular character of the State, requires that the State should not only allow
freedom of worship but also “protect Churches and faiths and their places and
objects of worship, provided that they do not threaten the Constitution and public
order and abide by the Constitution and the law” 1 .
The law requires each religious group to register and sets as a prerequisite
for registration that each group has at least 100,000 members in at least two
thirds of the country’s provinces. This in practise denies recognition to many
groups, whether small Muslim groups or the hundreds of small Evangelical
communities, many of which are originally from the Congo or Brazil and are
still waiting for recognition.
In any event, there is no evidence that the authorities have prevented unregistered
religious groups from carrying out their activities. However, only registered
groups can open schools and places of worship.
In some parts of the country, especially in the north, certain traditional religious
customs are still practised, including in some instances ritual sacrifices, abuses
on minors and “magic” ceremonies.
Governmental agencies, Church groups, and civil organizations have continued
their campaigns against these practises. According to the National Institute for
Religious Affairs (INAR), cases of abusive practises have diminished significantly
due to the campaigns and government directives 2 .
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.governo.gov.ao/Constituicao.aspx
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
18,992,707
REFUGEES
16,223
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Christians 93.8%
Catholics 59.7% / Protestants 33.9% / Anglicans 0.2%
Ethnoreligionists 4.6%
Others 1.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
ANGOLA

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
AREA
442 Km²
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
86,754
REFUGEES
---
Christians 93%
Catholics 10.5% / Protestants 54.2% / Anglicans 28.3%
Spiritists 3.6%
Others 3.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The right to exercise complete religious freedom is enshrined in Article 11 of the
Constitution of 1981, which also guarantees the right to change one’s religion and
the right to teach religion freely.
Religious groups are not required to register, but registration gives them the right
to tax exemptions for the purpose of building or restoring places of worship.
No violation of religious rights has been reported.

AREA
2,780,400 Km²
Legislative situation
ARGENTINA
The Constitution of the Argentine Republic, adopted in 1853 and in a succession of
amendments up to 1994, while stating in Section 2 that “The Federal Government
supports the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion”, also guarantees freedom of
religion to all its inhabitants in Article 14. During the period in question, no new
laws affecting freedom of religion were reported.
The Argentine Chamber of Deputies proclaimed 25 November a nationwide
‘Religious Freedom Day’ to mark the 30 th anniversary of the Declaration on the
Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or
Belief (General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 November 1981).
The Argentine Council for Religious Freedom (CALIR) in association with the
General Department for Religions of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
organised a public celebration to mark the occasion in the presence of officials
and leaders of various Churches and religious groups 1 .
Acts of intolerance
On the part of the government authorities, there were no reported violations of
religious rights or acts of intolerant behaviour towards believers. A number of
individual acts of intolerance have been reported, however.
On July 1, 2011 in Plottier, a city in Neuquén Province, a group of Evangelical
students at a State school were punished by their principal for praying during
recess. This reverberated across the community. At first, the principal was fired
but then he was reinstated 2 .
1 “Día de la Libertad Religiosa 2011”, Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR)
[www.calir.org.ar/celebracion25-11-2011.htm]
2 “Declaración 01 de Julio 2011 - oración en escuela estatal neuquina”, ibid.
[www.calir.org.ar/comu01072011.htm]
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
40,091,359
REFUGEES
3,361
Christians 92.1%
Catholics 86.6% / Protestants 5.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 4%
Muslims 2%
Others 1.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
ARGENTINA

Aires neighbourhood, was verbally and physically attacked on his way to a local
synagogue with his two sons. The unidentified attacker then entered the temple
where he insulted and taunted those present 3 .
On August 30, 2011 in an act of vandalism the Bible monument in Sáenz Peña
Square, in the city of Paraná (Entre Ríos province) was defaced with black
paint. This memorial structure had been erected through the joint efforts of
various religious groups, including Evangelicals, Catholics and Jews. The local
government had also contributed.
This act of vandalism is an offence under Argentina’s Anti-Discrimination Act N.
23.592 as well as a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution 4 .
ARGENTINAOn September 28, 2011 a member of the Jewish community in Flores, a Buenos
3 Franco Varise, “Brutal agresión antisemita en Flores”, in La Nación, September 28 th 2011
[www.lanacion.com.ar/1409837-brutal-agresion-antisemita-en-flores]
4 “Declaración 24-08-2011 – Ataque Monumento a la Biblia (Paraná)”,
Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR) [www.calir.org.ar/comu24082011.htm]

AREA
29,800 Km²
Legal situation
ARMENIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,249,500
REFUGEES
2,918
Christians 84.9%
Catholics 7.6% / Orthodox 75.8% / Protestants 1.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 12.7%
Muslims 2.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
8,400
A new draft bill on religion was announced on July 12, 2011. If adopted, it would
modify the law of 1991 (amended in 1997 and 2001) regulating relations between
the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Apostolic Church as well as amend
the country’s penal and administrative codes. The draft bill would penalise anyone
inviting others to share in their faith. It would also impose mandatory registration
on religious groups with 25 members or more, and penalise any offender.
Other provisions have raised suspicions because of their ambiguity. To many,
they appear as arbitrary rules designed to restrict religious freedom for people
who do not belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Under the 2005 Armenian
Constitution, the latter is recognised as having an “exclusive historical mission”
as a “national Church in the spiritual life, development of the national culture and
preservation of the national identity of the people of Armenia”.
The bill’s main provisions appear to be inspired by the idea that “allowing” religious
freedom is something dangerous, and that religious groups must be subject to
special scrutiny. For instance, the bill proposes to ban their “secret activities”, and
from using their “preaching influence on those of other religious affiliations”, from
the expression of “convictions that are incompatible with respect for freedom of
conscience, religion or belief”, or again, from controlling the “private life, health,
property and behaviour” of its members. People would be required to act in
accordance with Armenia’s Constitution and laws and respect others people’s
religious or theological affiliation.
Preaching to children under the age of 14 without their parents’ consent would
be banned. This provision falls under a broader ban on so-called “soul hunting”
(Hogevorsutyun in Armenian) the term used in Article 4 of the bill, which defines
this as “improper proselytising” and seeks to prevent all preaching to people
of other faiths “for the purpose of changing their faith”, by using or threatening
to use “physical or psychological violence”, by providing material help or social
assistance, taking advantage during preaching of an individual’s dependence,
ARMENIA

hatred of other religions or religious organisations or “pursuing” an
individual more than once.
In order to bolster its effectiveness, the draft proposal would punish “soul hunting”
under a new provision of the Penal Code, Article 160.1. In the case of individuals,
the penalty would include fines of up to 300 times the minimum monthly salary or
a jail sentence of up to two months in prison. In the case of groups, it would carry
a fine of up to 500 times the minimum monthly salary or a sentence of up to two
years in prison
ARMENIAarousing 1 .
Article 5 of the proposed law would distinguish communities according to their
size. Groups of fewer than 25 adult members would be denied legal recognition,
whilst groups with 25 adult members or more would receive such recognition.
However, the latter would still have to register in accordance with Article 6.
Under another proposed provision, Article 205.3 of the Administrative Code2 ,
leaders of religious organisations that refuse to register would receive fines
between 100 and 600 times the minimum monthly salary.
The new registration procedure in Article 6 appears to be a pretext to collect
sensitive data about religious groups, such as “membership fees”, details about
their programmes, data about their members and leaders, including their address.
Religious organisations would have to provide this kind of information on an annual
basis and make it public on the Internet. Failure to do so would be punished with
fines of 300 to 500 times the minimum monthly salary.
Article 7 of the proposed law on religion would grant the Justice Ministry the
power to refuse a group’s application for registration. Article 13 would allow the
Ministry to go to court to have a group’s registration suspended. Article 14 would
allow it to shut down religious organisations if the latter provided false information,
promoted ethnic or religious hatred or failed to meet the requirements of the law.
Article 8 of the proposed law also defines the rights of religious organisations
and regulates the way they carry out their internal activities, including worship
and education, making them subject to registration. In so doing, it seriously
compromises the individual right to religious freedom.
Under Article 9, religious organisations would not be allowed to accept funds
from foreign governments, individuals or organisations. If they do, they would be
subject to fines ranging from 700 to 1,000 times the minimum monthly salary.
An article by Felix Corley3 , presents many concerns raised by human rights
defenders and members of certain religious minorities, including by Stepan
1 Collaboration For Democracy Centre, http://religions.am/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article
&id=97:coverage-of-religious-issues-in-the-armenian-media-2010&catid=1:articles
Armenian Helsinki Committee,
2 www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1593
3 Forum 18 News, July 14 th 2011

Danielyan of the Collaboration for Democracy Centre, who views the proposed
legislation as a step backward from the existing law, and Evangelical Pastor René
Leonian, who is also critical of the government’s initiative.
Among the many anomalies, suspicions have also been raised by the legislative
process, given the difficulty in obtaining copies of the text, which the Justice
Ministry had apparently submitted to the Council of Europe before making them
public in Armenia itself, a choice possibly due to reactions to a previous draft law
on religion that was criticised by the Council of Europe’s European Commission
for Democracy through Law (better known as the Venice Commission) and the
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) of the Organisation
for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OCSE). At a joint meeting, the two
organisations called for a major overhaul of the original bill.
More specifically, the two groups call for changes to the bill’s vague definition
of proselytism and soul hunting, which, in its existing form, could undermine
people’s right to share their religious beliefs with others. Instead, they want the
law to spell out precisely which acts it believes should be banned. The absence
of guarantees for non-registered religious activities and the requirement for
registration also raised objections. Similarly, the paper noted that the actions of
individual members should not be used as a pretext to dissolve entire communities
an extreme measure that should be carried out only as a last resort, after a series
of warnings and penalties have been exhausted. Finally, the document called on
the authorities to respect the rights of parents to decide on the education of their
children in line with their own religion or beliefs.
A paper discussed by the Venice Commission at a meeting on October 14 and
15, 2011 4 noted that the Armenian government had paid little attention to most of
its suggestions, or those made by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission
and the OSCE with regard to a previous draft law on religion, that the Armenian
parliament had adopted in first reading in March 2009.
4 www.osce.org/yerevan/85440
ARMENIA

AUSTRALIA
AREA
7,741,220 Km²
AUSTRALIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
22,405,595
REFUGEES
23,434
Christians 75.4%
Catholics 25.8% / Orthodox 4.5% / Protestants 10.6%
Anglicans 18.7% / Other Chr. 15.8%
Agnostics / Atheists 18.6%
Muslims 2%
Buddhists 2%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
There have been no problems with regard to religious freedom in this country
– it is guaranteed by the Constitution and is respected by the authorities.
Religious groups can operate freely without having to register.
Religious teaching is available in public schools upon parental request and is
often provided by volunteers.

AREA
83,859 Km²
AUSTRIA
POPULATION
8,375,290
From the perspective of the right to religious freedom, the main legislative innovation
was linked to public order requirements. A draft bill addressed at containing the
phenomenon of inciting religious hatred, spread in particular by the preaching of
Islamic ultra-extremism, was presented by the People’s Party (ÖVP) in June 2011.
Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner and Justice Minister Beatrix Karl share the
aims of the parliamentarians who introduced this bill, which envisages up to two
years in prison for those who preach hatred, for those publicly approving terrorist
attacks in the presence of a minimum of thirty people and for those who attend
paramilitary training camps 1 .
In the meantime initiatives aimed at developing interreligious dialogue continue
also at a political level. In particular, on August 28, 2011, Deputy Chancellor and
Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger met with Fuat Sanac, the newly-appointed
president of Austria’s Muslim Religious Group, the IGGiÖ, on the centenary
of the legal recognition of Islam in Austria in 1912. According to information
released by the Foreign Ministry, the government representative emphasised the
importance of the “specific development of Islam in Europe and its compatibility
with the European lifestyle”. Mr. Spindelegger later signed an agreement with
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,
concerning the creation of the “King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz” International Centre
for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICID) 2 .
However, according to a survey carried out by the Centre for Future Studies, 45
percent of those interviewed believe there is a very high probability of conflicts
arising between Austrians and Muslim immigrants 3 .
The Annual Report of the ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights), an office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
1 Austrian Times, June 26 th 2011
2 Associated Press, October 13 th 2011
3 Austrian Times, October 2 nd 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
47,073
Christians 79%
Catholics 67.7% / Orthodox 2.1% / Protestants 9.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 15.4%
Muslims 4.5%
Others 1.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
AUSTRIA

published in November 2011 and entitled Hate Crimes In The OSCE
Region - Incidents And Responses, reports a case in which a Turkish woman was
physically attacked and insulted because of her origins and her Islamic faith.
Although the Austrian Republic has not provided the ODIHR with data on hate
crimes committed against Christians or those belonging to other religions, the
Holy See and the Observatory for Intolerance against Christians both reported a
serious physical attack against a young Catholic man
AUSTRIA(OSCE), 4 and two cases of damage
to Church property5 .
In September 2011 the same Observatory reported that in Vienna graffiti had
appeared with the words “Christian pigs are destroying the world”, accompanied
by an anarchist symbol. Acts of intolerance against Christians have become increasingly
frequent and the most serious case involved a middle school teacher
in Innsbruck, who was reprimanded for having expressed offensive anti-Christian
opinions in the classroom, resulting in protests from the parents of students6 .
4 Information from the Holy See NPC, March 24 th 2011
5 www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/Five-Year_Report_Intolerance_against_
Christians_in_Europe_-_online_version.pdf
6 Tiroler Tageszeitung online, March 25 th , 26 th and 29 th 2011

AREA
86,600 Km²
General overview
AZERBAIJAN
This country, with a Shia Muslim majority, is currently driven by powerful nationalist
and secularist tendencies. Despite the fact that the Constutution defines Azerbaijan
as a lay State, religious freedom has suffered significant restrictions during the period
under review.
The State has modified existing legislation to further limit freedom of religion and
belief, imposing new sanctions and censorship measures against religious groups.
Violations of rules governing religion have been moved from administrative law to
the criminal code and are now punishable with jail terms and heavy fines.
According to Human Rights Watch, respect for human rights deteriorated in Azerbaijan
in 2011. The government increased restrictions on all religious groups1 .
In its annual report on the state of religious freedom, the US Department of State
noted that, even though the Azerbaijan Constitution guarantees freedom of religion,
the laws and government policies severely limit that right in practise.
The authorities closely monitor “non-traditional” religious groups, especially minorities,
because they do not have a long history in the country. They do so above
all through a body tasked for that purpose, the State Committee for Work with
Religious Associations (SCWRA).
During the year in question, there were reports of abuses and discrimination
based on religion or personal beliefs, and indeed hostility towards proselytising
groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelical Christians and other missionary
groups, including Muslim ones2 .
An in-depth study on religious freedom in Azerbaijan was published by Forum18,
a research and information organisation. It found that “freedom of religion or belief
and related human rights such as the freedom of expression and of assembly
1 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2012
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
8,997,400
REFUGEES
1,730
2 US State Department, Religious Freedom Limited in Azerbaijan, July 31 st 2012
Muslims 88%
Agnostics / Atheists 8.9%
Christians 3.1%
Catholics 0.1% / Orthodox 2.8% / Protestants 0.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
599,192
AZERBAIJAN

The survey documented many day-to-day abuses, such as attempts by the State
to prevent discussion on the various violations; public officials behaving as if the
rule of law placed no limitations on their actions; trials without due process; arbitrary
arrests and punishment; a labyrinth of restrictive State controls on believers;
a pervasive censorship regime; enforced closure of places of worship; a ban on
praying in public; the expulsion of foreign citizens exercising the right to freedom
of belief; and the grave situation with regard to human rights in Nakhichevan, an
Azerbaijani exclave on the border with Iran, Armenia and Turkey.
“The aim”, the study suggested, “appears to be to help impose State control of
society, including any independent civil society activity, and to make all exercise
of human rights dependent on State permission”.
highly restricted”3 in this Caucasian nation.
Changes to the law on Religion
AZERBAIJANremain
In December 2011, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Heydar Aliyev, following the
approval by the country’s unicameral parliament in July, signed the new rules on
religion into law 4 .
The Preamble to the new piece of legislation says that it “provides for the implementation
of Freedom of Religion [. . .] according to the Constitution of the Republic
of Azerbaijan and international agreements”.
Since 1992, when it was adopted, the law has been changed 14 times. Each
change has imposed greater restrictions on freedom of religion. Many of these
amendments were prepared in secret, without any public consultation, and presented
to the parliament where President Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan Party holds a
majority, following the 2010 elections.
After the 2009 amendment, Article 12 of the law says, “Religious organisations
may function only after State registration by the relevant State body.” Thus a group
of people cannot express its beliefs publicly without government authorisation.
And registration entails a long bureaucratic process.
One of the changes introduced in 2011 now requires religious organisations or
communities to have 50 adult members instead of 10. At the same time, the State
has reserved for itself the right to reject without appeal any application for registration
and legal status.
The changes in relation to religious education were thus particularly significant.
Under the amendments of July 2011, Article 6 of the law lays down the criteria that
must be met before any group can provide religious education. Only organisations
registered with the State can offer religious education in specific facilities that
3 Corley, Felix, “Azerbaijan: Religious freedom survey”, in Forum18, April 17 th 2012
4 Ibid, “Azerbaijan: Latest repressive laws signed by President,” in Forum18, December 15 th 2011

have been granted a “special permit (licence) issued by the relevant executive
body” (Article 10).
Other amendments require all Muslim communities to submit a report to the Caucasian
Muslim Board describing their activities; they also limit to Azerbaijani citizens
the right to set up Muslim religious communities (Art. 8).
Finally, there is a vast array of heavier fines (some have increased tenfold) and
prison sentences for those in breach of the law, following parallel amendments to
the Criminal Code. Illegal religious activities can be punished with prison terms
of up to two years. The production, sale and distribution of unauthorised religious
literature can be punished with fines of up to 9,000 manats (US$ 11,500) and up
to five years in jail.
In light of the new rules, the existing religious communities were asked to re-register.
Various groups were unable to obtain legal status, however, including all the
independent mosques not already part of the Caucasian Muslim Board, almost all
the Protestant groups (including Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists and Pentecostals),
as well as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Protestant Churches that were allowed to re-register include Baku’s Erlösergemeinde
Lutheran community, three Molokan communities in Baku, Sumgait
and Hilmilli, as well as the New Life Church in Baku. Out of an estimated 2,000
religious communities existing in the country, 406 were registered before 2001.
As of April 2012, still only 570 religious communities were registered, following the
2011 amendments (550 of them Muslim, 20 of other faiths). None had been added
since November 20115 .
Muslim activist Ilgar Ibrahimoglu Allahverdiev noted that “these amendments are
anti-constitutional and violate the European Convention on Human Rights and
United Nations human rights provisions” 6 .
Agreement between the government and the Catholic Church
As a result of an agreement reached with the government, the Catholic Church
has not been penalised by the new amendments to the religious law, and can
pursue its mission.
On April 29, 2011, the Holy See and the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an agreement
at the headquarters of the State Committee for Work with Religious Associations
in Baku to set the legal parameters for State-Catholic Church relations.
The agreement, which has eight articles, defines the legal status of the Catholic
Church in Azerbaijan. It guarantees Catholics, among other things, the right to
profess and practise their religion in public. It also upholds the right of the Catholic
5 Corley, Felix, “Azerbaijan: Religious freedom survey”, in Forum 18, April 17 th 2012
6 Ibid, “Azerbaijan: The latest devious move to control religious communities”, in Forum 18, June 6 th 2011
AZERBAIJAN

AZERBAIJAN
Church to organise and carry out its mission in accordance with Church law.
It grants the Church and its institutions legal status, ensuring free communication
between the local Catholic community and the Holy See. It also gives the
Holy See the right to appoint an Ordinary with responsibility for this ecclesiastical
constituency. Finally, it regulates the concession of residence and work visas for
Church personnel 7 .
According to Mgr Claudio Gugerotti, apostolic nuncio to Azerbaijan, the historic
treaty may provide a template for agreements in other countries with a Muslim
majority. The accord gives the Catholic Church and its institutions greater recognition
and security in law, the prelate said. However, in his view, the biggest
change will be symbolic; it shows in effect how “a small minority can have freedom
of religion within the law” 8 .
Difficulties for Christians
Some Christian communities have experienced major difficulties because the new
rules have forced them to re-register. Although they applied for registration, many
have failed to obtain it. Thus, they are not recognised or authorised by the State.
In the case of the Baptists, police raided some of their prayer meetings. In one
raid against a Baptist assembly in Neftechala, Rev Telma Aliev, his wife and the
entire congregation were brought in for questioning. The authorities closed their
Church, placing seals on the building, and seized all the books found inside, because
“Without registration you can’t pray” 9 .
In the seaside city of Sumgait, a judge issued a warning against Rev Pavel Byakov,
head of a Baptist community, against further unauthorised services10 .
In the same city, in May 2011, police raided three Protestant Churches over three
successive days, preventing them from conducting Sunday worship. Heavy fines
were imposed instead on some community members11 .
The legal battle between Baku’s Greater Grace Church and the authorities drew
the attention of public opinion. Government officials sought in fact to de-register
the 400-strong community using the rules that came into effect in 2009.
The Church itself had been recognised in 1993.
The State Committee went before a court to ask for the place of worship to be
closed down, claiming that the Protestant Church had failed to provide all the
required information, including details about its religious doctrine, traditions, attitudes
towards the family, marriage and education as well personal data about its
7 Vatican Information Service, “Agreement between Holy See and Republic of Azerbaijan”, April 30 th 2011
8 Kerr, David, “Holy See and Azerbaijan strike historic agreement”, in Catholic News Agency, July 7 th 2011
9 Corley, Felix, “Azerbaijan: Without registration you can’t pray”, in Forum18, December 22 nd 2011
10 Ibid, “Warned for meeting without State permission, legal status applications still delayed”,
in Forum 18, July 27 th 2011
11 Ibid, “Azerbaijan: Police “did well” in Sumgait raids”, in Forum 18, May 18 th 2011

members and founders 12 .
In January 2011, government officials stormed a religious ceremony held by Seventh
Day Adventists in the city of Sumgait. They forced those present to leave and
seized DVDs and religious literature 13 . There was eventually a glimmer of hope for
the community. After a former Adventist leader, Russian Ivan Uzun, was expelled,
and another one, Moldavian Gheorghiy Sobor, was prevented from coming back,
the community sought to engage the government in dialogue in order to find a solution
to the problem. After a successful meeting between Church leaders and some
government officials, chances for the group to get government recognition improved
definitely, much more than previous tensions could lead anyone to believe.
Protestant, Pentecostal, Baptist, Adventist and other Christian groups remain
however quite unsatisfied by the new registration rules.
Restrictions on Azerbaijani Muslims
Azerbaijani – or Azeri – Muslims have seen their prayer and worship activities
curbed. State control has become more thorough. Groups not affiliated with the
Caucasian Muslim Board are not allowed to operate. The Board itself appoints
imams to mosques.
The government is trying to cultivate an indigenous clergy, inspired by local values
and traditions, in order to stop an invasion of foreign forms of worship. For
this reason it looks askance at all independent forms of Islam and tries to control
all “unaligned groups” through the State Committee for Work with Religious Associations
(SCWRA) and the Caucasian Muslim Board. Generally speaking, the
authorities crack down on all forms or shows of independence.
This hardline approach is justified, they say, by the need to fight extremism and
prevent terrorism. However, independent religious communities and indeed members
of the political opposition too, say that the authorities have exaggerated the
Muslim threat in order to win Western support. The risk is that repressive policies
might push some peaceful groups towards jihad. This radicalisation is evident
in fact among some Salafists. The challenge for the authorities is to stop violent
groups, whilst ensuring freedom of worship 14 .
Mubariz Gachaev, the imam of a small community near the capital Baku, was
threatened with jail at the end of December 2010 unless he stopped conducting
unregistered religious activities.
Members of a Sunni mosque forcibly closed in the city of Gyanja said that the only
religious activities they are authorised to conduct now are prayer meetings under
12 Abbasov, Shanin, “Azerbaijan: Religious freedom case nears decision”, in Eurasianet , April 19 th 2012
13 Krause, Bettina, “Step forward for Church-State relations in Azerbaijan”, in Adventist News Network,
February 8 th 2011
14 “Islamism in Azerbaijan”, in Euractiv, May 8 th 2012
AZERBAIJAN

AZERBAIJAN
police surveillance in small groups in private homes 15 .
In January 2011, school-age children in the central city of Yevlakh were not allowed
to participate in Friday prayers at the Sunni Juma Mosque. A young man,
Elvin Mamedov, was given a two-day prison sentence for failing to obey a police
order after he protested against local police agents 16 .
After the Turkish imam Ahmet had left the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan,
the same Juma Mosque was taken over by the Shia community, leaving the Sunnis
without a place of worship.
The same happened to a Sunni community in Qobustan, who saw their mosque
shut down and sealed in March 2011 without explanation.
The parliamentary deputy Fazil Gazanfaroglu Mustafaev has complained against
the ongoing forcible closure of places of worship, but government officials have
rejected the charges 17 .
Refusal to recognise Jehovah’s Witnesses
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the groups that have failed to win State recognition
under the new rules. Therefore, they continue to encounter major hurdles
in the profession of their faith.
Originally, the Jehovah’s Witnesses had registered in 1999 and its members were
able to worship for ten years. However, in 2009, after new, more restrictive measures
forced all such groups to re-register, they failed to secure recognition. Under
the new rules, Jehovah’s Witnesses remain in a state of uncertainty and are
deemed “illegal”.
Indeed, police continue to harass them during their peaceful meetings. Stringent
censorship rules prevent them from importing religious literature for their use.
The Azerbaijani courts have imposed heavy fines on Jehovah’s Witnesses for
distributing religious literature or taking part in worship activities.
In response, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have gone before the European Court
of Human Rights where they have filed ten complaints against Azerbaijan,
on matters of freedom of worship, censorship, and the imprisonment of conscientious
objectors 18 .
15 Corley, Felix, “Azerbaijan: Pressure and punishments for worship without State permission increasing?”,
in Forum18, January 24 th 2011
16 Ibid, “Azerbaijan: Schoolboy prayer ban leads to two-day prison sentence”, in Forum18, February 16 th 2011
17 Ibid, “Azerbaijan: True believers aren’t concerned”, in Forum18, April 5th 2011
18 European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Religious freedom concern in Azerbaijan”,
September 27 th 2011

AREA
13,878 Km²
BAHAMAS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
353,658
REFUGEES
21
Christians 92%
Catholics 14.5% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 59.4%
Anglicans 14.1 / Other Chr. 3.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 5.6%
Others 2.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The 1973 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Bahamas guarantees complete
religious freedom (Art. 12), protecting both individual rights and the rights of religious
groups. It also bars the State from interfering in their internal affairs.
The country’s Christian heritage is singled out and granted special recognition in
social life and education, including post-secondary education.
At the same time non-Christian minorities are not subject to any kind of discrimination.
Only some practises originating from Voodoo (Obeah) brought by Haitian immigrants
have been banned for reasons of public order and because they involve
forms of intimidation and the practise of unlawful medicine.
BAHAMAS

BAHARAIN
AREA
678 Km²
BAHRAIN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,234,571
REFUGEES
199
Muslims 83.8%
Christians 8.9%
Catholics 5.5% / Orthodox 0.6% / Protestants 0.8%
Anglicans 0.7% / Other Chr. 1.3%
Hindus 6.5%
Others 0.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution establishes that Islam is the State religion and that Sharia is
the source of legislation. Although there is a degree of religious freedom for
non-Muslims, proselytism is discouraged, anti-Islamic publications are forbidden
and, although not punishable by law, conversions from Islam to another religion
are made very difficult due to social discrimination. The State also exercises strict
control on both the Shiite and Sunni Islamic communities’ religious activities, and,
although there is a Shiite majority, political power is firmly in the hands of the
Sunni Royal Family.
The Shiites, 70% of the small State’s 530,000 citizens, have for some time been
complaining that they are the object of religious and political discrimination enacted
by the government. They maintain that the electoral constituencies for parliament
are organised in a manner that guarantees a Sunni majority, that Sunnis from other
countries have been naturalised and recruited by the army and the police.
Shiites also protest that the public sector mainly appoints Sunnis, especially in
the defence and interior ministries and above all in the high-ranking positions,
also stating that Sunnis are privileged when housing is allocated and in all government
decisions.
In December 2010 clashes broke out between the police and the Shiite inhabitants
from at least two villages (Karranah and Malikiyah) after security forces removed
a number of black banners raised to commemorate the holy month of Muharram.
On the wave of the “Arab Spring”, the opposition organised a popular uprising on
February 14, 2011, which soon took on the appearance of a Shiite revolt.
At the end of February 2011, the release of 23 Shiite militants and an appeal for
compromise made by seven opposition groups slightly calmed the violent atmosphere
of the previous days. On February 26, after years in exile, Hassan Mushaimaa
returned to Manama. The leader of the Shiite opposition was considered
too radical to join the protesters. Mushaimaa said he hopes the current government
will fall so that the reforms wanted by the country’s entire Shiite majority can
be implemented.

After weeks of protesters occupying Manama’s Pearl Square, the government
asked other countries in the Arabian Gulf for military aid, and 1,500 Saudi and
500 UAE soldiers were dispatched. The government in Bahrain ordered a curfew
in Manama, forbidding all protests. 24 people, among them 4 police officers, were
killed in the clashes, which shook the country.
There were various reactions to the destruction of Shiite mosques (husseiniya)
during and after the uprising. On April 22, a leader of the al-Wifaq movement told
the daily newspaper as-Safir that Bahrain’s police and army had used bulldozers
to destroy at least 27 husseiniyas and about fifty buildings attached to them, of
which 10 were in the one village of Nuwaidrat, the birthplace of the Shiite leader
Abdul-Wahab Hussain, who was sentenced in June to life in prison by a military
tribunal after being charged with having attempted to overthrow the regime.
In a joint Statement issued on May 18, 5 Shiite religious leaders in Bahrain denounced
the destruction of the Shiite mosques as “a serious attack on holy places
and on freedom of worship”. The religious leaders called upon the international
community to take action against such violations. The statement was an answer
to one made by the Justice Ministry, in which it was stated that these buildings
were “illegal” ones built without permits, and not mosques.
This statement was categorically rejected by the Office of Shiite Religious Assets
in Bahrain. “Some of these mosques were built 20 or 30 years ago, while others
date back many centuries”, said Sheikh Ali Salman, a member of al-Wifaq, adding
that their presence preceded government regulations on permits.
In December 2011, the residents of the village of Nuwaidrat, south of the
capital Manama, started to remove the debris with the intention of rebuilding their
mosques. “We are already at work rebuilding seven mosques” said one of the
residents, reporting to the German news agency DPA. “At the beginning of the
week the police and the municipal authorities had tried to dissuade us”, he added.
In 2011 there were about 750 Shiite mosques and 460 Sunni mosques in the
country. The government’s budget funds allocated for the construction of new
mosques are divided between the two communities. In new urban centres, such
as Hamad Town and Issa Town, where the population is mixed, the authorities
tend to privilege the Sunnis.
Sources consulted
The Independent
The Guardian
As-Safir
BBC
Reuters
The Independent
BAHARAIN

BANGLADESH
AREA
143,998 Km²
BANGLADESH
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
164,425,491
Legal and constitutional aspects
REFUGEES
29,669
Muslims 88.8%
Hindus 9.5%
Christians 0.5%
Catholics 0.2% / Protestants 0.3% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, the third largest in the world.
Following changes made by a caretaker government in 1988 to the 1972
Constitution, Islam is now the State’s official religion. However, the changes were
declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2010.
The Constitution grants all citizens the right to profess, practise and promote
their religion1 .
Teaching religion is also allowed in private schools run by religious communities.
On December 29, 2008 the Awami League came to power, winning 263 in the
350-member parliament. The League is a secular party, founded in 1949, which
led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan under the leadership of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
Against those who wanted to restore the original secular Constitution in accordance
with the Supreme Court’s rulings of July 2010, which ruled unconstitutional
the changes of 2007, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (daughter of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) said she would maintain the 2007 amendments.
If the Supreme Court should prevail, religiously-based parties, which are exclusively
Islamic, would be declared illegal. Under the old Constitution, parties based
on religion were banned.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is against the introduction of Sharia, as the Islamic
Unity Front wants, but still wants to keep some Islamic elements in the Constitution2 .
On June 21 the government upheld the amendment that makes Islam
the State religion3 .
1 The Constitution of the Peple’s Republic of Bangladesh,
http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/pdf_part.php?id=367&vol=15&search=1972
2 AsiaNews, June 8 th 2011
3 Agenzia Fides, June 22 nd 2011

On March 7, 2011 the government adopted a National Women Development
Policy for the year to promote gender equality in matters of property,
inheritance and work 4 .
More than 120 people were arrested on April 4, 2011 following a general strike
(hartal) called by the Islamic Law Implementation Committee, which is opposed
to the aforementioned law on the grounds that it violates Islamic principles
by granting women the same inheritance rights as men. In the capital Dhaka,
103 people were arrested, 15 more were taken into custody in Faridpur and three
in Naravangani.
Violent clashes with police occurred in Dhaka, Mirpur, Kakrail, Malibagh and
other cities 5 .
Land disputes
The inhabitants of tribal villages in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, along Bangladesh’s
southeastern border with India and Myanmar, have clashed again with Bengali
settlers who want to colonise the area with the support of the army and police.
The fact that the settlers are Muslims and the tribal communities are mostly Buddhists,
with some animists and Christians, gives the conflict the semblance of a
religious conflict. In fact, for experts, it is primarily a political and social issue even
if tribals blame Muslims for various acts, since from their perspective Bengali and
Muslims are one and the same.
On February 17, 2011 two residents from tribal villages were wounded and 23
homes demolished in an attack by Bengali Muslim settlers6 .
On April 14, 2011 a group of Bengalis pushed into jummas lands, who get their
name from the indigenous population’s cultivation system, in order to seize them
from the natives. However, their attempt failed because tribals attacked the settlers,
causing four deaths.
On April 17 some 50 tribal jummas villages were attacked in Khagrachari
District (Chittagong Hill Tracts). More than 200 houses were burnt to the ground.
Two Buddhist temples were destroyed. Four Bengali settlers and more than 20 tribals,
including women and children, were wounded. Additionally, unconfirmed but
reliable sources said that 40 university students had vanished without trace7 .
Meanwhile, the Bengali settlers have organised themselves to defend their “rights”,
setting up a group called the Fight for People Rights in Chittagong Hill Tract
(FPRCHT), which operates as a paramilitary force, backed by the local police.
4 Agenzia Fides, March 8 th 2011
5 AsiaNews, April 4 th 2011
6 Ibid., February 22 nd 2011
7 Ibid., April 27 th 2011
BANGLADESH

fears are growing that some tribals are fanning the flames to re-start the
insurgency that ended with a peace deal in 1997 after more than 20 years of war.
Initially deemed unConstitutional, the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace accord was
eventually upheld by the current government, but has proven ineffective.
Steps taken by the implementation commission, which is charged with examining
land disputes, have satisfied no one. One step that remains largely symbolic
was the pledge to remove Bangladeshi troops. In fact, some 400 military camps
still exist in the area.
Catholic schools
Although a tiny minority, Catholics are noted for the quality of their schools.
Graduates from missionary schools and Catholic universities are the best students
in Bangladesh, this according to mid-year data that place schools like Notre
Dame College, the Holy Cross School and College, St Joseph and St Placid at
the top of the national ranking. BANGLADESHNow
Overall, the Catholic Church runs 52 high schools, four universities, a teachers’
college and many elementary schools across the country8 .
Interfaith meetings
On April 16 2011 the Ahmadiyya (originally from India) and Christian communities
of Dhaka took part in a joint conference, with some 175 participants, about
80 Christians and 95 Ahmadis.
The outcome of the meeting was very positive. “Both the Christian and the Ahmadi
communities are minorities in Bangladesh”, said Fr Francesco Rapacioli (PIME),
who organised the event through the “Shalom” ecumenical movement he runs.
“There is a certain gulf between them”, he explained. “We are also ethnically a
minority since more than half of all Christians are tribal and indigenous. They are
different, and not well known. Yet, not only did they welcome us to their centre,
but they also offered us refreshments and made their publications available to us.
They did this, in my opinion, to show that they are a community with whom we
can open up, engage in dialogue and meet. Now they know they can meet and
discuss peacefully with someone. It is as if they found allies” 9 .
8 AsiaNews, January 20 th 2012
9 Ibid., April 19 th 2011

AREA
430 Km²
BARBADOS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
276,302
REFUGEES
595
Christians 95.2%
Catholics 4.3% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 38.7%
Anglicans 29.4% / Other Chr. 22.6%
Muslims 1%
Others 3.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 19 of the 1966 Constitution, as amended in 1974, 1981 and 1984, guarantees,
in some detail, complete religious freedom, including in the educational sector.
Almost the entire population is Christian and most belong to the Anglican denomination.
Registered religious groups enjoy fiscal benefits.
Foreign missionaries must have a visa which is easy to obtain. There are no
reports of events conflicting with all that is guaranteed by the Constitution.
The small Muslim minority (about 4,000 members), resulting from immigration,
has three mosques and an Islamic cultural centre.
BARBADOS

BELARUS
AREA
207,600 Km²
BELARUS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
9,481,200
REFUGEES
22.402
Christians 73.8%
Catholics 10.6% / Orthodox 55% / Protestants 8.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 25.6%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In January 2011, a committee specifically created by the Belarussian government
drafted and approved a Development Programme for religious affairs, national
relations and cooperation with citizens living abroad for the 2011-2015 period.
A number of amendments were approved for the Tax and Revenue Code in order
to give tax exempt status to donations made for the construction and maintenance
of places of worship. In June a government decree was drafted and approved
addressing cooperation between schools and training institutes and religious associations.
During 2011, government pressure was applied to associations and minority religious
groups which refused to comply with various forms of registration and provide
personal data such as fingerprints. In November, Filipp Kirdun, a young Baptist
from the New Life Church, was arrested and sentenced for refusing to comply
with the aforementioned rules. In August the police interrupted the Sunday service
held by an Evangelical community in a private home in the city of Zhodino, in
the Minsk region. The judge sentenced the owner to pay a fine for hosting in his
house “a mass gathering with religious rites at which hymns were sung and there
was talk of God”. In February, in the city of Gomel, a Baptist Sunday service held
in an apartment was interrupted and audio and video material was confiscated.
The owner was fined for having organised an “unauthorised prayer meeting”.
In Kostjukovich, in the Mogilev region, police ordered the evacuation of an
apartment where an unregistered Baptist community was holding a religious
service.
In January activists belonging to “The Right to Faith” and “Stop 193.1!” launched
an appeal requesting the abolition of Article 193.1 of the Belarussian Penal Code,
which punishes with sentences of up to two years in prison all those belonging to
unregistered religious groups. This law is also opposed by the European Union.

Sources consulted
Byelorussian Christian Portal, www.Churchby.info, editor Natalia Vasilevicha
Evangelical website: www.newlife.by
Catholic magazine “Dialog”, editor S. Mudrov
www.materik.ru
www.belarus21.by
BELARUS

BELGIUM
AREA
30,528 Km²
BELGIUM
POPULATION
10,839,905
The new bill on the “mental destabilisation”
On June 16, 2011, as proposed by the socialist member of parliament André
Frédéric, the Belgian parliament’s Justice Commission approved the introduction
of a bill criminalising the “mental destabilisation” of others and taking advantage
of the “situation of those who are weak”, which contains many provisions intended
to strike at “sect-like movements”. A detailed analysis of the main points in this
draft bill indicate that it effectively aims to introduce a new kind of crime, based
not on the actions of individuals or groups, but on their beliefs and religious
doctrines. Furthermore, attempts to convert people could be portrayed as
an “abuse of weakness” and indeed, in the text being debated by parliament,
a number of religious practises are actually described as “psychological subjection”
or “techniques capable of undermining the capacity of discernment” and defined
as criminally punishable, with sentences ranging from a month to two years
in prison 1 .
Should this law be passed, the work of doctors would be seriously at risk, as they
would no longer dare order any treatment for the seriously ill, but the threat would
also affect fiscal checks on vulnerable tax payers, as well as marketing techniques
or the sale of very expensive goods. From a strictly religious perspective, however,
the effect of a restrictive law such as the one proposed by Representative
Frédéric, could lead to the outlawing of baptisms, fasting, etc, and even put at risk
the very mission of religious organizations, while casting doubt on the legitimacy
of circumcisions in Islamic and Jewish circles. The same restrictions might also
affect sporting or military training programmes, while reducing the freedom of
self-determination of employment agencies, contemplative religious orders, youth
movements, hospitals, homes for the elderly, and in practise every kind of in the
social sector.
1 Worldwide Religious News, June 14 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
78
Christians 81.5%
Catholics 73.2% / Orthodox 0.6% / Protestants 1.2%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 6.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 14.1%
Muslims 3.7%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

Modelled on the French About-Picard law of 2001, by which the Belgian draft bill
seems to be have been inspired, the new crime would require a declaration by the
police and the courts as to the validity of particular religious practises and beliefs,
so as to determine whether they constitute abuse. Such a procedure would pave
the way for discrimination against religious minorities, while conferring upon State
authorities the arbitrary role of “conscience police”.
The law about the full veil
Public opinion has been involved in a bitter controversy concerning the law
forbidding women to wear a full veil, commonly known as the niqab or burqa,
which prevents them from being identified. The law regulating this issue, in force
since July 23, 2011, punishes transgressors with a fine of 137.50 euro and a
maximum of seven days in prison.
The new law is the result of lengthy approval procedures that were frequently
interrupted by the political and institutional crises in the country. When the subject
was once again placed on parliament’s agenda, following a proposal from the
French-speaking centre-right Mouvement Reformateur (MR), in its final draft, the
law had the advantage of providing clear and harmonised provisions for the entire
country, after a number of local provisions had been questioned by some judicial
opinions. It should also be noted that the law makes no reference whatsoever to
the traditional veil worn by Muslim women according to their religious custom.
Religious and ideological subjects at school
Ward Kennes, Member of the Flemish Parliament for the CD&V (Flemish Christian
Democrat Party), intervened as spokesman on Religious Affairs for the CD&V
parliamentary group during the debate on a proposal tabled by the VLD (Flemish
Liberal Democrats) and the Green Party intended to establish by decree that
religious and ideological subjects (non-denominational ethics or one of the
recognised religions) must devote a proportion of teaching time to other religions
and ideologies.
The CD&V Party is an outspoken proponent of encounter and dialogue with other
religions and ideologies. Dialogue can only bear fruit, it argues, when it builds
on a personal conviction that is practised. This is already being put into practise
today in virtually all schools, and it is also supported by the bodies that organise
religious and ideological subjects. The best way to achieve this aim is therefore
through self-regulation, Ward Kennes suggested. He considers that a form of
regulation in which the government defines the content of religious and ideological
subjects is irreconcilable with the Belgian system of separation between Church
and State.
BELGIUM

BELGIUM
Resolution on the situation of Christian and other religious minorities
On June 21, 2011 the Foreign Policy Committee of the Flemish Parliament gave
its unanimous support to a draft resolution on the situation of Christian and other
religious and ideological minorities in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
Flemish Member of Parliament Ward Kennes, who put forward the resolution, is
satisfied with this cross-chamber support: “Like the European Parliament and the
European Council, the Flemish Parliament is also adopting a clear position on
a number of recent infringements of the right to freedom to practise, change or
abandon one’s religion or ideology”.
In the resolution, the Flemish Parliament asked the Flemish Government, in its
cooperation with third countries, to take into account their respect for the freedom
of religion, to pay attention to the situation of religious and ideological minorities
and to take the utmost care when granting licenses for arms exports to countries
in which the rights of religious minorities are being infringed. In its resolution,
the Flemish Parliament also stressed its commitment to the freedom of religion,
conscience and thought, and called upon all religious authorities to promote
tolerance and make efforts to combat hatred and violent extremism.
Multiculturalism
According to a research paper entitled L’Iris et le Croissant, by Professor Felice
Dassetto of the Catholic University in Louvain, coexistence problems may arise as
a result of the increasingly multicultural social fabric in a number of Belgian cities.
The study reports that 25% of those resident in Brussels, or between 250,000
and 300,000 people, are of Muslim origin, and that between 10 and 15% of them
practise their religion within religious and cultural associations and in the Belgian
capital’s 77 mosques 2 .
Episodes of intolerance
After attacks on leaders of the Catholic Church, against whom there are still unproven
allegations of negligence in dealing with child abuse by priests and failing to provide
aid to persons in danger, there is an ongoing investigation, but no charges have
been brought.
Violent events have taken place, such as the fire at the parish Church of Saint
Lucie in Begijnendijk 3 , while in Couvin, in the diocese of Namur, seven Churches
were damaged 4 . However, there is no proof whatsoever that this has any link with
religious intolerance.
2 De Morgen, November 18 th 2011
3 www.7sur7.be, August 13 th 2011
4 www.christianophobie.fr, March 26 th 2012

AREA
22,965 Km²
BELIZE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
312,698
REFUGEES
7,217
Christians 91.1%
Catholics 51.8% / Protestants 36.1% / Anglicans 3.2%
Baha’is 2.5%
Hindus 2%
Others 4.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 11 of the 1981 Constitution sets out in detail the rights to religious
freedom, including public profession of one’s faith both individually and in
association with others, freedom to provide religious instruction and own
schools, freedom to change one’s religion.
These rights are respected in practise and there are no reports of events conflicting
with Constitutional legislation.
The majority of the population is Christian, and predominantly Catholic.
There are other non-Christians religions represented on the island. There are
no reports of oppression of these minorities.
BELIZE

BENIN
AREA
112,622 Km²
BENIN
The Constitution protects freedom of religion and the government generally
respects this right in its policies, trying to protect it from government or private
abuse of power and supporting the free practise of religion.
There are generally good relations between different religious groups, which have
contributed to a solid development of religious freedom.
The visit by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI from November 18 to the 20, 2011
made an important impression in the country, as reported to the Osservatore
Romano 1 by the archbishop of Cotonou, Antoine Ganyé. In the same article,
Father Pamphile Fanou, the parish priest of the Church of Saint Jean Baptiste
and in charge of pastoral care in prisons, said, “that, following the reading of
the Apostolic Exhortation, Africae munus, the government has sent lawyers and
judges to periodically visit prisons and become personally aware not only of
possible judicial errors, but also of the conditions experienced by prisoners and
correcting any eventual abuses”.
Catholics
POPULATION
9,211,741
There are 10 ecclesiastical districts, 338 parishes and 801 pastoral centres,
supported by 11 bishops, 811 priests, 1,386 nuns and priests, 30 lay members of
secular institutions and 11,251 catechists. There are 308 minor seminarians and
497 senior seminarians.
A total of 57,771 students attend 234 Catholic educational institutions, from
kindergartens to universities. Among institutions in Benin belonging to the Church
or managed by priests or religious are 12 hospitals, 64 clinics, 3 leprosy treatment
centres, 7 homes for elderly or disabled people, 41 orphanages and kindergartens,
3 family advisory centres and other pro-life centres and 3 other institutes 2 .
1 Osservatore Romano, March 9 th 2012
2 Agenzia Fides, November 16 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
---
Christians 43.8%
Catholics 23.7% / Protestants 8.6% / Other Chr. 11.5%
Ethnoreligionists 30.4%
Muslims 25.5%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

Other religions
There are many Muslims in the north and southeast of the country, while Christians
mainly live in the south, in particular in Cotonou, the nation’s economic capital.
Almost all Muslims are Sunni, while the few Shiite Muslims have mainly emigrated
from the Middle East.
Many Christians and Muslims also practise indigenous religious rituals.
It is not uncommon in Benin for members of the same family to practise Christianity,
Islam and traditional indigenous religions, primarily Voudou (Vodun, Voodoo), or a
combination of the various beliefs.
This religious syncretism in families and communities has allowed the spread of
an attitude of religious tolerance at all levels of society and in all regions.
In the period examined by this report there have been no significant events to
report, not have there been any signs of violation of the right to religious freedom.
BENIN

BHUTAN
AREA
47,000Km²
BHUTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
695,821
REFUGEES
---
Buddhists 84%
Hindus 11.4%
Ethnoreligionists 3.4%
Christians 0.9%
Catholics 0.1% / Protestants 0.3% / Other Chr. 0.5%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution, which came into force in 2008, recognises religious freedom,
and Mahayana Buddhism, previously the State religion, is now described as
“Bhutan’s spiritual legacy”.
The king is accorded the role of “protector of all religions” (Art. 3) 1 .
Full religious freedom is guaranteed for all citizens, and all forms of coercion are
forbidden in regard to people’s religious choices (Art. 7. 4).
The large Hindu community is respected and even the small Christian minorities
enjoy sufficient freedom in their charitable work and apostolate, despite being
prohibited from engaging in public worship. But there is still no legislation permitting
the recognition of legal status to the non-Buddhist communities 2 .
Restrictions on the entry into the country of foreign religious personnel have also
been abolished and there are no specific rules concerning the publication of religious
materials.
In March 2011 Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati (India), was able
to make an unofficial visit to several small Catholic and Protestant communities
in the country 3 .
Religious instruction is permitted only in schools run by religious communities but
not in State schools.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant incidents concerning the subject of religious freedom during the period
covered by this report.
1 www.Constitution.bt/TsaThrim%20Eng%20(A5).pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
3 AsiaNews, March 22 nd 2011

AREA
1,098,581 Km²
Legislative situation
BOLIVIA
POPULATION
10,426,155
The Fundamental Charter approved on January 25, 2009 by a referendum,
abrogated the previous Article 3 which recognised and supported the Catholic,
Apostolic and Roman religion as well as guaranteeing the public exercise of all
other religions. Article 4 of the new Constitution States, “The State respects and
guarantees religious freedom and that of spiritual beliefs in accordance with their
respective ideas of the cosmos. The State is independent of religion”.
Bolivia has also tried to acknowledge the importance of pre-Christian beliefs in
the Preamble to the new Constitution in which the Plurinational State of Bolivia is
re-founded “with the power of our Mother Earth (Pachamama) and thanks to God”.
The “Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra” (Law of the Rights of Mother Earth),
approved in December 2010, declares in Article 3: “Mother Earth is considered
sacred, from the worldviews of nations and peasant indigenous peoples”, in fact,
equating to a deity 1 .
There have been no changes to legislation as far as State laws are concerned
during the period analysed by this report.
On July 12, 2011 the Municipal Council of La Paz approved a municipal decree
declaring that the image of the Virgin of Carmen and the religious festivity of July
16 were a “material and immaterial, historical and religious Cultural Heritage” 2 .
The indigenization issue
In March 2011 President Evo Morales criticised the Catholic bishops for not
having attended interreligious government celebrations, stating that this was
discrimination against the religious denominations present. In answering this
1 www.scribd.com/doc/44900268/Ley-de-Derechos-de-la-Madre-Tierra-Estado-Plurinacional-de-Bolivia
2 www.celir.cl/v2/Boletines/bjjulVI.pdf
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
716
Christians 91.8%
Catholics 83% / Protestants 8.8%
Ethnoreligionists 3.8%
Baha’is 2.2%
Others 2.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
BOLIVIA

the Archbishop of Cochabamba, President of the Episcopal Commission
for Education, referred to the president’s words, saying, “One cannot speak of
discrimination but rather of respect for the people”, explaining that the Catholic
Church has universal norms such as Canon Law, the teachings of the Church,
the words of the Holy Father and the teachings of all the bishops of Latin America.
“We have precise, clear rules, which tell us that we cannot participate in rituals
that are not those of the Catholic Church, such as for example Pachamama or
K’oa, which for us are signs of disorientation regards to our people. Our people
are simple, our people are Catholic and therefore a bishop participating in these
BOLIVIAcriticism,
Andean religious rituals would be very dangerous for us since it would confuse
our people. This is one of the reasons for which we did not attend” 3 .
On April 12, 2011 the Bolivian Episcopal Conference published a letter entitled
“Catholics in Bolivia today, a presence of hope and commitment” in which,
among other issues, the Conference denounced current tendencies in Bolivia,
“to exploit the religious experience of our people in order to create parallel rituals
to the Catholic Christian sacraments or other popular expressions of the beliefs
of our Church” 4 .
On May 6, 2011 the Ministry of Culture organised a collective festival within the
framework of a programme entitled “Collective Marriages of our Identity”.
On that occasion, 354 couples attended to reaffirm their identities by celebrating
their marriages according to the rituals of their pre-Christian religions.
In explaining the meaning of this ceremony, the Deputy Minister for Decolonization,
Félix Cárdenas, said, “These weddings are moving towards the Society of Good
Living, towards a new process of civilisation that creates the Plurinational State” 5 .
The idea of a “Society of Good Living”, used in Article 8 of the Constitution,
is intended by the cultural circles of President Morales’ party to carry an anticapitalist
and pro-indigenous, ideological content, based on the worship of
Mother Earth (Pachamama) 6 .
3 www.celir.cl/v2/Boletines/bjmarVI.pdf
4 www.iglesia.org.bo/iglesia/recursos/documentos/pdf/los_catolicos_en_la_bolivia_de_hoy_3.pdf
5 www.cambio.bo/noticia.php?fecha=2011-05-06&idn=44586
6 www.lapatriaenlinea.com, April 18 th 2010

AREA
51,197 Km²
Legislation
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,843,126
REFUGEES
6,933
The implementation of the 1995 Dayton Accords, which ended the inter-ethnic
conflict, gave birth to the current Constitution. Over time, the latter has caused
extreme fragmentation, both legislative and at the various administrative levels
of power. For example, some experts have counted at least 11 forms of local government1
.
Freedom of religion2 is recognised both in the Preamble and in Article 2,
Paragraph 3 of the 1995 Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country
itself is divided into two distinct political entities, each with its own parliament
and government: the (Croat and Muslim) Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the (Serb-dominated) Republika Srpska (or Serbian Republic), which includes
the Brčko district.
Freedom of religion is also covered by the law on religious freedom and the relevant
administrative provisions.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice has set up a unified registry for all religions,
whilst the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees has the task of documenting
all violations of religious freedom.
Under the existing legislation, any group of at least 300 adults can apply in writing
to the Ministry of Justice to establish a new Church or religious community.
The ministry has to decide within 30 days. If its response is negative, the applicants
can appeal to the Council of Ministers.
Parents have the right to send their children to private schools. Muslim, Catholic
and Serbian Orthodox schools exist in several cities. However, in the ‘European
1 Gian Matteo Apuzzo, “Bosnia Erzegovina: la frammentazione dell’inclusione sociale”,
in Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, March 1 st 2012. www.balcanicaucaso.org/aree/Bosnia-Erzegovina/
Bosnia-Erzegovina-la-frammentazione-dell-inclusione-sociale-112861
Muslims 55.4%
Christians 41%
Catholics 12.3% / Orthodox 28.7%
Agnostics / Atheists 3.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
113,000
2 Bosnia and Herzegovina – Constitution: http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/bk00000_.html
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
schools’ run by the Catholic Church, the curriculum is specifically aimed at teaching
students how to live together in the ethnically and religiously diverse context
of the country.
In each area the local authorities recognise as public holidays the feast days of
the largest local group.
The existing legislation has not changed during the period under consideration 3 .
Ethnic and religious discrimination
In practical terms, since ethnicity and religion coincide, the members of minority
groups in mixed areas suffer from social and administrative discrimination.
Muslims, Catholics and Serbian Orthodox have all reported many cases of aggression
and of ethnic and religious intolerance.
As a minority in both areas, Catholics have to struggle to survive, whether in the
predominantly Muslim areas of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or in
the predominantly Serbian areas of the Republika Srpska.
Speaking directly by telephone to the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to
the Church in Need, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, the archbishop of Sarajevo, denounced
the systematic discrimination against Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite
the promises of the international community, he pointed out, that many
Croatian Catholics are still unable to return to the predominantly Serbian areas.
At present, more than 200,000 of them are still waiting to go home, he added.
As for the Catholics living in the Croatian-Muslim federation, they are also victims
of intolerance, according to the cardinal. In this region the Muslims control
everything and are trying to drive the Catholics out of the country, he said.
Political offices are held by Muslims only, and Catholics are discriminated against
when they seek employment. This process of progressive islamisation since the
war is in part due to investments by Muslim nations, especially Iran and Saudi
Arabia, Cardinal Puljic explained.
The international community has also been party to favouring the Muslims, he
alleges, whilst Croatia has forgotten the Bosnian Catholics, with its attention now
focused on entry into the European Union.
Nevertheless, the Archbishop said he was satisfied by the progress in the willingness
to engage in dialogue on the part of the Grand Mufti, Mustafa Cerić4 .
For the Muslims in the Republika Srpska, their religion is a marker of ethnic identity,
3 International Religious Freedom Report for 2011, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor
4 ACN News, January 19 th 2012: www.Churchinneed.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6909&news_iv_ctrl=-1

even though their actual religious practise is often limited to an occasional visit to
the mosque and to the handful of major events in life, such as births, weddings
and funerals.
For the Serbian Orthodox, the difficulties they face are in the territory of the mainly
Muslim and Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The legal system continues to be an obstacle to upholding minority religious rights.
For example, the police rarely arrest those responsible for vandalism against the
religious buildings or attacks on the clerics of the minority communities. In fact, at
the local level, the authorities sometimes even place limits on the religious ceremonies
of the minorities.
Even when the perpetrators are arrested, they are rarely brought to trial. Often
such acts of vandalism are either downplayed or explained away as isolated incidents
caused by young men, drug addicts or mentally unstable people, rather
than acts of religious intolerance.
These same local authorities in areas dominated by one ethnic group often discriminate
against minority groups in terms of public services, security and education.
For example, several Catholic priests in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar
have complained about discrimination against them in relation to how they can
dispose of property or access municipal services. They have also deplored the
lack of protection and the failure by police to investigate cases of harassment and
vandalism against them.
Some religious groups continue to face obstacles when they apply for legal
recognition. This is still the case of the Alliance of Protestant and Evangelical
Churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina because the Ministry of Justice would not
countenance the use of the term “alliance”.
The construction of illegal places of worship on private and public land continued
to be a problem and a source of tensions and conflict in some areas.
On many occasions, such cases have been used for political purposes. Often
such buildings were constructed with the full understanding that they were illegal
but with the intent of sending a political message to religious minorities about who
was the boss in certain areas.
For example, the Serbian Orthodox Church that was illegally built in 1996 in
Konjevic Polje, on land owned by a Bosniak woman, Fata Orlovic, still stands
today despite a 2004 court ruling ordering its demolition.
The Bosniak woman was expelled from the village during the war, and, as she
noted, lost 29 relatives in Srebrenica.
Once she came back, she asked for the building to be demolished, but despite
her legal claims, the structure is still standing.
The situation got out of hand ten times. The latest dates back to September 11, 2011
when some 50 Serbs, led by some Orthodox priests, tried to enter the Church,
which the authorities had sealed up, in order to celebrate an Orthodox Liturgy. A
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
big brawl followed, with sticks, pitting Serbs against an equal number of Bosniak
Muslims 5 .
Moreover, the authorities do not fairly apply the existing laws on private property
and the construction of places of worship. For instance, on August 17, 2011,
public officials demolished a mosque near Livno, claiming that the local Muslim
community had failed to follow the correct procedures in order to obtain a permit
to convert this building, which had been donated, into an official place of worship.
There are also still many legal disputes involving the restitution of property and
assets seized by the Communists after World War II. Many officials exploit this
problem as a political tool against religious leaders, who are sometimes asked for
money to speed up the process of restitution.
In Sarajevo, the Serbian Orthodox Church continues to demand the return of
a building currently occupied by the faculty of Economics and Business of the
University of Sarajevo, and is also seeking compensation for land on which the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina was built.
The Interfaith Council has ruled that the building must be returned to the Serbian
Orthodox Church. On June 9, 2010 the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
the City of Sarajevo and the School of Economics and Business signed an agreement
for that purpose, which included a plan to build a new facility for the School
by 2011.
Despite the deal, the authorities have not been in any hurry to fulfil its terms.
5 il Manifesto, November 12 th 2011

AREA
581,730 Km²
BOTSWANA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,977,569
The Constitution1 of 1966, acknowledges full religious freedom (Art. 11) and the
government generally respects this provision.
This freedom can be suspended only for important reasons of public interest,
such as national defence, national health, public order and on condition that such
suspension is “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society”.
Religious groups must register, just like all other organisations or institutions, but
registration procedures are generally speedy. Without registration an organisation
cannot sign contracts or open a bank account.
Those responsible for a non-registered organisation can be punished with fines
or even years in prison.
Every religious community is free to build places of worship and establish places
for religious instruction at its own expense. Religious education is also part of the
curriculum in State schools.
In the period assessed for this report no significant events have taken place nor
have there been any reports of violations of the right to religious freedom2 .
1 www.commonlii.org/bw/legis/const/1966/1.html
REFUGEES
3,312
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Christians 65.1%
Catholics 4.6% / Protestants 60% / Anglicans 0.5%
Ethnoreligionists 33.5%
Others 1.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
BOTSWANA

BRAZIL
AREA
8,514,215 Km²
Legislation
BRAZIL
During the period analysed by this report no changes were made to legislation on
religious freedom.
Article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution sanctions and broadly protects religious
freedom.
There is no State religion, no obligation to register and all religious associations
are free to organise their activities. Relations between the Catholic Church and
the State are regulated by the 1945 Concordat.
The Criminal Code of Law approved in December 1998 includes crimes against
religious sentiment and respect for the dead. Moreover, the law punishes with up
to 5 years in prison all crimes resulting from acts of violence or hatred based on
religious intolerance, and also authorises courts to try, fine and imprison those
found distributing, exhibiting, writing creating or producing anti-Semitic material.
In applying this law, on April 25, 2011, a Brazilian judge sentenced a former police
inspector to almost two years of community service for having offended a woman
wearing the Islamic veil in Rio de Janeiro 1 .
Catholics
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
190,755,799
Based on data provided by a recent census, the federal government’s Centre for
Social Policies estimated that the number of Catholics in Brazil had remained
stable since 2003 and that this stabilisation had not taken place in just one age
group but was constant for all ages.
The Episcopal Conference has issued a number of statements concerning the
situation in the country referring to fundamental human rights and respect for the
rule of law.
1 http://noticias.r7.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticias/juiza-condena-ex-delegado-a-um-ano-e-11-meses-de-
detencao-por-injuria-preconceituosa-20110425.htm
REFUGEES
4,477
Christians 91%
Catholics 72.4% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 16.4%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 2%
Spiritists 4.8%
Others 4.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

On January 30, 2012, for example, the Episcopal Conference issued an official
statement condemning slave practises still existing in Brazil, urging the government
to take action to eliminate such situations in which children, men and women
are kept in disgraceful conditions and forced to work as farm labourers or in the
forests owned by the State2 .
The murder of the Catholic priest Father Romeu Drago in his home in the city of
Montes Claros (MG), on February 19, 2011 appeared to be the result of a robbery
and not religiously motivated3 .
Other religious denominations
There have been no reports whatsoever of violence or hostile attitudes concerning
the rights and religious freedom of either Christian or non-Christian minorities.
2 www.cnbb.org.br/site/imprensa/noticias/8559-conselho-episcopal-pastoral-da-cnbb-divulga-nota-oficial-
sobre-trabalho-escravo
3 Agenzia Fides, February 26 th 2011
BRAZIL

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
AREA
5,765 Km²
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
407,045
REFUGEES
---
Muslims 55.9%
Christians 13.7%
Catholics 7.1%
Protestants 1.8% / Anglicans 1% / Other Chr. 3.8%
Ethnoreligionists 11.2%
Buddhists 9.7%
Chinese folk religionists 5.3%
Others 4.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Under the Constitution of 1959 Salafi Islam is the State religion. Religious freedom
is recognised but the law restricts the practise of religions other than Salafi Islam.
Proselytism is not allowed for non-Muslim religions and importing any religious
material is prohibited. Articles and images of other faiths are censored in the
press. Non-Salafi religious groups must register and provide the names of all their
members. Participation in unregistered groups is punishable with time in prison.
Whether religious in nature or not, every public meeting has to be authorised if it
involves five or more people. The use of private homes for religious meetings is
banned. Christian schools are allowed but Christianity may not be taught.
Conversely, courses in the Islamic religion are compulsory for all students.
Muslims and non-Muslims are not allowed to marry and any non-Muslim man
who wants to marry a Muslim woman must convert.
Muslims who want to change religion must obtain a public authorisation but social
pressures are such that it is virtually impossible to do.
In general the government prevents non-Muslim clerics from entering the country
and does not allow the construction or repair of non-Muslim religious buildings.
There have been no reports of significant institutional changes or notable
incidents relating to religious freedom during the period under review.

AREA
1,234,567 Km²
BULGARIA
The Bulgarian Constitution, enacted in 1991 and amended at various times until
2007, declares in Article 13 the right to religious freedom and the separation between
the State and religious institutions, and at the same time designates the
Orthodox Church as the “traditional religion” of the nation 1 .
The government allocates special financial benefits to the Orthodox Church, but
also extends these to a few other groups that have historically been present in the
country, such as Muslims, Catholics and Jews.
The law forbids non-registered groups from publicly practising their faith.
Much-debated legislation dating back to 2002 transferred responsibility for registration
to the municipal court of Sofia, which manages the updating of the register
of religious denominations and political parties. But the body formally responsible
for registration is the directorate for religious faiths of the Council of Ministers,
whose role, however, remains somewhat ambiguous.
There are no restrictions on freedom of action of registered groups. Two Orthodox
seminaries, a Jewish school, three Islamic schools and an Islamic university, a
Muslim cultural centre, a seminary for various Protestant Christian denominations
and a university theological faculty all exist and work freely. The Bible, the Koran
and other religious material in Bulgarian are imported or published in the country
without restriction. Religious magazines are published regularly.
There are no indications that the government has in any way discriminated against
any groups in the restitution of property confiscated and nationalised during the
Communist period. The law approved to deal with the question has been extended
to 2013 to allow religious groups sufficient time to present appeals.
1 www.parliament.bg/en/const/
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
7,351,234
REFUGEES
5,688
Christians 83.8%
Catholics 1% / Orthodox 80.8% / Protestants 2%
Muslims 12.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
BULGARIA

the period under examination there have been some reports of incidents of intolerance
and discrimination against some religious groups by some local authorities
and police. This above all seems to affect some non-traditional groups who
complain of discrimination and prejudice from local authorities in some towns, in
spite of having being legally registered through the Court of Sofia.
Article 19 of the legislation of 2002 on the denomination of religious groups states
that registered groups can acquire structures locally and that national registration
is sufficient. In spite of this, some municipalities have insisted on formal registration
at the local level as well
BULGARIAIn 2 .
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
274,200 Km²
BURKINA FASO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
15,730,977
REFUGEES
546
Muslims 51.4%
Ethnoreligionists 27.8%
Christians 20.3%
Catholics 11.8% / Protestants 8.5%
Others 0.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution acknowledges the right to religious freedom and the State protects
the right of each citizen to profess his or her religion.
Religious organisations must register and non-registration is punishable with a
fine. For the period assessed for this report, no religious groups were denied
registration.
State schools do not provide religious instruction, but the various religious groups
can set up their own schools, with the government supervising the academic validity
of their curricula.
The Catholic Church runs 38 kindergartens with 2,643 pupils, 108 primary
schools with 23,014 pupils, 58 middle and high schools with 19,876 pupils (according
to Fides, March 20, 2010, which quotes the Church’s Statistical Year Book).
Much of the population still follows traditional beliefs and rituals, often professed
in a syncretistic manner, together with other religions. In rural areas above all, the
inhabitants sometimes drive out elderly women suspected of being witches.
The Catholic Church finances the Delwende Centre, which takes in these women
as well as welcoming tramps. Similar centres are also financed and managed by
the State as well as by other religious and lay private organisations.
BURKINA FASO

BURUNDI
AREA
27,834 Km²
Legislation
BURUNDI
The government respects religious freedom, recognised for all in the 2005
Constitution. Religious groups are obliged to register, but the procedure only lasts
a few weeks. The request must include the group’s charter, the group’s home
country address and additional information about the board of directors and its
representative. In the period being examined there is no indication of religious
groups being denied registration.
Religious groups that do not register are not permitted to conduct their activities
in public and their centres, meeting places and places of worship can be closed.
The law calls for heavy punishment for transgressors, but has not been enforced
for years.
The security situation
The security situation in various parts of the country is not good and this extends
to members of religious communities. In November 2011 Sister Lukrecija Mamic
of the congregation Ancelle della Carità (Missionaries of Charity) and a volunteer,
Francesco Bazzani, were killed during a burglary attempt, while another Italian
nun, Sister Carla Brianza was injured and had to undergo surgery 1 .
The poor security situation was condemned by the Catholic bishops in their
2011 Christmas message, which spoke not only of murder and robbery, but also
of disappearances 2 .
1 Agenzia Fides, November 28 th 2011
2 Ibid., December 13 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
8,519,000
REFUGEES
35,659
Christians 92.9%
Catholics 65.7% / Protestants 19% / Anglicans 8.2%
Ethnoreligionists 5.5%
Muslims 1.4%
Others 0.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
78,800

AREA
181,035 Km²
CAMBODIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
15,053,112
REFUGEES
64
Buddhists 85.4%
Ethnoreligionists 4.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.5%
Christians 2%
Catholics 0.2% / Protestants 1.5% / Other Chr. 0.3%
Muslims 2%
Others 3.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
As far as religious freedom is concerned there has been no change during the
period analysed for this report. There have been no reports of the authorities
violating the principles sanctioned by the 1993 Constitution, which in Article
43 guarantees religious freedom and forbids all forms of discrimination on the
basis of religious belief. At the same time though, it recognises Buddhism as
the State religion.
Every religious group must register, including Buddhist groups, in order to be
able to conduct their activities or construct their places of worship, but failure
to register is not penalised. Christian missionary groups can freely operate,
although a directive issued on June 26, 2007, bans “door-to-door” proselytism,
the distribution of Christian literature outside Churches and other practises considered
to be intrusive, like the use of loudspeakers. The same regulation also
bans the “making use of money or material incentives” to bring about conversions,
a rule that does not apply to Buddhists, but is directed first and foremost
at Evangelical Christians who are often accused of offering food, clothes and
free English lessons in order to persuade people to convert. Moreover, special
permission is also required for the construction of Churches.
State authorisation is required for the construction of places of worship and
religious schools, which must be built at least two kilometres away from any
other, however this stipulation is not required for the administrative offices of
these religious groups.
Courses in Buddhist doctrine are compulsory in State schools but not in schools
run by non-Buddhist groups.
CAMBODIA

CAMEROON
AREA
475,442 Km²
CAMEROON
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
19,406,100
Religious freedom and the secular character of the State are decreed in the Preamble
of the Constitution1 , which has remained unchanged since 1972, and this
freedom is respected by the authorities. Religious groups are required to register
in order to engage in activities of any kind and cannot operate without recognition,
although in practise a number of smaller religious groups continue to do so, since
registration procedures can be very lengthy.
There is great religious tolerance in this country, with Islamic and Christian groups
generally coexisting without major problems and organising common prayer ceremonies
– although local tensions have been reported from time to time.
The State allows private schools run by religious groups, both Christian and
Muslim, and provides them with grants. There are also universities run by
religious organisations.
Practising witchcraft is considered a crime when aimed at influencing people or
obtaining money. Traditional religious practises are not however considered a
crime. However, people do engage in discriminatory behaviour, chasing away
elderly women accused of being witches and even children affected by physical
or mental disabilities or other “different” characteristics.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=191418
REFUGEES
100,373
Christians 56.6%
Catholics 24.1% / Protestants 20% / Other Chr. 12.5%
Ethnoreligionists 22.4%
Muslims 20%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
9,970,610 Km²
CANADA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
34,278,406
The Canadian approach in matters of religion is to favour multiculturalism, and
not recognise any single religion as superior. Fundamentally, freedom of religion
includes a dimension in which each person is free to believe what he likes and
to profess his beliefs; and, simultaneously, a dimension in which no one can be
forced to recognise any religion in particular, or to act contrary to his beliefs.
In Canada, this liberty has been interpreted as necessitating a “reasonable
accommodation” on the part of the minorities. Therefore, laws must be adapted
if they have a discriminatory effect on an individual or a group, because of their
particular characteristics.
Lifting the veil on the controversy
REFUGEES
164,883
Christians 74.5%
Catholics 41.1% / Orthodox 3% / Protestants 10.1%
Anglicans 1.7% / Other Chr. 18.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 15.3%
Muslims 2.3%
Others 7.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Regarding this situation, one might recall the Bouchard-Taylor Commission
which was set up in Quebec in 2007 to examine the issue of “reasonable
accommodation” to cultural differences. In 2008, this Commission recommended
that the government forbid its employees from wearing the hijab, or any other
visible religious symbol. In 2010, the Quebec government proposed Bill 94,
forbidding women in front-line government jobs from wearing religious clothing
which covers the face. The bill was not made into law.
It is not only in Quebec that wearing the niqab or burka elicits controversy.
On December 12, 2011 Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced
that Muslim women in Canada would have to uncover their faces in order to recite
the oath of citizenship to become Canadians. In Ontario, there is a plaintiff in a
sexual assault trial who has refused to testify without a veil covering her face.
This has led to a case currently before the Supreme Court of Canada, since
lawyers are arguing that they need to see facial expressions during testimony.
These kinds of examples can be multiplied.
CANADA

eligious freedom, or promoting internal politics?
In the fall of 2011, federal Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced plans
to establish an Office of Religious Freedom. As explained by Minister Baird, the
objective of the office would be to monitor the state of religious freedom throughout
the world, to promote freedom of religion as a key objective for Canadian foreign
policy, and to promote policies and programs which bolster freedom of religion.
But this explanation has not convinced everyone.
One of the skeptics is Alex Neve, president of Amnesty International Canada,
CANADADefending
who said he is keenly observing this development. He is concerned that the office
might become a vehicle for promoting certain internal politics to immigrants.
Mr Neve remarked that freedom of religion can have a “contentious relationship”
with other essential human rights concerns such as freedom of expression and
equality between men and women. Up to this time, the Office has yet to be
established.

AREA
4,033 Km²
CAPE VERDE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
491,875
REFUGEES
---
Christians 95.1%
Catholics 92.7% / Protestants 2.4%
Muslims 2.8%
Others 2.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution recognises religious freedom and the government generally
respects this right, attempting at all levels to protect it and does not
tolerate its abuse.
The Penal Code, in force since 2004, establishes that violations of religious freedom
are crimes punishable with between three months and three years in prison.
There is no State religion, and the Constitution establishes a clear separation
between the State and the Church, forbidding the State from imposing any religious
creed. However, the Catholic Church enjoys a privileged status in national
life. For example, the government provides the Catholic Church with free air time
on television for broadcasting religious functions.
All associations, both religious and lay, must register with the Ministry of Justice
to obtain legal status. Registration is compulsory according to the Constitution
and the law on associations. There are no particular incentives to register and
there are no fines or sentences for not registering. The only disadvantage is that
non-registered groups cannot request or receive government or private loans and
benefits for associations.
For the period assessed for this report there have been no significant events
or changes.
CAPE VERDE

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
AREA
622,984 Km²
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Article 8 of the Constitution promulgated in January 1995 recognises freedom of
conscience, assembly and worship. It bans all forms of religious fundamentalism
and intolerance 1 .
All religious groups, except indigenous groups, must register in accordance with
the law, which is quite restrictive and is administered by the Interior Ministry.
Groups must have at least a thousand members to register and their leaders must
hold a degree issued by a theological institution recognised by the authorities.
Registration gives access to a number of tax breaks.
The main Christian feast days are also considered to be national holidays. Every
religious group can broadcast on state-owned radio on a weekday of its choosing.
Religious education is permitted but not compulsory.
There have been no recorded acts of religious intolerance either by the authorities
or by other elements in civil society.
Some areas of the country have however been hit by disorders and armed attacks
by the Ugandan rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In some incidents,
Church representatives were among the victims. In one case, Bishop Eduard
Mathos of Bambari 2 was briefly held by kidnappers.
However, according to the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bishops’
Conference, such attacks are due to the widespread insecurity in some parts of
the country and are not motivated by religion 3 .
1 www.kituochakatiba.org/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=126&Itemid=27
2 Agenzia Fides, June 4 th 2011
3 Ibid., June 6 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,505,945
REFUGEES
16,730
Christians 66%
Catholics 20.4% / Protestants 15.1% / Other Chr. 30.5%
Ethnoreligionists 18.4%
Muslims 14.7%
Others 0.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
105,000

AREA
1,284,000 Km²
CHAD
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
11,506,130
REFUGEES
366,494
The Constitution, which came into force in 1961, establishes the secular character
of the State (Art. 1) and guarantees religious freedom (Art. 27) and for the family
the freedom of education (Art. 38).
The State generally respects this principle although it imposes restrictions and
prohibitions on groups that are considered violent.
With the exception of the indigenous religions, all religious groups are obliged
to register, though this is a formality and not subject to abuse. Religious instruction
is permitted in private schools, both Muslim and Christian, but is forbidden
in State schools.
Coexistence between Muslims and Christians is generally peaceful, although
sporadic tensions do occur, owing to the presence of extremist Islamic groups, as
do likewise tensions between radical and moderate Muslims.
The government exercises indirect control over the activities of Islamic groups
through the High Council for Islamic Affairs which, with the approval of the President
of the Republic, appoints the grand Imam, the Muslim spiritual leader. The
Council also oversees religious activities in general including the supervision of
Arab Muslim schools and higher education institutes.
A representative of the religious communities also sits as a member of the Revenue
Management College, a body that participates in the distribution of revenue
from oil. This seat alternates between an Islamic and a Christian leader, rotating
every four years 1 .
Simply in order to avoid social conflict, the July 2007 ban on proselytising in public
is still applied. Local groups can, however, ask the authorities for permission
to proselytise.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
any significant incidents relating to freedom of religion during the period
covered by this report.
1 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Muslims 57.3%
Christians 25.5%
Catholics 7.9% / Protestants 10.9% / Other Chr. 6.7%
Ethnoreligionists 16.2%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
126,000
CHAD

CHILE
AREA
756,626 Km²
Legislation
CHILE
Both the private and the public dimension of religious freedom is expressed in the
recognition at a Constitutional level of the Catholic Church as having legal public
juridical status as well as by permitting other organisations to be formed on the
basis of common law or by resorting to the 1999 law on religious organisations.
Religious institutions choosing this last option are recognised as having public
juridical status and thanks to this acknowledgement enjoy, among other benefits,
tax exemptions, the protection of their religious ministers and facilitations for providing
pastoral care in prisons, hospitals and among the armed forces. Religious
instruction is provided in all state and officially recognised schools in the country,
according to the number of students requesting it.
There have been made no changes to the law or to regulations during the period
analysed by this report.
Non-negotiable values
Legislative initiatives aimed at legalising de facto unions between heterosexual
and homosexual couples and the ongoing debate on abortion 1 have resulted in an
intense debate within civil society, with both Catholic and non-Catholic Christian
communities adopting a highly critical stance towards these projects – as expressed
in a collective letter sent to the President of the Republic and to the members
of the legislative and judicial commissions 2 .
1 www.zenit.org/article-40583?l=spanish
2 http://documentos.iglesia.cl/conf/documentos_sini.ficha.php?mod=documentos_sini&id=4143&sw
volver=yes& descripcion=
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
17,094,275
REFUGEES
1,674
Christians 87.5%
Catholics 67.7% / Orthodox 2.2% / Protestants 2.6%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 14.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 10.1%
Ethnoreligionists 1.6%
Others 0.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

Non-Catholic Christian communities / Other Religions
On May 12, 2011 an Evangelical chapel was inaugurated at the Chilean Army’s
Military School within the framework of the regulation of pastoral care in the Armed
forces and Public Security forces3 .
In June 2011, the government sent ministries instructions concerning religious
care provided in hospitals, prisons, within the Armed Forces and Public Security
forces, and respect for religious equality in schools. The briefing also provided
instructions on the need to defend pastoral care and voluntary participation in
worship and rituals for all members of the Armed Forces and Public Security
Forces, the full right of all detainees to receive regular pastoral care and the fact
that hospitals are not permitted to prevent patients from receiving pastoral care4 .
Furthermore, legal initiatives begun with a view to recognising the holy days of
Muslims and the Baha’í. These plans include observing these festivities and a
prohibition against obliging others to observe or practise acts of worship contrary
to their personal convictions5 .
3 www.onar.gob.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/comunicado-009-13-may-11.pdf
4 www.minsegpres.gob.cl/2011/06/gobierno-envia-instructivo-a-ministerios-para-garantizar-ejercicio-de-
libertad-de-culto-e-igualdad-r/
5 www.senado.cl/prontus_galeria_noticias/site/artic/20110124/pags/20110124171740.html
CHILE

CHINA
AREA
9,572,900 Km²
CHINA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,339,724,852
REFUGEES
301,018
Agnostics / Atheists 39.5%
Chinese folk religionists 32.1%
Buddhists 13.5%
Christians 8.6%
Catholics 1.2% / Protestants 1.9% / Other Chr. 5.5%
Muslims 1.6%
Ethnoreligionists 4.3%
Others 0.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The year 2011 in China was characterised by a great number of violations of
human rights and religious freedom. In addition to existing tools of control used
with official religious communities (and the criminalisation of the activities of
unofficial or underground communities), the problems of religious groups were
made worse by:
Beijing’s fears that China too could be hit by a “spring” like the one that has swept
dictators from power in North Africa and the Middle East. Analysts have been
quick to point out the similarities between the countries of this region and China
(a dictatorial government, a wide gap between rich and poor, lack of fundamental
freedoms, unemployment, and high-level support for change among youth). Such
fears have made the regime even more suspicious of any not explicitly authorised
religious activity.
The imminent change in the country’s political leadership. President Hu Jintao and
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao are set to step down probably in October 2012 in fact. Xi
Jinping and Li Keqiang are expected to replace them. The two new leaders are “princelings”,
the offspring of top party officials, known for their pragmatism and commitment
to boosting China’s economic and political standing in the international arena.
However, factional in-fighting has sent shockwaves across the party. The case of
Bo Xilai, another “Maoist princeling”, is a case in point. In order to harness support
from domestic public opinion, many have revived the slogans, songs, attitudes and
methods of Mao’s times and sought to demonstrate their own ideological correctness
by attacking the supposed “enemies”, including the religious communities.
More than in any other year, there have been a string of Christians (Catholic
and Protestant), Muslims, and (Tibetans) Buddhists, as well as dissidents, human
rights lawyers, pro-democracy activists, bloggers, artists (like Ai Weiwei), and
journalists.
From the start of the year, law enforcement agencies have been granted more
powers to “seize” and detain “suspects” for months on end based on national

security grounds, terrorism or corruption. Changes are planned for existing laws
to deny people the right to inform their lawyer or family in case of arrest. Under
Chinese law, people can already be placed under house arrest in their own home
for up to six months without any formal charges being laid. Under a proposed
amendment, the authorities could also detain “suspects” in secret locations that
are not a prison or a police station. Although it has not yet been adopted, the
proposed change has already been enforced in the case of Ai Weiwei and many
other believers 1 .
China is afraid that the discontent might take a religious form, boosting the ranks
of those who want more freedom and less controls. At the same time, some dissidents
are turning to religion, especially Christianity, as the ideal foundation for
their activism. Many have converted and have been baptised, something that is
even taking place within the party, forcing officials to impose explicit sanctions.
In the mid-December issue of Qiu Shi (Seeking the Truth), a party-linked magazine,
Zhu Weiqun, vice-president of the United Front, issued a warning. “If we let
party members believe in religion”, he wrote, “this will inevitably lead to internal
divisions within the organisation and ideology of the party”.
After making a career on the Tibet issue and boycotting all dialogue with the Dalai
Lama, Zhu Weiqun added in Maoist style, “all religions, without exception, are
idealistic in nature. In philosophy, there is a fundamental conflict between materialism
and idealism—neither can coexist, either at the level of the individual or of
the political party”.
According to Zhu, allowing party members to have a religious faith would undermine
Marxism and the country’s guiding ideology, weakening the party in the
fight against separatist movements (i.e. Tibetan Buddhists and Uyghur Muslims),
whilst obfuscating the role of the party in controlling religions 2 .
In the following issue of Seeking the truth, the last of the year, Hu Jintao himself
railed “against hostile powers” that are trying to “westernise” China.
Although China has achieved the status of an important world power, it still lags
behind in terms of “soft power”, and is unable to influence the world. For this
reason, it must take “powerful measures” to stop Western cultural colonisation,
he argued.
For Hu, who in addition to being President of China is also Secretary General of
the Chinese Communist Party (CPP), “The overall strength of Chinese culture and
its international influence is not commensurate with China’s international status”.
For this reason, China must undertake greater efforts to develop Chinese culture
to meet the “growing spiritual and cultural demands of the people”. At the same
time, “We must be aware of the seriousness and complexity of the struggles and
take powerful measures to prevent and deal with them”.
1 AsiaNews.it, August 29 th 2011
2 Xinhua, December 18 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
For some analysts, the struggle against “hostile” powers includes a struggle
against Christianity and Catholicism, which are seen as “the essence of
Western culture”.
“Hostile international powers are strengthening their efforts to westernise and
divide us”, Hu wrote in the article, noting that “ideological and cultural fields” are
their main targets.
In their speeches, party members often refer to the Vatican and the Pope as
“foreign powers” that seek to destroy China under “the guise of religion” 3 .
CHINA - Catholics
In the specific case of Catholics, 2011 saw the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
(CPCA), the United Front and pro-regime representatives of the official
Church community threaten to ordain dozens of new bishops without the consent
of the Holy See. The CPCA is the official government body that controls the official
Church.
Anthony Liu Bainian, honorary CPCA president, said that the Church in China
would continue to “self-elect” and “self-consecrate” its bishops without a
papal mandate 4 .
Excommunicated Bishop Guo Jincai also said that the Church in China would
ordain self-elected bishops in at least “seven dioceses” 5 .
In the course of the year, the Holy See often said that a papal mandate for newly
ordained bishops was essential aspect of the Catholic faith and a necessity intrinsic
to the Creed.
At the same time the Holy See reiterated - as did Benedict XVI in his Letter to Chinese
Catholics in 2007 - that the goal of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
to build an independent Church, separate from the Pope, was “incompatible”
with the Catholic faith.
Despite this, the CPCA and the government were not moved to stop meddling
in episcopal ordinations. Some were cancelled; others were postponed. Others
again performed unlawfully (without papal mandate).
In a number of cases, excommunicated bishops imposed their presence on regular
ordinations even though, according to Catholic doctrine, they cannot come
anywhere near the sacraments. In other cases, of unlawful ordinations, bishops
loyal to the Pope were forced by police to take part in the event.
3 Qiu Shi, January 1 st 2012
4 Afp, June 22 nd 2011
5 China Daily, July 22 nd 2011

Episcopal ordinations
The government delayed the ordination of Fr Shen Guoan as bishop of Hankou
(Wuhan, Hubei), set for June 9, without an explanation. Still, since it did not have a
papal mandate, it would have been unlawful. However, CPCA honorary president
Antonio Liu Bainian warned the Vatican “not to interfere in the work of self-elected
and self-ordained bishops”.
Local Catholics, nuns from the diocese and the candidate himself were against
the ordination and refused to back the CPCA’s decision. The nuns even organised
a public demonstration to demand full religious freedom and respect for the
Catholic faith6 .
The ordination of Fr Joseph Sun Jigen as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of
Handan (Hebei), scheduled for June 29, was cancelled by the government without
explanation. The nomination of Fr Sun had been approved by the Holy See and
agreed to by the Chinese government.
Police took away the 43-year-old bishop designate on June 26, at the end of a
five-day spiritual retreat. Until that day, the feast of Corpus Christi, Fr Sun had
been in retreat in preparation to prepare for the ceremony of episcopal consecration.
He had been in Weihui, Henan Province, with Fr Joseph Huai, the diocesan
chancellor of Handan. Together, the two had planned to return to their diocese
when, suddenly, public security officials from Handan had forced them into a police
vehicle.
When the police car reached Handan, Fr Huai had insisted that both priests be
allowed to return to their dioceses. Instead, they were driven to nearby Shahe
City, where the police put Fr Huai into another vehicle and took him alone back to
Handan. Fr Sun however was forced to continue the journey northward with the
police toward Shijiazhuang.
According to local sources, the ordination was cancelled because no agreement
had been reached on which bishops would take part in the ceremony. The priests
and the new bishop had wanted all invited prelates to be in communion with
the Pope. The CPCA and the Religious Affairs Ministry wanted to include some
excommunicated bishops7 . But the diocese got the better of the authorities in
ordaining Mgr Sun Jigen secretly8 .
On June 29 Fr Paul Lei Shiyin was ordained bishop of Leshan (Sichuan) without
papal mandate. Seven bishops in communion with the Holy Father took part in the
celebration. By order of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, the Mass was
held precisely on the feast day of Sts Peter and Paul.
6 Ucanews.com, June 1 st 2011
7 AsiaNews.it, June 27 th 2011
8 UCAN, July 11 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
This was the first ordination following the release by the Holy See of a statement
regarding excommunication for those members of the clergy who participate in
unlawful ordinations, whether as candidates or ordaining bishops.
Bishop Lei Shiyin, 48, became a priest on November 30, 1991. Currently, he is a
member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory
body to the Chinese parliament. He is also vice president of the Chinese Patriotic
Catholic Association and is a past president of the CPCA in Sichuan.
The Vatican contacted the candidate urging him not to proceed with the ordination.
For the Holy See, Fr Lei Shiyin was an unsuitable candidate for a pastoral
function. Days after the ordination, the Press Office of the Holy See announced
the excommunication (latae sententia) of the ordained bishop and the possible
excommunication of those bishops who participated in the event9 .
On July 14 Fr Joseph Huang Bingzhang became bishop of Shantou (Guangdong)
in an unlawful ordination (without papal mandate). Eight bishops in communion
with the Pope participated in the event. Some of them later said that they had
been forced to participate. Mgr Paul Pei Junmin, designated as president of the
celebration, was able to resist and not go to the ceremony.
The Vatican did not authorise the ordination because Shantou already has a
bishop, Mgr Zhuang Jianjian, who was secretly ordained in 2006 with a Vatican
mandate, but is not recognised by the government and has always been hindered
by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. For the Vatican, the new
candidate to the Episcopal See was not “worthy” of the function because of his
involvement in politics.
Born in 1967, Fr Huang Bingzhang began his studies at the seminary in Wuchang
(Wuhan) in 1985. Ordained in 1991, he worked in St Joseph’s Cathedral as a parish
priest. Since 1998, he has been a member of the National People’s Congress,
China’s parliament. He is also one of the vice presidents of the government-sanctioned
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association as well as the president of the
Guangdong Catholic Patriotic Association10 .
In this case as well, the Vatican announced the ordained bishop’s excommunication
and the possible excommunication of the ordaining bishops to the extent that
they were willing participants to the event11 .
On July 25 Xinhua published a statement by the State Administration for Religious
Affairs (SARA) denouncing the Vatican’s “unreasonable and brutal threats”
as well as its “accusations against the ordination of the bishops of the
Chinese Catholic Church”, especially the ordinations of Leshan (June 29, 2011)
and Shantou (July 14, 2011).
9 AsiaNews.it, June 29 th 2011
10 Ibid., July 14 th 2011
11 Ibid., July 16 th 2011

In its statement, SARA said that the excommunication “deeply wounds” Chinese
Catholics and “causes great sadness” to priests and lay people, echoing the
terms (“deep wounds” and “cause of great sadness”) used by the Vatican to describe
the reactions of the universal Church and the Pope to unlawful ordinations.
SARA insisted that the “two new ordained (i.e. excommunicated) bishops are
devoted to the faith, have integrity and competence and are supported by their
priests and the laity”.
According to the government agency, the Vatican had also “threatened” bishops
and priests with excommunication in the 1950s and that as a result “priests and
laity of the Chinese Catholic Church had suffered a major historical trauma”.
In response to the Vatican’s “threats”, SARA issued its own when it said, “A majority
of priests and laity will be resolute in choosing the path of independence and
self-organisation with self-elected and self-ordained bishops” 12 .
In what is seen by many as a vendetta against the Vatican’s “threats” in the matter
of excommunications against those involved in the episcopal ordinations in
Leshan and Shantou, Fr Franco Mella, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions
(PIME), was stopped at the Chinese border in July. After intense questioning,
he was sent back to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong-based PIME missionary
had been working with a school in Shaanxi.
Fr Mella’s case is not an isolated one. In the preceding weeks, other priests and
lay Catholics from Hong Kong and Italy were stopped and sent back in spite of
having a valid entry vista. Others had their work visas cancelled.
According to sources in Hong Kong, the government has a list of 23 personae
non-gratae because they maintain contacts between the Vatican and the
Church in China 13 .
On November 30 Mgr Peter Luo Xuegang was ordained coadjutor bishop of Yibin
(Sichuan), with a papal mandate. However, excommunicated Bishop Paul Lei
Shiyin (of Leshan) took part in the ceremony against the wishes of the Holy See,
which demands that excommunicated bishops not participate in Catholic rites.
Until the last moment, the Holy See and the faithful hoped that Lei Shiyin would
not participate. However, various Vatican officials were not aware that he would
be coming for the consecration. Lei Shiyin, who studied with Mgr Luo, is the
bishop of a neighbouring diocese. He is also the president of the Chinese Patriotic
Catholic Association in Sichuan and a supporter of an “independent” and “patriotic”
Church.
In the days before the ordination, he gave an interview in which he claimed that
the Church in China had “grown up” and had to follow its own path.
Days later, he boasted that he had concelebrated together with the other
bishops “as one of them”.
12 Xinhua, AsiaNews.it, July 25 th 2011
13 AsiaNews.it, July 27 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
Fearing that his presence might elicit resistance among the faithful, the authorities
told the thousand or so participants to come to the Church three hours ahead of
schedule and submit to a metal detector. They were not allowed to take pictures
or videotape the ceremony.
According to party members, “the Vatican has spies who, as soon as a ceremony
is over, send pictures to Rome and the world”. The websites of the Diocese of
Sichuan were blocked for the whole day14 .
In a statement, the director of the Vatican Press Office expressed ““disapproval
and dismay” at the presence of an excommunicated bishop, which “aggravates
his canonical position”.
Ordinarily, he noted, “the presence of the Bishop Lei Shiyin should have been
entirely excluded, and would entail canonical consequences for the other bishops
attending”.
“In this circumstance, it is likely that they were unable to prevent it without great
inconvenience”, he explained15 .
For Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, the ordination of Yibin represents “the
triumph of State control over the religious freedom of the faithful”.
Mgr John Hung, archbishop of Taipei, is just as much dismayed by Beijing’s claim
that it has the right to control ordinations. In his view, “companies that open offices
in China have the right to appoint people of their choosing to run their business.
By contrast, Beijing wants to choose the bishops of the Catholic Church [. . .]. In
other words, the Church has fewer rights than an ordinary store” 16 .
Controls over rites, religious institutions and seminaries
The government has threatened to seize the orphanage created by Mgr Julius
Jia Zhiguo, underground bishop of Zhengding. If carried out, it would be an act of
vengeance by the authorities against the prelate’s “stubborn” refusal to join the
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA).
In December 2010, Mr Yin from the United Front Department, Mr Guo from the
Political Secretariat, Mr An from the Religious Affairs Bureau in Jinzhou, the Communist
Party Secretary in the village of Wu Qiu, and Mr Chen from the Public
Security Bureau in Shijiazhuang took Bishop Jia away on three different occasions
in an attempt to force him to sign a release form whereby he would place
the orphans in his charge into the custody of the government, and would agree to
send away the 30 Catholic nuns who work in the orphanage.
These party officials threatened Mgr Jia with yet another long-term “political ses-
14 AsiaNews.it, November 30 th 2011
15 Vatican Radio, November 30 th 2011
16 AsiaNews.it, December 1 st 2011

sion” if he did not sign the release. They told him that the government would take
the children away whether he signed or not. The prelate refused to sign and turned
instead to the central office of the Religious Affairs Bureau in Beijing, which
told him it was a local matter, outside of its jurisdiction.
Mgr Jia, 75, has spent more than 15 years in prison. Since 1980, when he became
an underground bishop, he has been routinely placed under arrest, held
in custody for months on end and subjected to political sessions to force him to
submit to the CPCA17 .
Police isolated the village of Gonghui (Hebei) to prevent Catholics from gathering
for a final farewell to Mgr Andrew Hao Jinli, the underground bishop of Xiwanzi
who died on March 9 at the age of 95.
The diocese of Xiwanzi (Hebei), which is part of the underground Church, has
some 15,000 members, and is located 260 kilometres north of Beijing, near the
border with Inner Mongolia.
From the day of the bishop’s death, all the roads leading to the village were closed
off and the day of his funeral was kept secret.
Much loved by his community, Mgr Hao had trained many priests of the underground
Church. He spent at least 20 years in prison because of his faith, and
endured decades under oppressive controls, but he always refused to join the
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association18 .
On January 13, the seminarians of Hebei succeeded in getting a bishop appointed
as their new rector, and a steering committee that did not include any politician.
Earlier, in November-December 2010, 100 seminarians had gone on strike and
held demonstrations in order to have a local politician, Tang Zhaojun, removed
from the post of deputy rector of their seminary19 .
Arrests and torture
Fr Zhang Guangjun, from the diocese of Xuanhua (Hebei), was arrested on
January 13, and held until March 29. During that period, he was tortured because
he refused to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
On the day of his arrest, Father Zhang was taken by officials dressed as gas
company technicians to a hotel in Zhoulu County where he was subjected to
sleep deprivation for five days. After he was briefly released in connection with
the Chinese New Year, he was taken into custody again on March 8, severely
beaten and tortured. On March 29, his relatives were allowed to take him from
prison for medical treatment. He exhibited bruises to the head and the legs.
17 Kung Foundation, January 12 th 2011
18 AsiaNews.it, March 12 th 2011
19 Ibid., January 15 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
In March, at least eight priests from the same diocese were forced to submit to
compulsory study sessions in order to learn about the government’s religious
policy. They were Tian Yongfeng, Pei Youming, Hu Huibing, Liang Aijun, Wang
Yongsheng, Yang Quanyi, Gao Jinbao and Zhang Guilin.
It is estimated that since the 1990s more than 20 priests from Xuanhua and Xiwanzi
have been arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and forced to attend study sessions
to induce them to “register” with the authorities and end their association
with the Underground Church20 .
On April 9, in Yanqing County near Beijing, two plainclothes police officers took
away Fr Chen Hailong of Xuanhua (Hebei), who had been an underground priest
for two years. Fr Chen was held in isolation for at least due months in an unknown
“hotel” where he suffered malnutrition to the point of fainting.
The authorities who seized him also questioned him about important members
of the Underground Church, constantly trying to convince him to join the Chinese
Patriotic Catholic Association and cut all ties with the Pope.
In order to overcome his loneliness and sense of abandonment, Fr Chen drew a
picture of the Eucharist on his cell wall, spending all of time praying in front of the
symbol of the Blessed Sacrament21 .
On August 3 four priests from the underground community of Heze (Caozhou,
Shandong) were taken by the police and locked up in Dongming County Jail, where
they endured isolation and malnutrition. The arrest-cum-abduction occurred at
night in a house in Luquan (Dongming County), where the four had come for a
spiritual retreat with other priests.
Public security police climbed the wall of the property and entered the premises
on the pretext that they were in the pursuit of “some thieves”. Instead, they forced
the priests, who had been asleep, to go with them.
Currently, the four men—Fr Wang Chengli, 48, administrator of the diocese
of Heze; Fr Zhao Wuji, 50; Fr Li Xianyang, 34; and Fr Sun Guichun, 38—are
still in prison.
Police have refused all requests for a visit so far. They have also denied the prisoners
adequate food and drink in order to force them to sign up with the Chinese
Patriotic Catholic Association.
Meanwhile, government officials have tried to collect evidence to use against the
priests in court. Some of the faithful have in fact been offered bribes or received
threats to make them speak out against the priests.
Some Church members have tried unsuccessfully to speak with police to find
ways to get the four priests out of prison. Although they have failed, they did
manage to learn that the four men had been subjected to intense questioning by
20 AsiaNews.it, April 12 th 2011
21 Ucan, August 4 th 2011

National Security and local Public Security officials as well by agents from the
Religious Affairs Bureau22 .
On September 3 a dozen unidentified individuals assaulted and beat a nun and
priest who were calling for the return of two properties once owned by the Church
in Kangding (Sichuan). Mother Xie Yuming suffered wounds to the head and the
chest and was taken to hospital. Fr Huang Xusong suffered only minor injuries
and was not taken to hospital.
The two were attacked because they were trying to reassert Church ownership
rights to two schools that had belonged to Kangding diocese until they were taken
over by the government in the 1950s.
Based on the rules established by Deng Xiaoping, the two properties, a former
Latin school and boy’s school, were supposed to have been returned to the diocese.
But the Latin school has already been demolished by the government which
has given the land on which it stood to a private company. The boys’ school is
currently used as living quarters for officials from the Moxi County government.
The Episcopal See of Kangding (in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) is
currently vacant and is administered by Leshan Diocese, which is run by Mgr Lei
Shiyin, who was ordained on June 29, 2011 without papal approval.
The return of Church properties seized by the state after Mao Zedong’s takeover
is a thorny issue. On several occasions, the central government has said that
such assets should be returned to their rightful owners, but the CPCA and the
Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) have always turned down requests for restitution.
Instead, many of the properties in question have been transferred to CPCA or
RAB officials as their private property23 .
Convictions
On August 25 the Chinese government sentenced Fr Wang Chengli, diocesan
administrator of an underground community in the diocese of Heze (Caozhou)
in Shandong Province, to two years of “re-education through labour”. Fr Wang
had been arrested on August 3, along with other priests, who were later released.
Eventually, the 48-year-old priest was moved from Dongming Prison in Heze
to the Re-education Centre in Jining, more than 150 kilometres away. The government
has not allowed his family or anyone else to visit him. The priest has
high blood pressure and his family is concerned about his health.
Some Catholic sources in Heze believe he was convicted because he refused to
join the CPCA. The same sources also said that Fr Wang’s conviction could be
connected to the ordination of the official bishop of the Church of Heze.
22 AsiaNews.it, August 6 th 2011
23 Ucan, September 7 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
Born in Yanzhou, Fr Wang was ordained in 1991. For a number of years, he managed
the Heze underground community, and celebrated 20 years as a priest
last year.
“Re-education through labour” is an administrative sentence imposed by the Public
Security Bureaus in an attempt to ‘reform’ political and religious dissidents
without trial or possibility of appeal 24 .
War on the Sheshan shrine
Last year, as they have done each year, the government and the police again imposed
bans and restrictions on Chinese Catholics who sought to go on pilgrimage
to the national shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan on her feast day, May 24.
In the past, tens of thousands of official and underground Catholics have come
from all over the country to the shrine. In 2007, Benedict XVI called on the universal
Church for a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China to be celebrated
each year on this very day, May 24.
Since 2008, when the day chosen by the Pope was celebrated for the first
time, the government has tried to prevent the faithful from participating, by preventing
underground Catholics and limiting the number of pilgrims from other
dioceses. Only groups of Catholics from the Diocese of Shanghai have been
allowed to make the trip.
This year once again, security in Sheshan was very tight with numerous
police, metal detectors, various controls and CCTV cameras in operation all
over the place.
Shanghai’s ordinary of the official Church, Mgr Aloysius Jin Luxian, aged 95, did not
come on the designated day, but he did celebrate Mass at the shrine on May 1 and 11.
On this last occasion, he wanted to inform the faithful that the Holy See had accepted
the cause for the beatification of Shanghai’s first convert, Paul Xu Guangqi
(a contemporary of Matteo Ricci), but was prevented from doing so by the Chinese
Patriotic Catholic Association.
Similarly, underground priests in Shanghai were “taken away by police for a tourist
outing at government expense” so that they could not make the pilgrimage to
Sheshan as they had planned. Because the priests were forcibly removed, none
of the city’s underground communities was able to celebrate Mass.
Having been banned from making the trip to Sheshan, many communities organised
alternative prayers and visits to Marian shrines in their own dioceses.
Still, in spite of the difficulties, several thousand Catholics did make the pilgrimage
on the feast day, led by the auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, Mgr Xing Wenzhi 25 .
24 AsiaNews.it, August 26 th 2011
25 UCAN, May 25 th 2011

Protestants
For many years, China’s Protestant communities have suffered a grave lack of
religious freedom, often in the form of savage persecution. This year, the government
was even more heavy-handed than usual, fearful that uncontrolled Protestant
gatherings might be the seed for China’s own ‘Arab spring’. In fact, all year
long, the authorities in Beijing stood in fear that the unrest sweeping across North
Africa and the Middle East might reach the Chinese mainland.
The country’s Protestants are thought to be anywhere between 50 and 80 million,
according to the more optimistic estimates. Most of them prefer to stay clear
of the official, government-controlled communities. In an attempt to hinder their
growth, the authorities, have banned all meetings between Chinese and foreign
Protestants. They have also closed down many buildings used by Protestants,
destroyed their Churches and threatened landlords who might rent space to them.
They have also arrested Protestant worshippers in great numbers.
Nevertheless, Protestants have staunchly resisted abuses and closures, calling
instead on the authorities to respect their rights as guaranteed (theoretically) in
China’s Constitution. Some have gone so far as to address China’s parliament,
the National People’s Congress (NPC), to voice their grievances.
In May 2011, a group of 17 Protestant Churches announced a petition addressed
to Wu Bangguo, Politburo member and speaker of the NPC. This was the first
time that so many Christian groups had presented a public petition to the government.
In it, they said, “For 60 years, the right to religious freedom guaranteed
by the Constitution to the Christians of the country has not been put into practise”.
Not only did the petition call for respect of religious freedom, in accordance with
the principles of the Constitution, but it also urged the People’s Congress to adopt
a law that would guarantee religious freedom rather than leave the matter to regulations
that provincial governments can use and abuse.
The Churches also deplored the violent policies that have led over the years to
the closure of “underground” and “house” Churches and the destruction of their
buildings. The petition also accused China of not respecting the religious freedom
clause of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, of which Beijing is an official
signatory. “Freedom of religion”, the Declaration states, “includes freedom of
assembly, association, speech, education and evangelisation”.
The leaders of the underground Churches insist that they are fully Christians as
well as full citizens of the State, and that they “love their nation” and are keen
to “pray for the government” and for China, which is taking on an increasingly
important and responsible role in the international community26 .
26 AsiaNews.it, May 13 th 2011
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Travel ban
On January 18 the authorities prevented Wang Yi, a well-known underground
Christian, from boarding a plane in Chengdu (Sichuan) bound for Hong Kong,
where he was due to give a talk on the organisation and development of the Evangelical
Churches.
Wang, who has defended human rights and organised a number of house Churches,
was with three fellow Christians when he was arrested. His companions
were released a few hours later and were able to reach Hong Kong.
Wang was also eventually released, but when he tried to reach the airport, he
was stopped again and taken to a police station. Chengdu police claimed that
the Christian leader was not under arrest but they were unable to say why he was
being held27 .
Violence against places of worship and people
On February 23 police in Yangdang, in the central province of Hubei, destroyed a
Christian legal centre. When they raided the place, members of the centre were
studying the regulations of the Religious Affairs Bureau.
A group of over 180 police, led by the chiefs of the local police and Religious Affairs
Bureau, led the operation. They used tear gas, beat up those present, including
two women (one elderly), and smashed the centre’s equipment.
According to eyewitnesses, despite pleas by those hurt in the incident, no one
was “taken to hospital to have their injuries treated”. Instead, “a number of Christians
were handcuffed and brutally beaten” 28 .
In early April, local authorities in Guangzhou (Guangdong) ordered the Tianyun
Church, which has a congregation of about 200 members, to stop all its religious
activities.
Another Church, in Rongguili, which has a congregation of 4,000 members, also
found itself in a tight spot when the city ordered the owner of the land on which
the Church is located to revoke the rental contract 29 .
In June, members of the All-Nations Alliance Church in Shanghai and members
of the Liangren Church in Guangzhou came together in the street to pray as a
protest against their expulsion from the premises they were renting 30 .
Dissident writer Yu Jie fled to the United States with his wife and their threeyear-old
child. Yu feared for his safety and that of his family following threats
27 Radio Free Asia, January 19 th 2011
28 China Aid, March 22 nd 2011
29 AsiaNews.it, April 1 st 2011
30 Ibid., June 22 nd 2011

he received from the authorities because of his spirited criticism of the Communist
Party’s leadership.
Yu, 38, is the author of a major book, China’s Best Actor: Wen Jiabao, in which he
criticises China’s current prime minister, accusing him of hypocrisy, of projecting
the image of a “kindly grandpa”, when in fact, he has always been after power
whilst trying to limit his risks and avoid political conflict. Banned in the mainland,
the book was published in Hong Kong where it has enjoyed commercial success.
When he was in Beijing, Yu had also led an underground Protestant community
that was not allowed to worship.
“I was even deprived of the freedom to publish overseas. I felt that, as a writer
and as a Christian, I no longer had any freedom to express myself and to
practise my religion. So I chose to come to the United States, where I can live
freely”, he explained.
Yu arrived in the United States on January 12, 2012, as a guest of a Virginiabased
Christian community. However, he vowed to continue writing and working
for his friends and “will not let” them down31 .
The community of Shouwang
In April, the Church of Shouwang, Beijing’s largest Protestant community with
about a thousand members, mostly businessmen and university professors, became
front-page news.
On April 1 the government told the owner of the site where members met for
worship to cancel the rental contract. The place itself is a large movie set that
had been turned into a meeting hall and a place of worship.
For Shouwang Church, this is not the first time that it has been harassed. In the
past few years, the authorities have threatened its members on several occasions,
forcing them to change meeting place more than 20 times.
In November 2009, when the Church was forced out once more, members had
to meet in a park for two weeks to celebrate Sunday services.
The Church bought 1,500 m 2 in a commercial building for 27 million yuan. Despite
receiving the money, the owner refused to give Church officials the keys to the
place after coming under pressure from the authorities.
A few months earlier, the community was thrown out of a restaurant hall after the
government told the owner not to rent it to Christians.
The Church applied for recognition in 2006, but it has not yet heard from
the authorities.
After the latest expulsion, Rev Jin Tianming said that he and the members of
his congregation would have to meet again in a park. However, under Chinese
31 Radio Free Asia, January 12 th 2012
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law, unauthorised meetings are not allowed. But for Rev Jin, “We have no other
choice. We shall face the consequences of our decision”.
On Sunday April 10 the community met in public in the neighbourhood of Haidian
(north of Beijing) to celebrate the liturgy. When police arrived, they arrested about
200 members of the congregation.
A day earlier, Rev Jin Tianming and four other pastors of the community had also
been arrested. Most of them were eventually released with a warning not to go to
the Shouwang Church any more 32 .
A week later, on April 17, police arrested the leaders and detained about 50 members
of the Shouwang community, again in order to prevent them from holding
Sunday services in the open. The day before, police detained Rev Jin Tianming.
He was questioned for 12 hours and kept in custody overnight.
Also on the same day, during the night, police took away Rev Li Xiaobai and his
wife for a few hours. The next morning, they did the same to Rev Zhang Xiaofeng.
Both Li and Jin were put under house arrest 33 .
The community posted a message online, urging the faithful to celebrate Holy
Week in public, despite the possibility of arrest. When people started to arrive at
the designated meeting place, police proceeded to arrest them before the ceremony
could start 34 .
On May 1, 30 more members of the Shouwang Church found themselves in prison,
as dozens more were placed under house arrest. Police took people into
custody as soon as they arrived and held them in prison for one or two nights.
They also prevented three journalists from Al-Jazeera from reaching the area,
and seized their videotapes 35 .
On May 7, 15 more members of the congregation were arrested as they tried to
hold a liturgical service in a public park in Zhongguancun (Haidian). As usual,
police took people into custody and held them for a few days before letting them
go. When they were release, some of the faithful said they were “happy” that
they had been able to pray and sing hymns in jail, “proclaiming the Gospel to
prison guards” 36 .
On May 15, for the sixth consecutive time, police, out in great numbers, arrested
13 members of the Shouwang congregation as soon as they tried to pray in a
square in Zhongguancun market area.
Days earlier, the Church of Shouwang complained that ten members of its
congregation were fired because they had refused to quit the community.
32 China Aid, April 16 th 2011
33 AsiaNews.it, April 18 th 2011
34 Ibid., April 20 th 2011
35 Ibid., May 2 nd 2011
36 Ibid., May 8 th 2011

Landlords evicted another 30 from their homes under pressure from the
authorities37 .
On May 22 more members of the community were arrested, including a woman
in her 80s and a two-year-old child. Both were released after a few hours.
The others were kept in prison for a few days38 .
On June 5 police arrested 20 more members of the Church of Shouwang, when
they tried to pray together in a square.
Before June 4 the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, police
summoned dozens of Christians to warn them off. Others were placed under house
arrest for several days to prevent protests or public prayers.
Police went so far as to threaten to get some Church members fired from their
job. Because of that, four Church leaders, including a pastor and two deacons,
dissociated themselves from the decision to meet in the square to pray39 .
On Sunday June 19 police arrested 15 more Shouwang Christians (16 according
to other sources) when they tried to hold a prayer meeting in Beijing’s
Zhongguancun Square.
The Three Autonomies Movement (TAM), the official government body that
oversees official Chinese Protestants, sent officials to police stations to
help officers “educate” and “warn” Christians in police custody, and urge the
latter to join the official Church. However, for underground Protestants, the TAM
“serves the Party, not God”.
Two of those arrested were not released. The others were sent to various stations
for interrogation. After receiving a warning, they were released after a
few hours. Interrogators tried to engage the detainees on theological issues, in
order to argue whether the actions by the Church of Shouwang conformed to
the Christian faith40 .
Arrests
On March 13, 12 underground Protestants met in the home of Weng Zemei,
in Maan village (Baihe County, Shaanxi), to pray. The local Police Chief Xia
Huashan, accompanied by two police officers, interrupted the service and arrested
the 12 members of the small community. Ten were released right away, but
two were kept in prison: the owner of the house, Weng, and Zhang Yongkang.
Police also seized all the Bibles and religious books found on site 41 .
37 AsiaNews.it, May 16 th 2011
38 Ibid., May 23 rd 2011
39 Ibid., June 6 th 2011
40 Radio Free Asia, June 22 nd 2011
41 Ibid., March 24 th 2011
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At 10 am on July 26 Chinese police arrested 21 underground Protestant leaders,
accusing them of “using a religious organisation to undermine national law”.
According to local sources, dozens of police officers stopped a religious meeting
in the city of Wuhai, Inner Mongolia. Local pastors and fellow clergymen from
Shizuishan, Ningxia Province, were also in attendance. Christian leaders were
meeting to plan summer activities for their respective Churches.
Police arrested everyone and seized everything they found: Bibles, but even the
bamboo mats on which those present were sitting.
The prisoners were taken to the Wuhai Detention Centre. After a medical visit, six
were released because of bad health. However, in violation of the law, police did
not inform the families about the arrests and did not fill out the appropriate papers.
Instead, police even extorted money from the Christian leaders’ families.
After keeping the prisoners in detention for 15 days, police visited their families
to demand the payment of 50,000 yuan (about US$ 7,800) for their release.
After the money was raised with great effort, the case was referred to the Public
Security Bureau.
At the Bureau, a government official demanded yet more tens of thousands of
yuan from their families to release the detainees; threatening to otherwise send
them to labour camps or charge them with more serious crimes42 .
On January 2, 2012 Beijing acknowledged for the first time in 20 months that Gao
Zhisheng, a lawyer, was being held in a prison in the western province of Xinjiang.
He had been arrested in February 2009 and had not been heard of ever since.
A Christian, Gao had worked for free on behalf of members of China’s social and
religious minorities.
Confirmation of his detention came when his brother, Gao Zhiyi, was informed.
According to the latter, Zhisheng was probably in Shaya Prison. However, the prison
could not be reached by phone and the Shaya County Public Security Office
said it had no information about the case.
In December, China’s official news agency Xinhua confirmed that Gao had been
arrested again “for violating the terms of his probation”. It did not however provide
any additional details about the case.
In sending him to Xinjiang, a remote and inaccessible to province, it is clear the
authorities wanted to prevent any visits to the prisoner.
Gao Zhisheng is one of China’s most widely respected dissidents. A party member,
he had a brilliant career as a lawyer and was named one of China’s top
ten lawyers. However, when he converted to Christianity, he decided to dedicate
himself to the defence of all those who are charged with fabricated crimes
whenever they demand religious freedom, democracy and justice43 .
42 China Aid, August 24 th 2011
43 AsiaNews.it, January 2 nd 2012

Torture
Arrested by the police on February 19 Jiang Tianyong, a dissident Christian
lawyer, was subjected to two months of abuse, threats and torture.
His “crime” was his decision to defend the right of Christians to religious freedom
as well as the rights of pro-democracy activists, people living with AIDS, and Falung
Gong members.
He said that after his arrest, he was taken to unknown place where he was beaten
for two days in a row. Afterwards, he was forced to stand for 15 hours whilst
undergoing interrogation by the security forces. Whenever he made any “mistake”
or answered “I don’t know”, he was also threatened and humiliated.
In an arrogant tone, his tormentors told him, “Here we can do things in accordance
to law. We can also not do things in accordance to law, because we are
allowed not to do things in accordance to law”.
One night when he was kicked and punched, he pleaded with his accuser, “I am
a human being, you are a human being. Why are you doing something so inhumane”?
Enraged, the man knocked Jiang to the floor and screamed, “You are not
a human being!”
Jiang was released 60 days later after he signed eight pledges. If any of them
were breached, he was warned, they would arrest him and his wife as well.
One of the pledges he was forced to make was to inform the Security Bureau
about all the people he met and the issues he discussed44 .
Convictions
In July, Rev Shi Enhao, vice president of the Chinese House Church Alliance
(CHCA) was sentenced in the city of Suqian (Jiangsu) to two years of re-education-through-labour
(laogai), which is a form of forced labour by any other name.
Police had arrested Shi on March 31, and held him in custody for 12 days,
and again on June 21, on suspicion of “using superstition to undermine the
process of law”.
Being sent to a laogai camp is a form of administrative detention that can be imposed
without a trial or the assistance of a lawyer.
The CHCA is one of China’s largest House Churches, with many thousands of
members. In the months preceding the reverend’s conviction, Public Security had
ordered the Church to suspend its meetings. It also seized cars, musical instruments
and 140,000 yuan (US$ 22,000) in donations that belonged to the Church.
Police also threatened Shi’s three daughters and their husbands 45 .
44 South China Morning Post, September 14 th 2011
45 Compass Direct News, July 29 th 2011
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For reasons unknown, Rev Shi Enhao was released in early 2012, even though
he had been sentenced to at least another year in detention 46 .
Muslims
For Chinese Muslims 2011 was a year of greater repression, especially in
the regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia, home to important Muslim communities.
For decades, Xinjiang’s Muslim Uygurs have been suspected of separatism,
of wanting to break away from China and create an independent East Turkestan.
Because of this, they have been accused of “terrorism”. Beijing has also claimed
that they are connected to the al-Qaeda network.
In reality, Uygurs want more economic and political self-government for Xinjiang,
which is increasingly colonised by ethnic Han Chinese, who have already become
a majority in the province.
Given the situation, China has for some time now imposed tight controls on mosques,
schools and families, including a ban on religious education to minors
under the age of 18.
What is more, Chinese authorities are quick at applying the death penalty on anyone
who might undermine the social order.
The worsening repression of this year is due to Beijing’s fear that movements
inspired by the Arab spring might emerge in China. For this reason, it took “new,
violent repressive measures” in March 2011.
For US-based, Uygur leader Rebiya Kadeer, “Although China has changed its
tactics, China has not changed its assaults upon Uygur people’s religious beliefs,
cultural identities, freedom of speech and economic life, which are central to the
Chinese government’s project of speedy assimilation of our people in China” 47 .
On the approach of Ramadan, China decided to crack down on “illegal religious
activities”, i.e. activities not under the regime’s control.
The increased repression began after some Uygur protests ended in tragedy.
On July 19 a group of Uygurs had demonstrated in Hotan against indiscriminate
arrests and the forced seizure of their land.
According to official Chinese sources, demonstrators had carried out a “terrorist
action” when they set fire to the Hotan police station. Two demonstrators, two
hostages and one police officer died in the incident.
For their part, the German-based World Uygur Congress said that police had fired
on peaceful protesters, killing 20 people and wounding another 7048 .
46 AsiaNews.it, January 25 th 2012
47 Ibid., March 24 th 2011
48 Ibid., July 19 th 2011

By raising the spectre of terrorism, China has been able to influence its neighbours
and obtain their cooperation in violating human rights and religious freedom.
On August 9, with the complicity of the Pakistani government, five ethnic Uygurs
who had crossed into Pakistan were sent back to China. Their extradition came
after disorders and “terrorist actions” were reported in Kashgar and Hotan.
Handcuffed and a hood over their head, the five Uygurs were brought by the Pakistani
authorities to Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport and put on
a China Southern Airlines flight bound for China. A woman, Manzokra Mamad,
her young daughter and teenage son were part of the group of five dissidents49 .
In 2011, the region of Ningxia, home to the reputedly moderate Hui Muslims, was
also the scene of incidents.
On December 30 more than a thousand police officers in anti-riot gear confronted
the residents of Taoshan village, near the city of Hexi, who were protesting
against the demolition of their mosque. Local officials claimed the building had
been torn down because it was “an illegal structure”.
During the scuffle, 50 people were injured and another 100 were arrested50 .
Buddhists
For Buddhists, especially Tibetan Buddhists, 2011 will be remembered as the year
in which the Dalai Lama gave up political power in favour of an exclusively spiritual
role. The step mirrored his desire to counter Chinese accusations that he was a
“separatist”, a politician who wanted to break Tibet away from the rest of China.
Instead, Tibet’s spiritual leader has always insisted that his demands are limited
to cultural and religious autonomy for his people in Tibet, Sichuan and Qinghai.
For China, the Dalai Lama’s decision to step down was merely a “trick” by his
clique. Chinese authorities in fact continue to accuse Tibet’s spiritual leader of
plotting to lead the Tibetan region towards independence 51 .
Tibetan Buddhists’ demand for religious freedom parallels their demand to protect
Tibetan language and culture, which are threatened by Han colonisation.For some
Tibetan groups that is not enough and they have called for Tibet’s independence.
This year, the authorities in Beijing responded to Tibetan demands by tightening
their controls over the three regions with significant Tibetan populations. As part
of their crackdown, they have arrested monks, nuns and lay people, raided monasteries,
and sent scores of people to prison. They have also not refrained from
executing some.
49 Human Right Watch, September 1 st 2011
50 Information Centre for human rights and democracy, Hong Kong, January 3 rd 2012
51 AsiaNews.it, March 11 th 2011
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On March 16, 2011 suicide by fire (self-immolation) became for the first time a
form of protest against China’s dictatorship and a way to demand the return of the
Dalai Lama.
Although this form of direct action is spreading, it has not stopped the repression.
On the contrary, China is increasingly influencing its neighbours (India and Nepal)
in the way they deal with Tibetans. More and more, Tibetans in these countries
are being deprived of their religious and political rights, as their leaders see their
influence undermined.
Repression campaign in Tibet
In February 2011 China decided to solve the Tibetan problem by attacking the
Dalai Lama and his followers.
At a meeting on the development of Tibet and Tibetan regions, Jia Qinling, a
powerful member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, said that China’s
Communist government must “renew its efforts against the influence of the Dalai
Lama” in Tibet. “It is necessary”, he said, “to improve the lives of Tibetans and
make” Tibet “a safer region”. He added that the situation must be dealt with carefully,
but that “the Dalai Lama’s clique has to be stopped before it can do more
damage” 52 .
Fearing further demonstrations on Tibetan New Year, China in early March declared
Tibet off-limits to tourists and journalists who could have been unwelcome
witnesses to episodes of repression 53 .
Tibet remained off-limits to tourists until the end of July, probably to avoid unrest
in connection with July 1, the day when the entire country celebrated the 90 th anniversary
of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party 54 .
Self-immolations
On March 16 Phuntsok, a 21-year-old monk from Kirti Monastery (Ngaba County)
died after he set himself on fire. He carried out this act to commemorate the protests
that broke out on March 16, 2008 (months before the Beijing Olympics). At
the time, Chinese soldiers had fired on unarmed protesters, killing at least 13 near
the monastery and more than 200 across Tibet.
Police and some bystanders tried to put out the flames that engulfed Phuntsok’s
body, but a row eventually broke out between people at the scene and police who
wanted to remove the body.
52 AsiaNews.it, February 26 th 2011
53 Ibid., March 8 th 2011
54 Ibid., June 17 th 2011

Using metal rods, police agents struck at people, arresting a number of them. In
the course of their crackdown, police also ordered shops to close.
Kirti monks were among the people arrested and taken to different police stations.
The abbot of Kirti Monastery and other leaders were able to get the authorities to
release seven monks, some of whom had already been arrested earlier.
Since the day of Phuntsok’s sacrifice, Kirti Monastery (home to 2,500 monks) has
been under siege by the police. The monks have not been allowed to leave the
precinct, nor have they been allowed to receive food from outside55 .
Since the start of April, police agents have patrolled the grounds of the monastery,
preventing older monks from performing the ritual circumambulation (kora) around
the monastery. They have also set up observation posts and guard platforms.
According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD),
more than 33 people were arrested, with 24 still in detention (eight monks and
16 lay people) 56 .
At 12.30 pm on August 15 Tsewang Norbu, a 29-year-old monk, also known as
Norko, set himself on fire on Chume (Binghelu in Chinese) Bridge in the centre of
the city of Tawu (Daofu in Chinese), in Kandze (Gandze in Chinese) Autonomous
Prefecture (Sichuan).
According to witnesses, Tsewang drank petrol, doused his clothes and set himself
on fire, shouting, “We Tibetans want freedom”, “Long live the Dalai Lama”, “Let
the Dalai Lama return to Tibet” 57 .
At 2 pm on October 3 a young Tibetan monk from Kirti Monastery set himself on
fire in the vegetable market of the city of Ngaba, Sichuan.
As he burned, Kalsang, was holding a picture of the Dalai Lama and calling for
rights and religious freedom in Tibet. The police put out the flames but the condition
of the young monk from Kirti is still unknown.
In the previous months, starting in March, eight other monks from Kirti set
themselves on fire.
Starting in March, Chinese police took control of the monastery, isolating it from
the surrounding area 58 .
At noon on October 15 Norbu Dramdul, a Tibetan monk of 19, set himself on
fire in Ngaba (Sichuan), shouting “Freedom for Tibet” and “Let the Dalai Lama
come back”.
55 AsiaNews.it, March 17 th 2011
56 Ibid., April 12 th 2011
57 Reuters, August 15 th 2011
58 Radio Free Asia, October 3 rd 2011
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Chinese police doused the flames. They also gave the monk a severe beating,
and took him away in a car, eyewitnesses said. Nothing is known of his condition.
Dramdul was a monk at the Kirti Monastery 59 .
On October 18 the Tibetan government-in-exile announced that a 20-year-old
Buddhist nun, Tenzin Wagmo, had set herself on fire in order to demand freedom
for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama.
Her act of sacrifice was confirmed by the Kirti Monastery (for men) in exile, from
which many other religious martyrs come. Tenzin was the ninth person to selfimmolate
since March, but the first woman to do so.
Sources within the Tibetan government-in-exile in India said that the nun set herself
on fire near her monastery, the Mamae Dechen Choekhorling Nunnery, some
three kilometres from the city of Ngaba (Sichuan).
In the government’s press release said that, engulfed in flames, the nun staggered
in the street chanting and shouting slogans against the Chinese as well as
slogans in favour of a free Tibet and for the return of the Dalai Lama. Despite a
police ban, her body was taken to the nunnery for a wake by her fellow nuns.
Tensions around the Mamae Nunnery, the biggest in the area with 350 nuns,
remained high60 .
On October 26 Radio Free Asia, citing local sources, reported that in Sichuan,
a Tibetan monk had set himself on fire with kerosene in protest against Chinese
oppression, shouting, “Long live the Dalai Lama !”.
His name was Dawa Tsering, and he was 31. He carried out the act in front of the
Kardze (Ganzi, in Chinese) Monastery after he shouted at fellow monks to remain
united against the government in Beijing. Other monks who were present said
they heard him shout, “Long live the Dalai Lama !”.
The monks were able to rescue Dawa Tsering from the flames and take him to a
Kardze hospital, followed by police. Security forces arrived at the hospital in large
numbers and cordoned it off.
A monk at the hospital said that Dawa Tsering refused all treatment, and that his
face and body had suffered major burns and that he was heavily bandaged. He
also said that he asked the staff to let him die61 .
On December 1 a former Tibetan monk was taken to hospital after setting himself
on fire. The incident occurred in Khamar, an area in Chamdo (Ghangu in Chinese),
near the Karma Monastery. The 46-year-old man, Tenzin Phuntsog, shouted
slogans and threw flyers in the air before carrying out his act, the first of its kind in
the Autonomous Region of Tibet. All previous cases had taken place in Sichuan.
59 AsiaNews.it, October 17 th 2011
60 Ibid., October 18 th 2011
61 Radio Free Asia, October 25 th 2011

According to exiled Tibetan sources in India, who were in contact with locals,
“the former monk was deeply disturbed and frustrated by the imposition of restrictions
on the monastery of Karma, and the imprisonment of many monks
[. . .] among Chinese authorities”, some “spoke of the possibility of closing the
monastery”. Phuntsog was very much shaken by this threat, and had frequently
talked about it in public 62 .
Suspicious deaths
Chadrel Jampa Trinley Rinpoche, the abbot who chaired the Commission charged
with recognising the 11 th Panchen Lama, died apparently from poison given
to him by the officials of the Chinese regime that had held him in detention since
1995.
As the Dalai Lama’s envoy to Tibet, he recognised a young boy, Gedhun Choekyi
Nyima, as the reborn Panchen, the second highest spiritual leader in Tibetan
Buddhism.
After his arrest, he was sentenced to six years of forced labour and three years
in prison. After his release, he was placed under house arrest.
On May 17, 1995 Chadrel Jampa Trinley Rinpoche and Jangpa Chung-la were
arrested at Chengdu Airport. The two were respectively president and secretary
of the Commission for the search of the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the
second highest spiritual position in Tibetan Buddhism.
The two were accused of “threatening State security” and “divulging national secrets”.
They were sentenced in 1997 after two years of forced labour.
After a long illness, Chung-la died in November 2010 from a lack of medical treatment
whilst under house arrest 63 .
Arrests
The Chinese authorities have continued to arrest numerous people. Here are
some of the most prominent cases:
On February 5 reports surfaced that Kalsang Tsultrim, better known as Gyitsang
Takmig, had been arrested in December 2010. He is known for his work for the
preservation of the Tibetan Language and culture 64 .
On May 19 Gatsetsang Lobsang Choephel, a young monk from Kirti Monastery,
was arrested because he refused to submit to orders issued by Chinese police.
For over a month, police kept the monastery under control, preventing people
62 AsiaNews.it, December 2 nd 2011
63 Ibid., November 25 th 2011
64 Tchrd, February 6 th 2011
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from going in or out. All of its monks were subjected to “patriotic re-education”.
Anyone refusing to go along with it or declare their loyalty to the “Chinese fatherland”
was arrested and taken away.
Before Lobsang Choephel, a 27-year-old native of the area, two other monks,
Lobsang Jinpa and Lobsang Dorjee, had been taken away and held in custody
for ten days without charges.
Reports have surfaced about frequent arrests of monks, but given tight security
measures, little news has filtered through.
On April 21 the military took away about 300 monks. Only 24 of them were eventually
allowed to go back to their families in Golok Chigdril County (Qinghai) some
weeks later. Nothing is known about the fate of the others65 .
On June 23 Chinese police arrested more than 60 Tibetans in Kardze (Ganzi
in Chinese, southwestern Sichuan Province). Monks and local residents “were
demonstrating for Tibetan independence, the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet,
religious freedom and the release of monks already detained”. Beijing had stepped
up its local security on June 6, at the start of the protests66 .
On July 12 the Communist authorities in the Tibetan Autonomous Region arrested
eight Buddhist monks who had refused to take part in the activities organised to
mark the 90 th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP).
The local population also refused to participate in the celebrations.
Police and some political leaders in Nangchen County had been to Surmang
Monastery to tell the monks that they had to take part in a course in “Legal Education”.
The “course” was imposed on them because they had refused to take
part in the celebrations on July 1 to mark the anniversary of the founding of the
CPP.
Immediately after the announcement of the celebrations, eight monks—Karma
Samten, Jigtak, Sherab, Gaya Tashi, Urgen Samten, Karma Soepa, Karma Monlam
and Dosam— had left, refusing to participate. For this, they were arrested and
taken by force to the county jail 67 .
On August 20 Chinese authorities arrested a Tibetan monk, Jigme Guri (o Gyatso),
whilst he was staying at the Z-hong Yan Hotel in the city of Tsoe (Hezou in Chinese),
Kanlho, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province.
Local sources said that police had thoroughly searched his room in the monastery,
seizing a computer and various CDs. Above all, they took away some 30 images
of the Dalai Lama (20 big and 10 small) which Gyatso was keeping in his quarters.
65 Tchrd, May 27 th 2011
66 Radio Free Asia, June 25 th 2011
67 AsiaNews.it, July 14 th 2011

Other monks were present at the time of his arrest. Police did not provide any
explanation for their actions.
Born in a poor peasant family in the village of Lhutang, Jigme Guri, 44, was a
member of the Labrang Monastery. He had already come under the scrutiny of
Chinese authorities in March 2008, when they took him into custody as he made
his way back from the local market.
Held in a special prison, he was tortured for months on suspicion of taking part in
the 2008 monk-led uprising. He had two prior arrests68 .
On November 21 another monk with the name of Gyatso, aged 42, was taken
from his cell and arrested. Born into the Ratsa family, he became a monk at
a very young age. He had taught at the Kirti Monastery (Sichuan) before it
was shut down.
On the same day the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy confirmed
the arrest of yet another monk, Lobsang Gendun, 48, a student at Kalachakra
College in Kirti. His arrest had occurred in mid-October. In both cases, no reason
for the arrests was given.
Meanwhile, the situation in Kirti and Ngaba remains very tense. At least 200
police are deployed on a permanent basis to monitor all movements69 .
Convictions
In March, Trulku Jangchub and Pesang, two monks from Jophu Monastery,
Jomda County, in Tibet’s Chamdo Prefecture, were sentenced to three years
and two and a half years in prison respectively, for protesting against the seizure
of monastery land.
At the end of the 2009, the Chinese authorities decided to take over land owned
by the Jophu Monastery, for “development purposes”. The monks protested,
insisting that their title deed to the land went back a long time. Their claim was
backed by local residents.
In December 2009 police arrested Trulku for having led the protests. In January
2011, Pesang was jailed for the same reason. According to the Tibetan Centre
for Human Rights and Democracy, the two monks were tortured in prison. In Pesang’s
case, he had to be taken to hospital 70 .
In the first half of July, at least 13 Buddhist monks were arrested and sent to
prison. Two of them, Sonam Choegyal and Sonam Nyima, both 19, were sentenced
to three years in prison for their role in the previous year’s demonstrations.
Nothing is known of the fate of the others 71 .
68 AsiaNews.it, August 25 th 2011
69 Ibid., November 26 th 2011
70 Ibid., May 4 th 2011
71 Tchrd, July 11 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
On July 2 a court in Kardze County (Sichuan) sentenced three nuns from Gyemadrak
Nunnery, to three years in prison each, for shouting slogans in support of
Tibetan independence and the Dalai Lama.
The nuns, Jampa Choedon, 31; Sheh Lhamo, 21; and Yangchen, 28; were arrested
on June 15, 2011 as they protested in the Kardze County market, shouting
slogans like “Free Tibet”, “Return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet” and “Long live the
Dalai Lama”.
They were sentenced just a few days before China celebrated the 60th anniversary
of the “peaceful liberation” of Tibet on July 11, 1951.
On the same occasion, Beijing issued a White Paper in which it claimed to have
brought peace and prosperity to the country72 .
On July 15 two Tibetan monks were sentenced to three years in prison. Both were
from Kirti Monastery, an important target of Chinese repression.
The monks, Lobsang Khedup, 36, and Lobsang Gyatso, 39, had been arrested in
May 2011 at Kirti Monastery, Ngaba County.
On April 21, 2011, when Chinese police arrested a great number of monks from Kirti
Monastery, the two monks, together with many of their fellow brothers, met in the
monastery, calling on police either to let the two monks go, or arrest all of them73 .
At the end of July, Dhonyoe Dorjee, another monk from Kirti Monastery, was
sentenced to three years in prison. At present, he is in Mein-Yang Prison near
Chengdu, Sichuan.
Nothing is known about his trial, the court that convicted him, when he was tried
or on what charges.
Dhonyoe Dorjee, 34, was ordained very young in Kirti Monastery, where he was
arrested on April 8, 2011. He has been held in isolation since then74 .
On August 20 a court in Kandze sentenced Samphel Dhondup, a 23-year-old
Tibetan activist, to three years in jail because he had demonstrated in early July,
calling for “Freedom for Tibet” and the “return of the Dalai Lama”, Two other people
who had protested with him were released right after their arrest, however.
Samphel’s conviction shows that Beijing’s iron fist policy on Tibet shows no sign
of softening.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) learnt about the
sentence only on 1 September. It reported that, prior to the arrests, public security
officers had violently beaten the three activists, who had been handing out
pamphlets proclaiming ‘Freedom for Tibet’, 2, Long Live H.H the Dalai Lama”, and
“May the Dalai Lama and all Tibetans unite soon” 75 .
72 Tchrd, July 15 th 2011
73 AsiaNews.it, July 21 st 2011
74 Ibid., July 28 th 2011
75 Ibid., September 1 st 2011

On August 29 Tsundue Lobsang, a Tibetan monk who tried to help fellow monk
Phuntsog to hide, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for “intentional homicide”
after a trial that lasted just a single day. In reality, Tsundue had tried to help
Phuntsog by hiding him after he had set himself on fire as a protest and then been
beaten by police.
Tsunde, aged 46 and from the monastery of Kirti (Ngaba, in Sichuan) had been
the teacher of his nephew Phuntsog, who set fire to himself on March 16. Tsunde
was imprisoned from April 12 onwards.
In fact, for many local Tibetan residents, Phuntsog did not die from the fire but
from the injuries caused by the beating76 .
On August 30, after a trial that lasted only a few hours, Tsering Tamding and
Tenzini, two monks from Kirti Monastery, were sentenced to 13 and 10 years in
prison respectively for “plotting, instigating and assisting” Phuntsog in his suicidal
protest of March 16. They had been in detention since May77 .
Around September 10 China’s Public Security Bureau in Ngaba Prefecture, sentenced
three other monks from Kirti Monastery to three years of re-education in
labour camps. They are Lobsang Dhargye, 22; Tsekho, 30; and Dorjee, 16. They
allegedly helped Phuntsog in his self-immolation on March 16. Lobsang Dhargye
is Phuntsog’s brother. The three were arrested on April 12 78 .
At the end of December, defying repression and overcoming fear of the consequences
of their action, some 6,000 to 7,000 Buddhists left Tibet for India to attend
the Bhodigaya, a great religious celebration led by the Dalai Lama. Although
Chinese authorities had issued them a travel permit, hundreds of pilgrims were
arrested on their return and sent to re-education-through-labour79 .
Ceremonies cancelled
In May, the Chinese government first stopped, then banned completely the
Nyung Ne (the ritual fast Buddhists observe in the month of Saka Dawa) among
the monks and the faithful at Drepung Monastery, one of Tibet’s “three great”
places of worship.
The Saka Dawa is the most important time for followers of Tibetan Buddhism because
it commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. During
the month, monks, nuns and believers fast for 15 days together whilst reading
sacred texts and discussing religion.
76 AsiaNews.it, August 30 th 2011
77 Tchrd, August 30 th 2011
78 AsiaNews.it, August 20 th 2011
79 Human Rights Watch, January 27 th 2012
CHINA

CHINA
Stopped once before during the popular unrest of 2008, the Nyung Ne was again
celebrated in the last few years, albeit in a more subdued manner.
This year, the monastery repeatedly asked the regional government for permission
to hold its annual celebration, partly also to help the region get back to its normal life.
When no answer was forthcoming, a good number of the faithful came to the monastery
on May 30 as the monks prepared the first celebrations.
Quite suddenly, the local police moved in and stopped everything. They proceeded
to check everyone’s identity and then sent them home, even though most of
them were elderly and had a made a long trip to celebrate Nyung Ne.
The monks protested by shutting the monastery’s gates. For their part, the authorities
deployed about 60 agents in anti-riot gear80 .
Closure of monasteries
On August 14 police evacuated the Drepung Nunnery, on the outskirts of Lhasa.
According to local sources, the community had seen a constant flow of new vocations,
and this had alarmed the authorities, who closed it down and sent all the
nuns back to their respective districts.
Similarly, the fate of 85 monks from the former monastery of Tashi Lhunpu remains
unknown, after their arrest in May.
Following the closure of their monastery in 1995, they had managed to maintain a
form of communal life by helping each other find work as waiters, merchants and
drivers, and providing assistance to their elderly brethren.
Despite pleas from their families, the authorities have not said where they are
being held, or why 81 .
Campaigns against the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa Lama
On March 10 the Dalai Lama gave up his temporal authority within the Tibetan
government-in-exile, calling for democratic elections to choose both parliament
and government.
Going one step further, he suggested that any future Dalai Lama, whilst keeping
his role as spiritual leader, should not be selected through the recognition
of reincarnation, but rather through a process whereby the people choose a
religious leader among the monks most dedicated to their mission.
The Chinese government described the proposal as “a trick by the Dalai Lama
clique” whom it accused of wanting to “break away the Tibetan region” 82 .
80 Tchrd, June 1 st 2011
81 AsiaNews.it, August 18 th 2011
82 Associated Press, March 10 th 2011

At the end of January the Indian authorities entered Gyuto Monastery, the official
residence of the Karmapa Lama, in the city of Dharamsala, and also the seat of
the Tibetan government-in-exile and residence of the Dalai Lama.
Inside the monastery, the police seized Indian and foreign currencies estimated
at around US$ 765,000. The money was concealed in six suitcases found in the
room of Shakti Lama, right-hand man to the 17th Karmapa Lama (also known as
the ‘black hat lama’) who is seen by many as a probable candidate to lead Tibetans
after the death of the Dalai Lama.
The police operation has led to speculation about the Karmapa’s possible involvement.
Some people have even accused him of working and spying for China.
The Karmapa Lama fled from Tibet to India in 1999, after a daring escape on foot
across the Himalayas until he reached Dharamsala, where he received the religious
education worthy of someone of his standing.
Since the current Panchen Lama, the one chosen by Beijing in 1995, finds little
favour among Tibetans, the Karmapa Lama could be tasked with recognising the
new Dalai Lama after the death of the current office holder.
Some analysts suggest that the scandal involving the Karmapa Lama was related
to attempts to revive political talks and trade ties between India and China83 .
CHINA – Hong Kong
Although part of China since 1997, Hong Kong is a “Special Administrative Region”
with a certain degree of autonomy from the mainland. Nevertheless, since
its return to China, it has seen Beijing’s influence slowly but surely rise at the expense
of the Hong Kongers’ freedom, including in the field of religion.
National education
The government of Hong Kong has been trying to take control of education in
the territory. A proposal (on Beijing’s suggestion) was made in 2011, whereby all
schools, from elementary and up, would offer compulsory “national education”,
glorifying Chinese culture, exalting China’s great achievements and increase people’s
patriotism.
However, when asked about how they would present the events surrounding the
Tiananmen massacre (4 June 1989), the authorities said, “it is still too soon to
talk about it”.
Because of these ambiguities, Catholic groups and private schools have resisted
the government’s proposal. For Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop
emeritus of Hong Kong, “Teachers and students must oppose this plan, which
83 AsiaNews.it, January 28 th 2011; February 3 rd 2011; May 18 th 2011
CHINA

CHINA
is too vague and tends to encourage an extreme nationalism. [. . .] What’s national
education? What will be taught? Does it mean unconditional support for the
Communist Party ?”
For many, including members of the Hong Kong government, such national education
courses risk being a form “of brainwashing for the young” 84 .
New bodies for the control of schools
The diocese of Hong Kong lost its battle for educational freedom against the government’s
2004 Education Ordinance, which requires government-funded schools
to set up set up incorporated management committees to oversee administration
and educational programmes.
The law provides various benefits to those schools that implement the ordinance,
for example as school staff insurance, greater flexibility in managing school funds
and an annual financial bonus of HK$ 350,000 (US$ 45,000), but it also requires
them to set up an internal School Management Committee (SMC) separate from
the Sponsoring bodies, i.e. the schools themselves.
The government maintains that this will allow for greater transparency and democracy,
a claim that school administrators, both Catholic and Protestant, reject
as interference in the internal affairs of their institutions and a way to undermine
freedom of education.
Such committees would include not only parents and students, but also people
from outside the school system chosen by the government, who might change the
educational orientation of these independent schools.
On October 14 the Supreme Court of Hong Kong rejected the diocese’s appeal
against the need to introduce an organising committee into the school management.
Leaders of the Anglican and Methodist communities likewise came out against
the Supreme Court’s ruling. They too are concerned about the government’s (and
China’s) interference in Christian education.
The campaign against Cardinal Zen
Cardinal Joseph Zen became the object of a media campaign designed to undermine
his standing as a defender of human rights and religious freedom in Hong
Kong and China.
After the Supreme Court’s school decision, Cardinal Zen went on a three-day
hunger strike. “I want to highlight the Supreme Court’s wrong decision”, he said.
84 AsiaNews.it, September 26 th 2011

It “is a great injustice to the Church and the territory of Hong Kong and [. . .] threatens
to destroy the educational system of the area, considered one of the best in
the region, of high quality and efficiency”.
Exactly at the start of his fast, some blogs began posting information claiming
to reveal the amount of donations Cardinal Zen has received in recent years,
about HK $ 3,000,000 a year (around US$ 385,000). The donations were allegedly
made by a tycoon, Jimmy Lai, a convert to Catholicism and a supporter of
democracy in Hong Kong and China.
Although the information does not accuse anyone directly, it does seek to spread
the suspicion that Cardinal Zen might have pocketed the money for personal use
or to support the anti-regime, pro-democracy movement.
At a press conference, the prelate said that the donated funds had been used
for scholarships to benefit Chinese Catholic students, to help official and underground
bishops in the mainland, to assist dioceses affected by natural disasters
(tsunamis, earthquakes or floods), and to translate various Church documents
and theological writings into Chinese.
“If I had used it for myself”, he said jokingly, “I’d have bought a luxury car and a
driver. Instead I have to use my old car and drive it myself”.
The Cardinal made it abundantly clear that the donated funds were used in connection
“with my role as bishop and Christian, and not related to any political purpose” 85 .
85 AsiaNews.it, October 19 th and 20 th 2011
CHINA

COLOMBIA
AREA
1,138,914 Km²
Legislation
COLOMBIA
The Constitutional guarantees established by Article 19, protecting total religious
freedom for all religious denominations and associations, have not been changed
nor have there been violations explicitly referable to actions against these
guarantees.
Episodes of violence against religious representatives
During the course of 2011, within the framework of a general climate of violence
and insecurity which the country has been experiencing for years, six priests
and one lay person died. They included Father Rafael Reátiga Rojas and Father
Richard Armando Piffano Laguado, both shot and killed by a murderer who was
travelling with them in the same vehicle 1 . Father Luis Carlos Orozco Cardona,
was also mortally wounded by a young man in a crowd who shot him 2 while
Father Gustavo Garcia, an Eudist, was assassinated on the street by a man who
attacked him in order to steal his mobile phone 3 . Father José Reinel Restrepo
Idárraga was killed by unknown persons while driving his motorbike, which was
stolen together with other objects owned by him 4 , and Father Gualberto Oviedo
Arrieta was found in his parish with miltiple injuries and stab wounds 5 . To this list
of priests one must also add Luis Eduardo Garcia, a lay member of the ‘Pastoral
Social’ attacked by a group of guerrillas who kidnapped and then killed him 6 .
1 Agenzia Fides, January 28 th 2011
2 Ibid., February 16 th 2011
3 Ibid., May 17 th 2011
4 Ibid., January 3 rd 2011
5 Ibid., September 13 th 2011
6 Ibid., October 19 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
45,508,205
REFUGEES
219
Christians 95.7%
Catholics 90.1% / Protestants 3.1% / Other Chr. 2.5%
Others 4.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
3,875,987

Non-negotiable values
Legislative and judicial initiatives aimed at introducing marriage between
people of the same gender, allowing homosexual couples to adopt children 7 ,
the ongoing discussion on abortion, all resulted in an intense debate in civil
society. Both Catholic and non-Catholic Christian Church representatives have
expressed strong criticism of these projects, and in particular, in regard to the
defence of life, have officially supported the signing of a petition organised by a
group of senators 8 .
7 www.zenit.org/article-39058?l=spanish
8 www.zenit.org/article-38468?l=spanish
COLOMBIA

COMOROS
AREA
2,235 Km²
COMOROS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
687,052
REFUGEES
---
Muslims 98.3%
Christians 1.1%
Catholics 0.3% / Protestants 0.2% / Other Chr. 0.6%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Preamble of the Constitution of the Union of the Comoros, consisting of
the small archipelago of the Comoros islands (excluding the disputed, Frenchadministered,
island of Mayotte, or Maore), in force since 2001, declares that
“The people of the Comoros solemnly affirms its will to draw from Islam the
permanent inspiration of the principles and the rules governing the Union” and
at the same time proclaims the “equality of all in rights and duties, regardless of
gender, origin, race, religion or belief” 1 .
The Grand Mufti, appointed directly by the President, is a member of the government
and decides on issues concerning religion and religious administration.
Islamic religious instruction is not compulsory in State schools but is often provided.
Foreigners can ask for their children to be exempt from attending, but all
children aged between four and seven attend courses at school where they are
taught to understand and learn verses of the Koran.
Religious groups are not required to seek any formal recognition; however,
for non-Muslim groups any public expression of their faith may be interpreted
as proselytising. The government allows religious groups to establish places
of worship, to bring in priests and to meet to pray or undertake other
peaceful activities.
There are two Catholic Churches and one Protestant one. However, non-Muslim
residents prefer not to practise their faith in public, for fear of being accused of
proselytism and facing legal retaliation.
Christians are few and are all foreigners. Various sources assert that local Christians
prefer to keep their faith secret for fear of persecution 2 .
Indeed, according to Article 228-8 of the Penal Code, all missionary activity by
any religion other than Islam is a criminal offence, punishable with a prison sen-
1 www.beit-salam.km/article.php3?id_article=34
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

tence and a fine. Even the simple distribution of Bibles or other non-Islamic
religious texts is considered a proselytising activity. Foreigners accused of proselytism
are expelled from the country 3 .
In past years there have been reports of serious social discrimination against
non-Muslim citizens, such as being excluded from the local school or village for
allegedly proselytising among Muslims.
There are no reports of specific acts discrimination during the period analysed
by this report.
3 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=208476
COMOROS

CONGO (REPUBLIC OF)
AREA
342,000 Km²
CONGO (REPUBLIC OF)
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,758,678
REFUGEES
141,232
Christians 89.8%
Catholics 66.3% / Protestants 12.2% / Other Chr. 11.3%
Ethnoreligionists 4.8%
Others 5.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
7,800
Article 1 of the Constitution of 2002 establishes the secular State, and
Article 18 defines freedom of religion and conscience as inviolable, at the same
time prohibiting the use of religion for political ends 1 .
These principles are usually respected in practise.
All organisations, both religious and non-profit, must register, but there are no
reports of cases in which the authorities have denied registration.
Religious instruction is not provided in State schools, but is permitted in schools
run by religious organisations.
The main Christian festivities are national holidays. Muslim holy days, although
not national holidays, are also respected.
There are no reports of acts of religious intolerance by the authorities or
by members of civil society 2 .
1 www.democratie.francophonie.org/article.php3?id_article=398&id_rubrique=124
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
2,344,858 Km²
CONGO (DRC)
Article 13 of the 2006 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1 bans
all forms of discrimination based on religion, family origin or opinion.
Article 22 guarantees complete freedom of religion with all that it implies in terms
of organisation, freedom of education, private and public expression, subject to
the limits required by public order and morality.
Religious organisations are required to register, following procedures that are
very simple, in order to gain exemption from certain taxes. However, unregistered
groups are also free to operate.
In the State schools, members of religious groups can provide religious education.
There are regular consultations between the government and representatives of
the various religious denominations in the country.
Christmas is a national holiday.
Conflict on the eastern border
The grave situations of armed conflict still persist, above all in North Kivu and
other regions on the DRC’s eastern border. Local and foreign militias have been
involved in deadly raids and plunder.
In 2011, members of the Uganda-based Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have
carried out attacks in north-eastern DRC, South Sudan, and the Central African
Republic. One of the many victims was Sister Jeanne Yegmane, a nurse and
ophthalmologist, ex-superior of the Congregation of the Augustinian Sisters in
Dungu, in the northeast of the country. She was killed in January 2011 2 .
In June 2012, in an attempt to resolve the problem of the armed conflict in the
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=193675
2 Agenzia Fides, January 18 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
67,827,495
REFUGEES
152,749
Christians 95.4%
Catholics 52.5% / Protestants 21.5% / Other Chr. 21.4%
Ethnoreligionists 2.6%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
1,710,000
CONGO (DRC)

CONGO (DRC)
eastern border region, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
(ICGLR, a body set up in collaboration between the UN, the African Union and
bilateral donors) set up a joint intelligence centre in Goma to fight the armed
groups operating in the region. Its staff includes officials of the secret services of
the ICGLR member states (DRC, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda,
Uganda, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Sudan), plus South
Sudan, coordinated by an Angolan general 3 .
At a political level, the controversial runoff election that saw incumbent President
Joseph Kabila re-elected was marred by tensions and violence 4 .
3 Agenzia Fides, June 14 th 2012
4 Ibid., December 10 th 2011

AREA
51,100 Km²
Legislative situation
COSTA RICA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,563,538
In spite of discussions and proposals to amend the country’s Fundamental
Charter, for the moment the Republic of Costa Rica maintains its denominational
characteristic as stated in Article 75 of the Charter, which establishes that “The
Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the State, which contributes
to its funding, without obstructing, within the Republic, the free practise of other
religions that do not oppose universal morals or good customs”.
The debate on a State religion
REFUGEES
12,571
The issue of a possible constitutional reform, amending Article 75 and putting
an end to denominational character of the State, appears every time the political
debate addresses proposals that clash with principles that the Catholic Church
considers “non negotiable” and involve the family and life issues 1 .
The same happened in the parliamentary debate on various draft laws addressing
the possibility of allowing in-vitro fertilization. After the Constitutional Court ruled
against this possibility, a number of couples reported the state to the Inter-
American Human Rights Commission.
On July 29, 2011 the Commission presented to the Inter-American Human Rights
Court, case No. 12.361, Grettel Artavia Murillo and others (in vitro fertilization)
against the State of Costa Rica, in compliance with Article 51.1 of the Convention
and Article 45 of the Inter-American Commission’s Regulations.
On February 16, 2012 Bishop José Francisco Ulloa of Cartago, emphasised that
the Inter-American Human Rights Court could not impose in vitro fertilization on
the State. The Bishop, who is also a former president of Costa Rica’s Episcopal
1 www.nacion.com/2011-07-13/Opinion/el-estado-laico.aspx
Christians 97%
Catholics 87.9% / Protestants 9.1%
Others 3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
COSTA RICA

Laura Chinchilla, that the Republic of Costa Rica should acknowledge the Court’s
lack of jurisdiction in regard to this subject2 .
On November 21, 2011, in a public statement the bishops stated their opposition
to the draft law entitled “A Society of Coexistence” (legislative proposal no. 17668),
in which it was proposed that juridical and social status should be given to unions
between people of the same gender3 .
In August 2011 a protest was held by feminist groups opposed to certain
Catholic teachings. This protest was considered disrespectful by the Episcopal
Conference, since it used an image that irreverently portrayed Costa Rica’s
patron, Our Lady of the Angels4 .
When funding was allocated, partly from the national budget and partly from from
private companies (Law no. 7266), among other things for the Foundation for the
Restoration of the Metropolitan Cathedral and other Catholic Churches, there
was some public debate over the suitability of this initiative5 .
COSTA RICAConference, explained how bishops had asked the president of the Republic,
Non-Catholic Christian Communities and Other Religions
After years of research, in 2011 the Latin American Programme for Social-Religious
Studies (PROLADES) published a Directory of Religious Groups in Costa Rica,
with the objective of highlighting the religious diversity in the country 6 .
2 www.aciprensa.com, February 16 th 2012
3 Agenzia Zenit, November 21 st 2011
4 www.iglesiacr.org/2011/documentos/comunicados/447-comunicado-a-la-opinion-publica.html
5 www.diocesissanisidro.org/esp/noticias.php?id_n=59&noticia=not_ver
6 www.prolades.com/cra/regions/cam/cri/cri-relspn-latest.pdf

AREA
56,538 Km²
Legislation
CROATIA
Article 40 of the 1990 Constitution amended in 2010, guarantees freedom of
conscience and religion with the right to proclaim one’s own beliefs. The article
establishes legal equality for all religions, their separation from the State, their
right to practise openly and run schools as well as to conduct charitable works 1 .
While not an established Church, the Catholic Church maintains relations with the
State that are not comparable to relations with any other denomination, partly on
the basis of a Concordat between the government and the Holy See, regulating
the recognition of Catholic marriages, Catechism lessons in State schools and
military chaplains.
Aside from the Catholic Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Muslim community
and other Christian denominations also receive financial support from the State.
The 2002 law on the legal status of religious communities regulates their position
and rights, fiscal advantages and religious education in schools.
Unresolved problems
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,409,659
There are 18 cases pending of religious organisations awaiting registration because,
according to the authorities, they do not meet the appropriate legal requirements.
There is also the issue of the restitution of properties confiscated from the religious
communities by the Communist regime in Yugoslavia (1945-1990), even
though the 1998 Concordat with the Catholic Church established that restitution
should take place or, failing that, compensation in cases in which this was not
possible.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=11243
REFUGEES
782
Christians 91.4%
Catholics 80.2% / Orthodox 4.5% / Protestants 6.7%
Agnostics / Atheists 6.3%
Muslims 2.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
2,059
CROATIA

there are no specific agreements on this same issue between the
government and non-Catholic groups.
On December 9, 2010 the European Court of Human Rights found that Croatia
was guilty of discrimination in the case of three Christian communities, which were
not accorded the full rights due to them following their recognition by the State.
The rights allegedly denied them included religious education in State schools
and recognition of religious marriages. The ruling also established a penalty of
9,000 euro to be paid to each of the three communities because of Croatia’s
violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In spite of an appeal by
the State, the verdict was made final on March 9, 2011
CROATIAHowever, 2 .
The question of the restitution of properties nationalised or confiscated from the
religious organisations by the Yugoslav Communist regime remains unresolved.
The Serbian Orthodox have complained of minimal progress in their case in the
past 10 years. They continue to exert pressure to amend the law that regulates the
issue, which goes back to 1996, affirming that it opens the door to the possibility
that the government could sell previously nationalised property to new private
owners, making the issue of restitution even more complicated.
The Serbian Orthodox in particular have complained about the paralysis in the
procedures for returning many valuable buildings, currently used both as offices
and homes in the centre of Zagreb, in particular the city’s cinema complex.
In 2008 the complex was demolished and construction of a shopping centre and
parking lot was begun. In May 2010 the Constitutional Court rejected Serbian
Orthodox requests to halt construction on the grounds that negotiations with the
government for restitution were already previously pending. Given this ruling, the
Church quickly initiated legal action at the European Court of Human Rights complaining
of excessively long procedures. This case is also pending.
Progress has been made, however, in returning some Serbian Orthodox monasteries.
The large property holdings at Borovo Naselje, in eastern Croatia were
returned to their legitimate owners on May 25, 2010 and part of a forest was
returned to the monastery of Orahovica, also in eastern Croatia, on October 19.
Catholics report that they are satisfied with the question of returned property that
concerns them. It is only in the largest dioceses with the most number of claims,
like Zagreb and Djakovo, that some properties are still in State hands.
2 www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Case-Law/Decisions+and+judgments/Lists+of+judgments/

Many claims by Jewish owners, including cases of buildings in Zagreb, are still
pending. The Jewish community deplores the fact that the restitution of property
has been delayed for years.
The Muslim community complained that there had been no progress in 2010 and
2011 on the question of designating an area within the municipal cemetery of Rijeka,
or indeed in the area of Istria generally, to bury Muslims 3 .
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
CROATIA

CUBA
AREA
110,861 Km²
An evolving situation
CUBA
The country’s current transition has had mixed results.
Relations between the government and religious groups have seen major steps
forward and the latter have had good results in defending human rights.
Throughout 2011, the government authorised the public celebration of important
religious events, culminating in the visit to the island in March 2012 of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI.
Catholics
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
11,241,161
REFUGEES
384
Relations between the Catholic Church and the authorities evolved in this period.
The change is the outcome of dialogue between Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Mgr
Dionisio García, archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and current president of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Cuba on the one side, and Cuban President Raúl
Castro on the other.
The dialogue began with the mediation of Cardinal Ortega after he protested in
April 2010 against the repressive action against the Ladies in White (Las Damas
de Blanco), who gather every Sunday in front of St Rita’s Church to demand the
release of their relatives. The latter, deemed prisoners of conscience according to
Amnesty International, have received long prison terms.
The government responded to the cardinal’s protest by inviting the Church to mediate
between the authorities and the Damas de blanco so as to hear their demands.
The result has been – overall and in a series of phases – the release and
expatriation of more than 140 prisoners of conscience who were released on the
condition that they agreed to move to Spain 1 .
1 Anee-Marie García, “Cuba: Iglesia Católica anuncia liberación de siete presos”, La Nación.
February 19 th 2011 [www.nacion.com/2011-02-19/Mundo/UltimaHora/Mundo2690358.aspx] and
“La iglesia católica de Cuba anuncia excarcelación de otros diez opositores”, Andina, March 16 th 2011
[www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/Noticia.aspx?Id=Gu8lzi0S2/c=]
Christians 69.9%
Catholics 52.2% / Orthodox 0.4% / Protestants 17.3%
Ethnoreligionists 15.3%
Agnostics / Atheists 14.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

In November 2010 the Church was able to inaugurate its new Havana seminary,
dedicated to Saint Charles and Saint Ambrose. Pope John Paul II had dedicated the
foundation stone during his visit to Cuba in 1998. President Raúl Castro attended
the seminary’s inauguration ceremony. It is the first new religious structure the
Church has been allowed to build since the Cuban Revolution in 1959 2 .
Throughout 2012 the Church celebrated the 400th anniversary of the discovery of
the image of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint.
Since August 8, 2009, the Cuban Church has been organising a national
pilgrimage in which the statue of Our Lady of Cobre has travelled throughout the
country. Cubans, including non Catholics, have remained devoted to their patron
saint. During this time, millions of them came into the streets, squares and alleys
to welcome the Virgin.
The national pilgrimage ended on December 30, 2011 in Havana with a solemn
public celebration in Havana3 .
In preparation for the jubilee year in 2012, Cuba’s Council of State issued a general
pardon on December 23, 2011 that, according to a statement by President Raúl
Castro, would involve the release of 2,900 prisoners4 .
The visit by Pope Benedict XVI on March 26-28, 2012, which saw wide popular
participation and the presence of the highest authorities of the State at the main
events, will, it is hoped, contribute to greater openness and religious freedom in
the country.
Other religions
Most of the other religious groups have been granted more permits to carry out
evangelisation, religious activities and charity work.
Such groups have reported that it is now easier to obtain government permits to
repair and maintain their places of worship and other buildings.
However, getting a permit to build new structures remains very difficult.
2 “Cuba ya puede formar a sus futuros sacerdotes en La Habana”, in Zenit.org, November 4 th 2010
[www.zenit.org/article-37144?l=spanish]
3 “Cuatro mil cubanos homenajearon a la Caridad del Cobre en La Habana”, in Zenit, January 1 st 2012
[www.zenit.org/article-41214?l=spanish]
4 “Cuba liberará a casi tres mil presos en vísperas del Jubileo, ” in Zenit, December 24 th 2011
[www.zenit.org/article-41186?l=spanish]
CUBA

CYPRUS
AREA
9,251 Km²
CYPRUS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
803,200
REFUGEES
3,503
In its Preamble, the Constitution of Cyprus, adopted on Aug 16,1960, recognises
a division of the population into two distinct national, linguistic and religious communities,
Greek and Turkish, to one or other of which all citizens must belong
Article 18 guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to profess
and manifest their faith in every social situation, provided that these are not
obstacles to security, health and public order or to the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution itself,.
The right to change religion or belief is specifically protected, but forced conversions
are forbidden, as are all attempts to impede conversion. All religions are
free and equal in the eyes of the law - provided that their rituals and doctrines are
not secret - and enjoy full administrative autonomy 1 .
These provisions however are only valid in the southern part of the island,
which is internationally acknowledged and part of the European Union since
May 1, 2004.
The northern part, militarily occupied by Turkey in 1974, has been governed since
1983 as a self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and is
acknowledged only by Turkey.
In the “Turkish republic of Northern Cyprus”, the Preamble of its own breakaway
Constitution 2 describes itself as a “secular State” following the Turkish model.
Theoretically, religious freedom is guaranteed, but in practise the authorities grant
only limited permission to Christian priests to celebrate their religious rites, and
they also obstruct the faithful in their visits to Churches and monasteries.
In this part of the island the Turkish occupation has caused deaths, destruction
and the forced displacement of populations. About 200,000 Greek Cypriots,
Orthodox Christian believers living in the North, were obliged to flee to the southern
part of the island. And vice versa, the Muslim Turkish Cypriots living in the
south, moved to the north. In 1973 there were 120,000 Turkish Cypriots; since
1 www.legislationline.org/documents/section/Constitutions
2 www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/main/polsyst/Constitution/
Christians 71.9%
Catholics 1.4% / Orthodox 66.3% / Protestants 0.6%
Anglicans 0.3% / Other Chr. 3.3%
Muslims 21.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.4%
Others 1.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
207,994

then more than 160,000 citizens of the Republic of Turkey have settled in
these territories3 .
There is currently a wall, known as the “Green Line”, guarded by UN troops, dividing
the two parts of the island and cutting through the capital city, Nicosia.
In the meantime, the islamisation of the northern part of the island has resulted
in the destruction of all that was Christian. Many Churches, a few of which were
not Orthodox but Maronite or Armenian, have been transformed by the occupying
forces into army warehouses, stables, nightclubs and even mosques.
According to the report by the US Helsinki Commission entitled the
Destruction of Cultural Property in the Northern Part of Cprus and Violation
of International Law4 , the work of many international art experts which was
presented to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in July
2009, 500 churches or Orthodox chapels have been looted, demolished or
vandalised; 133 churches, chapels and monasteries have been desecrated;
over 15,000 paintings have vanished; 77 churches have been transformed into
mosques, while a further 28 have been used by the Turkish army as hospitals
or camps and 13 have been turned into warehouses.
The report also emphasises that in the 77 churches transformed into mosques,
passages from the Koran have replaced areas previously reserved for Christian
icons. The Monastery of Saint Anastasia has been transformed into a hotel;
frescoes and paintings of the Byzantine Monastery of Antiphonetes have been
removed to be sold to art dealers.
Positive Developments
In June 2011 the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage established
a joint team of technical experts to prepare plans to establish priorities
for the restoration of monuments both in the area administered by the Turkish
Cypriots and in the government-controlled area 5 .
According to the 2011 Report of the UN Secretary-General on the United Nations
operations in Cyprus, some 20 religious or commemorative events were
held in 2011, which involved some 6,000 individuals and which required the
crossing of the Green Line. On November 3, 2011, for example, 620 Turkish
Cypriots made a pilgrimage to the Hala Sultan Mosque, near Larnaka, to celebrate
Kurban Bayram (the Festival of Sacrifice). It was the first time since 1960
that Kurban Bayram had been celebrated at this mosque 6 .
3 William Mallinson, Partition through Foreign Aggression. The Case of Turkey in Cyprus, Modern Greek
Studies Yearbook Supplement Number 20 (2010)
4 www.ahiworld.org/AHIFpolicyjournal/pdfs/cyprus_destruction.pdf
5 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
6 www.unficyp.org/media/SG%20Reports/SG_Report_on_UNFICYP_-_30_November_2011.pdf
CYPRUS

CZECH REPUBLIC
AREA
78,866 Km²
CZECH REPUBLIC
The right to religious freedom is enshrined in the Constitution of 1992 1 , which in
Article 3 has later incorporated the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
approved in 1993 2 by the Federal Assembly.
The new Penal Code, which entered into force in January 2010, confirmed the
penalties provided by the earlier code for so-called hate crimes 3 .
All religious groups must register with the Ministry of Culture, among other things
in order to obtain State subsidies. To date, thirty-two religious organizations are
legally recognised in the country.
Property restitution problems
The Catholic Church has finally conceded in its battle for ownership of Prague’s
iconic St Vitus cathedral, ending 17 years of bitter disputes with the Czech State
over control of the historic site.
In a landmark move by the archbishop of Prague Mgr Dominik Duka and President
Václav Klaus, the Catholic Church agreed on May 24, 2010 that the government
would be the sole owner but both powers would jointly manage the cathedral 4 .
The new government, elected in May 2011, has declared its commitment to resolving
the issue of the restitution to the religious organizations of their properties,
confiscated for various reasons during the twentieth century; but no specific steps
have yet been taken in this direction.
In particular, the Jewish community is still trying to recover properties looted
during the National Socialist occupation of the country in the Second World War,
while Catholics complain that the restitution of the properties confiscated by the
1 www.legislationline.org/documents/section/Constitutions
2 spcp.prf.cuni.cz/aj/2-93en.htm
POPULATION
10,532,770
3 www.legislationline.org/documents/action/popup/id/15725
4 The Prague Post, May 26 th 2010
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
2,449
Christians 55.9%
Catholics 32% / Orthodox 0.4% / Protestants 23.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 43.8%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

communist regime is not complete. In fact, although many Catholic Churches,
parishes and monasteries were returned during the course of the nineties, the
lands and forests of the Church are still in State hands.
No substantive changes have occurred with respect to religious freedom. Occasionally,
some incidents of social discrimination on religious grounds have been
reported, as well as anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim acts 5 .
5 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK
AREA
43,094 Km²
DENMARK
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,560,628
REFUGEES
15,410
The Danish Constitution of June 5, 1953 states that “The Evangelical Lutheran
Church shall be the Established Church of Denmark, and as such shall be supported
by the State” (Art. 4) and adds that the King must be a member of this
Church (Art. 6).
However, Article 68 states that “No one shall be liable to make personal contributions
to any denomination other than the one to which he adheres”. Furthermore,
Article 67 guarantees citizens the right “to form congregations for the worship of
God in a manner according with their convictions, provided that nothing contrary
to good morals or public order shall be taught or done”.
Moreover, Article 70 establishes that “No person shall by reason of his creed or
descent be deprived of access to the full enjoyment of civic and political rights,
nor shall he escape compliance with any common civic duty for such reasons”,
while Article 71 states that “Personal liberty shall be inviolable. No Danish subject
shall be deprived of his liberty because of his political or religious convictions or
because of his descent” 1 .
The Catholic Church, the Jewish community, the Islamic community, the Methodist
Church, the Baptist community and the Russian Orthodox Church are recognised,
along with another hundred or so denominations, by the religious affairs
ministry, which accords them various rights, such as celebrating marriages with
civil validity and providing their ministers with resident permits 2 .
Religious symbols, such as headscarves, turbans, Jewish skull caps, and crucifixes,
as well as political symbols, are banned from judicial attire.
Recent legislation 3 requires most foreign missionaries to pass a Danish language
1 www.eu-oplysningen.dk/upload/application/pdf/0172b719/Constitution%20of%20Denmark.pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Christians 85%
Catholics 0.7% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 81.6%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 2.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 10.5%
Muslims 3.7%
Others 0.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
3 www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/coming_to_dk/religious-workers/members_of_clergy_missionaries.htm

test within six months of entering the country to be able to obtain an extension of
their residence permits as religious workers.
This legislation is added to the provisions of the so-called “Law on Imams” of
2004, which restricts the entry visas granted for religious reasons, in proportion
to the actual number of the faithful.
DENMARK

DJIBOUTI
AREA
23,200 Km²
DJIBOUTI
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
879,053
The revision of the Constitution of 1992, effected by the Constitutional Law of
2010, in its Article 1 declares Islam to be the State religion 1 while retaining Article
11, which recognises the freedom to profess any faith. Evangelizing and converting
Muslims is discouraged, however, though not forbidden.
It is compulsory for religious groups to register and foreign missionary groups
need authorization from the government to open schools.
The Minister for Islamic Affairs has authority over all issues regarding Islam,
from the building and management of mosques and private religious schools,
through to religious events.
Special courts apply Islamic law (Sharia) for Muslims on marriage, divorce, children
and inheritance issues. Non-Muslims however are heard in civil courts that
apply the State’s laws.
Civil marriages are permitted only between foreign non-Muslim citizens. Article 23
of the Family Law forbids Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims 2 .
No significant episodes regarding freedom of religion were noted during the period
covered by this report.
1 www.presidence.dj/jo/texte.php?num=92&date_t=2010-04-21&nature_t=Loi
2 www.presidence.dj/jo/2002/loi152an02.php
REFUGEES
22,351
Muslims 96.9%
Christians 1.7%
Catholics 0.9% / Orthodox 0.7% / Protestants 0.1%
Others 1.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
751 Km²
DOMINICA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
72,813
REFUGEES
---
Christians 94.4%
Catholics 70.1% / Protestants 22.2% / Anglicans 2.1%
Others 5.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The small Republic of Dominica (“Commonwealth of Dominica”), in the
archipelagos of the Lesser Antilles, guarantees full religious freedom, specifying
this in detail in Article 9 of the 1978 Constitution.
The population is almost entirely Christian and the majority follows the
Catholic faith.
All religious organisations must register so as to obtain tax benefits and authorisations
for places of worship and schools.
State schools’ curricula include Christian Religious Instruction, but non-Christians
are not obliged to attend.
There have been no reports of violations concerning religious freedom.
DOMINICA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
AREA
48,511 Km²
Legislative changes
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The new Constitution came into force on January 26, 2010 and both the
Preamble and numerous articles guarantee the fundamental rights and freedom
of individuals, families and associations. In particular, in reference to religious
freedom, Article 45 states that “the State guarantees freedom of conscience and
worship on condition that public order and morals are respected” 1 .
Law No. 198-11 dated August 3, 2011 and the Regulations completing Law 198-11
in force since January 2012 have formalised the civil status of religious marriages
in the Dominican Republic2 establishing the conditions and formalities under
which religious marriages have civil validity when celebrated by communities
established in the Dominican Republic in compliance with the law and whose
relations with the State are not regulated by international agreements (hence
excluding the Catholic Church which has already enjoyed this acknowledgement
on the basis of the 1854 Agreement).
During the period addressed there have been no reports of violence or hostility
against religious rights and practises in the Republic.
1 www.bonoc.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/constitucion-politica-final-2010.pdf
2 www.suprema.gov.do
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
9,378,819
REFUGEES
595
Christians 95%
Catholics 83.3% / Protestants 7.8% / Other Chr. 3.9%
Spiritists 2.2%
Others 2.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
283,561 Km²
Legislative changes
ECUADOR
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
14,306,876
REFUGEES
55,092
Christians 97%
Catholics 91% / Protestants 4.2% / Other Chr. 1.8%
Others 3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In spite of guarantees (Title III, Chapter 2, Article 11) 1 of freedom of conscience
and religion, both privately and in public, individually and collectively, contained in
the 1998 Constitution, an offensive by radical secularists is causing great concern
among the faithful.
One example is a project entitled Organic Law of the Religious Profession and
Secular Ethics, attributed to a government official and unofficially circulated in
August 2011.
Even if it has not reached the point of being formally put to the National Assembly,
it has had a significant impact among both Catholic and Evangelical Christians 2 ,
who have reacted strongly against it as the project calls for the closing of schools
run by religious institutions, a ban on priests wearing the habit that is the symbol
of their mission outside of places of worship, all with the objective of avoiding the
“ostentation of the religion they profess” as well as other restrictions against the
exercise of their ministry 3 .
Faced with possible reforms to the Penal Code, which provides the possibility that
ministers of any religion who stand out for supporting or opposing political parties
or movements may be punished, the president of the Episcopal Conference
said, “Clearly this is discrimination for religious reasons. In fact a minister would
thereby be prohibited from doing what others are allowed to do, depriving him
of equality before the law. The highest electoral authority, as established by the
Constitution, allows ministers of religion to stand for election as is seen in the
current composition of the Assembly”. However, he clarified that, “We Catholic
1 www.ecuanex.net.ec/constitucion
2 Zenit.org, August 30 th 2011
3 www.noticiacristiana.com/sociedad/persecuciones/2011/08/ecuador-prepara-ley-que-prohibira-colegios-
religiosos-procesiones-y-mas.html
ECUADOR

take this as part of our specific mission and should we not respect this,
our mission would be incomplete. But we know that proclaiming the Gospels, in
which fundamental human rights are contained, does not ever mean becoming
involved in politics in the manner previously mentioned, but instead the fulfilment
of our duty. We have heard this from the Church’s highest authority, specifically
with reference to Ecuador”
ECUADORpriests 4 .
Issues between the Catholic Church and the State
In October 2010, following the resignation at the age of 77 of Carmelite Bishop
Gonzalez, the Vatican assigned a new apostolic administrator to the apostolic
vicariate of Sucumbios, in the province of the same name in northeast Ecuador on
the frontier with Colombia and Peru, signalling the end of an 80-year ministry by
the Carmelite Fathers, who had become known for their “progressive” liberation
theology-type social ministry. The appointment of the new administrator, belonging
to the very traditionalist lay association Heralds of the Gospel, had sparked much
controversy, and in March 2011 President Rafael Correa vehemently criticised
this move, calling the Heralds a fundamentalist and ultraconservative sect, and
even threatened to veto it on the basis of the 1937 Modus Vivendi between the
Ecuadoran State and the Vatican. In May, after discussions with the Vatican, the
Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference announced that the Carmelite Fathers had
withdrawn from the area on the instructions of their Superior General, leaving
their tasks officially in the hands of the pontifical delegate, Bishop Angel Polivio
Sánchez of Guaranda who is also Secretary General of the Ecuadorian Episcopal
Conference. The statement added that the Heralds of the Gospel had also
decided, out of delicacy and respect for the Holy Father, to resign their comission,
a decision accepted by the Holy Father. The situation was finally resolved in March
2012 with the appointment of a new apostolic administrator for the vicariate in the
person of Bishop Paolo Mietto, C.S.J..
4 www.iglesiacatolica.ec/web/component/content/article/1-novedades/218-la-conferencia-episcopal
ante-las-reformas-a-la-legi

AREA
1,001,449 Km²
EGYPT
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
79,602,000
REFUGEES
95,087
Muslims 87.1%
Christians 12.2%
Catholics 0.4% / Orthodox 11% / Protestants 0.8%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
On February 11, 2011, a month after the beginning of the popular uprising,
President Hosni Mubarak stood down, bringing down his entire government, which
was replaced immediately by a transition cabinet formed by high-ranking officers
of the Egyptian Army. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), was
appointed to ensure the running of the country while awaiting for new institutions
to be created.
Free parliamentary elections were organised and held from November 28, 2011
to January 11, 2012 in order to re-elect the People’s Assembly (the Lower House)
and from January 29, to February 22, 2012 to renew the Shura (Senate or Upper
House). The results gave a broad majority to Islamic parties and in particular to
the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafites, who together took 369 seats out of the
508 in the Assembly and 150 out of 176 in the Senate. Only 4 Christians were
elected to the Assembly, although there are 9 Christians there, since, according
to an ancient tradition, the executive has the right to appoint ten members and the
SCAF appointed 5 Coptic Christians and 5 Muslims 1 .
It is probable that the future President of the Republic, who will be elected in
June 2012, will have to take into account this new political scenario. Until then
a constituent assembly with 100 members has been appointed to draft a new
Constitution to replace the old one, in force since 1971. It seems clear that in this
case too, with the text expected to be submitted to a referendum, it will broadly
reflect the basic ideas that led to the Islamists being elected. Until these events
develop, Egyptian laws on religious freedom will, however, remain unchanged.
The situation for the Copts has not improved, in spite of hopes that indicated
signs of possible national unity during the first weeks of the revolution. According
1 Agenzia Fides, December 7 th 2011
EGYPT

the lawyer Naguib Guibraïl, director of the Egyptian Human Rights Federation,
the “Military Council is not equally distant from all parties and always consults the
Salafites before making a decision”. He believes there is a need for laws stating
the equality of all citizens, whatever their religion
EGYPTto 2 .
When Muslims are involved in anti-Christian attacks, they continue to be treated
with clemency by the judicial system. On February 20, 2011, for example, the
Egyptian State’s Appeal Court acquitted two of the three people suspected
of murdering worshippers leaving Church after a Coptic Christmas Mass.
On January 6, 2010 in Nag-Hammadi (province of Qena, Upper Egypt), six
Copts died in a similar attack. The third suspect was sentenced to death on
January 16, because he had killed a passer-by, a Muslim like himself, and
not for having taken part in the attack against the Copts. This injustice was
denounced by Coptic Orthodox Bishop Cyril who said, “the court has passed a
death sentence because a Muslim has been killed. The Egyptian judicial system
is ignoring the lives lost by the six murdered Copts, which seem to have no
value whatsoever for society. This verdict saddens Christians all over the world
because it proves what happens when Sharia Law is applied by the State”.
According to George Sobhy, the lawyer representing the Copts, “everyone
thought that after the revolution things would change, but (…) this verdict only
proves that recent statements on equality, justice and freedom for all religions
are just talk, devoid of any real meaning” 3 .
One should also bear in mind that in cases involving attacks against Copts carried
out by Muslims, there is a legal procedure called a “reconciliation session” attended
by representatives of both parties involved and held to resolve the conflict. The
results, however, are never to the advantage of the weakest, in this case the
Copts, on whom unfair decisions are imposed. Christian members of parliament
intend to ask that these practises be abolished.
Some progress has, however, been made in the judicial sector. In July 2011, the
Supreme Court issued a decree that allowed Muslims who had converted to
Christianity to have their new religion written on their ID cards, while until then
they were described as “former-Muslims”.
Since the fall of Mubarak’s regime, the Copts have suffered new denominational
violence, following a 2010 already marked by a series of manifestations of
hostility against Christians.
2 El-Ahram hebdo, Cairo, October 5 th – 11 th 2011
3 Agenzia AINA, February 20 th 2011

On November 16, 2010, Muslims set fire to a number of houses belonging to a
Coptic family in a village situated 450 km south of Cairo, reacting to rumours that
the man was planning to marry a Muslim girl 4 .
On November 24 the governor of Guizeh sent workmen to destroy the cupola of a
Church being built in the Omraneya district. The Coptic authorities had obtained
permission to build it. Protests organised by Christians were repressed by the
police and by Muslims and two Coptic Christians were killed.
On the night between December 31, 2010 and January 1, 2011 a bomb exploded
in the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria, where Mass had
just been celebrated, 23 people were killed5 .
Attacks on Copts rose to unprecedented levels in 2011.
Between 15 and February 23 the Egyptian armed forces attacked three Coptic
monasteries. At Saint Bichoï, in Wadi Natroun, attackers wounded two monks
and many workers with the troops then destroying the walls built by the monks
to protect themselves. At Saint Paul’s, near the Red Sea, soldiers attacked three
monks and demolished the fencing that protected the doorway to the monastery6 .
On February 23 an Orthodox Coptic priest, Father Daoud Boutros, had his throat
cut while in his home in the village of Shotb, near Assiut (Upper Egypt), after
having been accused of “proselytism” on an Islamic website 7 .
On March 9, in the districts of Moqattam and Qalaa, in Cairo, 13 Christians were
killed and 120 wounded in the anti-Christian pogroms organised by 15,000 armed
Islamists from nearby districts. Eight homes, twenty waste recycling plants and
30 garbage collection trucks owned by Copts were set on fire. As these events
unfolded, the security forces deployed to the entrances of the districts attacked,
not only did nothing to protect the Christians, but fired their weapons against them
using live ammunition 8 .
On April 14, and for the ten days that followed, groups of Islamists protested
outside the headquarters of the governorship of Qena (Upper Egypt), also
blocking the railway line that links Cairo to the south of the country, to protest
against the appointment of a Coptic governor, Emad Mikhaël, the only one in
the entire country. To calm the protesters the Prime Minister’s envoy announced
that the new governor had been suspended from the appointment.
4 Agenzia Fides, November 17 th 2010
5 Ibid., January 3 th 2011
6 Compass direct news, February 28 th 2011
7 Associated Press, February 24 th 2011
8 Agenzia Fides, September 3 th 2011
EGYPT

May 7 and 8 armed Muslims attacked Christian sectors in the district of
Imbaba (Cairo) and set fire to the Churches of Saint Menas and The Virgin
Mary, looting homes and shops owned by Christians. The Christians defended
themselves, which resulted in clashes in which 15 people were killed and 262
were wounded. This attack was caused by the fact that a Christian woman,
married to a Muslim, had allegedly left her home and taken refuge in the Church
of Saint Menas
EGYPTOn 9 .
At the beginning of September a number of Muslims attacked the village of
Elmarinab, near Edfou (province of Aswan, Upper Egypt) where the parish Church
dedicated to St George was undergoing restoration, with a permit approved by
the governor. The attackers forced all work being done by the mainly Christian
population to be stopped, stating that the building was nothing but a welcome
centre and demanding that they remove everything identifying it as a Christian
place of worship, from the crucifixes to the bells as well as the cupolas, threatening
to destroy it completely if the Copts did not obey10 .
At the beginning of October, as a protest against these attacks, and also against
the passivity shown by the security forces, the Copts organised a peaceful
protest outside the building hosting the national television network in Maspero
Square in Cairo. They also demanded the release of a young Copt, Michael Nabil,
imprisoned for having criticised the army in his blog. On October 16, this protest
was first disrupted by groups of men chanting Muslim religious slogans and then
repressed by army tanks. Thirty people were killed and 300 injured. The SCAF
blamed these events on “foreign elements” 11 .
The beginning of 2012 was also marked by a series of anti-Christian attacks.
On January 19 a crowd of Salafite Muslims attacked Coptic Christians in Kebly-
Rahmaniya, near Nag-Hammadi, setting homes and shops on fire.
On January 26 two Copts, Mouwad Assaad and his son Assad Mouwad Assaad,
were shot and killed outside their shop in Bahgoura, also near Nag-Hammadi 12 .
On January 27, in the village of Sharbat, near Alexandria, following rumours of
a relationship between a young Copt, Mourad Girgis, and a Muslim girl, a few
hundred armed and enraged Muslims went to the home of the “guilty” man. There
they looted the shops run by the Copt and his family and then attacked the homes
of other Copts. On February 2 a “reconciliation committee” (a traditional court)
9 Compass direct news, May 9 th 2011
10 Ibid., September 30 th 2011
11 AsiaNews, October 10 th 2011
12 Ibid., January 10 th 2012; January 27 th 2012

attended by the governor of Alexandria and a number of Muslim authorities,
ordered the expulsion of eight Copt families linked to Mourad Girgis.
According to a citizen in Sharbat, the Coptic Christian Ishak Ibrahim, this was a
particularly unfair decision. “It is disgraceful that officials should implement this
façade of legality for these crimes in the form of a reconciliation that punishes
the victims and sets the criminals free. The liberal Member of Parliament Emad
Gad asked for the case to be debated in parliament, but clashed with a refusal
from the Speaker, Saad Katnani, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
However, after the case was widely reported in the international press, the
Egyptian Members of Parliament annulled the sentence and the government
promised to pay compensation to the victims” 13 .
13 La Croix, February 16 th 2012
EGYPT

EL SALVADOR
AREA
21,041 Km²
Legislation
EL SALVADOR
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
6,183,002
REFUGEES
38
Christians 96.5%
Catholics 77.6% / Protestants 14% / Other Chr. 4.9%
Others 3.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
During the period analysed by this report there have been no changes made to
legislation concerning religious freedom, which is set out in Articles 25 and 26 of
the Constitution and in laws guaranteeing the legal status of religious organisations
that present a request.
The case involving those responsible for the massacre at the Central
American University
On May 30, 2011 Eloy Velasco, a judge at the National Court of Spain issued
an international search and arrest warrant for those responsible of the murder
of six Jesuit priests and two women on November 16, 1989 at the campus of
El Salvador’s Central American University 1 .
In August 2011 El Salvador’s Supreme Court of Justice released the nine soldiers
considered responsible for this massacre and who had turned themselves in 2 ,
stating that the request issued by Interpol only asked that the soldiers be identified,
and not their detention in view of possible extradition to Spain.
Faced with this outcome, the President of the Catholic Episcopal Conference said
that he expected the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) to act without giving in
to pressure and to respect the law when their extradition would be requested.
“We leave this issue in the hands of the country’s justice system, and we expect
them (the CSJ judges) to make the best decision, with total calm and responsibility,
taking into account what is best and within the framework of the law, justice
and legality” 3 .
1 www.elmundo.es, May 31 st 2011
2 www.aciprensa.com, August 9 th 2011
3 www.sedac.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=266:la-iglesia-en-el-salvador-pide-
que-la-corte-suprema-de-su-pais-decida-sin-presiones-sobre-las-extradiciones&catid=1:latest-news

The Central American University’s Institute for Human Rights (Jesuit) and the
Centre for International Justice and Law expressed the wish to continue to
cooperate with the Spanish juridical system.
In January 2012 El Salvador’s Chancellor, Hugo Martínez, confirmed he had
received a formal extradition request from Spain.
The occupation of the Cathedral
In January 2012 the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador was occupied by
former combatants and government trade unionists demanding the implementation
of the Peace Agreements, especially all that concerned compensation for former
combatants and their families, as well as the reinstatement of the trade unionists
in the jobs from which they believed they had been unfairly dismissed. During Holy
Week, the archbishop of San Salvador, José Luis Escobar, complained about
the cathedral’s continuous occupation, stating that occupying any cathedral is a
violation of Article 25 of the Constitution of the Republic which addresses freedom
of worship4 .
On April 17 at last, following lengthy negotiations with government authorities, the
protesters left the cathedral they had occupied for 96 days. No services at all were
held in the cathedral throughout the occupation period5 .
4 www.aciprensa.com, April 4 th 2012
5 Ibid., April 17 th 2012
EL SALVADOR

ERITREA
AREA
117,600 Km²
ERITREA
POPULATION
5,223,994
Judicial-institutional aspects
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
4,719
Muslims 49.2%
Christians 47.3%
Catholics 3.2% / Orthodox 42.9% / Protestants 1.2%
Others 3.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
The Constitution approved by the National Assembly in 1997 guarantees
religious freedom, but so far it has not yet come into effect and the executive
continues to rule by decree. A decree issued in 1995 listed the only four
religious entities recognised by the State; the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea, the Catholic Church and Islam. The
State interferes heavily in the internal workings of the four officially recognised
faiths and has been able to co-opt Orthodox, Lutherans, and Muslims, ensuring
their hierarchies are filled with men loyal to the regime. The Catholic Church
continues to remain autonomous.
Faiths other than the officially recognised ones were tolerated until 2002,
when a decree imposed registration requirements on them, without which
their activities would be deemed illegal. Information required for registration
includes a description of the group’s history in Eritrea, the differences with
other religious faiths, the names and personal information of all the leaders,
detailed information about property and individual and group assets and
financial support received from abroad. In spite of many faiths applying and
supplying all the required information since 2002, none of them have received
government approval, which requires a signature from the Chief of State. In
particular the government has not approved the registration of the Meherte
Yesus Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church,
the Faith Mission Church and the Baha’í community, in spite of them having
complied with all registration requirements. The result is that religious activities
by these groups, including communal or individual prayer, are considered illegal
and subject to repression. In fact, information gathered by the government has
been used to better persecute the Churches or communities that have not been
granted registration. Hundreds of faithful have been arrested and locked up in
military prisons. At least 21 Christians affiliated to non-registered Churches

and one Jehovah’s Witness have died in detention since the repression began.
Only a few local authorities tolerate religious practise by non-registered groups
in their homes.
The Government-controlled media habitually describe the non-registered
Christian groups as ‘imperialist institutions’ inspired by the United States,
whose mission is to disseminate division in the country. Local governments are
discouraged from allowing followers of such groups to use public cemeteries for
funerals of their members.
Authorised religions have to obtain permission from the Office of Religious
Affairs to print and distribute literature to the faithful, as well as to conduct
religious services and other religious activities. Religious establishments are
forbidden from commenting on political affairs, verbally or through their media.
Construction of places of worship requires government approval, which has
set rigid rules for relations between Churches and foreign sponsors, especially
when it comes to financial support. The authorised religions must submit reports
to the government about their activities, every six months. Throughout 2011 the
Department of Religious Affairs repeated its admonition to the four approved
faiths to stop accepting funds from abroad and to be financially self-sufficient.
There was no follow-up to this warning.
Even religious personnel are subject to military conscription, which in Eritrea
currently means unlimited service because of the state of war with neighbouring
Ethiopia. A partial exception exists for Catholic priests and seminarians, for
whom military service has been substituted by a year of community service.
In many cases, seminarians have been kept on after their obligatory service
was completed, thus not respecting agreements reached with Catholic
bishops. Throughout 2011 the government again attempted to call up Catholic
seminarians, priests, and male and female religious under the age of 30, backing
down only before firm resistance from the Church and diplomatic pressure from
some governments, among which were the Italian government and the Holy
See. There have been protests by the faithful in parishes in Asmara and other
locations. Had the government followed through, at least 600 people would have
been forced to leave their parishes and convents and report to training camps
for indefinite military service 1 .
1 For the general situation, see: United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2012
Annual Report; Release International.org; Open Doors; HRWF
ERITREA

The small Catholic community, which comprises 4% of the population, has until
now been able to avoid government interference, especially in regard to the
expropriation of ecclesiastical property. In 1995 the government issued a decree
stating that the Churches must limit their activities to religious worship only and
cease all charitable work, which was a government function, and renounce the
foreign financing which supported them. Two years later, the government finally took
action. While the Lutheran Church handed over to the government all charitable
works, the Catholic hierarchy successfully resisted. In 2007 the government
ERITREACatholics
went on the offensive with a new decree, announcing the nationalization, within
two weeks, of 50 schools, 25 clinics and health centres, 60 kindergartens and
a number of Church-owned businesses. In spite of this, only one farm, a school
and a kindergarten were confiscated, in the town of Assab. Letters from ministries
to the Catholic Church arrived in 2011 asking for an inventory of real estate and
properties belonging to the Church. These requests have been understood as
precursors to new expropriations.
Between 2007 and 2008 the Eritrean government forced the exodus of 18
Catholic missionaries by not renewing their residence visas. Because of the
military conscription that includes the possibility of calling up all males up to 45
years of age and women up to the ages of 40, Eritrean priests and nuns below
those ages are not allowed to continue their studies at theological faculties at the
Pontifical universities in Rome or to become missionaries abroad. No Eritrean
citizen falling within the age criteria is allowed to leave the country, expect for
special reasons.
Orthodox
Patriarch Abuna Antonios was removed at the beginning of 2006 from his position
as head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church by a decision of a synod that was
convened in a clearly irregular manner. The patriarch is still the only head of
the Eritrean Orthodox Church still legally recognised by the Oriental Orthodox
Churches around the world and in particular by the Coptic Church in Alexandria,
with which a hierarchical bond exists. The synod that deposed him was presided
over not by the patriarch, as required by canon law, but by a lay administrator
whom the government had forced Patriarch Abuna Antonis to nominate some
time before. On May 27, 2007 a patriarch favoured by the government, by the
name of Abuna Dioskoros, took over. He is the fourth patriarch of Eritrea and is
not recognised by the other Oriental Orthodox Churches, or by the majority of the
clergy and ordinary Eritrean faithful.

Abuna Antonios has been under house arrest since 2005 and his health has
deteriorated throughout 2011. In 2007, following a search of his house by
government officials, his regalia, patriarchal vestments and other personal
religious objects were confiscated. He has not had contact with the outside world
since then and has been denied medical attention.
Reports by Christian Solidarity Worldwide speak of a growing number of Orthodox
nuns and priests fleeing the country since July 2005 when their exemption from
military service obligation was revoked. There has been no news of the three
reformist members of the Orthodox clergy who were arrested in 2005 2 .
Non-recognised Christian communities
The government continues to persecute, arrest and detain - without formal charges,
without trial, without access to legal assistance and without possibility of family
visits - many members of non-recognised religious groups. Estimates suggest
that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 prisoners of conscience, arrested either
individually or in groups during prayer meetings (especially when the number
gathered exceeded five people). Among them are dozens of leaders and pastors
of Pentecostal Churches.
All these prisoners are being held in extremely bad conditions, in underground
cells or in metal cargo containers and exposed to extremes of heat during the day
or cold at night, for long periods and without family visits or any due process. The
detention centres where these categories of prisoners are being held are usually
inside military bases, at Mai Serwa, Sawa and Gelalo, as well as in police stations
in the capital and in other cities. The government has opened a camp for prisoners
of religious conscience near Meiter (or Mitire). Many witness statements, from this
and other prisons, attest to maltreatment and torture, especially with the objective
of forcing them to recant their faith.
A torture method frequently referred to consists of making a prisoner kneel on a
tree trunk, forcing him to lose his balance and violently beating the soles of his
feet when he falls.
Prisoners are beaten during interrogations, frequently breaking limbs. They are
sometimes tied up for up to 48 hours while in isolation. They may be held in such
isolation cells for months.
Aside from the beatings, the punishment may also consist of hanging from
trees by one’s arms, or being tied in contorted positions and exposed to the
sun for many hours or even days, subjected to waterboarding, or deprived of
water for long periods.
2 Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Report 2012
ERITREA

the other forms of ill-treatment reported by prisoners held in isolation is
being forced, during the only hour outside their cell, to walk barefoot on sharp
stones and thorns, all the while being beaten with hard plastic clubs for not walking
fast enough.
Witness statements collected in December 2010 by the American evangelical
organization, Strategic World Impact documents extremely harsh prison
conditions for Christian detainees. An escapee by the name of “Benji” says his
three years of detention saw him locked up in metal cargo containers exposed
to high temperatures and in caves whose entrances were secured with barred
doors. Beatings, fake executions and being deprived of food and water were
ERITREAAmong
commonplace during his detention, all of which were accompanied by demands
by his jailers to recant his faith. Some of his 300 fellow prisoners died because
of maltreatment.
In January 2011 Wikileaks published a 2008 cable from the U.S. embassy in
Eritrea in which freed prisoners spoke of the squalid conditions Christians and
other prisoners were subjected to. “Prisoners were fed two pieces of bread
three times a day. A bucket in the middle of the room served as toilet when
they could not be escorted to the toilets, but it was constantly overflowing and
contaminated the room with urine and faeces. Many prisoners were not able to
talk from the lack of water as their tongue stuck to their palate because of thirst”.
This was in an 11x12-metre cell containing at least 600 prisoners, placed in such
cramped conditions that they could not lie down. Prisoners were beaten on the
soles of their feet 3 .
Some of the religious prisoners were Jehovah’s Witnesses, who refuse military
service and for whom the alternative community service is not offered. Other
prisoners were soldiers who had been found with prohibited religious literature
or caught worshiping according to the rites of an unauthorised religion. Some
military units allow conscripts to keep and use unauthorised religious literature.
Muslims
The government does not allow activities by Islamic groups it considers radical
or inspired from abroad. But the great majority of the incarcerated Muslims, at
least 180 of them, are in fact non-violent critics of the government’s religious
policy of nominating their Grand Mufti through the Department of Religious
Affairs, in spite of opposition from the majority of the community.
3 Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Eritrea: Edited testimony of torture, January 3 rd 2012

Deaths in prison
Six Christians, arrested for belonging to non-recognised religions, are known
to have died in prison in 2011. Including those in previous years, a total of 21
Christians are thought to have died through maltreatment, lack of health care and
harsh prison conditions since the persecution began in 2002 and up to the end of
2011. For the first time, a Jehovah’s Witness died in detention in 2011.
The first reported death was of Mrs Seble Hagos Mebrahtu, 27, who died of
malaria that prison authorities did not treat in the Sawa military internment
camp. She was arrested and tortured after she was discovered reading a Bible
inside her house.
Between July and August two women, Hiwet Tesfu, 23, and Zemame Mehari, 27,
died in prison at the Alla military base. They were arrested for having taken part
in an unauthorised prayer meeting at Decameré, 15 km away from Alla, in April
2009. Hiwet and Zemame were in a terrible state of health, having been subjected
to torture and maltreatment and denied medical attention.
At the end of August Angesom Teklom Habtemichel, 26, died in prison in the Adi
Nefase military base near the port of Assab. He was suffering from malaria and
he had been refused treatment after he had repeatedly refused to renounce his
Christian faith. He had been held for two years.
In October two women, Terhase Gebremichel Andu, 28, and Ferewine Genzabu
Kifly, 21, died of health problems caused by hunger in prison at the Adersete
military base. They were arrested together in 2009 while at a prayer meeting in the
town of Tessenai. They were tortured in prison and were refused the medicines
they requested.
Misghina Gebretinsae is the first Eritrean Jehovah’s Witness reported to have
died in prison. He died at the Meiter military base, a notorious detention centre
for prisoners of religious conscience. Misghina, 62, died of non-specified
reasons shortly before July 20, and his body was returned to his family. He was
imprisoned in 2008 and was in isolation for a week in a metal cargo container
shortly before he died 4 .
Arrested Catholics
On April 27, 120 Catholics were arrested in the town of Segeneiti (20,000
inhabitants) for protesting at conscription of nine priests (five from Segeneiti and
the others from the villages of Hebo, Akrur, Ade Angefom and Degra) who had
been called-up at the Sawa military base. The action against the nine priests was
4 The Christian Post, October 26 th 2011
ERITREA

a reprisal for the remembrance service in Segeneiti’s Catholic Church for
the migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean. The protesters, made up for
the most part of women and old people, were walking and praying in a cortege
behind a cross, en route to the district civil administration office, where they were
all arrested. In the days that followed, up to May 5, most were released. There has
been no precise news of the seven teachers from the diocese’s middle school,
who were still detained after that date
ERITREAitself 5 .
The arrests of Christians belonging to non-recognised denominations
More than a hundred Christians belonging to non-recognised religious
communities were arrested between December 31, 2010 and January 9, 2011 in
Churches in Asmara and Nakfa. An entire congregation of 41 people was arrested
on December 31 during a service at the Philadelphia Church of Asmara and many
of them were beaten during interrogation at Police Station Number 1. The same
fate awaited 27 Christians belonging to various Churches (including the Kale-
Hiwet and Mulu-Wengel), who were arrested on January 1, 2011 in the region
around Asmara and held at Police Station Number 5. On January 9, 35 people
were arrested, including 15 women and two sick and elderly men, in a private
home in Nakfa. Some of those arrested in the three episodes had been recently
released from prison following previous arrests6 .
In May 64 Christians were arrested in Adi Abeyto, a village near Asmara, for
illegal religious activities. Six were released, but there has been no further news
of all the others, except that they may be being held in one of the capital’s police
stations or may have been transferred to the prison at the Meiter military base, in
particularly unpleasant conditions.
On June 2, 26 students at the Mai-Nefhi College of Technology, near Asmara, were
arrested for illegal religious activities. There has been no news of their release and
it is feared they have been moved to the Meiter military prison. Their arrest brings to
193 the number of Christians arrested since the beginning of 2011 7 .
Sometime between the end of November and the beginning of December the
Eritrean evangelist Mussie Eyob, 33, was arrested and transferred to an unknown
location. He had been deported from Saudi Arabia for preaching Christianity near
a mosque in Jeddah 8 .
5 Nigrizia, June 2011
6 The Christian Post, January 21 st 2011
7 Release-Eritrea, June 23 rd 2011
8 Release-Eritrea December 3 rd 2011

Forced conversions
In 2011 there were also reports of police officers forcing members of nonregistered
religious groups to sign declarations in which they recanted their
faith and declared allegiance to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as
a condition for their release from prison. These people are frequently detained
and are subjected to violence until they agree to sign these documents. Some
reports say that some of them are subject to controls upon their release to make
sure they do not practise their rejected faith and do not proselytise for it.
In certain cases the authorities have asked Eritrean Orthodox priests to write
letters confirming that the individual has returned to the Orthodox Church. In this
same way, the police forced people who did not belong to any religious group
to choose one of the approved religious groups if they wanted to be released.
ERITREA

ESTONIA
AREA
45,100 Km²
ESTONIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,340,127
REFUGEES
50
Christians 70.8%
Catholics 0.5% / Orthodox 25.4% / Protestants 44.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 28.6%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Approved on June 28, 1992 by popular vote, the Constitution of the Republic of
Estonia guarantees that “Everyone shall have freedom of conscience, religion
and thought” (Art. 40), that “There shall be no State Church”, and that “Everyone
shall have the freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or
private to practise his or her religion”.
Activities by religious groups are regulated by the “Churches and Congregations
Act”. The “Churches and Congregations Act” decrees that the commanding officer
of each military unit shall guarantee defense force members the opportunity
to practise their religion. Chaplain services extend to service members of all religious
groups. The Act also decrees that prison directors shall ensure that inmates
have the opportunity to practise their religious beliefs.
In addition to a group’s charter, the application for registration, for groups of at
least 12 adults, must include a list of the members of the management board, to
be submitted to the city court. In private schools religious courses may be taught.
In State schools ecumenical services may be conducted. Comparative religious
studies are available in public and private schools and students may opt to take
these courses.
No significant incidents of religious discrimination or intolerance have been reported
during the period under review.

AREA
1,104,300 Km²
ETHIOPIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
82,101,998
Legal and institutional aspects
REFUGEES
288,844
Christians 56.6%
Catholics 0.7% / Orthodox 37.5% / Protestants 18.4%
Muslims 34.7%
Ethnoreligionists 8.4%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
Under the Constitution of Ethiopia, a multiethnic and multi-religious State, every
citizen enjoys freedom of religion. This includes the right to promote one’s beliefs
as well as the right convert to another religion. Likewise, parents have the right to
educate their children in their own faith.
The Preamble to the Constitution states that an “even development of the various
cultures and religions” is one of the essential conditions to “ensure lasting peace,
an irreversible and thriving democracy and an accelerated economic and social
development for our country Ethiopia”.
According to the first four sections of Article 27, which covers freedom of religion,
freedom of conscience and freedom of thought:
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
This right shall include freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his
choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in
public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance,
practise and teaching.
No one shall be subject to coercion by force or any other means, which would
impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
Parents and legal guardians shall have the right, in accordance with their belief,
to give their children religious or moral instruction.
Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations
as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order,
health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others and to ensure
the secular nature of the State.
The Constitution upholds the principle of separation of State and religion. Political
parties based on religion are unlawful.
ETHIOPIA

1. The Ethiopian State is a secular State.
2. There shall be no State religion.
3. The State shall not interfere in religious affairs; neither shall religion interfere in
the affairs of the State.
Other articles guarantee that no one may be discriminated against in the workplace
or be denied access to public services, on the grounds of religion1 .
The main Orthodox Christian holidays (Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and Meskel,
which marks the discovery of the True Cross) and Muslim holidays (Mohammed’s
birthday, Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr) are recognised as national holidays. Muslim
workers are entitled to a two-hour break for Friday prayer.
ETHIOPIAArticle 11 of the Constitution says:
Generally speaking, Ethiopia’s federal government respects and enforces such
rights. However, at the local and regional levels, national laws and Constitutional
principles in the area of religious freedom are often violated, without the federal
authorities making any attempt to uphold them.
In a number of regions, some religious minorities are the victims of intense hostility,
especially Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians who are of recent implantation.
Regulations and religious organisations
Under the Charities and Societies Proclamation of February 2009, a Church
or religious group that wants to be recognised as a legal entity must apply to
register with the Justice Ministry, and renew its application every three years.
Without it, they cannot conduct certain transactions, like opening a bank
account or be represented in court. However, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
and the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council are not required to renew
their registration every three years.
Charitable and development organisations affiliated with Churches must
register with the Charities and Societies Agency independently of the religious
body to which they are affiliated and are subject to existing legislation on nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs), which includes a 10% cap on foreign
sources for their overall budget if they are involved in the promotion of democracy
and good governance, human rights, conflict resolution, women’s rights, the
rights of children and the rights of other vulnerable groups.
1 African Studies Center, Etiopian Constitution, Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania. http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/Ethiopian_Constitution.html

Under a 2008 law, it is unlawful to incite one religious group against another.
The defamation of religious leaders can be prosecuted under this law.
Initiatives both by government and civil society groups aim at promoting
coexistence among religions as well as preventing and resolving inter-religious
violence.
In a press conference in October 2011, the director general at the Ministry of
Federal Affairs of Ethiopia said that the government had uncovered evidence that
Wahhabi extremists were planning to turn Ethiopia into a Muslim nation ruled by
Sharia. He said that the documents and pamphlets that had been found which
called on Muslims to attack non-Wahhabi Muslims and followers of other religions.
In Ethiopia, all land is property of the State or its territorial governments. Religious
groups, private individuals and businesses must apply to these bodies if they wish
to lease land. Churches can be given land free of charge on which they can build
their places of worship, schools, hospitals and cemeteries; however, the State can
take back the same land and the structures on it (including schools and hospitals)
at any time for any other use.
Many religious groups have asked for the return of property confiscated by
Ethiopia’s Communist government between 1977 and 1991. But only a few
federally controlled properties in Addis Ababa and Oromia have been returned,
while none of those properties controlled by the regional governments has yet
been returned.
At the local level, various religious minorities have complained about unfair
and discriminatory practises in the allocation of land for the construction of
buildings for religious use.
Protestants have complained of discriminatory treatment by the authorities in
relation to their requests for land on which to build Churches and cemeteries.
Muslims have complained of discrimination, after the authorities in Axum and
Lalibela refused to grant them the necessary permits to build the first mosques in
these two northern cities. They also criticised regional authorities in Tigray and
Amhara for turning down their application for other such permits.
Recently however, Muslims have been authorised to build places of worship just
outside the administrative boundaries of the aforementioned cities (individual
Muslims are free to hold private property within the cities). In Lalibela, plots of
land have been allocated for a mosque and a Muslim cemetery.
In its response to the many complaints, the Federal Affairs Ministry blamed the
problem on local government mismanagement, building and other government
regulations and the harm some land allocation decisions might do to existing
community land usage. It also issued new directives in an effort to standardise
management of such lands.
ETHIOPIA

Ethiopian government does not issue permanent visas to foreign religious
workers unless they are involved in development projects run by registered NGOs
affiliated with the Church to which the foreign missionary belongs. This does not
normally apply to Ethiopian Orthodox or Muslims.
Although the State allows confessionally oriented private schools, it does not
allow religious teaching in any educational institution, including those that are
private and those that are run by religious groups.
Article 90, section 2, of the Constitution in fact states, “Education shall be
conducted in a manner which is in all respects free from religion and from political
and cultural influences”.
Catechesis can only be imparted in premises adjacent to places of worship,
ETHIOPIAThe
outside regular school hours. Religious clubs are however allowed in public and
private schools.
Anti-Christian violence
In January 2011, in the town of Besheno, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities,
and People’s Region, threats against the small local Evangelical community
continued unabated.
In November 2010, a local Christian leader was seriously hurt, three were forced
to flee and two were induced to abandon Christianity and return to Islam, the
locally dominant religion. Christians also found threatening messages posted on
the doors of their homes warning them to convert to Islam, leave the region, or face
death. According to members of some Christian communities, local authorities
have failed to provide them with security 2 .
On February 26, an evangelisation mission by a group of Protestant students from
Meda Welabu University in a Muslim village in Bale province (southeast Ethiopia)
ended with 17 of them getting hurt. Their attempt to hand out copies of the Bible
provoked a violent reaction among locals 3 .
In Asendabo, Jimma Province (Oromia), religiously motivated anti-Christian hatred
claimed one life and scores of wounded. Some 30 homes and 69 Churches were
set on fire and destroyed, with some 4,000 Christians forced to flee. A Muslim mob
attacked the Christian homes and places of worship when rumors spread that a
Christian had allegedly torn up a copy of the Qur‘an in what is considered an act
of desecration. The violence, which began on March 2, 2011, lasted until the end
of the month, eventually spreading to places like Busa, Chiltie, Dimtu, Gilgel Gibe,
Gibe, Koticha, Nada and Uragay with Muslim mobs rampaging throughout the
area.
2 International Christian Concern, January 25 th 2011
3 Ibid, March 1 st 2011

The attack was mostly against Evangelical and Pentecostal groups, affecting
38 Churches of the Ethiopian Kale Hiwot Church (EKHC), 12 Mekane Yesus,
six Seventh-day Adventist structures, two belonging to the Muluwongel Church,
and one belonging to a ‘Jesus Only’ congregation. An EKHC Bible school and
two Church office buildings were also destroyed.
Police, both local and troops sent in from the outside, were greatly outnumbered
by and no match for the angry mobs, and just stood idly by as the violence
unfolded. Estimated damage was around US$ 3.5 million 4 .
In Tuka, another town in Oromia, near the city of Moyale on the Kenyan border,
two houses belonging to a clergyman from the Protestant Mekane Yesus Church
were completely destroyed after being set on fire on March 29, 2011 by people
thought to be Muslim extremists. Rev Wako Hanake, an Evangelical pastor,
said that he had received anonymous threats warning him to stop converting
Muslims. During the attack, neighbours rescued his wife and three children,
aged 8, 6 and 25 .
Another Evangelical pastor, Rev Abraham Abera, from the Kale Hiwot Church
was beaten to death with rods by four Islamic extremists in the town of Worabe
(90% Muslim) on April 21, 2011. His wife Birtukan, who was pregnant at the time,
tried to help him but was herself attacked, suffering injuries to her head. Luckily,
she survived.
In view of the situation, the local Evangelical Christians have called on the federal
authorities to intervene since the local Muslim-dominated authorities have not
provided their community with any protection6 .
On June 21, 2011, a court in Jimma Province sentenced 579 Muslim extremists
to terms in prison that varied from three to 18 months for destroying the 30
Christian homes and 69 Churches the previous March. An additional 107 were
placed on remand waiting for trial on terrorism-related charges for their role in
the violence7 .
On November 29, a group of more than 500 Muslim students, with the assistance
of Muslim police officers, set a fire that destroyed an Orthodox Coptic Church in
the village of Qoto Baloso, Silte Province (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and
People’s Region). Shouting “Allahu Akbar”, the mob attacked the Saint Arsema
Orthodox Church, which had been recently built on land in use by the local
Christian community for more than 60 years.
4 Compass Direct News, March 7 th 2011
5 Ibid, April 21 th 2011
6 Worthy News, April 29 th 2011
7 The Christian Post, June 21 th 2011
ETHIOPIA

to provincial police, a local court had ruled that the Church had been
built without a permit. For this reason, they tore down its roof on November 25, but
were stopped from going any further when Christians protested.
However, a previous ruling by a district court in the Southern Nations, Nationalities,
and People’s Region had determined that the community had the right to build
their temple on land that had been allocated to them
ETHIOPIAAccording 8 .
8 International Christian Concern, December 8 th 2011

AREA
18,274 Km²
FIJI ISLANDS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
854,098
REFUGEES
7
Christians 61.1%
Catholics 11.3% / Protestants 49% / Anglicans 0.8%
Hindus 30.5%
Muslims 6.2%
Others 2.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 35 of the Constitution of 1997 recognises freedom of religion. Religious
groups are not required to register. Many missionary groups are present in the
country, involved in social, welfare and education activities. There are many Christian
schools but they are not publicly funded.
During the period under review no significant events regarding the exercise of
religious freedom have been reported.
FIJI ISLANDS

FINLAND
AREA
338,145 Km²
FINLAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,375,276
REFUGEES
9,175
Christians 90.2%
Catholics 0.2% / Orthodox 1.2% / Protestants 88.8%
Agnostics / Atheists 9.1%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution (Article 11) safeguards the equality of all citizens before the law,
and excludes all forms of discrimination based on gender, age, origin, language,
religion, persuasions, opinions, state of health, handicap or any other reason linked
to the person. In particular, it guarantees freedom of religion and conscience
for everyone, including the right to profess and practise a religion, to express
one’s personal convictions and to belong or not belong to a religious community.
Hence, no one can be obliged to participate, against his own conscience, in the
practise of a religion.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church are recognised as
State Churches and those registered as their members must pay an annual tax
to these institutions.
The Religious Freedom Act of 2003 includes regulations on registered religious
communities. The government recognises 53 religious groups that are allowed
the right to freely profess and spread their faith. The recognition procedure, under
the auspices of the Ministry of Education, is open to religious communities with
at least twenty members who seek to publicly practise their religion and whose
activities are in conformity with the statutes of the body concerned.
There are no reports of significant institutional changes nor notable events concerning
religious freedom.

AREA
551,500 Km²
FRANCE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
65,027,000
REFUGEES
210,207
Christians 69.1%
Catholics 65.8% / Orthodox 1.2% / Protestants 2.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 20.5%
Muslims 8.5%
Others 1.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
On April 11, 2011 the law approved by France’s parliament on October 11, 2010
forbidding the full veil in public came into effect. Fines for violators have been
fixed at €150, but anyone forcing another person to wear the veil risks a fine of
€30,000 and a jail sentence of up to one year, with the fine being doubled if the
victim is a minor.
There has been a proposal to delay the enforcement of these provisions by six
months to allow the government during that time, with the assistance of civic associations,
such as the French Council for the Islamic Faith (CFCM), to illustrate
the new law and explain that the full veil is not a religious obligation.
In spite of the alarm raised by some Islamic associations, only six women have
been fined for violating the law in its first eight months. Overall, according to an
interview with the then time Interior Minister Claude Guéant that appeared in the
daily newspaper Le Monde, 237 women have been reported to police, but none
of them were ordered to attend the citizenship courses which are envisaged as a
further legal sanction 1 .
In France, where in 2004 the law forbade wearing visible religious symbols in
State schools, including the crucifix and the Islamic veil, the debate on the subject
of secularism (laicité), focussing especially on the social relevance of Islam, was
being pursued at the political level on the initiative of the then majority governing
party, the Union Pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), notably through a call for
a public debate on the issue, organised a year before the presidential elections.
In September 2011 the meetings of the conférence départementale de la liberté
religieuse (departmental conference of religious freedom) began, announced by
the Minister of the Interior in April. The task of these new structures is to bring
together at the departmental level of local elected representatives, managers of
public administration and representatives of religions, with two objectives: inform
about of the state of law, and to resolve any local conflicts 2 .
1 Le Monde, January 2 nd 2012
2 la-croix.com, September 19 th 2011
FRANCE

November 2011 Interior Minister Claude Guéant published3 a so-called Code
de la laïcité (Laïcité et liberté religieuse. Recueil de textes et de jurisprudence ─
Secularism and Religious Freedom. A Collection of Texts and Laws) whose intent,
according to one source, was to restrict the scope of religious freedom outlined in
the 1905 law. However, by the Minister claimed it was “balanced” and that it only
required a small adjustment in the application rules
FRANCEIn 4 .
Intolerance and Discrimination
The Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights’ annual report entitled Hate
Crimes In The OSCE Region - Incidents and Responses and made public in
November 2011, through local government contacts, lists 104 sentences passed
in 2010 for anti-religious crimes, without giving details. The Holy See for its part
has reported one threat, one case of arson, five cases of libellous graffiti on
Church property, 13 cases of profanation of cemeteries and another 11 cases
of profanation of Churches or Church property. The Observatory on Intolerance
and Discrimination against Christians (an EU-based NGO) speaks of numerous
cases of profanation of Catholic cemeteries; according to an inquiry by the
information services of the National Gendarmerie, these came to a total of
214, while there were 308 acts of profanation of chapels and acts of vandalism
against other Christian religious monuments5 .
There were 42 attacks on Jewish religious sites and 57 attacks on Muslim sites in
this latest wave of anti-religious violence 6 .
Already earlier, Brice Hotefeux, Minister of the Interior, of Overseas and
Community Territories, had written to the EU Human Rights Commissioners
stating that, between January 1, and September 30, 2010 a total of 485
cemeteries and places of worship had been vandalised, of which 410 were
Christian, 40 Islamic and 35 Jewish 7 .
Aside from attacks on symbols, it is not unknown for Christian ideas to come
under assault, as was the case with Philippe Isnard, as reported by the European
Centre for Law and Justice on March 23, 2011. Isnard, a history and geography
teacher at Manosque, was suspended from teaching on November 23, 2010 for
3 Le point. fr, October 21 st 2011
4 La lettre du droit des religions, n. 44, December 2011
5 www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/publications/report-2011.html
6 La Vie, March 28 th 2011
7 Zenit news agency, November 4 th 2010

four months and subjected to disciplinary proceedings for having organised a
debate on abortion at Manosque. He subsequently lost his job after 13 years,
accused of proselytising8 .
Among the many institutional bodies that are typical of French secularism is
the important role of MIVILUDES (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de
lutte contre les dérives sectaires), the Inter-Ministerial Mission of vigilance and,
combat against sectarian deviations, which came into existence by presidential
decree in 2002. Compared to its original aims, it is slowly and laboriously
trying to adopt less aggressive attitudes and policies that include a dialogue
with a number of groups it had previously criticised. During a meeting with
officials from MIVILUDES, a meeting judged “positive and cordial” by Massimo
Introvigne, then OSCE’s representative for combating discrimination against
Christians9 , the MIVILUDES officials announced that they no longer compile
lists of new religious movements as they have done in the past.
Willy Fautré, in an article entitled: Prayer Groups, now under surveillance of MI-
VILUDES under the pretext of “risk of sectarian deviation” 10 maintains that the
notion of the danger of sectarian deviations utilised by MIVILUDES, leaves such
groups wide open to the possibility of unfounded suspicion, rumours and irresponsible
accusations. Fautré notes that there is also a draft law proposing the
creation of “a parliamentary inquiry commission on fundamentalist and sectarian
practises in private schools”.
The source of inspiration for this particular legislative initiative appears to have
been certain television news reports in 2010, which were especially hostile to
some of the schools run by the Catholic Church, the Plymouth Brethren, Protestants,
orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Muslims.
8 Tempi.it, April 5 th 2011
9 Agenzia Zenit, September 21 st 2011
10 Human Rights Without Frontiers, May 13 th 2011
FRANCE

GABON
AREA
267,668 Km²
GABON
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,501,266
REFUGEES
1,773
Christians 90.6%
Catholics 55.3% / Protestants 11.9% / Other Chr. 23.4%
Muslims 4.6%
Ethnoreligionists 3.3%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution of 1991, amended in 2003, provides for full religious freedom (Art.1) 1 .
Religious groups are not required to register with the Ministry of the Interior,
though the government invites them to do so. In practise, omission to do so
does not obstruct their activities, although it does stop them from enjoying
various tax benefits.
There are no restrictions imposed on the activities of foreign missionaries.
There are private denominational schools run by Catholics, Protestants and
Muslims and while they are not financed by the State, they do come under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Education. Catholics and Protestants also
manage radio stations. State television provides free airtime to the Catholic
Church, and in the past this resulted in protests because the same does not apply
also to smaller religious groups.
In 1970 a decree was passed banishing the Jehovah’s Witnesses because their
internal organisation does not provide adequate protection for individuals in
disagreement with the group. It does not however seem that this prohibition is
applied, and to all intents and purposes they are permitted to practise their
religion and proselytise.
No significant institutional or legislative changes have been reported, nor have
there been significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion
during the reporting period.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=196646&tab=2

AREA
11,295 Km²
GAMBIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,750,732
REFUGEES
9,528
Muslims 86.1%
Ethnoreligionists 8.1%
Christians 4.4%
Catholics 2.8% / Protestants 1.4% / Anglicans 0.2%
Others 1.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution acknowledges religious freedom (Art. 25) and the State generally
respects this provision. In Article 1 Gambia is declared a sovereign secular
Republic 1 .
Sharia (Islamic law) is applied for Muslims on issues concerning marriage, divorce
and inheritance.
It is not compulsory for religious groups to register.
Religious instruction is permitted in both State and private schools, both Islamic
and Christian, with no interference from the State.
Relations between the Islamic authorities and the Catholic Church are good.
Public holidays in the country include, in addition to the most important Muslim
holidays, also the main Christian holidays (Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and
Assumption Day) 2 .
No significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period have been reported.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=221242
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
GAMBIA

GEORGIA
AREA
69,700 Km²
GEORGIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,671,400
REFUGEES
462
Christians 85.1%
Catholics 1% / Orthodox 82.7% / Protestants 1.4%
Muslims 10.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.1%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
273,997
On June 5, 2011, after a lengthy debate on all social and political fronts,
the Georgian parliament approved the new procedures for registering religious
associations. On the basis of these new rules these associations can choose to
register as public legal entities or as non commercial, private legal persons, or
again not to register at all and to remain as unregistered associations.
The National Public Register can register as public legal persons those religious associations
that have a historical relationship with Georgia, or those that are considered
religions in the member states of the Council of Europe. Following the approval
of these regulations, there have been some extremely sharp reactions, resulting
even in expressions of xenophobia and, more specifically, “Armenophobia”.
According to some, the main problem posed by the new law lies in the criteria
according to which the Public Register defines the relationship of religious associations
with Georgian history. On July 5 the Georgian Orthodox Church declared
that “the law that has been approved conflicts with the interests both of the
Church and of the country”, and called for the whole of society to engage in an
in-depth debate on this subject. The reasons for this disagreement mainly concern
the acquisition of public juridical status by the Armenian Apostolic Church in
Georgia, and by the Muslim and Catholic communities also.
The bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church, Rusudan Gotziridze, believes
that this law is discriminatory, since on various points it places religious associations
in unequal positions.
The issues concerning the restitution of ecclesiastic property seized from the
various religious associations during the Soviet period remain largely unresolved.
Because of this, various buildings remain in a state of abandonment since no
work can be undertaken to carry out much-needed restoration.

The Muslim community is asking for the restitution of 18 historical mosques
and the Catholic Church for five Churches currently in the possession of the
Orthodox Church.
Sources cosulted
Human Rights Centre in Georgia –www.religiebi.info
The magazine “Netgazeta”
U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
GEORGIA

GERMANY
AREA
357,002 Km²
GERMANY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
82,056,775
REFUGEES
571,684
In the Federal Republic of Germany, Churches and religious organisations are
funded on the basis of fiscal revenue. Citizens contribute with a percentage of
their income tax, supporting the group to which they officially belong. Those who
do not belong to any religious group are permitted to allocate their percentage of
tax to civil causes. In these cases there is no indication on their work IDs of membership
of any association.
Intolerance and discrimination against Christians
The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians published
its Report on March 19, 2012 1 listing serious instances of discrimination in European
countries. In March, for example, in Germany a mother of twelve children,
Irene Wiens, was detained for 43 days for having refused to enrol her children in
sexual education classes, which both she and her husband considered indecent.
The case has been taken to the European Court of Human Rights.
The same Report describes seven cases of profanation of cemeteries between
May and October 2011 – in Velen, Schönau, Niedereschach, Westerkappeln, Essen,
Ostbevern and Mülheim, while nine acts of vandalism were committed against
places of worship between April and November 2011 – in Reinbek, Neumünster,
Heidelberg, Ascheberg, Kallenhardt, Rüthen, Vohwinkel and Munich.
In Frankfurt the Good Friday procession of the Croatian Catholic community was
disrupted by a sudden protest organised by the youth wing of the Green Party,
against the ban on dancing (which exists in the federal state of Hesse) on certain
religious festivities. Furthermore, on August 21, 2011 in Wassenberg-Myhl, a representation
of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was covered in black paint, while in
1 www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/publications/report-2011.html
Christians 70.7%
Catholics 31.3% / Orthodox 1.4% / Protestants 38%
Agnostics / Atheists 24.2%
Muslims 4.6%
Others 0.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

September 2011 a group of radical atheists posted a video on Youtube showing
a number of crucifixes being violently destroyed, during Pope Benedict XVI’s
visit to Germany.
Religious minorities
Muslims in Germany enjoy great freedoms in practising their religion.
Full integration of Muslims into the German society, however, remains a problem.
As in other western countries with immigrant communities of Muslims there is an
ongoing debate in Germany over Islamic dress, especially for Muslim women.
The issue is whether it is legitimate for the State to ban headscarves or at least
face-covering clothing in public places or public institutions (like schools, universities,
government offices) for students, workers and public servants.
One example for this conflict is the law in the federal state of Hesse, which
since the beginning of 2011 has banned officials and employees working in the
public administration from wearing the full veil, known as the niqab or burqa,
in the workplace2 .
“Areas remained where the law and Islamic or other traditional practises conflicted,
including the call to prayer, halal or kosher ritual slaughtering, and the segregation
of older boys and girls during gym classes. Ritual slaughtering conflicted with laws
on animal protection, although there were provisions for exemptions” 3 .
In a separate incident, for example, certain groups and individuals critical of political
Islam organised protests in Cologne against the construction of a mosque
financed by Turkey4 .
A number of Muslim leaders have protested against the request made by Interior
Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, asking them to help to eradicate extremism by providing
information on the activities that take place within the mosques.
The debate, which since 2006 has been held within the framework of the Germany-Islam
Conference sponsored by the Ministry of the Interior, has become
extremely difficult due to the Islamic communities’ refusal to cooperate in the deradicalisation
process and the excuses they have presented. Such excuses include
the words spoken by the minister himself when in his first press conference as
minister he said, “To say that Islam belongs in Germany is not a fact supported
by history” 5 .
Volker Kauder, parliamentary faction leader of the German Christian Democrats
(CDU), is one of the politicians in Germany who show commitment for persecuted
2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13038095
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
4 www.german-times.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3725&Itemid=86
5 guardian.co.uk, Friday, March 4 th 2011
GERMANY

in the world. But he also pleads for the right of religious freedom for all
religious communities. In August he advocated the right of Muslims in Germany
to build mosques: „Those who speak up for religious freedom must grant latitude
to other religions”. Earlier that year he caused controversy when he argued
that, although Muslims belong to Germany and enjoy their full rights as state
citizens, Islam did not belong in Germany in the sens that it was not part of
Germany’s tradition and identity.
Acts of violence against religious minorities in Germany were perpetrated
by a few groups and individuals, with an increasing tendency towards the
Jewish community.
In February 2011, a fifteen-year-old German boy was sentenced for having taken
part in an attack on a group of Jewish children in Hannover. This episode involved
GERMANYChristians
many children of Arab origin, who were attending an art festival held in 2010
and shouted Anti-Jewish slogans, throwing gravel at a group of Jewish children
who were performing traditional dances6 . The attackers of Arab origin, identified
but not charged by the police, included three minors and a disabled 19-year-old,
so that the German boy was the only one to stand trial in a criminal court7 .
6 www.bbc.co.uk/news/10406344
7 Deutsche Presse-Agentur, February 7 th 2011

AREA
238,533 Km²
GHANA
Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution (Art. 21) 1 .
Registration is compulsory according to the statutes for religious groups, but many
groups, especially the indigenous traditional religions, seem not to have complied
with this and continue to operate without regard for this legislation, which came
into force in the late 1980s.
Ecclesial activities, such as charity work and education that are not for profit, are
generally exempt from taxation.
There are no reports of specific problems between the various religious organisations,
and the government promotes their peaceful coexistence and cooperation.
At government meetings and receptions, Christian and Muslim prayers are recited;
occasionally there are traditional invocations.
In November President Mills inaugurated the National Peace Council under the
Ministry of the Interior 2 . Its mandate is to prevent, manage, and resolve internal
conflict in Ghana. The thirteen-member board comprises representatives of the
main religious communities 3 .
There is a widespread fear of witchcraft in certain parts of the country and many
people, especially very elderly women, are often accused of being witches and
held responsible for a wide variety of unfortunate events that range from bad
crops to illnesses. Such “witches” are usually driven out of their villages and have
to take refuge in special “witches camps”. Those who resist this form of banishment
and try to remain in or return to their homes risk severe maltreatment, even
to the point of death at times at the hands of their fellow villagers 4 .
1 www.ghanareview.com/Gconst.html
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
24,223,431
2 www.ghanadistricts.com/news/?read=43978
REFUGEES
13,588
3 www.undp-gha.org/mainpages.php?page=national%20peace%20council
4 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Christians 61.2%
Catholics 12.3% / Protestants 47.8% / Anglicans 1.1%
Ethnoreligionists 19.3%
Muslims 19%
Others 0.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
GHANA

linked to traditional rituals in some parts of the country, is the custom of
trokosi, effectively a form of ritual servitude, in which young girls are made to
serve in local shrines. According to this particular tradition, families which must
atone for some serious offence must offer to the shrine one of their daughters,
who may be destined to spend the rest of her life as “God’s bride”, and effectively
enslaved to the commands of the priests at the shrine. The young girls sent to
these shrines are sometimes only eighteen months old
GHANAAlso 5 . Such activity is now
considered a crime and prosecuted by the State.
In addition to government prosecution, various NGOs are active in redeeming
these women, helping them financially and teaching them skills that will allow
them to have a new life. Some traditional religious groups however accuse these
organisations of not understanding that their beliefs are part of African religious
practise and allege that the work of the NGOs, with support from Western countries,
is a way of destroying the development of African spirituality6 .
5 www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v7i1/ghana.htm
6 www.modernghana.com/news/344806/1/chraj-is-keen-to-stop-trokosi-ms-lamptey.html

AREA
131,957 Km²
Legislation
GREECE
During the period analysed there were no significant changes made to legislation
nor have there been significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom
of religion.
The Greek Constitution, adopted in 1975 and amended in 1986, 2001 and 2008,
provides for freedom for all citizens to profess the religion chosen. At the same
time it states in Article 3 that the Greek Orthodox religion is the prevailing religion
and accords Constitutional recognition to its hierarchy and synodal structure
and recognises its dependence on the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Article 13 declares the inviolability of freedom of religious conscience,
the protection of the known religions under the laws of the State and the prohibition
of proselytism 1 .
The “known religions” are those which have a defined doctrinal nucleus;
hold rituals and prayer meetings open to everyone; have a non-profit nature and
a well-defined hierarchy.
Both the Constitution and the law forbid all forms of missionary activity
in the country.
At an economic level, the Greek government supports the Greek Orthodox
Church, paying salaries to the members of the clergy and guaranteeing the
maintenance of its properties.
Furthermore, under the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, Muslims in the region of
Thrace enjoy a special status, whereby the salaries and expenses of the three
most important Muslim muftis and of the imams in the region are paid.
Muslims residing in the rest of the territory of Greece are not entitled
to the same treatment.
1 www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
11,305,118
REFUGEES
1.573
Christians 91.8%
Catholics 1.2% / Orthodox 89.8% / Protestants 0.8%
Muslims 4.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 3.6%
Others 0.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
GREECE

other religious group receives financial support and many of them, including
the Jewish community, have complained about this, requesting equal rights in
this regard.
Non-Orthodox Christian groups have at times reported administrative obstacles
or legal restrictions imposed on their religious practises. They have furthermore
reported that they are treated with suspicion by their compatriots or accused of
not being “real Greeks” because of their religious choices
GREECENo 2 .
Catholic parishes and their related properties, where established prior to 1946,
are legally recognised as private entities, but Catholic institutions established after
1946 are not extended the same automatic recognition.
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
344 Km²
GRENADA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
104,342
REFUGEES
3
Christians 96.6%
Catholics 53.2% / Protestants 31.6% / Anglicans 11.8
Others 3.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 9 of the 1973 Constitution, in force since February 7, 1974 and amended in
1989, guarantees respect for freedom of conscience and worship.
The authorities do not in any way interfere with the religious lives of citizens.
It is not compulsory for religious groups to register, however, groups that do so
enjoy tax exemptions on their properties and activities.
There are no reports of violations of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and
protected by the law.
GRENADA

GUATEMALA
AREA
108,889 Km²
Legislative changes
GUATEMALA
In the period under consideration, there were no changes to existing legislation
on religious freedom.
In 2011, Guatemala and the Holy See marked 75 years of diplomatic relations1 .
Over this period, the accreditation of their respective embassies and the
recognition of the apostolic nuncio as the dean of the diplomatic corps have made
possible action on various matters like the Central American debt, post-conflict
social reconciliation and issues of peace and human rights.
General situation
In 2011 several acts of violence, against Catholic priests in some cases, had a
major social impact. In one case, a priest was beaten 2 . In another, no one was
arrested for the murder in early 2012 of Fr David Donis Barrera, 60, a member
of the community of Santa Rosa who was on his way to Guatemala City after
celebrating Holy Mass 3 .
In February 2011 the Catholic and Evangelical Churches, the Public Attorney’s
Office for Human Rights and the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC),
a public university, expressed their deep concern over a possible increase in
violence during the country’s election 4 .
1 La Misión, April 2011
2 Zenit.org, July 27 th 2011
3 Ibid., January 30 th 2012
POPULATION
14,713,763
4 LaPrensa.com.ni, February 26 th 2011
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
147
Christians 97.4%
Catholics 75.9% / Protestants 16.6% / Other Chr. 4.9%
Others 2.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined

The Catholic Church also issued a statement against growing anti-immigrant
violence. “As witnesses to the great suffering that migrants from our nations and
regions experience, victims of exploitation and abuse by various agents (public
officials, unscrupulous employers and criminal organisations), we call again on
our governments to provide legal protection to migrant men and women, including
those who seek work, asylum and refuge, and who were victims of human
trafficking”, the bishops said in the statement 5 .
5 Zenit.org, July 3 rd 2011
GUATEMALA

GUINEA - BISSAU
AREA
36,125 Km²
GUINEA - BISSAU
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,647,380
REFUGEES
7,800
Ethnoreligionists 44.9%
Muslims 41.9%
Christians 11.9%
Catholics 7.9% / Protestants 1.7% / Other Chr. 2.3%
Others 1.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution1 acknowledges religious freedom (Art. 6) and normally the
authorities respect and protect it.
Article 4 forbids the use of religious words or titles of religious groups in order to
identify political parties.
Religious groups are required to register but there are no reports of requests
being rejected.
In the period assessed for this report, despite the unstable political
situation that followed the presidential election of March 18, 2012, there has
been no information concerning discrimination or intolerance between the
various religions2 .
1 www.Constitutionnet.org/files/Guinea-Bissau%20Constitution.pdf
2 Agenzia Fides, March 17 th 2012

AREA
245,857 Km²
GUINEA - CONAKRY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
10,323,755
REFUGEES
16,609
Muslims 68.7%
Ethnoreligionists 27.3%
Christians 3.7%
Catholics 2.6 % / Protestants 0.9% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution of the Republic of Guinea (to give its official title) 1 recognises religious
freedom and Article 14 guarantees the full autonomy and self-governance
of religious institutions and communities.
Religious groups are required to register. Formal registration offers fiscal advantages
and exemptions. Non-registered groups can be fined and even suppressed,
but in practise they operate without any problems.
Religious groups and political parties are forbidden from owning their own radio
or television stations, but the ban seems to be a formality, as representatives of
these groups are permitted to own commercial radio stations and these can broadcast
religious programmes. Moreover, State television broadcasts both Muslim
and Christian programmes, such as Sunday Mass and Friday prayers from the
central mosque2 .
After the political and ethnic clashes in September 2011 3 the government set up a
Commission for the National Reconciliation (CCR), led by the Catholic Archbishop
of Conakry and by the most senior Islamic leader in the country, to promote social
peace, thanks to the good interfaith relations enjoyed by the people of Guinea 4 .
1 www.democratie.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/Guinee.pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
3 Agenzia Fides, September 27th 2011
4 Ibid., October 3rd 2011; U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
GUINEA - CONAKRY

GUINEA (EQUATORIAL)
AREA
245,857 Km²
GUINEA (EQUATORIAL)
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
693,385
REFUGEES
---
Christians 88.7%
Catholics 81.3% / Protestants 3.9% / Other Chr. 3.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 5%
Muslims 4.1%
Others 2.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution of Equatorial Guinea 1 in Article 13 recognises religious freedom
and the authorities generally respect this provision. However, President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema, in power since the 1979 military coup d’état, has for some time
said that he believes that the duty of religion is purely spiritual and that he will
not tolerate religious groups interfering with government affairs. Consequently,
religious leaders generally avoid discussions and speeches that could be considered
as criticising the government and its officials. State officials even check
up on sermons delivered during religious ceremonies so as to ensure they do
not criticise the government. However, the authorities insist that in doing so they
are not exercising any control over religious activities, but merely monitoring
“any even indirect political” activities.
There are no restrictions on religious activities, however, although religious groups
are obliged to register (registration is not required of the Catholic Church or the
Reformed Church of Equatorial Guinea for historical and cultural reasons).
They must also request specific authorisation for all activities that take place outside
normal places of worship, although such activities are usually allowed2 .
Those who act without authorisation can be fined and instantly banned.
These sanctions are, however, rarely applied and these obligations do not effectively
obstruct the activities and meetings of religious groups or their missionary
activities. Religious organisations are allowed to run schools.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.Constitutionnet.org/files/Equatorial%20Guinea%20Constitution.pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
214,969 Km²
Legislative changes
GUYANA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
761,442
REFUGEES
7
Christians 51.3%
Catholics 11.6% / Orthodox 1.3% / Protestants 25.9%
Anglicans 6.8% / Other Chr. 5.7%
Hindus 32.9%
Muslims 8.2%
Ethnoreligionists 2.4%
Others 5.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In the period under consideration, there were no changes to existing legislation
on religious freedom.
Catholic Church
Church representatives took part in a number of social outreach initiatives associated
with the right of religious groups to participate and contribute in the various
domains of social life.
Other religious denominations
In September 2010, during a trip to South America’s Caribbean coast, Special US
Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Anwar was in Guyana, since this
country is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the whole of Latin
America. She especially centred her visit on the country’s Muslim schools 1 .
In 2011, during a week dedicated to inter-faith dialogue, the President of the Central
Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), Fazeel Ferouz, said that the representatives
of the various religious confessions should agree on three principles:
not to encourage forced conversions; to allow believers to live according to their
beliefs; and to support the values inherent in religions, especially patience, love of
God and tolerance. Such principles would enable the religions to coexist peacefully,
something that has always been part of the country’s traditions 2 .
In January 2012 an international inter-faith gathering of Evangelical groupings
was held. Participating organisations included the World Council of Churches, the
1 Blogs.state.gov, October 13 th 2010
2 Kaieteur News, January 31 st 2011
GUYANA

and North America Council for Mission, the Council for World Mission,
the General Board of Global Ministry, United Methodist Church, Help and Shelter
(Guyana) and the Guyana Formation for Ministry and Mission.
On February 1, 2012 newly elected Guyanese President Donald Ramotar urged
the Guyanese to heed the religious leaders’ appeals and strive to follow the path
of peace, tolerance and good relations.
The president said that currently some people in the world are persecuted and
some countries are stigmatised for their faith. However, “Guyana rejects the notion
that any person or group of people can be stigmatised or persecuted because of
GUYANACaribbean
their religion. We will continue to reject any effort on the part of any government,
any organisation, or any person to subject people to policies that restrict the pursuit
of their faith” 3 .
On the occasion of Christmas, and likewise on the birthday of the Prophet
Mohammed (Youman Nabi) and that of a Hindu divinity (Shiv Raatri), the president
stressed the role played by the principal religions present in the country in
maintaining its moral standards4 .
3 Guyana Times, February 1 st 2012
4 Opnew.op.gv.gy, March 11 th 2012

AREA
27,750 Km²
Legislative changes
HAITI
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
10,085,214
REFUGEES
---
Christians 95.3%
Catholics 71.5% / Protestants 22.6% / Anglicans 1.2%
Spiritists 2.1%
Others 2.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The National Confederation of Haitian Voodoo publicly expressed its disapproval
of the government’s decision to celebrate the Catholic festivity of the Ascension 1 .
Catholic Church
As a result of the January 2010 earthquake, which claimed the lives of 316,000
people and left 1,300,000 more homeless, the Catholic Church has continued
to focus its action on the aftermath of this event.
In March 2012, the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the Dominican Republic
and of Haiti set up a special commission to speed up reconstruction projects in
the quake-stricken country.
The Commission’s task is to manage the flow of aid given by the Dominican
Republic to Haiti after the tragedy. Meanwhile, the aid given by Dominican
citizens, companies and institutions will be given directly to Haitian Catholic
organisations so that they can go ahead with their projects and likewise with the
recruitment of qualified volunteers to help in the reconstruction 2 .
Additionally, in June 2012, a conference was held in the United States to determine
the best ways to carry out small-scale projects and exchange information on
post-earthquake reconstruction, especially through the Partnership for the
Reconstruction of the Church in Haiti (PROCHE).
Focusing on reconstruction, the partnership was set up under the aegis of the
Haitian bishops with the assistance of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and other Catholic agencies
1 Defend.ht, June 4 th 2011
2 Aciprensa, March 18 th 2012
HAITI

HAITI
for the purpose of rebuilding the structures of the Catholic Church that were
destroyed in the 2010 quake3 .
In the context of the statements made by the two Bishops’ Conferences, the
archbishop of Santo Domingo (in the Dominican republic), Cardinal Nicolás de
Jesús López, announced that the Haitian bishops had asked them to intercede
with the Dominican government to settle the question of the legal status of the
children of Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic, who are in the country
without a residence permit.
They made the request because, as of 2010, the Dominican Constitution no longer
allows the children of immigrants without a residence permit to be recognised as
Dominican citizens.
According to United Nations data, about a million Haitian immigrants live in the
Dominican Republic, plus their Dominican-born children4 .
Other Christian Communities / Other religions
On April 2011, members of Religion for Peace, an organisation that includes
various Christian denominations, formally condemned the attacks against Voodoo
believers, who were blamed for spreading cholera in the country.
At the same time, Euvonie Georges Augostin, a representative of the Confederation
of Voodooists, said that the killing of 50 voodoo believers since the start of the
epidemic was the result of the lack of civic and religious education 5 .
3 Zenit.org, November 6 th 2011
4 Eldia.com.do, March 14 th 2012
5 Defend.ht, April 12 th 2011

AREA
112,088 Km²
HONDURAS
POPULATION
8,045,990
Changes in legislation
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
17
Christians 96.7%
Catholics 77.4% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 13.8%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 5.3%
Others 3.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
On September 30, 2010 a Framework Law for the Evangelical Churches in
Honduras was approved (Decree 185-2010) regulating the rights of the Churches
belonging to the Evangelical Confraternity of Honduras (Confraternidad Evangelica
de Honduras). The rights acknowledged were to have included tax exemption and
permission for ministers to participate in political life one year after leaving all
religious activities in their communities 1 .
However, a number of Evangelical communities that do not belong to the
Brotherhood appealed to the Supreme Court, which on February 15, 2012 declared
the law unConstitutional because it privileged the Evangelical Brotherhood 2 .
Violent incidents
On February 23, 2011 Evangelical Pastor Roberto Marroquin was murdered
during a robbery in the city of San Pedro Sula. Following this event, the
archbishop of Tegucicalpa, Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, said
that there was no reason or justification for what had taken place. “I appeal to all
our compatriots”, said the Cardinal, “especially fathers and all those entrusted
with the task of educating others, that they return to respect life as ordered by
God”. The murder was yet another instance of the wave of violence that has
also affected the Cardinal himself. His office was attacked and shot at, and he
has personally received numerous death threats from criminal gangs operating
in the country 3 .
1 www.blog-sin-dioses.blogspot.com/2010/10/honduras-y-su-ley-marco-de-la-iglesia.html;
2 www.larazon.es, February 24 th 2012; www.forointereclesiasticohonduras.org/DeroganLeyMarco.html
3 www.zenit.org, February 23 rd 2011
HONDURAS

January 2012 a number of Evangelical communities organised a day of prayer
to ask for God’s help and guidance for those governing the country. This event
was attended by the representatives of the State’s three powers, the President
of the Republic, the Speaker of the National Congress and the President of the
Supreme Court of Justice.
In July 2011 an identical event was held entitled “Let us Save Honduras” which
lasted three days and ended at the Presidential Palace
HONDURASIn 4 .
The weekly cabinet meetings usually start with a Christian prayer, but in
November 2011 they were opened by Muslim women, representing the Islamic
communities in the country5 .
4 www.noticiacristiana.com/sociedad/iglesiaestado/2011/07/evangelicos-terminan-jornada-de-oracion-en-
casa-presidencial-de-honduras.html
5 www.visiondeprofetas.blogspot.com/2011/11/485-lectura-del-coran-antes-de-iniciar.html#ixzz217jrWNcR

AREA
93,032 Km²
HUNGARY
On April 8, 2011 the new Hungarian Constitution was approved and came into
effect on January 1, 2012. The nation’s historic foundation by King St Stephen I is
recalled in the Preamble, as is the fact that from that moment, Hungary became
part of Christian Europe.
The right to full religious freedom is guaranteed by Article 7 of the chapter, “Freedom
and Responsibility” which establishes the separation of State and Churches,
the details of whose autonomy are referred to a subsequent ‘cardinal act’ on
State-Church relations 1 .
Following this, in July of the same year, parliament approved a new law on religious
organizations entitled, “The right of freedom of conscience and religion and
the status of Churches, religions and religious communities” (briefly, the Law on
Religions), which came into effect in January 2012 2 .
The law recognises the previous legal status of 14 Churches and religious organizations,
with their relative rights and privileges, while requiring all other communities
to undergo a new kind of registration in order to obtain legal recognition. This
is expected to pass by a two-thirds majority in parliament, which has the power
to deny legal status if a religious community’s activities are held to be a threat to
national security.
Among the 14 Churches and organizations registered under the new legislation
are the Catholic Church, Protestants, Evangelical Lutherans, some Jewish
organizations, various Orthodox Churches, Baptists and Pentecostal-Evangelicals.
The existing law, which dates from 1990, requires registration through a local
court, which does not however have the power to refuse the request.
1 www.presidentialactivism.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/full-english-text-of-the-new-hungarian-Constitution/
2 News.Va, January 10 th 2012
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
10,014,324
REFUGEES
5,106
Christians 86.7%
Catholics 59.1% / Orthodox 1.5% / Protestants 26.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 12%
Others 1.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
HUNGARY

eady obtained by some 300 minority religious organizations and communities.
They have all been required to register again during the brief period of the month
of January 2012.
The law provides for three levels of legal recognition. The first level is that of the
14 Churches and organizations already mentioned, while the other levels in practise
create two inferior categories, accordingly with fewer rights.
There are essentially three requirements in order to be recognised as a Church
or religious community: continuous activity that is primarily of a religious nature,
rituals that reflect the faith professed and an ongoing organised religious activity
within Hungary for at least 20 years.
HUNGARYThe new law contains a retroactive proviso that removes the legal status al-
This new Hungarian law is now the most restrictive, at a European level, as far
as registration procedures are concerned. For this fact alone, it has come under
criticism, especially from Protestant circles.
The most vocal criticism of this law has come from the Institute on Religion and
Public Policy, a non-profit international inter-religious organization based in Washington,
D.C. which is dedicated to promoting religious freedom 3 .
The government financially supports some activities of the religious organizations,
among which are the upkeep of publicly exhibited works of art, religious
instruction, education and culture. It also provides an annual payment as an indemnity
for the confiscation of assets belonging to many organizations during the
Communist Regime. A subsidy for ministers and religious workers is also being
planned for those who work in small villages.
In 2009 the previous government had interrupted the practise of awarding grants
for rebuilding and refurbishing religious buildings. The new parliament approved
reinstatement of this financing on December 23, 2010 as part of the 2011 budget.
On August 25, 2011 the Secretary of State for Religious, Civil and National Affairs,
who is also the Minister of Public Administration and Justice, Laszlo Szaszfalvi,
met the leaders of the four historic communities; the Catholics, Hungarian Reformed
Church, Lutherans and Jews. During the meeting the minister strongly
emphasised the government’s political commitment to compensate the Churches
and provide the financial support that had been withdrawn in the past. The Secretary
of State and other officials assured them that, starting in 2011, the gradual
payment of over $19 million will be made 4 .
3 Human Rights without Frontiers, July 19 th 2011
4 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
103,000 Km²
ICELAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
318,452
REFUGEES
58
Christians 95.8%
Catholics 2.2% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 93.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.9%
Others 1.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
A referendum in autumn 2012 is expected to approve the new Constitution, which
in Article 18 provides for full religious freedom 1 .
Article 62 of the current Constitution 2 establishes the Lutheran Evangelical Church
as the State Church and as such it is supported and protected by the institutions.
On this subject, the Law establishes that the State Church should receive an annual
tax from every citizen over the age of sixteen.
Article 63 guarantees to all the right to “found communities for divine worship in
compliance with their individual beliefs, on condition that they do not preach or
practise anything that is prejudicial to good morals and public order”.
Citizens belonging to registered religious denominations can pay tax to their own
preferred denomination, or, if they do not belong to any religious group, they can
pay the money to the University of Iceland.
Civil and national rights cannot be lost because of one’s religion, as specified in
Article 64, although one cannot refuse to undertake any civic duty for religious
reasons.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.stjornarskrarfelagid.is/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Iceland_New_Constitutional_Bill.pdf
2 www.government.is/Constitution
ICELAND

INDIA
AREA
3,287,263 Km²
INDIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,210,193,422
REFUGEES
185,118
Hindus 73.1%
Muslims 13.7%
Christians 4.7%
Catholics 1.8% / Orthodox 0.4% / Protestants 2.5%
Ethnoreligionists 4.1%
Others 4.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
506,000
In 2011 India reported more religious-based violence, although the Constitution
guarantees full religious freedom for all the country’s citizens. The Christian and
Islamic communities are among the most vulnerable, especially when religiousbased
violence is linked to caste issues.
Although since 2008 – the year of the anti-Christian pogroms in Orissa – there has
been no widespread violence against religious minorities, the Indian government
has not made significant progress in protecting and promoting religious freedom
and the figures for the past year remain nonetheless alarming. In 2011 alone,
according to data provided by the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the
Christian minority was the victim of 170 more or less serious attacks by Hindu
nationalists. Karnataka is the region in which the highest number of attacks
were reported with 45 incidents, followed by Orissa with 25, Madhya Pradesh
with 15, Kerala with 10, and Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh and Maharashtra with 6 each. To these one must add further isolated
and unreported attacks. These attacks are systematic and of all types, including
murders, injuries to the eyes and ears, and mutilations, often causing permanent
damage. Churches, Bibles, crucifixes and other religious objects were destroyed,
desecrated or burned, while cars, motorbikes and bicycles were destroyed and
homes and land forcibly seized, and graves were desecrated. Sajan George,
president of the GCIC, told AsiaNews, “These attacks are all based on religion
and do not even respect the philosophical rules of the Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism’s
Holy Text). which teaches all Indians love and respect for the believers of all
religions” 1 .
Those who participated in these attacks belong to nationalist Hindu movements
of the Sangh Parivar, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the Bajrang Dal. In most cases militants justify
these attacks with unfounded accusations of proselytism and forced conversions.
1 Asianews.it, December 23 th 2011

In the Christian community those most attacked are the members of Protestant
Churches and in particular the Pentecostal ones. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), a right-wing Hindu nationalist party that leads the main opposition coalition,
supports these groups.
An ever-greater problem is posed by the slowness (or complete absence) of
justice for the victims of the violence in Orissa (2007-2008) and of the attacks
against Churches and places of worship in Karnataka (2008). According to a
number of important Christian personalities, this situation of a “suspension” of the
justice system has contributed to creating a climate of impunity that encourages
ultranationalist militants to torment the Christian community.
A report by the Australian Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) places
India among the “less peaceful” countries in the world. Out of the 153 States
analysed in the Global Peace Index 2011, New Delhi is ranked 135. Father Felix
Raj SJ, headmaster of the St Xavier College in Calcutta, points to education
and the young as the solutions to the religious-based violence in India – with
its demolition of Churches and mosques, rape of Christian women, and even
nuns murder of priests and ministers and ‘re-conversion’ of dalits and tribal
Christians. Father Jacob Kani, editor of the Indian Currents Weekly, adds, “The
country needs a profound revision of its laws and of the manner in which they
are applied. Dialogue and not a clash should be the government’s mantra in
relating with all levels of Indian society” 2 .
The legislative situation
India is a secular State and Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees religious
freedom as a fundamental right, including practising, disseminating and
changing one’s beliefs. However, at a local level there are the so-called “anticonversion”
laws, which in theory are rules forbidding conversions that take
place “using force, coercion or fraud”. These laws in practise directly affect the
Christian community. Six states out of 28 have anti-conversion laws: Arunachal
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himanachal Pradesh (BJP), Gujarat
and Rajasthan (Congress Party). Legal experts and human rights activists
consider these laws both ambiguous and pointless, since Article 295A of the
Indian Penal Code already establishes serious sanctions for “whoever, with
deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class
of citizens of India, [...] insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious
beliefs of that class”.
2 Asianews.it, May 28 th 2011
INDIA

the moment no progress has been made on the Communal Violence Bill
(CVB), the law on interreligious violence presented by Sonia Gandhi’s National
Advisory Council (NAC). In September 2011, parliament once again blocked
its approval, for the umpteenth time
INDIAFor 3 . In addition to the BJP, its opponents also
include the All India Trinamool Congress, one of Gandhi’s allies. The current
draft law confers on the central government the power to directly intervene in
cases involving interreligious violence, bypassing the State authorities. Father
Cedric Prakash, director of the Jesuit Prashant Centre for Human Rights, Justice
and Peace, addresses one of the most controversial issues which is the one
defining a “minority”. “The law only includes religious, tribal and caste minorities
in the country and excludes the Hindu majority and thus 80% of the population.
What would happen in states like Jammu and Kashmir where Hindus represent
29% of the population, compared to Muslims who are 66.9%?” The idea of a law
addressing attacks based on religious denomination was approved in 2003, after
over two thousand Muslims were massacred in Gujarat4 .
Discrimination and social-religious violence
According to Article 3 of the Constitution on Scheduled Castes (SC) dated 1950,
only Hindu dalits enjoy financial, educational and social rights and benefits
(including political representation). Later, in 1956 and in 1990, this status was
extended to Buddhists and Sikhs. Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam
cannot enjoy the rights established by the SC. To avoid alienation many Dalits
convert to Buddhism or Hinduism, as happened on May 24, 2011 in Karnataka,
when during the Dhamma Dheekshe, one of the celebrations held for Vesak
(2,600 th anniversary of the enlightenment of Buddha), at least two thousand Dalits
converted to Buddhism 5 .
A hunger strike was held – unsuccessfully – from July 25 to the 27 by the Indian
Episcopal Conference (CBCI), the National Council of Churches (NCCI), the
National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians (NCCDC) and the National
Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC), calling on the government to extend the status
of SC also to Christian and Muslim Dalits. This hunger strike ended with a march
held by over ten thousand people through the streets of New Delhi 6 .
One positive event is that on April 29, 2011, in the city of Bangalore in Karnataka,
Sharadamma, a 45-year-old Dalit woman was elected Mayor. She was the first
“untouchable” to become a mayor.
3 The Times of India, September 10 th 2011
4 Asianews.it, September 12 th 2011
5 Ibid., May 26 th 2011
6 cbcisite.com, June 22 nd 2011

Anti-Christian violence: false accusations of proselytism and forced
conversions
Just as 2008 will be remembered for the pogroms in Orissa and the attacks on
Churches in Karnataka, 2011 will be remembered for numerous incidents based
on accusations of proselytism and forced conversions. In most cases militants
belonging to groups such as the VHP, the RSS and Bajrang Dal are those
perpetrating violence with the more or less explicit complicity of the authorities.
This was confirmed to AsiaNews by Sajan K George, president of the GCIC
who said, “The high number of acquittals in the trials of those accused of the
anti-Christian violence in 2008 and the low number of those sentenced, has
encouraged militants of the Hindu extreme right nationalist movements. They feel
they enjoy total impunity from law enforcement officials and so they threaten and
intimidate the Christian minority” 7 .
On January 2, 2011 an ultranationalist Hindu group belonging to Bajrang Dal
tried to kill the pastor Isaac Samuel, coordinator of the Global Council of Indian
Christians (GCIC) in Davanagere (Karnataka). The militants attacked the man
during a prayer service with a poleaxe as his wife and two children watched. It
is a miracle that Samuel lived. The blade missed his head and hit his shoulder
resulting in a deep wound. Two days later, while he was still in hospital, the local
police arrested Samuel. Basraj, a member of Bajrang Dal, had accused the
pastor on the basis of Article 153 of the Indian Penal Code. He was charged with
“promoting unfriendliness between different groups on the basis of their religion” 8 .
It was a “black” Good Friday for Karnataka when the Hindu nationalists of the
Sangh Parivar attacked the Protestant communities in Bagalkot and Devangere,
two different districts. In the first one 50 militants armed with sticks interrupted
the service held by the local Pentecostal community. They then attacked and
insulted the two pastors, Ashok Motilal and Gurappa Powar, accusing them of
practising forced conversions for money. The Hindu radicals left the building only
after several hours, leaving the first pastor wounded. As Sajan George reported,
“everything happened surrounded by the complete indifference of the authorities,
who even rejected the formal complaint presented by the community”. Hindu
activists in Davangere then attacked the Protestant community of Bethel Church,
attacking Pastor Umesh Nayak in front of 30 members of the congregation,
destroying Bibles and prayer books. At the end of the assault, the Hindu radicals
locked the Christians in their Church for six hours. Police intervened only after
pressured was applied by the GCIC9 .
7 Asianews.it, March 13 th 2012
8 Ibid., January 5 th 2011
9 All Indian Christian Council, April 27 th 2011
INDIA

June 28, 2011 in the district of Hubli (Karnataka), the police arrested two
Pentecostal pastors, accused of forced conversions by 10 members of Bajrang
Dal. The police arrested the men on the basis of Articles 295A (offending religious
sentiments), 447 (trespassing private property) and 341 (illegal pressure) of the
Indian Penal Code. The Hindu militants waylaid Pastor M Sandeep and Brother
Isaac on their return from a service. After questioning and searching them for
INDIAOn
Christian objects and texts, they beat and insulted them. The attackers then called
the police, who arrested the two men. According to witnesses, the police kept the
two men locked up without food until evening, only to then confirm the arrests and
accusations10 .
Another “shame”, as the GCIC president defined it, took place in Andhra Pradesh
on July 3. G.N. Paul, pastor of the Independent Baptist Church in the village of
Munugodu (district of Nalgonda), was returning home after a service attended by
20 families, when four Hindu radicals attacked him, stabbing him in the abdomen
and head. Thanks to help from bystanders, an ambulance rescued the Reverend
Paul. Hindu nationalists had threatened him on three occasions, ordering him to
stop all evangelizing activities. No one has been arrested for the attack11 .
On July 20 th the Protestant pastor of Balliguda (Orissa), Michael Nayak,
disappeared. A week later on June 28th, his decomposing body was found near
the village of Mdikia. The official autopsy ruled it an accidental death and the
police closed the case without investigating further. A legal team from the GCIC
came to a very different conclusion. Pastor Michael had given testimony in a
case of a violent attack that took place during the anti-Christian persecutions. The
accused was found guilty and served his sentence. Once out of prison, he struck
up a friendship with Pastor Michael. On the morning of July 20 the Hindu proposed
they take a bicycle trip to Bataguda. Once in the forest, the man stabbed Pastor
Michael to death. In the first instance, the petition by the GCIC to the court in
Balliguda was not able to get the case transferred or to reopen the investigation.
Although the report indicated the complete absence of abrasions or wounds in
the official report, except for a deep wound at the back of the head, the authorities
tried to bury the case. In spite of this, once it came before the court, the police
version was rejected and a new investigation was ordered 12 .
August ended with yet another attack against a pastor of the Pentecostal Church
in the district of Thurivarur (Tamil Nadu). Local Hindu activists belonging to Sangh
Parivar destroyed the Bethel Prayer House, and attacked Pastor Williams Ramados
and his wife. They then dragged the couple and members of the congregation to
10 Asianews.it, June 30 th 2011
11 Ibid., November 7 th 2011
12 Ibid., August 4 th 2011

the local police station, where they were charged under various sections of the
Indian penal code. The Christians spent six days in prison and were eventually
released with a warning, only thanks to the GCIC. Sajan George told AsiaNews that
on the day of the attack “government officials visited the Church, measured it and
declared everything was in order and that it belonged to the pastor. The [Hindu]
activists rejected the decision by the authorities and attacked the community” 13 .
September was a difficult month for some Christian communities in Madhya
Pradesh and Karnataka. In one case on September 12, five Hindu activists
belonging to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) insulted, attacked and brought
false accusations of forced conversions against four Pentecostal pastors, the wife
of one of them and 11 Hindus, who were about to be baptised. The Hindu militants
broke into the house where a prayer meeting was being held. They were armed
with clubs and accompanied by three local police officers. After they had been
beaten, the police tried to convince the soon-to-be baptised members to make
false accusations against one of the pastors. The group refused, declaring they
wanted to be baptised as they believed in Christ14 . On September 16, dozens
of Hindu ultranationalists attacked the Christian communities in the districts of
Hassam and Belgaum (Karnataka). In both cases, the police arrested two pastors
on charges of proselytism and forced conversions15 .
On November 12 and 13 Bajrang Dal activists attacked the members of two
different Christian communities, the Immanuel Prarthanalaya Church in Arkalgud
and the Bethel Ministry Church, both in the district of Hassan (Karnataka). In the
first case the Hindus interrupted a prayer service, tore up Bibles and called the
police. In the second they attacked a group of six Christians waiting for a bus; after
insulting them and beating, them the activists dragged the men to the Harehally
police station where officers issued arrest warrants for the six Christians. In both
incidents the charges were “forced conversions” 16 .
During the first two weeks of December, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra
Pradesh witnessed new episodes of religious-based violence. On December 9, in
the village of Jhabua’s Jhaida (Andhra Pradesh), Pastor Ramesh Vasunia of the
independent Faith Calvary Church had organised a day of prayer and fasting for
women. During the service, dozens of activists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) surrounded the house and
started to throw stones against those present. They then set three Bibles on fire,
tore up all Christian religious texts, shredded a picture of Jesus and destroyed a
13 Asianews.it, August 31 st 2011
14 Ibid., September 13 th 2011
15 Compass Direct News, September 30 th 2011
16 Asianews.it, November 13 th 2011
INDIA

crucifix. Some of them physically attacked an elderly woman, stealing the
gold objects she owned. That same evening the pastor was once again beaten
and accused of practising forced conversions.
On December 11 masked men interrupted a prayer service held by the New
Fellowship Gospel Church (Andhra Pradesh) and started to throw stones at the
pastor Bangaraiah. Seeing that the man was bleeding a great deal from a wound
INDIAwooden
to his head, the faithful managed to raise the alarm while the attackers fled. The
Reverend Bangaraiah was taken to the State hospital where he had 14 stitches
to his face and head. The attack took place amidst the total indifference of the
authorities, although there is a police station in Nalgonda only a few yards from
the Church. The next day, in the district of Mangalore (Karnataka), a group of
unidentified men threw stones at a shrine of St Anthony of Padua, breaking the
glass cabinet and damaging the statue of the saint. This shrine is opposite the
St Vincent Ferrer Church17 .
The year 2011 ended with four attacks by radical Hindus, all in Karnataka
and all between December 25 and 28. On Christmas Eve about 20 activists
belonging to a local group called Jagaran Vedike attacked a family having
supper. The Hindus attacked men, women and children with sticks and stones,
seriously wounding them and threatening to kill them. Many of them were
subsequently hospitalised, with broken limbs and noses, and the pastor’s wife
had a serious chest wound. The activists fled immediately after the attack,
while the police drafted a report, without however investigating the attackers.
On December 28 there were three different incidents. In Maripalla (district of
Mangalore), Hindu extremists set fire to the village nativity crib.
Christians immediately reported the fire to the police in Bantwal who arrested
two radical Hindus. The men defended themselves saying that Christians
had practised forced conversions during celebrations for Christmas. In Mulky
(Mangalore), about 20 masked Hindu extremists interrupted a prayer service
at the Pentecostal Church of God in Hebron. Armed with sticks and stones,
the attackers broke windows, destroyed rooms and vehicles parked outside
the building. Pastor I.D. Sanna was at home with his wife Sarah, their children
Prerna and Abhishek and five other people, but no one was hurt. In the
district of Davanagere a number of activists belonging to the Srirama Sene (a
local movement of Hindu nationalists) entered the home of a member of the
Pentecostal Divyadarsana Ministry Church.
There they beat up the pastor Raju Doddamani and others present, accusing
them of practising forced conversions. The attackers then called the police in
Vidyanagar who took away the Christians to question them.
17 Compass Direct News, December 30 th 2011

The most serious aspect, as the president of the GCIC observed, was “the
violation of their dignity as human beings, invading the privacy of their homes,
attacking women and children and desecrating the sanctity of the family with
physical and verbal violence” 18 .
Christian schools and institutions: “too good”
The violence and persecution by ultranationalist Hindu militants was also
expressed with attacks on schools and institutes run by the Catholic Church. In
India there are over 20,000 Catholic schools, of which 66% are in rural areas and
attended by over six million students. Only 23% of those enrolled are Catholics,
the rest are boys and girls from all religious denominations and castes with no
discrimination. Of these students, 55% are girls, in many cases destined not to
even finish primary school. The attackers, often members of extremist youth
movements, complained of attempts to proselytise during lessons.
The truth is that these incidents often mask personal issues (refused enrollment,
etc). In some states led by the BJP there are still attempts to introduce into
the curriculum the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindus’ Holy Book. This happened in
Karnataka, where at the end of July the Minister for Education, Vishveshwar
Kaggeri, even threatened the minorities saying, “Those who oppose teaching
the Gita must leave our country” 19 . A few months later, on November 8, Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP) from Madhya Pradesh stated his intention
to introduce the study of the Gita in all the State schools. Earlier, in 2010 he had
already expressed the same proposal 20 .
Between June and July 2011, four Catholic schools in the Madhya Pradesh were
threatened by Hindu nationalists from the Sangh Parivar and were obliged to ask
the authorities for protection for a number of weeks. The first schools threatened
were the Carmel Convent School (district of Bhel), the Carmel Convent Senior
Secondary School (district of Ratanpur) and the Bairagarh Campion School
(district of Bhopal). On July 2 the St Jude School in Khargone (district of Khandwa)
began its own Calvary. Here a number of activists from the Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP, the BJP’s youth movement) wanted to oblige the school
to admit a boy to Grade Five. The headmaster, Father John Victor, had rejected
the request because the class was full. For over a week the militants attacked the
school with threats and intimidations and only police intervention dispersed the
ABVP activists 21 .
18 Asianews.it, December 30 th 2011
19 The Times of India, July 20 th 2011
20 Ibid., November 18 th 2011
21 Fides, July 13 th 2011
INDIA

and attacks on Christian Churches and places of worship
Attacks on the Christian communities also included physical attacks and verbal
threats against Churches and places of worship.
On March 28 the municipal offices of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
(BMC) issued a demolition order for 729 crucifixes in Bandra, a suburb in the west
INDIAThreats
of Mumbai. The decision was part of a town-planning project and included the
elimination of places of worship built after 1964 and deemed “illegal”, because they
allegedly prevented roads from being widened, improved traffic flow schemes, or
because they were built on land reserved to public services. Local Catholic groups
tried to oppose the demolition order. “Since 2003 we have been presenting to the
BMC documents stating when these crosses were built”. Their attempts were
all in vain and two days later, on March 30 excavators removed four crosses.
Plaques bore the date of their construction, 1936. The Chief Minister then called
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, to apologise and said he had
not given instructions to remove the crosses22 .
On the night of August 15 a group of unidentified men attacked the Malankara Syrian
Catholic Church of St Mary in Pune (Maharashtra). The vandals desecrated the
altar, covered the walls with insults and destroyed holy images and objects used
for worship. The group then burned the front of the tabernacle and threw pages
of the Bible and other prayer books all over the floor. This was the first attack in
Pune on the Malankara Syrian community, which has always lived peacefully and
in harmony with other religious communities, providing educational, medical and
social services. The following day, the parish priest, Father Varghese Valikodath
celebrated Mass to purify the Church. A few days later another Malankara Syrian
Catholic Church was attacked by Hindu extremists. This time the Church targeted
was the Mother Mary Secundrabad, in Andhra Pradesh. On August 25 a group
of vandals set fire to the altar, to bibles, hymn books, crucifixes and garments
and then destroyed the Church’s electronic equipment. Following a report by the
parish priest, Father Felix Thondalil, the police created a security system around
the building without however identifying the attacker. Built in 1996, the Church had
suffered a similar attack in 200723 .
In September in Karnataka, the authorities closed two Pentecostal Churches, the
Church of God Full of Gospel, in the district of Bangalore, and the End Times
Full Harvest Church, in the district of Hassan. In both cases police intervention
followed reports from ultranationalist Hindu groups. They accused the pastor of
not having legal permits and of practising forced conversions24 .
22 Asianews.it, March 28 th 2011
23 Ucanews, August 17 th 2011
24 Asianews.it, October 3 rd 2011

At times the offences were acts of outright provocation. On October 6 more than
400 Hindu extremists planted a saffron flag, Hinduism’s official colour, on the
ruins of a Catholic Church destroyed in the 2008 anti-Christian pogroms25 .
On the evening of November 3 in Kankanady, near Mangalore (Karnataka), three
young men desecrated the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of St Alphonse. One
of them, 24-year-old Shibu Maniraj, entered the place of worship and destroyed
a statue of Jesus Christ kept in the sacristy. He desecrated a Bible, damaged a
stole and then removed his clothes and put on the priest’s vestments with which
he left the Church. In the 23 years of its history the Church of St Alphonse had
never been damaged or attacked26 .
Jammu and Kashmir: Christian missionaries targeted by Islamic
extremists
Radical Islam too is not immune from making groundless accusations of
proselytism and forced conversion, which often result in abuse, intimidations and
violence against the Christian community. In 2011, the Reverend Chander Mani
Khanna, the Anglican pastor at the All Saints Church (Church of North India),
and Father Jim Borst, a Dutch Catholic missionary at Mill Hill, who has been in
Kashmir for 49 years, became victims of this situation. According to an Islamic
court the first man was guilty of baptising seven young Muslims in exchange for
money and the second of proselytising in his schools 27 .
At the beginning of February 2012, the State High Court suspended criminal
procedings against the Reverend Khanna, accused on October 29 2011 of
carrying out forced conversions – an accusation instigated by the Grand Mufti of
the Kashmir Valley, Bahir-ud-din himself. Charging him with having encouraged
seven young Muslims to embrace Christianity in exchange for money, the Islamic
leader summoned the Reverend Khanna in front of a Sharia court on November
15. The Christian community opposed this request from the very beginning, given
that Sharia courts have no legal authority over citizens in this state and can only
pass civil and administrative sentences for Muslims. However, in order to avoid
tension and explain what had really happened, the Reverend Khanna appeared
as requested. On that occasion the Grand Mufti showed the pastor a video posted
in Youtube, in which the pastor is seen baptising seven young Muslims. Alone,
and surrounded by 20 people, for more than four hours, the pastor explained
that the baptisms were valid because they had come after a year of catechism
requested by the boys themselves.
25 Asianews.it, October 8 th 2011
26 Ibid., November 5 th 2011
27 Compass Direct News, January 20 th 2012
INDIA

Grand Mufti considered the explanations provided by the Reverend Khanna
“unsatisfactory” and on November 19 police officers from Jammu and Kashmir
arrested the pastor. In the absence of anti-conversion laws, the officers recorded
the reverend’s arrest on the basis of Articles 153A (people who promote
disharmony, enmity or hatred on the basis of religion, race, residence, language
or caste) and 295A (people who offend the religious sentiments of any social class
INDIAThe
with deliberate and evil actions) of the Indian Penal Code. Twice (on November
27 and 28) a large group of lawyers filled the courtroom when the pastor’s case
was being heard, obliging the judge to postpone a hearing for his release on
bail. The Jammu and Kashmir Legal Association had in fact asked its members
not to defend the Reverend Khanna. A poster outside the courtroom threatened
any transgressors with serious consequences, including being expelled from the
Association and forbidden from exercising their profession in the State of Kashmir.
When he was released on the night of December 1, the Reverend Khanna found
a large group protesting against his release. The police later arrested the seven
young Muslims, threatening them and torturing them to make them denounce the
pastor. They all stood by the Reverend Khanna, reiterating that they had freely
chosen to convert to Christianity. Three of them, however, reconverted to Islam
after a short period.
A few days after the Anglican pastor’s release, the Islamic court summoned Father
Jim Borst and once again, for the umpteenth time, the Dutch catholic missionary
was obliged to answer accusations of proselytism and forced conversions. For
years the Mill Hill missionary, who is the headmaster of two prestigious schools,
has been the victim of persecutions and twice already, in 2010 and in 2011, he
has received deportation orders from the State government, subsequently always
revoked. Some believe that accusations of proselytism made against Father Jim
Borst are in fact caused by the jealously and envy of Islamic intellectuals. The
missionary’s schools, which include St Joseph’s in Baramulla and Burn Hall in
Srinagar, have staff that is 99% Muslim and are famous for the quality of their
teaching. Their fame is such that various Islamic authorities have studied in these
schools, including the current head of the Jammu and Kashmir government Omar
Abdullah, and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, one of the founders of the APHC (All Parties
Hurriyat Conference).
The cases involving the Reverend Khanna and Father Borst crossed paths
on January 13, 2012, when Kashmir’s Sharia court charged them both with
proselytism and forced conversions asked that they be deported. Thanks to the
GCIC requesting they be acquitted, early in February Kashmir’s High Court finally
annulled all charges against the Christian missionaries, a sentence that at least
for the moment puts an end to this incident28 .
28 Compass Direct News, February 16 th 2011

Sister Valsa, murdered by the “Coal mafia”
On the night of November 15 Sister Valsa John, 53, of the Sisters of Charity of
Jesus and Mary and a missionary with tribal people near Dumka in India’s northeastern
State of Jharkhand, was shot dead with a pistol. Police responded to the
case by arresting seven people with ties to the Maoists who operate in the area.
Among those arrested was Ranjan Marandi, known for his links to the Maoists.
However, people in the Catholic community maintain that behind the arrest there
is an attempt to cover for the powerful coal-mining lobby, which Sister Valsa had
frequently clashed with in the past. Human rights activists and friends of Sister
Valsa reacted strongly, saying that “there is a great deal of speculation concerning
this murder”. According to Inspector General Arun Oraon, the murder happened
to prevent Sister Valsa from accompanying a young woman to file a complaint
of attempted rape against a certain Edwin Murmu. The funeral for Sister Valsa
took place on November 17 in the cathedral of Dumka. Her murder brought deep
sorrow and emotion to the Christian community, which remembers her dedication
to the mission and witness to Christ among the marginalised and the weak29 .
Justice by half-measures
Beyond the continuing violence against Christians and their places of worship
is the almost complete absence of justice for the victims of the 2008 pogrom.
Only one murder case in 20 has resulted in a sentence being carried out. Of
3,232 criminal complaints, only 828 resulted in genuine formal investigations and
with 327 cases finally coming before a judge, 169 of them resulted in complete
acquittals, 86 resulted in sentences, but only for minor infractions.
Another 90 cases are pending. John Dayal, Secretary General of the All Indian
Christians Council, stated that, according to official figures, 1,597 of those
accused were completely acquitted. The same state governments have placed
a roadblock to the execution of justice, continuing to completely deny any
involvement in the anti-Christian violence of that period 30 . On January 28 a report
by the Justice Commission, presided over by a former judge, B.K. Somasekhar,
stated that the Bajarang Dal and its coordinator, Mahendra Kumar, were not in
any way responsible for the attacks against Churches and places of worship in
Karnataka in 2008. Responding to this, M.F. Saldanha, a former Supreme Court
judge, conducted an independent investigation on the attacks. On the basis of
information gathered, Saldanha accused Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa of
having supported the atrocities against the Christian community. Following these
29 The Times of India, November 21 st 2011
30 Asianews.it, May 12 th 2011
INDIA

the government of Karnataka inserted the equivalent of €7.7 million
for the Christian community in the 2011-2012 budget. Of this, the equivalent of
€5.4 million will be invested in scholarships, micro credit schemes and meeting
halls for the Christian community. Another €2.3 million will go to rebuilding at
least a thousand Churches. This is the first time the government of Karnataka
has allocated funds for the Christians. In spite of this, the community sees the
INDIAaccusations,
decision as an attempt to placate rather than help them.
In the state of Orissa, the district authorities in Kandhamal have set aside €273,000
to rebuild houses destroyed during the anti-Christian violence. This compensation
was only made possible thanks to mediation by the local Church31 .
In March 2011, a woman from the village of Girti in Kandhamal was finally able
to file a criminal complaint for the 2008 murder of her husband and two-yearold
daughter. During the anti-Christian pogroms a group of Hindu nationalists
attacked the 10 families in the village. During the attacks a man was tortured
and then thrown in a ditch, together with his little daughter. They were found
the following day by the man’s wife and other villagers. Both victims died a little
later. Police refused to accept the widow’s report at the time and nowadays noone
lives in the village of Girti, since five of the families, including the widow’s
family, have moved to Semingpadar, and the remaining five have moved to
another village 32 .
On May 9, 2011 however, sensational news was released. The Orissa police
absolved Christians of all blame for the murder of Laxmanananda Saraswati,
which had resulted in the 2008 pogroms. After further investigations, the criminal
section has brought charges against 14 Maoist militants. According to sources
close to the police investigations, leaders of the extreme left had created “a
group to carry out the plan that included the murder of the historical leader of
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VJP)”. Since the 1960s, Saraswati had been known
for his hate campaigns against the conversion of Dalits and his attacks against
Churches, schools, leper colonies, hospitals and Christian social centres 33 .
An example of the Indian legal system’s partiality and inefficiency is the case
linked to the BJP Hindu MP, Manoj Pradhan, who was involved in 38 murders
during the violence in Kandhamal. The court only addressed six of these cases.
After constantly entering and leaving prison in 2010, on January 2011 he was
once again sentenced to seven years in prison by India’s Supreme Court for
31 Asianews.it, June 2 nd 2011
32 Ibid., June 10 th 2011
33 Ibid., November 5 th 2011

the murder of Parikhita Digal, overruling a verdict passed in July of the previous
year. On March 9, Manoj Pradhan presented himself at the prison, but has
announced he will appeal34 .
On May 9, 2011 the High Court of Orissa released on bail two of the 10 men
accused of raping the Catholic nun Meena Barwa, an event that occurred during
the 2008 pogroms. Originally Crime Branch (CB) investigations had involved 30
people, but the police only arrested 22. Over the years no fewer than 17 of them
have managed to obtain bail. According to Mgr John Barwa, archbishop of
Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, such verdicts are “defeats in the already slow justice
system, which lacerate even more the people who suffer. The scenario seems
discouraging, and pessimism is moving to an increasingly dark future. The
wounds are still deep, the scars still visible and will only heal completely when
justice is done” 35 .
On May 18 a court in Orissa sentenced 13 people to five years in prison for their
role in the 2008 violence in Kandhamal. More specifically, those accused had set
fire to homes in the village of Sartaguda 36 .
On other occasions justice assumed elements of parody. In July a sentence was
passed against nine people in Kandhamal, when the court found them guilty
of arson, murder, rioting and illegal assembly. For these crimes they were only
sentenced to community service and a fine of 11,000 rupees (about €170) each.
However, there is also a problem of justice and fairness even in individual cases
of anti-Christian attacks. In most cases the police are guilty of conniving with the
Hindu nationalist violence, either by not arresting the perpetrators or by arresting
the victims of violence. According to Sajan George, President of the Global
Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), “the high number of acquittals linked to the
2008 anti-Christian violence has contributed to increasing this climate of impunity.
Extremists feel encouraged, especially in states in which they enjoy the political
protection of the BJP” 37 .
Violence in Gujarat: moving towards a solution
While the justice system was disappointing in the cases of anti-Christian violence
in Orissa and Karnataka in 2011, the same cannot be said in regard to the
massacres in Gujarat that involved the Hindu and Islamic communities in 2002.
A special court sentenced to death 11 of the 31 Muslims responsible for setting
34 The Times of India, January 26 th 2011
35 Asianews.it, November 5 th 2011
36 Fides, May 20 th 2011
37 Asianews.it, July 22 nd 2011
INDIA

to a train in Godhra, in Gujarat, on February 27, 2002. The other 20 men found
guilty were sentenced to life imprisonment. On November 9, the state’s special
court handed down life sentences without appeal to 31 of the 73 people accused
of the violence in Sardapura, in which 33 Muslims died (22 were women).
The result of investigations carried out by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set
INDIAfire
up by India’s Supreme Court, this verdict is the first for the riots that took place
after the Godhra incident. Those convicted were found guilty of murder, attempted
murder, arson, riots and plotting. Of the 42 people acquitted, 11 were released
due to lack of evidence and 31 were given the benefit of the doubt.
They were however fined 25,000 rupees each (about € 365) and have been
forbidden from leaving the country38 . The Sardapura incident is one of the many
violent events that followed the train fire in Godhra on February 27, 2002.
On that day a group of Muslims attacked and set fire to the Sabarmati Express,
filled with Hindus, mainly women, children and elderly people, all returning from
a pilgrimage to Ayodhya. This violence was sparked by the destruction of the
Babri Majid mosque by Hindu extremists. The attack caused violent interreligious
riots all over Gujarat, among them the incident in Sardapura, where, on the night
of the 28 a group of Hindus entered the area of the city inhabited by the Muslim
community. Fearing the worst, a number of people took refuge in one house,
whichwas surrounded by the Hindus and set on fire. This resulted in the death of
33 people, among them 22 women. The Islamic community paid the highest price
in this massacre, in which over one thousand people died, 790 Muslims and 254
Hindus. In addition, 253 people were declared missing. 523 places of worship
were damaged, including three Churches, and 27,901 Hindus and 7,651 Muslims
were arrested 39 .
38 IndiaTimes, November 10 th 2011
39 Asianews.it, November 9 th 2011

AREA
1,904,569 Km²
INDONESIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
237,556,363
REFUGEES
1,006
Muslims 79%
Christians 11.8%
Catholics 2.9% / Protestants 7.5% / Other Chr. 1.4%
Ethnoreligionists 2.6%
Others 6.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
180,000
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, remains a strong
democracy which, thanks to the Constitution and the philosophy of Pancasila,
the founding principles of the State, protects, at least in principle, human rights
and religious freedom.
The government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was reelected
in 2009, has taken important steps against intolerance and religious
repression, especially in “sensitive” areas like Ambon and Central Sulawesi.
However, tolerance and pluralism were “tainted” once again in 2011 by episodes
of sectarian violence with minorities experiencing, even now, intimidation,
discrimination and abuses.
Whether through political expediency or incompetence, the government ends
up by tolerating the actions of extremist groups, while the police and the courts
fail to take the necessary measures against violence. In fact there have been a
number of cases in which Muslim extremists have influenced the public agenda
and shaped government action through lobbying, street demonstrations and
shows of force. This has affected the behaviour of judges, prosecutors and
political leaders.
In general, most religious communities can operate openly and without major
restrictions, especially the members of the country’s six officially recognised
religions, namely Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism and
Confucianism.
Various forces and groups, including moderate Muslims and many civil society
organisations, have tried to work together to counter violence, abuses of power
and violations, including those imposed through the enforcement of Sharia or
Islamic law in some parts of the country. However, the fight for equal rights
and dignity has proven inadequate to prevent attacks and intimidations against
religious minorities.
In fact, even though the Constitution guarantees freedom of worship, some
national and provincial laws, like the blasphemy law and the withholding of
building permits for places of worship, have been used to attack minorities.
INDONESIA

Aceh, Islamic law remains in force and is strictly applied by the provincial
government , ever since the official recognition of the Sharia in a 2003 presidential
decree.
In principle, Christians and members of other religious minorities are not subject
to Sharia. However, the law’s rigid dress code and rules of behaviour - its on
selling and consuming alcoholic beverages and on gambling, its corporal
punishments (flogging) and fines for pre- and extra-marital sex - all end up
directly or indirectly affecting non-Muslims.
The Wahid Institute
INDONESIAIn 1 , which is named after a former president and leader of
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), is the largest moderate Muslim organisation with
20 million members. In a recent report it has acknowledged that, despite its
traditions of freedom and pluralism, Indonesia is not immune from the dangers of
fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism. In its view, most sectarian intolerance
comes from Muslim extremist movements like the Islamic Defender Front (FPI)
and the Ulema Council (MUI).
Fortunately, moderate Muslims, including intellectuals and religious scholars,
who represent a large segment of Indonesian society, have in the main opposed
the growing religious fanaticism, which is closely tied to pro-Islamisation
campaigns pursued by terrorist groups.
The principle of religious freedom, activists say, not only pertains to the realm of
individual rights, but touches the entire country. Failure to respect this principle
threatens the nation’s traditions and ideals, which are based on tolerance and
the principles of democracy.
Anti-Catholic violence
In December 2010, before the Christmas festivities, Muslim fundamentalists
targeted Catholic places of worship and symbols several times. Only luck limited
the number of innocent victims.
On December 1, 2010, a disabled child found four petrol-filled bottles with wires
and detonators in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Virgin Mary in Sendang
Sriningsih, Prambanan District, Yogyakarta.
According to local Catholics, and to Mr Ignatius Warno Lastoyo, who manages the
site, those planting the bomb had a clear aim: to kill hundreds of pilgrims coming
from neighbouring parishes for the Shrine’s joint monthly Mass planned for the
next day.
The Shrine of the Virgin Mary was founded in 1936 by Fr Harjosuwondo, a
Jesuit priest from Wedi Parish, by Mr Wongsosentono, a local village chief, and
1 www.wahidinstitute.org, Executive summary report on religious freedom and tolerance 2010

y Bei Sutopanitro, a catechist, who wanted to establish a Catholic pilgrimage
site in Prambanan2 .
On December 7, 2010, two bombs exploded in Christ the King Church, Gawok
District, Kartasura (Central Java). They had been placed inside two milk
cans, filled with nails and stones. The next day, Mgr Johannes Pujasumarta,
archbishop of Semarang, called on the Catholic community to stay calm. He
also urged the authorities to find the culprits3 .
On Christmas Eve in Bogor, the District chief banned all Catholic public activity
and celebrations, including Midnight Mass, at St John the Baptist Catholic Church
in Parung, West Java Province. Communicated by mail, the official ban laid out
the standard reason the authorities have invoked at holiday time, namely the lack
of a building permit (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan or IMB in Indonesian) for a place
of worship. Without it, even praying on Church-owned land is prohibited4 .
If threats and abuses of power marked the end of 2010, the start of the New Year
did not bring any peace and quiet to the Catholic community.
On January 7, 2011, Persecution.org and UCAnews reported threats by the
Indonesian extremist group, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which said it
was prepared to use force to stop a Christian prayer meeting and a conference
on human rights and religious freedom in the country5 .
A month later, the threats turned into bitter reality; in the morning of February 8,
thousands of furious Muslims attacked three Churches, a Christian orphanage
and a Christian health centre in Temanggung Regency (Central Java). Only the
intervention of the police prevented further violence.
The crowd first of all attacked the courthouse where Antonius Richmond
Bawengan, a Christian born in Manado (North Sulawesi), was on trial for
proselytising and blasphemy. The accused had been arrested in October 2010
because during a visit to Temanggung he had handed out printed missionary
material in which certain Islamic symbols were mocked. He was sentenced to
five years in prison, but the crowd demanded the death sentence. Dissatisfaction
with the verdict sparked violence6 . In one case, members of the Islamic Defence
Front were among the extremists who beat up the parish priest at St Peter
and Paul Catholic Church, because he had tried to defend its tabernacle from
possible desecration7 .
2 AsiaNews, December 3 rd 2010
3 Ibid., December 9 th 2010
4 Ibid., December 20 th 2010
5 Persecution.org, January 7 th 2011
6 AsiaNews, February 8 th 2011
7 Agenzia Fides, February 8 th 2011
INDONESIA

October 2011 violence broke out between police and Papuans, the inhabitants
of Indonesia’s easternmost province. Some Catholic schools were caught up in the
disturbances when police entered them, looking for pro-independence leaders.
The attack on October 22 apparently left a number of seminarians with minor
wounds, treatable in a few days. Despite the condemnation, the attacks continued
over the following hours, amidst the protests of seminarians and administrators
INDONESIAIn 8 .
But as has always been the case in the country, the Christmas season saw
the most serious violations of religious freedom. On December 15, the Jakarta
Globe reported that the previous night vandals had decapitated a statue of the
Virgin Mary in the small Sendang Prawita grotto, in Tawangmangu, Archdiocese
of Semarang (Central Java). During the attack, the cross was stolen and the
holy water stoups were destroyed.
“This brutal action has strongly affected the Catholic community”, said Mgr
Johannes Pujasumarta, archbishop of Semarang, and appealed to law
enforcement to guarantee pluralism and respect for religious freedom9 .
In the preceding days, a gang of Muslim extremists had come to the Church
where they had hung up a banner with an ominous threat. It read, “We, the
Muslim people of Parung, support and will put into practise the decree of Regent
No 453.2/556, which orders a stop to the religious activities of the Catholic
Church of St John the Baptist”.
Local sources confirmed that the Bogor Regency (a local administrative
subdivision) had issued an order “prohibiting Christians from holding religious
activities in public”. Christians were not allowed to celebrate Christmas for
“security reasons”, a “story that recurs repeatedly and that also took place last
year when we celebrated Christmas in a parking lot” 10 .
Fundamentalist groups intensified their “warnings” on Christmas Eve, especially
in Bogor (West Java Province). Christmas celebrations continue to be “at risk”,
especially for worshippers at St John the Baptist Catholic Church, which for
some time has been at the centre of a dispute between Christians and Muslims
that revolves – as always – around the question of the Church’s building permit.
For Fr Benny Susetyo Pr, executive secretary of the Indonesian Bishops’
Conference (KWI), the “unfriendly methods” used by Muslim fundamentalists
“undermine the spirit of Pancasila”. Local government officials are also to blame,
he noted, because they have never tried to find an agreement with regards to
the place of worship11 .
8 UCAnews, October 27 th 2011
9 Ibid., December 19 th 2011
10 Agenzia Fides, December 21 st 2011
11 AsiaNews, December 23 rd 2011

Threats and attacks against non-Catholic Christians
In early 2011, the year-long dispute between Bogor’s Yasmin Church and the
authorities and police of West Java flared up again. The authorities, who had
put seals on the Church in 2008, are refusing to implement a ruling by the
Supreme Court, which on January 14 sided with the legitimate demands of the
local religious minority.
On February 18 in courtroom, where he was on trial for inciting religious hatred,
Murhali Barda, a radical Muslim leader from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI),
now suspended from the movement, launched new, more serious threats against
the Christian residents in the Bekasi area, one of the large suburbs in Greater
Jakarta. These threats were directed especially at the Huria Batak Kristen
Protestan (Batak Christian Protestant Church). Barda urged all the Christians in
the area to leave on pain of a violent reaction by “Muslim warriors” 12 .
At the end of June 2010, Bekasi saw more violence by Muslim militants who
accused Christians of trying to “Christianise” the city.
On February 24, judges imposed a light sentence on the people who attacked
a Protestant Church, all members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), who had
atachedk a Protestant Church in September 2010. In the attack, due to a dispute
over Church construction, Luspida Simanjutak was wounded, suffering cuts to the
face, head and back. Together with the local pastor, she heads the Huria Batak
Kristen Protestan13 .
On March 10, in Sleman District, Yogyakarta, a Muslim fundamentalist leader
was able to have a Protestant Church closed down on allegations of irregularities,
including the lack of proper building permit, and on charges of proselytising
against its pastor. In reality, local sources confirm that the community had
always favoured interfaith dialogue, helping five Muslim students in their studies
with no intention of converting them14 .
At the start of April, a new chapter opened in the “war” that had forced Christian
worshippers to pray out in the street. Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto ordered
Christians to accept the transfer of their place of worship, something members
of the congregation refused to do, appealing instead to moderate Muslims to
have the principle of religious freedom respected.
In mid-April, elections in Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) Regency on the island
of Sumatra sparked street riots that saw a Christian Church and an Election
Commission bureau set on fire15 .
12 Agenzia Fides, February 18 th 2011
13 Compass Direct News, March 10 th 2011.
14 AsiaNews, March 10 th 2011
15 Ibid., April 4 th 2011
INDONESIA

May 17, the Setara Institute reported another episode of anti-Christian
violence. Extremist Muslim groups stopped two Easter celebrations in Cirebon,
a city on the border between West and Central Java, amid the indifference of
the police, who did nothing to stop the violence.
Traditionally, Indonesian Catholics and Protestants begin Easter celebrations well
ahead of the official date in order to strengthen the community’s faith and boost
friendship among its members. This is done through the reciting of the Rosary,
children’s games (like the Easter egg hunt) and other social activities
INDONESIAOn 16 .
On August 1, at the start of Ramadan, a mob of about a hundred people attacked
two Protestant house Churches in Logas Tanah Darat, Kuantan Regency, Riau
Province (Sumatra). The new attack against the Christian minority, according to
some experts contacted by the Jakarta Globe, is the result of “lenient” sentences
judges impose on Muslim extremists and leaders in Indonesia.
One of the prayer centres set on fire belonged to the Batak Christian Protestant
Church (HBKP). Sahat Tarigan, leader of the Protestant Christian Karo, said that
at least 100 people had gathered around the building, chanting hostile slogans
and brandishing weapons.
At the end of August, the controversy surrounding the Yasmin Church flared up
again when Bogor mayor Diani Budiarto said that, despite a government decision
and a Supreme Court ruling, “no Church will ever be build on an Islamic road”
within his jurisdiction.
The road in question honours Abdullah bin Nuh, a famous Muslim religious leader
from Cianjur (West Java) who died in 1987. For Diani Budiarto, building a Christian
place of worship is an insult to the Muslim scholar’s memory. However, Abdullah
bin Nuh’s son, Mohamme Mustofa, who is also a religious scholar, said that he
was not opposed to a Protestant Church on a street named after his father. But for
the extremist mayor, this was not good enough17 .
In September 2011, Islamic-Christian violence began again in the Maluku Islands
(Moluccas). Clashes left three deaths (a Christian and two Muslims), 20 seriously
and 40 less seriously injured. According to Mgr Petrus Canisius Mandagi, bishop
of Ambon, “It all started with an ordinary car accident, involving the driver of a
motorcycle taxi and a Muslim who was passing through Ambon’s Christian quarter”.
The city is still divided, in fact, since the Christian-Muslim clashes ten years
earlier, which saw the city split along sectarian lines, with one neighbourhood
becoming completely Christian and the other completely Muslim.
“The Christians rescued the man and tried to take him to hospital”, the bishop
said. “But unfortunately he died as he was being transported there. At this point,
a series of false and provocative text messages started to circulate, saying that
16 AsiaNews, May 19 th 2011
17 Compass Direct News, August 15 th 2011

a Muslim had been killed by Christians. This is how the clashes started. Muslims
began attacking Christians across the border of the two districts. The Christian
citizens, in turn, attacked the Muslims. The clashes have caused a number of
deaths and injuries which have deeply saddened us”.
Already in the past in the Moluccas, intense sectarian conflicts between Christians
and Muslims have left many people dead and wounded. The conflict was set
off in 1999, when thousands of Muslim settlers began arriving from other parts
of Indonesia. The violence continued until 2002, claiming the lives of at least
9,000 people in a succession of incidents. The two sides signed a peace deal in
February 2002, the Malino II Accord, in South Sulawesi, thus ending the conflict.
However, this has not prevented occasional violent flare-ups18 .
On September 25 2011, a suicide bomber killed three people and wounded at
least 20 more in a Church in Kepunton, Solo (Central Java). He blew himself up
after he entered the building at the end of Mass.
Two days later, on September 27, police in Ambon found three homemade explosive
devices inside a Maranatha Protestant Church near the local bus station.
According to the authorities, the local tensions are caused by outside Muslim
groups. Bombing crowded places like markets, religious buildings or train and
bus stations fits the modus operandi of Muslim extremist groups active in Poso
(Central Sulawesi) 19 .
On September 30, 2011, a group of extremists from the Islamic Defenders Front
(FPI) shut down a Protestant Church in Jatinangor, a sub-district in Bandung
(West Java Province). As in other instances, the fundamentalists who took over
the Christian place of worship, interrupting its religious services, were backed by
the local administration.
Rumours had begun circulating that the Protestant Church was a place where
a “community of newly baptised” met. Extremists accused the head of the
Protestant community, Rev Bernard Maukar, of Christian proselytising in a
predominantly Muslim area.
Arief Saefolah, village chief in Mekargalih (where the Church is located), claimed
that he had the right to close down the place of worship as “illegal” because it
was within his jurisdiction. “This area is under my authority”, he told the Christian
community. “Please, get out as soon as possible” 20 .
In mid-December, a few days before Christmas, sectarian violence flared up
again in Ambon, the Moluccan capital. Sixteen people were wounded, one from
a gunshot to the chest. In the morning of December 13, two opposing factions,
18 Agenzia Fides, September 12 th 2011
19 Persecution.org, September 25 th 2011; September 27 th 2011
20 AsiaNews, October 3 rd 2011
INDONESIA

y a road, clashed in a bitter fight that saw some houses set on fire.
Local sources said the incident began the night before, when the two groups
had traded insults and thrown firebombs at each other. Overnight, the situation
degenerated into urban warfare, quelled only by police intervention.
Officers seized several “traditional” knives as well as Molotov cocktails, arrows,
machetes and spears
INDONESIAseparated 21 .
Christmas brought some good news to the members of the Yasmin Church.
Hundreds of Banser, a Muslim paramilitary group belonging to Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU), the largest moderate Islamic association in the country, cooperated with
the Bogor Church to ensure a peaceful Christmas season.
The need for the Banser’s involvement became evident when rumours began
circulating in Bogor that dozens of local Muslim radical elements would not hesitate
to “break up” Christmas celebrations organised by the GKI Yasmin Church.
The faithful ended up holding their celebrations in the home of a Church member
because the authorities had blocked their access to the area of their impounded
Church. However, the presence of Banser members guaranteed security during
the service.
Banser members were also seen in Solo (Central Java), where hundreds of
them provided security outside Churches during Christmas celebrations.
“Our presence here was agreed with the Churches’ organisation”, said Nurkholis,
a representative of the Banser youth group, GP Ansor.
At the GKI Yasmin Church celebrations, Inayah Wahid, daughter of the late
president Abdurrahman Wahid, and his aunt, Lily Wahid, of the National
Awakening Party (PKB), were also present22 .
The Ahmadi, a persecuted Muslim minority
Since a joint ministerial decree came into effect in 2008 banning all activities by
the Ahmadis, a Muslim group deemed heretical by Sunnis because they do not
recognise Mohammed as the last prophet, members of this religious minority
have been targeted by Muslim extremists. On several occasions, Ahmadi
mosques have been attacked and Ahmadis have been slaughtered with the
authorities indifferent to their plight.
Only last year, at least 50 of their places of worship were closed down, 36 by
force. Many Ahmadis have been killed during the year. In October 2011, their
religion was banned in Bekasi, Bajar (West Java).
In early February 2011, the newspapers reported the “unanimous condemnation”
by members of civil society, religious leaders and prominent Muslim figures of the
21 UCAnews, December 15 th 2011
22 AsiaNews, December 20 th 2011

attack of February 6 that sowed death and destruction in the Ahmadi community.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his administration found themselves
mired in the controversy as critics condemned them for failing to provide all
Indonesians security and guarantee their right to religious freedom in the country.
The incident began when a mob of some 1,500 extremists attacked a family
home in the village of Umbulan, Cikeusik Sub-district, Pandeglang Regency,
Banten (Java) and tortured its occupants. Three people died and others suffered
injuries. Two cars and a house were also set on fire.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and various Indonesian advocacy groups came to the
defence of the Ahmadi community, condemning President Yudhoyono for his
failure to keep his promises.
In East Java, the Anti-Discrimination Islamic Network (JIAD), a liberal Muslim
group, called on provincial authorities to lift a ban on the Ahmadis because
extremists could “manipulate” it and cause new violence. In Samarinda, East
Borneo, a local group sponsored a public debate to resolve social conflicts23 .
When the Ahmadi are the victims of violence, even the courts appear uninterested
in defending their rights and dignity. This is an old problem that repeats itself on
a regular basis. The attacks in February 2011 are a case in point. Once again,
Indonesia’s justice system was at the centre of the controversy because it failed
to impose stiff sentences on the people responsible for the sectarian violence.
On July 28, 2011, the District Court in Serang, Banten Province (Java), handed
down minimal sentences against 12 Muslim extremists involved in an attack
against the province’s Ahmadi community. The sentences ranged from three to
six months, a member of the Islamic Lawyer Team (TPM) said.
Both the prosecutor and the judges said that the Ahmadis had “provoked” the
assault and so bore some responsibility for what happened to them. One of the
prosecutors, M Yunis, claimed that the Ahmadis “systematically provoked riots”.
In reality, pressures from Muslim extremists was behind the light sentences.
Human rights activists and members of civil society groups have been outraged
by the court’s decision, compared to the seriousness of the facts24 .
Violence against other Muslims
Indonesia’s Sunni fundamentalists have also targeted other Muslims by adopting
a series of regulations, bans and rules of behaviour that violate religious freedom
as well as the nation’s traditions and practises.
Some Indonesian ulema have railed for example against paying homage to the
national flag. For Kiai Hajj Cholil Ridwan, head of the Indonesian Ulema Council
23 UCAnews, February 8 th 2011
24 AsiaNews, July 20 th 2011
INDONESIA

the practise is “haram”, forbidden, because “the Prophet Mohammed
never did it”, and thus it must be considered “heretical”.
Published in the March 18 - April 1 issue of Suara Islam, an Indonesian language
biweekly, his controversial views elicited angry responses from the majority of
ordinary Indonesians, incensed by the council’s opinions and afraid that such
statements could exacerbate differences and incite conflict.
Muslims leaders are not new to making such controversial statements. Some
have already called for a ban on Facebook, which they deem “amoral”, whilst
others have condemned practises like yoga, smoking and voting
INDONESIA(MUI), 25 .
On April 15 2011, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the Taka mosque,
which is located within the police headquarters in Ciberon (West Java), a city
some 300 km from the capital Jakarta. 28 people were wounded, including a
number of police. It was the first time in the country’s history that a mosque was
the target of a suicide attack, coming just before the regular Friday prayer when
worshippers gather inside the building.
According to the authorities, Muslim terrorists were behind the attack, carried
out in retaliation against recent police anti-terrorism operations.
West Java Police Chief General Suparni Parto said that the explosive belt
the suicide bomber wore contained nails and bolts, some of which ended up
embedded in the bodies of the wounded. According to the general, this fits the
modus operandi of Indonesian Muslim extremists.
For intelligence expert Wawan Purwanto, the attack marks a shift in Indonesia’s
Islamic terrorism, causing a major shock in the population.
“The explosion”, he explained, “took place inside a mosque during prayer”. Until
then, no extremist group had ever attacked a mosque during Friday prayers. “In
the past”, he said, “the targets were symbols of Western power. Now all those
who are against them, such as police, may be wiped out”.
Catholic and Protestant leaders unanimously condemned the outrage26 .
The last case of violence against religious minorities in 2011 came at the end of
the year, with Shia Muslims as the target.
On December 29, a Shia boarding school (pesantren) was set on fire by an
enraged mob. The educational facility was inside a building that housed a small
mosque in Karang Gayam, Madura Island (East Java).
Before the attack, arsonists set fire to houses and stores owned by a local
Muslim, eventually moving on to the Tajul Muluk boarding school and the area’s
small mosque. Local authorities claimed the incident was due to a local feud
that got out of hand27 .
25 AsiaNews, March 23 rd 2011
26 UCAnews, April 15 th 2011; AsiaNews, April 15 th 2011
27 AsiaNews, December 31 st 2011

AREA
1,648,195 Km²
IRAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
74,733,230
REFUGEES
886,468
Muslims 98.6%
Christians 0.5%
Catholics 0.03% / Orthodox 0.4% / Protestants 0.07%
Others 0.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
From a political-religious perspective, in Iran Shiite Islam is fully identified with the
structure of the State itself.
As specified in Article 4 of the Constitution, “All civil, penal financial, economic,
administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be
based on Islamic criteria. This principle applies absolutely and generally to all articles
of the Constitution as well as to all other laws and regulations, and the fuqaha’
of the Guardian Council are judges in this matter”.
As stated in Article 13, the State officially recognises three of the religious minorities
present in the country, the Christians, the Jews and the Zoroastrians.
The Constitution guarantees these recognised communities the status of a “protected
minority”, allowing them freedom of worship, autonomous schools, newspapers
and the right to representation in parliament.
Conversion to religions other than Islam is opposed, although the civil law does
not treat apostasy as a crime.
The internationally reported case of the Protestant minister, Youcef Nadarkhani,
has ended positively and he has been acquitted of committing apostasy and has
been released 1 .
A member of the Protestant community known as the “Church of Iran”, Nadarkhani
was arrested on October 13, 2009 in the city of Rasht, while trying to legally
register his community. He was initially accused of protesting, but the charges
were later changed to apostasy and proselytising Muslims.
On September 30, 2011, the court in Rasht confirmed the death sentence, but
in March 2012, at the United Nations Commission for Human Rights in Geneva,
Iran’s representative Mohammad Javad Larijani excluded the possibility that the
1 AsiaNews, September 8 th 2012
IRAN

passed against Nadarkhani would be carried out. “In the past 33 years”,
he said, “since the Islamic revolution no one has been put to death or persecuted
for having changed religion or for abandoning Islam”
IRANsentence 2 .
The Baha’i international community has continued to report cases of the arrest of
members of the community, but the authorities deny any religious motivation, attributing
the cases reported to political motivations, linked to conspiracies against
national security3 .
There have been no reports of any significant changes in the legislation on religious
freedom during the period analysed by this report.
2 The Huffington Post, March 14 th 2012
3 Baha’i World News Service, May 22 nd and May 25 th 2011; July 27 th 2011

AREA
438,317 Km²
IRAQ
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
31,466,698
REFUGEES
35,189
Muslims 97.3%
Christians 1.8%
Catholics 0.7% / Orthodox 0.7% / Protestants 0.4%
Others 0.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
1,332,382
Racked by chronic instability since the fall of the old regime of Saddam Hussein,
following the US invasion (2003), the Iraqi State has been unable to provide
security to its own population. Members of ethnic and religious minorities,
especially Christians, are the most exposed to sectarian violence, causing a
never-ending exodus.
Numbering about a million in 2003, Christians (belonging to 14 different
Churches) are now estimated to be no more than around 300,000. A certain
number have moved to the self-governing region of Iraqi Kurdistan, where their
numbers have jumped from 30,000 in 2003 to 100,000 today.
Even here, however, they are not safe, as the anti-Christian attacks that have
continued through 2010 and 2011 show, especially from Muslims who identify with
the Kurdistan Islamic Union, an Islamic party linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The insecurity in this province has worsened so much that many Christians only
remain there temporarily.
Still, Mgr Louis Sako, Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk, was able to inaugurate a
new Church dedicated to St Paul in the village of Sikanayan, on land donated
by the central government. It was the first time that a place of worship of the
Chaldean Church was able to be built in Iraq since 2003.
Many Christians have found refuge in Iraq’s neighbours (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon
and Turkey) where they live in precarious conditions, waiting for visas for the West.
According to Mgr Basile Georges Casmoussa, Syriac-Catholic archbishop
emeritus of Mosul, “80% of our young people are leaving or dreaming of
leaving” 1 . For Mgr Shlomo Warduni, auxiliary bishop of the Chaldean Patriarchate
(Baghdad), “emigration is destroying our culture, history, faith, Churches and
parishes. It is a contagious and dangerous disease against which we can do
nothing” 2 .
1 Zenit, May 2 nd 2011
2 La Croix, October 31 st - November 1 st 2011
IRAQ

minorities are also made subject to the Sharia (Islamic law, the only
source of jurisprudence). This devalues Christians and places them in a situation
of inequality because the minorities are also underrepresented in the State
institutions. Hence, in July 2010, a group of 76 delegates from Christian and
other minority groups (Yazidis, Sabeans, etc.) launched an appeal for help to
IRAQThese
encourage the return of refugees, as well as for Constitutional amendments that
would safeguard their rights.
Mgr Casmoussa listed many acts of injustice against Christians. A case in point is
the school system. If there is a single Muslim in a classroom of Christian children,
he or she has the right to Islamic religious instruction, whereas Christians must
represent 51% of the class in order to exercise the same right.
At a cultural level, Iraq’s post-Saddam Hussein government has cancelled a permit
given to Churches to open a museum3 . For Mgr Casmoussa, “many government
officials are against us” 4 .
Christians are also facing the progressive re-Islamisation of Iraqi society. Various
Muslim groups are demanding that Christians should pay the Islamic ‘poll tax’
(the Jizya), and seeking to impose a rigid dress code on Christian women. In fact,
according to Archdeacon Emmanuel Youkhana, many women do not leave home
without wearing the Islamic veil, because of the social pressure.
Some senior Muslim religious authorities are now demanding the segregation
of male and female students in the universities. Finally, the Faculty of Music at
Baghdad University has been shut down, because music is deemed incompatible
with the fundamentalist interpretation of Sharia5 .
On its website, Islamist group Ansar al Islam posted a letter that read, “The
secretary general of the [. . .] Islamic brigade has decided to give the Christian
Crusader infidels of Baghdad and the other provinces a final warning to leave
Iraq immediately and permanently and join Benedict XVI and his followers who
have trampled on the greatest symbols of humanity and Islam [. . .]. There will
be no place for Christian infidels from now on [. . .]. Those who remain will have
their throats slit” 6 .
Anti-Christian violence
The year 2010 was marked by the attack against Our Lady of Perpetual Help in
Baghdad on October 31, eve of All-Saints. During the celebration of the Mass, a
group of a dozen armed terrorists entered the building. They immediately shot dead
3 Zenit, September 12 th 2010
4 Ibid., May 29 th 2011
5 Ibid., January 20 th 2011
6 Cited in Zenit, May 29 th 2011

a priest and two worshippers and took other priests and about 300 worshippers
as hostages. The attackers also fired at the crucifix with their machine guns,
jeering and saying, “Tell him to save you”.
The assault by Iraqi military with US support, four hours after the attack had
begun, resulted in the death of 58 hostages, including two young priests, Father
Wassim Sabih and Father Thaer Saadallah Boutros, and the wounding of 67
people, including another priest, Father Rafael Alkotaily.
An al-Qaeda-affiliated organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility
for the attack. In a statement, it said, “Every Christian, their organisations and
institutions as well as their leaders, wherever they are, are legitimate targets for
the mujahidin”.
The attack was the bloodiest anti-Christian incident in Iraq since 2003. It took
place a week after the Special Synod of the Bishops of the Middle East, held in
Rome from October 10 to 24, and chaired by Pope Benedict XVI. At the end of
the proceedings, the assembly had drawn attention to the situation of the region’s
Christians, especially in Iraq.
Ten days after the tragedy, many Christian-owned homes and stores were
attacked, leaving six people dead and 33 wounded. The same terrorist group
claimed responsibility for all 13 separate deadly incidents.
On November 30, 2010 Fadi Walid Gabriel, a young engineer, was assassinated in
Mosul. As a protest against his murder, Christian representatives, including many
bishops, quit the conference on ‘Coexistence and social tolerance’, organised
by the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. They
returned only after their demand for protection was included in the manifesto
issued at the end of the event7 .
In view of the situation, Church leaders in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Mosul and Basra
announced the cancellation of the Midnight Mass, the Christmas celebrations and
seasonal decorations.
The year 2011 saw more anti-Christian attacks.
At the start of May, Ashur Yacob Issa was abducted and assassinated in Mosul
because his family could not pay the ransom of US$ 100,000 demanded by
the kidnappers.
On May 31 an Orthodox Christian, Arakan Yacob, was also assassinated in Mosul.
On August 2 a car bomb exploded in front of a Church in Kirkuk. 13 people were
injured, including Fr Imad Yalda, the parish priest. Police deactivated two more
car bombs near Christian sites, St George’s Church and a school.
On August 15, Kirkuk’s Syriac-Orthodox Church of Saint-Ephraim was badly
damaged by an explosive device.
7 Zenit, December 3 rd 2010
IRAQ

October 2 Bassam Paolous, a Chaldean Christian, was killed in the restaurant
where he worked in Mosul. He had just moved to Telkaif, a town with a Christian
majority, to put his family far from harm’s way.
On October 1 and 2 two Christians, Bassam Isho and Emmanuel Hanna Polos,
were killed in Kirkuk.
IRAQOn
On December 11, 2011 Adnan Elia Jakmakji and his wife Raghad El Tawil were
assassinated in Mosul.
Endemic violence
Many attacks have occurred in connection with the bloody conflict that has been
ongoing between Shias and Sunnis ever since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s
regime 8 . Among Muslims the sectarian bloodshed seems unstoppable, especially
during the main festivities, which attract large crowds.
Today, even though the number of attacks appears to be down compared to the
first years of the war, the number of those killed is staggering. For instance, 132
Iraqis died in acts of violence in the month of May 2012 alone 9 .
8 AsiaNews, January 10 th 2012
9 Ibid., June 13 th 2012

AREA
84,405 Km²
IRELAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,589,002
REFUGEES
8,249
Christians 94.2%
Catholics 77.4% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 0.1%
Anglicans 2% / Other Chr. 13.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.8%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The current Irish Constitution, approved in 1937 and amended over the years in
various places, provides for freedom of religion, and other laws have contributed
to the generally free practise of religion.
Article 44 acknowledges that “the homage of public worship is due to Almighty
God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honour religion”.
This is followed by the guarantee that “freedom of conscience and the free profession
and practise of religion are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed
to every citizen”. All religious denominations have the right to manage
their own business and property, to buy and maintain educational and charitable
institutes. The text makes no mention of a State religion, and the promoting
of one religion rather than another is forbidden, as is religious-based discrimination
in schools 1 .
Religious education in Schools
The law permits, but does not require, religious instruction in State schools.
Most primary and secondary schools are denominational.
Under the terms of the Constitution, the Department of Education must (and in
fact does) provide funding on an equal basis to schools of different religious denominations,
including Islamic and Jewish schools. Although religious instruction
is an integral part of the curriculum of most schools, parents may exempt their
children from such instruction. The Education Act of 1998 notes that approximately
2 hours be given to Religious Education per week.
In 2003 the Equality Authority declared that Church-linked schools are permitted
legally to refuse to admit a student who is not of that religious group if the
school can prove that the refusal is essential to the maintenance of the “ethos” of
1 www.Constitution.ie/Constitution-of-ireland/default.asp
IRELAND

school (for example, too many Catholics in a Muslim school could prevent
the school from having a Muslim “ethos”). However, there were no reports of any
children being refused admission to any school for this reason. By law a religious
school may select its staff based on their religious beliefs.
In 2011, there have been tensions between the Government and the Holy See,
following the publication of the so-called “Cloyne Report”, prepared by the commission
of inquiry into the clerical child abuse that occurred in the diocese of
Cloyne. In a speech to the Chamber of Deputies, the Prime Minister had accused
the Vatican of having instructed the Irish bishops to cover up the scandal.
IRELANDthe
The Holy See has strongly denied this accusation, while reaffirming its commitment
to constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Irish Government, naturally
on the basis of mutual respect2 .
2 Zenit.org, September 5 th 2011 - www.zenit.org/article-33358?l=english

AREA
20,770 Km²
ISRAEL
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
7,730,400
REFUGEES
1,116
Jewes 72.5%
Muslims 19.3%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.8%
Christians 2.4%
Catholics 1.6% / Orthodox 0.6% / Protestants 0.2%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Since the middle of 2010 the situation experienced by Christian citizens of Israel
has remained unchanged. Although like their Arab Muslim compatriots they are
Israeli citizens and represented in parliament, they continue to experience a status
that de facto makes them second-class citizens compared to Jews.
The insistence with which Israeli leaders want their State to be acknowledged
by the international community as a “Jewish State” and not the “State of the
Jews” emphasises this situation and, in their eyes, justifies the inequality that
results. Discrimination arising from this situation occurs in various ways, and is
seen for example in the fields of political responsibility (only Jews are members
of government), jobs in public administration and in the judicial system, military
service (compulsory only for Jews, optional for Druses, but not accessible for
Muslims and Christians), the allocation of State subsidies to localities and districts
not inhabited by Jewish citizens and educational programmes, (the Ministry for
Education imposes on Israeli Christian schools programmes excluding all religious
instruction).
Furthermore, a Constitutional amendment dated December 2010 obliges all
non-Jews wishing to obtain Israeli citizenship to swear loyalty to “the State of
Israel as a Jewish and democratic State”. This provision basically affects the
25,000 Palestinians married to Israeli Arabs who are still not naturalised as well
as the future wives and husbands of Arab Israelis. This amendment is aimed at
dissuading these candidates from requesting Israeli citizenship in order to restrict
the growth of the Arab population.
Israel’s administration also maintains its restrictive policy in approving residency
permits for foreign Christians such as priests and seminarians from Palestine,
Jordan or other Arab countries. In March 2011, the government refused to issue
a residential visa for more than six months to the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem,
Suheil Dawani, who is of Palestinian origin, and his family. One should bear in
ISRAEL

that his diocese includes Israel, the Lebanon and Jordan1.
In December 2010, dozens of Orthodox rabbis forbade all Israeli Jews to sell or
rent property to non-Jews, justifying their attitude in an open letter that stated,
“The Torah forbids selling a home or land in the Land of Israel to a stranger [...]
since the lifestyle of non-Jews differs from that of Jews”. They also threatened to
excommunicat those who disobeyed.
This resulted in the creation of a group called “Rabbis against religious
discrimination”. Those who joined the movement, about 750 rabbis from all over
ISRAELmind
the world, signed a petition stating that the new rule issued by their colleagues in
Israel had caused them “shock and pain”. “The attempt to radicalise discriminatory
policies based on ethnicity or religion in the Torah is a pathetic distortion of our
traditions. The people of Israel know well the meaning of discrimination and we
still bear the scars of hatred. When those representing the state of Israel’s official
rabbinic leadership express such positions, we are hurt by this ‘Chillul HaShem’,
desecration of the name of God” 2 .
In 2011, there was a significant rise in hostility involving spitting at priests, monks
or nuns wearing a habit and people wearing a crucifix.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr Fouad Twal, made a speech to welcome
European and North American bishops on their annual pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. Mgr Twal also said, “We are still very concerned by two extremisms: The
Muslim one, with its attacks against our Churches and our faithful, and the Israeli
right wing, invading more and more of Jerusalem, trying to transform it to a Hebrew
and Jewish-only city, excluding the other faiths” 3 .
At the beginning of 2012, there were reports in Jerusalem of the profanation of a
number of Christian buildings with anti-Christian graffiti, (“Death to Christianity”,
“We will crucify you, Jesus is dead”, “Mary was a prostitute”) Jewish characters
were also painted on the walls of the Baptist Church in Narkis Street and on those
of the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Cross as well as insulting words in a
Christian cemetery on Mount Zion.
This behaviour does not usually result in arrests or charges being brought. Father
Pizzaballa, Custodian of the Holy Land, complained about this to Israeli President
Shimon Peres, to whom he wrote a letter. In particular he wrote, “In recent years
we have learned to ignore provocations and continue with our daily lives. And
yet, this time it seems that they have stepped over the line and we cannot remain
silent. These offensive slogans written on the walls of Christian places of worship,
1 AsiaNews, February 25 th 2011
2 Ibid., December 15 th 2010
3 Ibid., January 12 th 2011

mainly in Jerusalem, offend the sentiments of all Christians as well as those of
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land”.
The priest asked the Head of State to use his power and influence with the
authorities “so that this dangerous attitude is eradicated and these actions stopped
before they become a habit against Christians in Israel” 4 .
In the meantime negotiations between the Holy See and Israel continue so as to
define the Catholic Church’s juridical status as far as fiscal and economic issues
are concerned. The permanent bilateral commission of the State of Israel and the
Holy See met on January 6, 2012, in a plenary session, hosted by Israel’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. A joint statement informed that negotiations were held in an
open, cordial and constructive atmosphere and that significant progress had been
made on important issues. The parties agreed on future steps to be taken towards
reaching a final agreement. The next plenary meeting will be held on June 11, 2012
at the Vatican. These negotiations, required under the Fundamental Agreement
between the Holy See and Israel dated 1993, began on March 11, 19995 .
Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories also damage Christians. It is
extremely difficult, and often impossible, to obtain travel permits for Jerusalem
and Nazareth for a pilgrimage or to attend Church meetings. Requests for these
permits must be presented weeks in advance to the Israeli Ministry for Religious
Affairs, which reserves for itself the right to not answer6 . Christians also suffer
deprivations due to the construction of the security wall. On October 13, 2011, in
Beit Jala, a Christian town very close to Bethlehem, the Israeli army seized over
five hectares of land in order to extend construction of the wall for an additional
twelve kilometres.
According to the Palestinian NGO Arij, once construction is completed, over 640
hectares will remain isolated on the other side of the wall, or 45% of Beit Jala’s
original lands.
4 Haaretz, February 27 th 2012
5 AsiaNews, January 27 th 2012
6 Persecution.org, February 4 th 2012
ISRAEL

ITALY
AREA
301,318 Km²
ITALY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
60,626,442
REFUGEES
58,060
Christians 93.1%
Catholics 89.6% / Orthodox 2.5% / Protestants 1%
Muslims 2.5%
Others 4.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
As far as the relations between Church and State are concerned, Italy is
characterised by what is known as “positive secularism”. Although secularism is
one of the highest principles of the Constitution, its observance “does not imply
State indifference where religions are concerned, but is a guarantee by the State
to safeguard freedom of religion, in conditions of religious and cultural pluralism”,
since the State “is at the service of the real instances of the civil and religious
consciences of the people” (Constitutional Court Sentence No. 203-1989).
Equally, it must be emphasised that, for the moment, there is no law on the
protection and limits of religious freedom, for which, since the end of 1990,
a number of very similar draft laws and parliamentary projects have been
presented, but none have been approved by parliament.
Given this legal premise of a positive framework for the protection of rights,
there have been events and situations in Italy, as in other Western countries,
that point to a so-called “slippery slope” – of intolerance / discrimination / hatecrimes
against religious faith – to adopt the concept first applied by Professor
Massimo Introvigne, one of the world’s leading scholars on relations between
religions and society.
On the question of the exhibition of religious symbols in public places, an issue
that has caused recurring controversy in many countries, Italy has been no
exception. In particular one should note the case of “Lautsi vs Italy”, which,
having started in 2002, ended in March 2011 with a final ruling from the Grande
Chambre of the European Court in Strasbourg. The case involved a Mrs Soile
Tuulikki Lautsi, an Italian citizen of Finnish origin, who in 2002 asked the council
of the Vittorino da Feltre middle school in Abano Terme (Padua) attended by
her children, to remove the crucifix from the classroom, because, “it was a clear
violation of the Constitutional principle of the State’s laicity”. The request was
rejected by the school and the lady turned to the regional administrative court
of the Veneto, which ruled the issue “unfounded” and that it should have been
raised in terms of “Constitutional legitimacy”.

This ruling was followed by others – from the Constitutional court, the Veneto
administrative court (again) and the State council – rulings relating to years not
covered by this report that will not be set out here. What is however important
is the fact that the issue was taken to the European level. The sentence passed
by the European Court of Human Rights on November 3, 2009, was in favour of
the removal of the crucifix and therefore “found for Mrs Lautsi”.
The Italian government appealed immediately, requesting and obtaining that the
Grande Chambre review the case. In this appeal Italy was able to rely not only
on the 10 countries that “officially” appeared as third parties before the court,
but also on the contributions of various NGOs, Italian and European MPs and
the diplomatic work of the Holy See’s representative. On March 8, 2011 the
Lautsi-Italy case finally concluded with the Grande Chambre of the European
Court stating the following verdict: “The crucifix certainly has a religious value
while also containing many other meanings. Although Mrs Lautsi placed as the
basis of her appeal the impact on her children, at the time aged 11 and 13, caused
by exhibiting the crucifix, and although especially in schools the crucifix has been
considered by other courts as “a powerful external symbol”, students of those
ages are certainly capable of discernment and are sufficiently mature, if permitted
to attend religious instruction, to understand that this subject also involves the
faculty to make choices, and therefore to attribute to the crucifix meanings of all
kinds that are the expression of democracy and freedom. In conclusion, exhibiting
the crucifix does not affect educational pluralism specifically within the framework
of the State’s laicity and preserves a democratic society as envisaged by the
Convention”.
Acts of vandalism and profanity against the Catholic religion took place in Rome
on October 15, 2011 during a march of the so-called “Indignati”, when a group of
people, their faces covered by helmets and armed with clubs, forced their way
into the parish hall of the Church of Saints Marcellino and Pietro, removing a small
statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and a crucifix and destroying both in the street.
Among the more significant responses was that of the Cardinal Vicar of Rome,
Agostino Vallini, who said he was “deeply disturbed” and that, other than the “bewilderment
and concern” about what happened 1 , he hoped that an atmosphere of
dialogue and civilised coexistence could be re-established. In his Sunday homily
the next day in Milan’s Cathedral, Cardinal Angelo Scola, also commented on
these events, saying, “the destruction of a statue of the Virgin and the crucifix
were acts deeply offensive to the entire Christian community”.
1 corriere.it, October 16 th 2011
ITALY

episode worthy of note, in a questionable and now increasingly common form
of pseudo-respect for minorities, took place in August 2011 in Novara
ITALYAn 2 .
In its first year in office, the city council decided to change the “Ferragosto
(August Assumption Day Bank Holiday) Menu” of the traditional people’s festival,
eliminating all meat. The alleged reason for the change was the fact that August
15 fell that year in the month of Ramadan and the “traditional barbecue” involving
the public consumption of Salamella – a type of traditional pork sausage – might
have offended the local Muslim community.
On June 5, 2011 an event that could be included among ‘acts of intolerance’
involved a report headlined “Gay Attack on Milan Church” 3 which revealed that
on that day a group of homosexual activists had interrupted the celebration of
Mass carrying banners and shouting protests against a parish priest’s position on
homosexuality at the Church of St Giuseppe di Calasanzio.
Another incident that will be resolved in court is the case against the TV show
“Anno Zero” following charges brought in Bari of “offending a foreign Head of
State” against the cartoonist Vauro, Michele Santoro (the President of RAI, the
Italian TV channel) and the managing director of Rai Due. This case involves both
the “Pontifex” website and the Rai Due show “Anno Zero”. What happened was
that towards the end of the show broadcast on January 20, 2011, referring to the
well-known events concerning the then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s involvement
in the “Ruby case”, Vauro had shown a cartoon in which Pope Benedict XVI
appeared saying, “If he likes under-aged girls so much he can always become a
priest!” In the days that followed, the Italian Episcopal Conference’s daily newspaper
“Avvenire” had attacked the show in a very tough editorial in which the
programme was accused of slandering priests.
Finally, as far as activities undertaken by the State on religious issues are
concerned, these are mainly entrusted to the Ministry of the Interior. It is worth
mentioning that in February 2010 a “Committee for Italian Islam” was founded and
reports its opinions to the ministry.
During a meeting held in January 2011 at the Ministry of the Interior, a statement
posted on the ministry’s website indicated that this committee had expressed
the following opinion on the controversial issue of holding Muslim prayers in
public places, “Integration, transparency and legality are achieved also when
worshiping in public places, or places open to the public and reserved to prayer.
This is the opinion of the Committee for Italian Islam, which has expressed this
opinion also in order to encourage Muslims to move their worship from the more
2 labussolaquotidiana.it, August 8 th 2011
3 Avvenire, June 7 th 2011

commonly used private locations to public ones. Very often, locations in which
cultural, recreational, sporting or commercial activities are officially held, are
effectively changed and transformed into places of worship. This committee […]
has presented a paper in which it suggests the adoption of a series of provisions
encouraging the creation of buildings reserved to Islamic worship in suitable
areas, respecting town-planning and security laws. According to the Committee,
these places of worship should be open to all Muslims, whatever school of
thought they may belong to, and furthermore, it is hoped that all sermons would
be preached in Italian” 4 .
4 Interno.it – Area notizie «Religione e Stato», January 27 th 2011
ITALY

IVORY COAST
AREA
322,463 Km²
IVORY COAST
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
21,570,746
REFUGEES
24,221
Ethnoreligionists 35%
Christians 33%
Catholics 16.8% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 16%
Muslims 31.4%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
247,000
Article 9 of the Constitution of 2000 guarantees freedom of thought and
expression, most notably freedom of conscience as well as freedom of religious
or philosophical opinion1 .
The election that saw outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo run against Presidentelect
Alassane Ouattara degenerated into a serious military confrontation, which
the latter won with the aid of French troops and the United Nations. However, the
country has been left seething with resentment and tensions.
The insecurity in various parts of the country has led to numerous attacks against
buildings owned by the Catholic Church. “In two and a half months, about 40
Churches and religious men and women’s houses all over Abidjan have been
attacked by armed bandits with the aim to steal” 2 , Fr Augustin Obrou told Agenzia
Fides in October 2011.
According to Fr Obrou, the attacks began in late August, and have not spared
other parts of the country either. For example, in September 2011 bandits attacked
the residence of the Bishop of San Pedro3 .
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=182203
2 Agenzia Fides, November 9 th 2011
3 Ibid., September 29 th 2011

AREA
10,991 Km²
JAMAICA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,705,827
REFUGEES
20
Christians 84.6%
Catholics 4% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 38.2%
Anglicans 3.3% / Other Chr. 39%
Spiritists 10.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.2%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Guarantees of religious freedom are set out in Article 21 of the 1962 Constitution,
as amended in 1994. This article describes clearly and in detail the right to
freedom of conscience and worship, both for individuals and associations.
The Constitution also guarantees the right to religious instruction and training
for religious personnel.
Registration is not compulsory for religious groups. However, after verification
by State authorities, registration provides tax exemptions for a group’s property
and activities.
Foreign missionaries are free to enter the country.
Practical conditions for exercising religious freedom comply with all guarantees
established by the Constitution and there are no reports of violations of this right
by the authorities or individuals.
JAMAICA

JAPAN
AREA
377,829 Km²
JAPAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
128,056,026
REFUGEES
2,649
Buddhists 56.1%
Neoreligionists 25.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 13%
Christians 2.3%
Catholics 0.4% / Protestants 1.8% / Anglicans 0.1%
Others 2.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 20 of Japan’s Constitution states that freedom of religion is guaranteed,
and indeed this is the case.
Religious groups are not required to register or seek legal recognition, but almost
all do so in order to take advantage of certain legal privileges granted by the State,
like tax exemption status.
Japan is the country with the greatest presence of religious movements of various
origin. Overall, some 182,000 groups are registered as religious organisations.
There have been no reports of notable incidents relating to religious freedom
during the period under review.

AREA
84,394 Km²
JORDAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
6,113,000
REFUGEES
1,459
Muslims 93.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 3%
Christians 2.8%
Catholics 0.5% / Orthodox 1.9% / Protestants 0.2%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.1%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Within the tormented context of the Middle East, Jordan offers its Christian citizens
undoubtedly better conditions than neighbouring countries. In spite of a number of
Islamist protests held regularly since the beginning of 2011, the Jordanian regime
has avoided the revolutionary wave that has affected other parts of the Arab world.
In this country in which Islam is the State religion, Christians and other minorities
such as in particular the Circassians and the Bedouins, are represented in
parliament, where nine out of 120 seats are reserved to Christians.
They are also members of government and the cabinet usually includes three
Christian ministers. Christians also hold important positions in the army, in high
finance, banks and private companies enjoy freedom of worship and are permitted
to run schools, medical surgeries and other charitable institutions.
Nevertheless, the development of Islamist ideologies in Jordan may result in the
future of Christians becoming as uncertain as it is in the neighbouring regions.
JORDAN

KAZAKHSTAN
AREA
2,724,900 Km²
Legislation
KAZAKHSTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
16,036,075
REFUGEES
616
Muslims 51.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 34.4%
Christians 13.5%
Catholics 1.2% / Orthodox 10.7% / Protestants 1.6%
Others 0.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, led since 1989 by President Nursultan
Nazarbayev (whose appointment was confirmed in the April 2011 elections
with a 95% majority), was considered by many to be an example to be followed
due to its progress on the path to democracy and for the level achieved in respect
for human rights and religious pluralism1 .
In recent years, however, the government has increased its desire to strengthen
State control over all religious activities2 . A recent step in this direction
consisted of the approval of two new laws containing severe legal restrictions
on religious freedom.
Passed on October 13, 2011 and sought by President Nazarbayev, these laws
are aimed at the nationalisation of religious communities, following the model of
control applied by the Chinese government. Only the Russian Orthodox Church
and the Kazakh Islamic community, considered part of the country’s tradition, are
exempt from these restrictions. In order to survive at a national level and avoid
sanctions, other religious communities must now prove they have at least 5,000
members. Italian missionary and university professor Father Edoardo Canetta
who has been teaching in Kazakhstan for 11 years, has said that, “The new laws
concerning the registration and control of the religious communities are putting
the Catholic Church in Kazakhstan at risk, with restrictions also expected on
visas for foreign religious leaders. About 50% of Catholic priests and bishops
come from other countries” 3 .
The application of the new laws on religious freedom has resulted in the disappearance
of 579 communities of believers with less than 50 registered members,
1 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
2 www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1624
3 AsiaNews, October 18 th 2011

including Protestant communities and Islamic sects. According to Kairat Lama
Sharif, who is responsible for religious affairs, the number of religious groups has
fallen by 13% since the provisions came into force on October 21. Many Protestant
communities, among them Baptist Christians and Seventh Day Adventists,
will now be obliged to hold functions in private homes and under strict supervision
by the authorities. The Kazakh government has sent a letter to all communities
inviting them to comply with the new rules or immediately cease their activities.
The authorities have granted all such communities one year to prove they have
the requisite number of believers to obtain registration. However, during this period,
no community with fewer than 50 members will be permitted to hold public
functions even if this was in compliance with previous laws 4 .
Overall situation
The general situation is mainly characterised by the following three elements:
- A rise in the number of Islamic communities that do not belong to the Spiritual
Association of Muslims of Kazakhstan (SAMK), most of which are funded from
abroad and have members belonging to Kazakh society’s weaker and more alienated
groups while also attracting young middle-class intellectuals;
- The division of Muslims on the basis of ethnic groups due to the “Kazakhization”
imposed by SAMK’s religious leaders in order to compensate for lack of authority
of the Kazakh ethnic group in the eyes of others (Uighurs, Uzbeks, Tartars etc.);
- The activism of so-called “non-traditional religious groups”, small communities
gathered around a “teacher”, and their attempt to penetrate State institutions.
In an interview with the “Kazakhstanskaja Pravda”, the president of the Religious
Affairs Agency (RAA), K. Lama Sharif, asserted that the extremist threat in the
country is not only theoretical and that in order to oppose it, it is necessary for all
of society to concentrate its efforts. The idea of the development of a moderate
Islam is considered the only alternative to the various radical ideologies.
Within this context, meetings and courses have been held throughout the country
on the prevention of terrorism and religious extremism.
SAMK representatives believe that the best guarantee for spreading moderate
Islam is to ensure that all mosques show submission to one central authority. Last
year too, therefore, the project to register all mosques in all regions as branches of
the SAMK continued. One must bear in mind that all registered mosques become
the property of the SAMK 5 .
4 AsiaNews, February 23 rd 2012
5 Institute for Political Solutions: www.ipr.kz/analytics, drafted by O. Kuzmina and M. Saldyrbaeva
KAZAKHSTAN

organisations have reported that there have been violations of religious
freedom in Kazakhstan precisely due to these policies aimed at preventing and
combating terrorism and religious extremism, notably through the creation of
the Religious Affairs Agency (RAA) and the application of its plans to promote
a moderate form of Islam based on the principle, “One Nation - One religion”
KAZAKHSTANVarious 6 .
6 AsiaNews, July 29 th 2011

AREA
580,367 Km²
KENYA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
40,862,900
REFUGEES
566,487
Christians 81.7%
Catholics 22.5% / Orthodox 1.6% / Protestants 29.3%
Anglicans 10.4% / Other Chr. 17.9%
Ethnoreligionists 9.3%
Muslims 7.1%
Others 1.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
250,000
Article 8 of the new Constitution, promulgated on August 27, 2010, declares that
there is no State religion, and the four paragraphs of Article 32 outline full religious
freedom in detail 1 .
New religious groups must register in order to enjoy tax concessions. They are
free to manage their own schools. Christian schools are attended by many Muslim
pupils, a situation that has led to frequent disagreements over female headgear,
food and male and female pupils sitting together.
During the period under review, discussions on the new Constitution continued.
Although generally supported on all sides, the process has given rise to controversy
on some issues.
Islamic courts and their jurisdiction were a major source of disagreement. In a
predominantly Christian country, but one with a large Islamic population concentrated
in certain regions, Articles 169 and 170 provide for Kadhi Courts to enforce
Islamic law (Sharia) in matters relating to personal status, marriage, divorce or
inheritance whenever all the parties profess the Muslim religion.
Khadi Courts came into existence in 1963 and were regulated by a law of 1967.
They operate especially in coastal regions where the Muslim presence is strongest.
However, under existing rules, any substantial legal matter, including decisions
by Khadi Courts, can be challenged by a direct appeal to the High Court.
Some Christian communities believe that in this way Muslims are granted privileges
denied to other religions, and they are calling for the existing Khadi Court
System to be abolished 2 .
1 www.kenyaembassy.com/pdfs/The%20Constitution%20of%20Kenya.pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
KENYA

Christian communities are also opposed to the wording of Article 26 about
the right to life, which opens the possibility of abortion
KENYAMany 3 .
Complaints have been expressed by Muslim leaders who accuse the government
of using the pretext of fighting terrorism in order to arrest and expel many Muslim
faithful, above all from Somalia.
Moreover, the Christians of the Muslim-majority regions complain about intolerance
and discrimination. But since religion and ethnicity are closely linked, it is
difficult to distinguish the cause of such hostility.
Otherwise there were no reports of significant incidents or acts of violence related
to the issue of religious freedom during the period covered by the report.
3 Agenzia Fides, November 13 th 2010

AREA
726 Km²
KIRIBATI
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
100,837
REFUGEES
---
Christians 96.9%
Catholics 55.1% / Protestants 41.6% / Anglicans 0.2%
Baha’is 2.5%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The 1979 Constitution established total religious freedom (Art.11). This has been
respected in the Pacific island State during the period addressed by this report.
Foreign missionaries are present and operate freely. Religious groups do not
need to register.
KIRIBATI

KOREA, NORTH
AREA
120,538 Km²
General overview
KOREA, NORTH
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
23,990,703
REFUGEES
---
Agnostics / Atheists 71.3%
Neoreligionists 12.9%
Ethnoreligionists 12.3%
Christians 2%
Catholics 0.2% / Other Chr. 1.8%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - or North Korea for short - completely
rejects the principle of religious freedom. There are some Christian
places of worship (one Catholic and two Protestant Churches) and four
Buddhist temples in the capital P’yong-yang, but nothing is certain about
other parts of the country. Accounts about what does exist vary depending on the
people who were able to visit the country.
The most significant event in North Korea in 2011 from a religious point of view,
was the death of the country’s dictator, Kim Jong-il, who came to power in 1997.
Religious freedom has not existed since the founding of the North Korean State.
The latter is the expression of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and its ideology,
Juche, which is based on the principle of self-reliance. The WPK itself replaced the
Communist Party of Korea (CPK) whose history was characterised by internal
power struggles between pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese factions, bloody purges
and repression.
Juche is the syncretistic basis of North Korea’s ideology and political-economic
system. Combining elements of neo-Confucianism, National Maoism and Stalinism,
it is firmly rooted in rigid ideological positions that have ensured the country’s
international isolation.
This ideology has also led to the development of a cult of personality, embodied
in the authoritarian rule of Kim Il-sung, the ‘Father of the Nation’ and later ‘eternal
president’ (in power from 1948 until his death in 1994), and his son Kim Jong-il,
who ran the country as an absolute ruler, as the ‘Dear Leader’. For this reason,
according to Juche principles, the first two Kims are divine in nature, which is why
people can only officially worship them. Literature, popular music, theatre and
movies glorify them, as well Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s third son and successor.
In the Juche-based calendar, Year 1 coincides with the year in which Kim Il-sung
was born, 1912 in the Gregorian calendar. The latter’s embalmed body lies in a
mausoleum of megalomaniac proportions in P’yong-yang.

In public life, both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are still revered in grandiose and
mystical terms that verge on religious rituality. The official religion is, essentially,
a form of party-state worship that is linked to the ruling dynasty.
Prison camps
Many North Korean exiles have testified to the existence of interment or re-education
camps (yodok), even though the North Korean government has denied
their existence several times. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are believed
to be held in such camps, subject to torture, murder, rape, medical experimentation,
forced labour and abortions, as well as secret executions. Inside the camps,
people arrested on religious grounds have to endure even greater punishment.
According to Open Doors, a Protestant missionary organisation, North Korea
ranks first in the world in terms of anti-Christian persecution.
North Korean nationalism is rooted in Ch’ondogyo, a syncretistic religion mixing
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shamanism and Christianity, that emerged in
the 19th century in opposition to the activities of (Western) Christian missionaries.
In the officially atheistic nation, religious activities by other groups are heavily
oppressed by the State.
The situation of Catholics and other Christian groups
The anti-Christian persecution began in earnest in 1953 after the division of the
peninsula in two States. From that time onwards, North Korean Catholics began
to vanish, in particular the Catholic bishops. For the Vatican, although “missing”
they are still listed in the Pontifical Yearbook as the titular heads of their respective
dioceses. For the North Korean regime, however, they “do not exist” and since the
1980s, all requests to know their fate have been ignored.
In terms of the Catholic ecclesiastical administration the North is divided into
three dioceses: P’yong-yang, Ch’unch’on and Hamhung, plus the territorial abbey
of Tokwon Abbey, which is under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See.
After Korea’s civil war (which ended in practise in 1953 though never officially
recognised by either side) and the subsequent division of the peninsula,
the Vatican entrusted the apostolic administration of these northern dioceses to
South Korean bishops. Formally, the old bishops are still listed in the Pontifical
Yearbook. For example, in the case of P’yong-yang, Mgr Francis Hong Yong-ho is
still listed as its bishop even though he was born in 1906, and is “missing”.
In the case of Hamhung, the see is described as vacant. In the case of Ch’unch’on,
the diocesan territory straddles the inter-Korean border. Thus, the current bishop
is Mgr Lucas Kim Woon-hoe, but for local Catholics, the see “is vacant”.
KOREA, NORTH

Church. By the mid-20 th century, 30% of the inhabitants of the capital P’yongyang
were Catholic, against only 1& for the rest of the country.
During the Korean War (1950-1953), Communist troops penetrated the South,
hunting down missionaries, foreign religious and Korean Christians. The aim of
the North Korean regime was to wipe away every trace of Christian presence. In
the North, all monasteries and Churches were destroyed; monks and priests were
arrested and sentenced to death. Mgr Patrick James Byrne, a US citizen but also
the apostolic delegate to Korea, was arrested during the war and sentenced to
death. He was never executed but died after years of hardships and deprivation
in a concentration camp.
The fate of Christians in the post-war years remains a mystery. Nothing is known,
for example, of 166 priests and religious who were in the North at the end of the
war. Until the late 1980s, North Korean officials would say, “They are completely
unknown” when asked about them.
At present, the Church in the North has neither clergy nor worship. According to
official government data, there are 4,000 Catholics and 11,000 Protestants.
However, other sources suggest that there are no more than 200 “real” Catholics,
mostly very old. There are only three authorised Christian places of worship in the
whole of North Korea, two Protestant and one Catholic. The latter is a Church in
P’yong-yang’s Changchung neighbourhood, which for many analysts is used by
the regime only for “show”.
KOREA, NORTHOverall, the situation of North Korea’s bishops faithfully mirrors that of the local
The Christian community is subjected to harsh repression by the regime. For the
State, Christians are doubly unwelcome—first, for alleged disloyalty to the regime,
and second, for alleged ties to the West. This has meant that most believers
can only express their faith in secret. In this Communist nation, being “discovered”
attending a Mass at an unauthorised location could result in imprisonment
and, in the worst cases, torture and even death. The mere possession of a Bible
is a crime that can carry the death penalty. For instance, on June 16, 2009, a
33-year-old Christian woman, Ri Hyon-ok, was sentenced to death and executed
“for giving away Bibles”. After her execution, members of her family were sent to
a concentration camp.
The fate of Mgr Francis Hong Yong-ho is also emblematic of the situation.
Appointed titular bishop of Auzia on March 24, 1944 by Pope Pius XII, he was
consecrated by Mgr Bonifatius Sauer, and co-consecrated by Bishop Irenaeus
Hayasaka and Archbishop Paul Marie Kinam-ro. When, on March 10, 1962,
Pope John XXIII elevated the Vicariate Apostolic of P’yong-yang to the status of
diocese, partly in protest against the North Korean regime, he also appointed

Mgr Hong as the diocese’s first bishop, making him the symbol of anti-Catholic
persecution in North Korea and more generally in the Communist world. If he
were still alive today, he would be well over one hundred. Yet, for Vatican officials,
it “cannot be excluded that he may still be a prisoner in some re-education camp”.
Hope for the future
The Korean Church has not lost hope. In preparation for the eventual reunification
of the peninsula, Catholics in the South are organising seminars and
setting up action groups to help their northern compatriots. As part of this, North
Korean refugees living in the South play a fundamental role. They are “agents of
evangelisation, members in all respects of our society and friends with whom to
build the future together”, said Mgr Lucas Kim Woon-hoe, during the 12th meeting
of the Episcopal Network for Reconciliation of the Korean people, of which
he is president.
The death of Kim Jong-il this past December also had a religious aspect to it.
According to many sources, as his father was dying, his son and successor
Kim Jong-un sought the support of South Korean religious groups to obtain the
humanitarian aid essential for to keep the country going.
Visits by religious delegations
On November 10, 2011 a group of South Korean Protestant pastors made
an official visit to North Korea. During their stay, approved by the Communist
government, the group met its local counterpart, and held a prayer vigil “for
peace in the Korean Peninsula”. The pastors also visited Churches in Pongsu and
Chilgol, two of the extremely rare places of worship kept open by the regime.
Yet, as certain sources underlined to AsiaNews, bogus as such meetings may
be, some believe they “represent an opportunity to assess the situation” and
to allow locals “to open up to outsiders”. Undoubtedly, “they are an attempt
to sway Seoul into sending humanitarian aid again” but they might yet
“have unexpected outcomes”.
The visit by these leaders was the second of its kind in ten years. In September
2011, leading representatives of South Korea’s seven major religions arrived in
the northern part of the peninsula in an unprecedented trip whose purpose was
to encourage the two sides towards peace and reconciliation.
Since there are no direct links between the two parts of the peninsula, the
24-member delegation reached North Korea via China. Even though the trip was
on the invitation of the North Korean Religious Council, a puppet organisation
KOREA, NORTH

country, it did provide a unique opportunity. The delegation stayed until Saturday,
September 24.
Before they left Incheon International Airport for their visit, Mgr Hyginus Kim
Hee-jong, archbishop of Kwangju, had read a joint statement on behalf of the
representatives of all the religious groups.
“We will bring to North Korea, the aspirations for peace of South Korean religious
groups. If all those who love religion in the two countries come together, we can
achieve peace, and hope to create a bridge towards reconciliation”.
The group also thanked the South Korean government for allowing them to make
the visit. After the military provocations of P’yong-yang, in fact, Seoul had stopped
almost all relations between the two countries.
Mgr Kim was accompanied by Rev Kim Yeong-joo, secretary of the Korean National
Council of Churches; the Venerable Jaseung, president of the Korean Jogye
Order of Buddhism; Ven Kim Ju-won, head of Won Buddhism; Dr Choi Geundok,
president of the Confucian Sung Kyun Kwan Association; Woon Yim-kil,
head of Chondogyo; and Han Yang-won, president of the Association for Native
Korean Religion.
Although the trip was organised with the best of intentions, a Catholic source
told AsiaNews, “P’yong-yang has no desire to be open to the idea of religion in a
straightforward manner, because the regime would fall after a few months if it did.
Religion, first of all, teaches freedom and does not fit well with dictatorship.
For this reason, even if it is appropriate to see and experience situations as much
as possible, I think it [the visit] is a lure to get as much humanitarian aid as possible
from the religious believers on the South”.
KOREA, NORTHthat offers “token” functions for the rare Western or Chinese tourists who visit the
On September 3, 2011 a delegation of South Korean Buddhist monks, including
the head of the largest religious order in the country, visited North Korea to mark
the 1000 th anniversary of Korean Buddhism’s most valued relic, which the Unification
Ministry in Seoul, allowed “on purely religious reasons”. Once in the North,
the group was able to meet a delegation of North Korean Buddhists and visit temples
with the permission of the North’s Communist dictatorship.
It was the first official, non-humanitarian visit since May 24, 2010 when South
Korea imposed a total embargo on cooperation with the North. For Seoul, P’yongyang
was responsible for the sinking of a South Korean Navy corvette that killed
42 South Korean sailors and for the shelling of a South Korean-controlled island,
in which one civilian died.
“This is a group of 37 people, including the leader of the Jogye Order”, a ministry
spokesperson said. “The group will leave on September 3 to visit the Bohyun

temple in Mount Mohyang. Here, a ceremony will be celebrated with a delegation
of North Korean Buddhists. Permission was given for the anniversary of the Tripitaka,
which is part of the spiritual heritage of all Koreans”.
The Tripitaka is a 1,000-year-old set of more than 80,000 wooden blocks on which
are carved the entire Buddhist Holy Scriptures. The carvings were made in the
northern part of Korea, but have been housed since 1398 at Haeinsa, a temple
located in South Korea.
KOREA, NORTH

KOREA, SOUTH
AREA
99,268 Km²
KOREA, SOUTH
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
48,580,293
The 1948 Constitution of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) (amended
several times until 1988) guarantees freedom of conscience (Article 19) and
freedom of religion (Article 20) for all citizens. It recognises no State religion
and officially upholds the principle of the separation of Church and State1 .
The law does not require religious organisations to register; from an
organisational point of view they are completely autonomous.
Religion cannot be taught in public schools but there is total freedom in
private schools. The only religious statutory holidays are Christmas and the
Buddha’s birthday.
In the country Christians (Catholics and Protestants) outnumber Buddhists. Small
groups belonging to other religions are also present.
There are no problems insofar as religious freedom is concerned, either involving
the authorities or between private citizens.
1 http://korea.assembly.go.kr/res/low_01_read.jsp
REFUGEES
401
Christians 43.1%
Catholics 10.1% / Protestants 32.8% / Anglicans 0.2%
Buddhists 15.1%
Ethnoreligionists 14.7%
Neoreligionists 14.2%
Others 12.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
17,818 Km²
KUWAIT
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,582,054
REFUGEES
335
Muslims 85.2%
Christians 11.1%
Catholics 7.5% / Orthodox 0.7% / Protestants 2.9%
Hindus 3.5%
Others 0.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
According to the Constitution, Islam is the religion of the State and “Sharia shall
be a main source of legislation” (Art. 2). Adopted in 1962, the Constitution claims
to be non-discriminatory. Article 29 says, “All people are equal in human dignity
and in public rights and duties before the law, without distinction to race, origin,
language, or religion”. Article 35 states that “Freedom of belief is absolute. The
State protects the freedom to practise religion in accordance with established
customs, provided that it does not conflict with public policy or morals”.
Since 1968, Kuwait has had diplomatic relations with the Holy See at the
embassy level.
On May 6, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI received for the first time the Emir of Kuwait,
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who also met Cardinal Secretary of
State Tarcisio Bertone. Promoting inter-religious dialogue was among the topics
they discussed. The important contribution to Kuwaiti society by the country’s
substantial Christian minority and its specific needs were also considered 1 .
Difficulties facing the Christian minorities
From time to time, the Christian minorities are confronted with difficulties caused
by court rulings or administrative decisions. For example, on November 30,
2010, the Court of Cassation upheld a decision by a lower court not to allow a
young Muslim convert to Christianity to change the religion on his birth certificate
because it considered the request to be a violation of the laws on apostasy.
Twice in a row, on October 27 and December 3, 2010, Kuwait City Municipal
Council rejected a request by the Foreign Ministry to approve the construction
of a new Greek-Catholic Melkite Church on the outskirts of the city. The Shia
community has also had similar requests turned down by municipal authorities 2 .
1 Vatican Press Office, May 6 th 2010
2 AsiaNews, November 5 th 2010
KUWAIT

mobilisation of Muslim radicals is a greater danger because they want to
change the laws of the land “to preserve the identity of society and its Islamic
values, to work according to the principles of equality, introduce bills inspired by
Islam”, according to the manifesto of the recently created Islamist parliamentary
group, the Al-Adala (Group of Justice) Bloc.
On February 16, 2012 the party announced that it would present a bill to ban the
construction of Churches and other non-Islamic places of worship in the country.
The proposal came from MP Osama al-Munawer who had initially announced his
intention of presenting a law for the removal of all the Churches in the country, but
KUWAITThe
later explained that the law would only affect the construction of new ones.
The proposal, backed by some other MPs, was motivated by the fact that “Kuwait
already has too many Churches in proportion to the country’s Christian minority”.
Upon hearing of the recent granting of a licence to build a new Church in Jleeb
Al-Shuyoukh, another Islamist MP, Mohammad Hayef, said that the measure “is a
mistake by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs” and “will not go unnoticed”.
Such statements have elicited strong protests in civil society and among other
political leaders who view the proposed anti-Church bill as unConstitutional, since
Kuwait’s Constitution protects freedom of religion for all its citizens and residents.
In view of the situation, MP Faisal al-Duwaisan presented a bill making it a criminal
offence to incite hatred.
“The Constitution clearly recognises religious freedom and the right of everyone
to practise their religious beliefs”, said lawyer and MP Nabeel Al Fadhel. Kuwait’s
rulers, he noted, have always supported religious freedom.
The Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) deplored “the irresponsible behaviour
that creates tension and hatred between citizens”, adding that Kuwait must remain
a country that provides security and tolerance for all citizens and residents3 .
The issue had international repercussions when a Kuwaiti delegation asked the
Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Al Sheikh, whether it was
lawful to have Churches in Kuwait.
In his initial response, the grand mufti said that it was “necessary to destroy all the
Churches of the region”. Faced with protests, he clarified that by the word “region”
he had meant “only” the Arabian Peninsula.
His ruling is based on a famous (but controversial) hadith attributed to Mohammed
who said, “There cannot be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula” 4 .
The Catholic community, led by Bishop Camillo Ballin, has a big cathedral in
Kuwait City dedicated to the Holy Family and four other Churches, namely
St Thérèse, Our Lady of Arabia, St Daniel Comboni and a Greek-Catholic Church,
situated respectively in Salmiya, St Ahmadi, Jlib al-Shuyukh and Salwa.
3 Agenzia Fides, February 24 th 2012
4 AsiaNews, March 21 st 2012

Bishop Ballin is a member of the Islamic Christian Relations Council (ICRC),
established by Kuwait’s Shia minority but open to Christians, Shias and Sunnis.
“One aim of the Council is to propose laws that promote respect for the values
promoted by the two religions”, Mgr Ballin said.
On November 21, 2011 the ICRC took part in a forum at the Center for Interfaith
Dialogue in Tehran, organised by the (Iranian) Islamic Culture and relations
Organization. The topic of discussion was ‘Muslim-Christian Cooperation – from
Common Faith to Common Action’.
The Kuwaiti delegation included ICRC President Dr Zuhair al-Mahmeed, Pastor
Ammanuil Gharib, Bishop Camillo Ballin, and four other members.
The next day, the same delegation participated in a symposium in the Shia holy
city of Qom on ‘Muslim-Christian Cooperation in the Middle East: Challenges
and Prospects’ 5 .
5 Taqrib News Agency (TNA), November 22 nd 2011
KUWAIT

KYRGYZSTAN
AREA
199,000 Km²
KYRGYZSTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,550,239
REFUGEES
595
Muslims 69.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 23.3%
Christians 6.1%
Catholics 0.1% / Orthodox 4.7% / Protestants 1.3%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
67,000
In October 2011, Kirghizstan elected Almazbek Atambaev as its first new
president since adopting a new Constitution which transformed the country from
a presidential republic into Central Asia’s first parliamentary republic.
The new president was sworn in on January 1, 2012 at the end of the interim
mandate held by Roza Otunbaeva, the woman who led the country during the
18 difficult transition months between the old regime, led by Kurmanbek Bakiev,
and the current new parliamentary democracy. These were months during which
Kirghizstan was at times on the brink of civil war, but instead managed to equip
itself with a new Constitution and, in October 2010, held its first democratic
elections. The election of President Atambaev, Kirghizstan has finally ended
the brief and disappointing experience of the “Tulip Revolution”, an uprising that
exploded in 2005, led by the opposition leader of the time, Kurmanbek Bakiev,
and was aimed at introducing democracy. Having been appointed Head of State,
Bakiev had however centralised all power becoming a sort of absolute monarch,
but was brought down by another people’s uprising in April 2010.
With the political change achieved in 2011, new hope has emerged for respect of
religious freedom, which the new Constitution specifically protects, as well as for
the religious minorities which have now obtained official legal status.
The new Constitutional charter also establishes the separation between religion
and the State and forbids all discrimination based on religion or religious beliefs.
But despite this, believers of all religions continued to suffer restrictions and
discrimination throughout 2011. For in fact the framework law regulating religious
freedom, that was passed in 2009 has not been amended or repealed and still
requires all communities to apply for official recognition from the State Commission
for Religious Affairs, a complicated process that can take years to complete.
This law also forbids the distribution of religious literature in public places and
imposes strict restrictions on evangelisation and proselytism.
Generally speaking, in 2011 the central government continued to restrict registration
for religious organisations and especially the activities of Muslim groups, which are

considered a threat to national security. Hundreds of mosques, groups belonging
to the Muslim Ahmadiya sect, Protestant Churches, Jehovah’s Witnesses and
members of Hare Krishna, were all left without registration, on the basis of a
law that, among other requisites, imposes a minimum of 200 members for each
religious community or organisation 1 . Furthermore, all the religious communities
experienced serious restrictions and problems in inviting or acquiring visas for
missionaries or members of religious communities from abroad 2 .
However, before Atambaev was elected, the interim government showed a certain
weakness and at times did not have the power to ensure the law was respected
or to protect all religious communities in the same manner, especially minority
ones. In rural areas the power vacuum was often filled by Muslim groups which
greatly influenced village “elders”, making life difficult for Christians. In Kirghizstan
conversion from Islam to another religion is considered a betrayal of one’s identity,
one’s family and the homeland itself. Local communities that converted from Islam
to Christianity have suffered great pressure and threats from Muslim groups.
The struggle against terrorism and religious extremism
Terrorism and religious extremism are two factors that greatly worry the country’s
authorities. At the beginning of 2011 Interior Minister Zarylbek Rysalie published
data following a special census, informing citizens that 1,279 “terrorists” had been
identified and registered, among them 1,192 belonging to the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” group,
49 Wahabites, 32 members of the “Akramiya” movement and two members of the
“Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan” (IMU), all of which are groups and movements
linked to Islamic extremism and banned throughout Central Asia 3 . Hence in the
first few months of the year, the State Commission for National Security launched
a vast anti-terrorism operation to combat what was described as “increasing
extremist activities”, organised by “groups of organised criminals with different
ideologies such as jihadists, Wahabites, members of the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” and the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, for whom religion is just an excuse” 4 .
During this operation, which involved the cooperation of security services and
police officers from other Central Asian States, suspect homes and mosques
were searched and raided, while the authorities repeated that “Islam must not be
associated with terrorism”.
In particular, police attention concentrated on the south of the country, in the
area surrounding the city of Osh, where there had already been disturbances and
1 Forum18, January 18 th 2012
2 Ibid., December 21 st 2011
3 Eurasi Lift, January 23 rd 2011
4 Ibid., February 4 th 2011
KYRGYZSTAN

in the summer of 2010. According to the National Security Commission,
clandestine groups tried to organise attacks aimed at destabilising the country
on the eve of the October 2011 elections. In previous months police officers
had killed 11 terrorists and arrested other suspects who belonged to the “Union
of Islamic Jihad” and the IMU. There was greater control over non-authorised
mosques that, according to investigators, were places in which it was most
probable that extremist organisations spread their propaganda. The authorities
discovered 177 illegal mosques in the Osh area, ensuring their identification,
registration or closure
KYRGYZSTANprotests 5 .
Given the situation, which it considers to be “alarming”, the government of
Kirghizstan has decided to amend the country’s anti-terrorism law, introducing
even more restrictive measures to the law in force since 2009. A group of experts
was appointed to draft an amendment to this law and present it to parliament.
New aspects include longer prison sentences and a series of preventive
measures, such as the authorisation of wire taps and close monitoring of the
internet. “Anti-terrorism laws must be equally strict in all Central Asian countries”,
said Zholbors Zhorobekov, a political analyst and former director of the Agency of
Religious Affairs in Kirghizstan, who also suggested that there should be stricter
rules regulating religious activities6 .
Following these efforts there was a significant rise in the number of trials for
“religious extremism” and at least 30 criminal cases were brought against alleged
members of Islamic extremist groups in southern Kirghizstan alone, in the first
nine months of 2011, resulting in the arrest of 23 suspects belonging to the banned
Islamic party “Hizb ut-Tahrir” 7 .
These aforementioned political, juridical and security decisions have led
international observers to raise the alarm on respect for human rights in the six
countries belonging to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China, the
Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
According to some NGOs, repressive measures and practises are applied in
these States, using the struggle against terrorism as an excuse, with a significantly
negative impact on human rights8 .
The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church continues on its path in Kyrgyzstan and has not been affected
by the restrictions on religious freedom approved by the government with the 2009
5 Centralasia online, October 21 st 2011
6 Ibid., July 18 th 2011
7 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 18 th 2011
8 Eurasia Lift, March 30 th 2011

ill. As confirmed by Mgr Nikolaus Messmer, Kyrgyzstan’s Apostolic Administrator,
there have been no new obstacles since the Catholic Church had already been
recognised and had more than 200 believers, the minimum required in order to
register a religious community. There are still a few problems in obtaining visas for
missionaries since they “must be renewed every six months”, said the apostolic
administrator for this community, which mainly provides pastoral care for the
faithful and is involved in social and humanitarian work and has only two Kirghiz
priests9 .
The Catholic community’s full religious freedom is obstructed by restrictions
imposed on evangelising activities, by problems arising from the conversion
to Christianity of Muslims, who, especially in remote areas, often face hostility
from their relatives, neighbours and the Islamic clergy, or experience problems in
getting a job because of their faith.
In the past 60 years, the Catholic Church in Kirghizstan has experienced a serious
lack of funds and consequently is not very visible in the country. The identity and
faith of Catholics were seriously attacked in the decades of the Soviet regime
and the local Catholic population mainly consists of elderly people or those who
were sent to live there in forced exile. Many of the Catholic Churches have been
abandoned over the years, and in Dzalalabad an abandoned Catholic Church
in ruins has been transformed into a kick-boxing stadium. Due to the lack of
Churches and chapels and because of bureaucratic and financial problems that
exist when attempting to build new ones, priests are often obliged to celebrate
Mass in private homes or travel thousands of miles every year to provide pastoral
care to the faithful, as a single parish can include up to 30 towns and villages.
The situation of other Christians
The restrictions on proselytism and conversions are even more evident among
the various Protestant Christian communities such as the Lutheran, Baptist,
Evangelical and the Pentecostal Churches. Young Evangelical preachers are
threatened with arrest for having founded new communities, which often go
underground as a result. According to some estimates there are at least 50,000
Evangelical Christians in Kirghizstan, although the government rejects this
figure 10 . The “Church of Jesus Christ” is the largest community with about 11,000
members, of which 40% are Kirghiz. Among the registered Christian Churches
there are 48 belonging to the Baptist community, 21 Lutheran Churches, 49
Pentecostal Churches, 35 Presbyterian Churches, 43 belonging to the Charismatic
communities and 30 to the Seventh Day Adventists.
9 Agenzia Fides, February 1 st 2010
10 BBC, January 19 th 2010
KYRGYZSTAN

“Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints” (the Mormons) has not yet
obtained official registration
KYRGYZSTANThe 11 .
The problems listed by Christians as restrictions on the full exercise of religious
freedom include social discrimination, close monitoring by the State Islamic clergy,
a ban on conversions to Christianity, abuse and attacks during worship functions
held in private homes, censorship imposed on Christian literature, and restrictions
to Christian religious instruction for children12 .
At the beginning of 2011 a Christian mother of five children was expelled from her
community following the death of her husband, who had converted. Her husband’s
Muslim family kicked her out of her home, together with her children, for as long
as she remained a Christian. The woman refused to recant her faith and was
helped by a number of Christian organisations13 .
Members of the Russian Orthodox Church, which includes about 20% of the
country’s population and is attended by many of the Russians living in Kirghizstan,
suffered fewer problems. The government allows Russian Orthodox priests
to host TV programmes, presenting the Orthodox community as following a
“correct religious path”. This approach was supported in a statement by President
Atambayev who, receiving the Patriarch of Moscow Kyril at the beginning of 2012,
described the Russian Orthodox Church as being “of great importance for the
Republic of Kirghizstan”, adding that “the development of Orthodox Christianity
in Kirghizstan will help us stem the exodus of Russian speaking citizens and will
be useful in supporting the political and economic strengthening of Kirghizstan”.
The president also promised “totally new relations” between the traditional
religions in Kirghizstan and government authorities14 .
Restrictions and controls imposed on Muslims
In the name of the secular State, the Kirghiz Ombudsman for Human Rights,
Tursunbek Akun, has said he is against the idea of creating a Muslim prayer
hall inside the country’s parliament 15 . The idea had been presented by the MP
Tursunbai Bakir, who also asked that Fridays be declared a non-working day so
as to allow Muslims to go to the mosque for prayers.
In September 2011, Kanatbek Turdukojoev, the imam in the village of Orto-Oruktu
in northern Kirghizstan, brought charges against a secondary school that would
11 US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report, September 13 th 2011
12 Open Doors, World Watch List 2012
13 Baranabas Fund, December 13 th 2011
14 Interfax, February 24 th 2012
15 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, January 15 th 2011

not allow his daughter to wear a hijab (Islamic veil) on her head 16 . Following this
event, dozens of activists protested outside the Ministry of Education demanding
that the Islamic veil be permitted in secondary schools. A number of Muslim
NGOs have complained of discrimination against female Muslim students, while
the Ministry explained that the veil is not part of the traditional school uniform.
The two aforementioned episodes bear witness to the country’s civilian authorities’
desire to maintain the separation between the State and religion, also as far as
the majority religion Islam is concerned. The idea is to exercise detailed control
over the Islamic communities in order to prevent or eradicate any terrorist schools
of thought, especially in the south of the country, thereby protecting the official
form of Islam which is approved and guaranteed by the State.
Control is implemented by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Kirghizstan,
created in 1993, which is the country’s highest-ranking Muslim institution.
This institution supervises all Islamic activities, including schools and madrasses,
mosques and Islamic organisations. The organisation is led by the Mufti who
is its official head and is elected by the “Council of Ulemas”, composed of 30
imams and Islamic scholars. The Muftiate standardises and approves all
Islamic literature published and distributed in the country, it is authorised to ban
publications it considers as not complying with established rules, it manages
the Islamic University, developing a standardised curriculum and restricting the
spreading of extremist tendencies. The State seems extremely concerned about
containing potentially terrorist organisations of Islamic origin and insists on the
need to present and protect “real Islam” for all its citizens. For this reason there
is institutional supervision of religious literature and Islamic audio-video religious
material imported from abroad, while there is strict control over propaganda
from parties such as “Hizb ut-Tahrir” and other movements inspired by so-called
“political Islam”. Some observers believe that there is a risk of “demonising Islam”
seeing that “not all religious movement are a threat to national security”, as
reiterated by the Kirghiz researcher Ikbol Mirsaitov, who also added that there are
moderate Muslim movements that are not involved in politics17 .
In order to prevent the situation from deteriorating, the Muftiate of Kirghizstan has
organised a conference of imams to exhort them to pay particular attention to
everything taking place in their mosques and to those who come to pray, in order
to contribute to safeguarding overall security.
16 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, September 15 th 2011
17 Centralasia online, October 21 st 2011
KYRGYZSTAN

In May 2011, two Jehovah’s Witnesses, the cousins Iskandar Kambarov and
Jonibek Nosirov, were sentenced to seven years in prison after being charged
with having kept in their private home two DVDs describing Kirghizstan as an
“extremist Islamic State”. According to the defence, the evidence was “fake” and
there had been a number of “procedural violations” during the trial 18 .
A month later the Appeals Court in Batken, in southern Kirghizstan, annulled
this verdict.
The two men, however, instead of being acquitted and released, were kept
in custody and remanded for a new trial 19 . There are about 4,800 Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the country and they have reported discrimination and significant
restrictions to their religious freedom inflicted by State authorities.
KYRGYZSTANJehovah’s Witnesses
18 Forum18, May 23 rd 2011
19 Ibid., June 24 th 2011

AREA
236,800 Km²
LAOS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
6,436,093
REFUGEES
---
The Constitution of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic recognises, in principle,
unrestricted freedom of worship. However, a prime ministerial decree of 2002
introduced a series of conditions, giving the government the means to keep a tight
control on religion.
Officially, Laos recognises four major faiths: Buddhism, which is the country’s
main religion, Christianity, Islam and Baha’ism, a monotheistic religion born in
Iran in the second half of the 19 th century.
The Christian group includes the Catholic Church, the Lao Evangelical Church
(LEC) and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Theravada is the country’s main form of Buddhism and occupies a position of
great importance, enjoying the full support of the government. In fact, it does
not have to submit to rules imposed on other religions and their believers. For
this reason, Laotian Buddhists have not experienced any major violations of their
religious freedom; on the contrary, Buddhist temples and associations receive
government funds and subsidies for their activities.
The situation is quite different for other religions, and for the Hmong minority.
The spread of Protestanism, particularly among minority groups, is strongly opposed
because the latter is viewed as a “US import” and a “threat” to the political
and social model imposed by the country’s one-party Communist State.
Many Hmong house Churches have been demolished and many believers have
been killed. Those who sought refuge in neighbouring Thailand have often been
arrested by the Thai military and repatriated.
Religious freedom, a threat that “causes anarchy”
Buddhists 50.4%
Ethnoreligionists 44.6%
Christians 2.9%
Catholics 0.9% / Protestants 2%
Others 2.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
7,700
In January 2012, the contents of a proposed ASEAN Human Rights Declaration,
drafted in the preceding weeks, was leaked.
Within the association of ten Southeast Asian nations (Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia,
Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia),
Vientiane played a key role in elaborating the draft text and tried its best
LAOS

“water down” the charter of rights1. For the Laotian government in fact, the
recognition and protection of human rights could trigger “conflict and division”
and drag countries “into chaos and anarchy”. According to the draft, all forms
of “worship and religion” must be controlled and comply with national laws.
Equally, “the rights of the State ‘outweigh’ individual freedoms and rights”.
The draft proposal exemplifies the hard line Vientiane has taken. Unlike more lib-
LAOSto
eral nations like Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, Laos wants to impose a
set of pre-conditions on the exercise of human rights and religious freedom.
For the Laotian government, “the application of universal human rights” must take
into account “national and regional traits” as well as specific “political, economic
and cultural systems”. Indeed, “national security, public order and morality” take
precedence over individual rights in order to avoid “chaos and anarchy”.
Laos also wants precise restrictions on religious freedom, which must be subordinate
to the “national laws” of each State.
Catholic Church
On January 29, 2011 the Laotian Catholic Church celebrated an historic landmark,
namely its first priestly ordination in 40 years in the northern part of the country, an
area where the authorities exercise tight controls over religious groups 2 .
The ceremony had been planned for December 12, 2010 but local officials and
the military had it postponed on unspecified “security grounds”.
Pierre Buntha Silaphet, 34, is the new priest. An ethnic Khmu, he was born in
Phom Van, Sayaboury province, in northern Laos. More than a thousand local
Catholics attended the ordination ceremony. Celebrations were held in his native
village, which is in the Luang Prabang Vicariate. In what is a surprising coincidence
- “providential” is how locals described it - Pierre’s Laotian name, ‘Buntha’,
is the same as that of the last ethnic Khmu priest ordained in Luang Prabang on
February 22, 1970 in a ceremony led by Mgr Alessandro Straccioli, apostolic vicar
in Laos from 1968 to 1975.
When the Communist took power at the end of the war in 1975, the authorities
expelled all foreign missionaries with no opportunity to return. Only Mgr Tito Banchong
was left in the vicariate after the mass expulsion of foreign clergy.
The recent ceremony was presided over by Mgr Marie-Louis Ling, apostolic vicar
to Pakxe, who, like the new priest, is also an ethnic Khmu.
Fr Pierre was born into one of the families that were evangelised between 1960
and 1975 by Fr Piero Mario Bonometti, OMI, in Ban Houei Thongnella, Luang
Prabang Province.
1 Mizzima News, February 2012
2 AsiaNews, January 2011

In preparing the ordination, Mgr Tito Banchong, the apostolic administrator obtained
all the necessary permits from the authorities.
On the eve of the event, the authorities unofficially asked for a “low-key” affair,
nothing more than a “village holiday”. In any event, there is no cathedral in Luang
Prabang Vicariate since 1975.
In June 2011, Fr Raphael Tran Xuan Nhan, a Vietnamese priest based in Laos,
denounced the growing “persecution” in the northern part of the country, especially
in Luang Prabang and the border region with Vietnam3 . In his opinion, the
crackdown is the authorities’ response to protests in previous weeks by local believers
against “ever tighter controls” on their worship activities.
Fr Raphael expressed “serious concern” for the future of the apostolic vicariate,
where “Catholics are closely monitored and vocations are few” because of decades-long
Communist Party rule, during which the principle of religious freedom
was systematically violated.
For the 57-year-old priest, who hails from the Diocese of Vinh in central Vietnam,
“the provincial authorities try to limit believers’ movements”. Indeed, Catholics
“have to inform the authorities” of their travel plans, however long (or brief) they
may be.
Government officials also force Catholics to perform ‘socially useful’ tasks or do
small jobs on Sundays, as well as to attend sessions of Communist ideological
indoctrination deliberately timed to clash with religious services, with the clear
intention of preventing them from attending Mass.
Suspected of spying or because they gave “free English language lessons”,
something local authorities frown upon, some priests and religious have had to
leave the north and seek refuge in Vientiane.
At least Laotian bishops and believers found some joy and consolation in an announcement
by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints that it had approved the
diocesan process of beatification of 15 martyrs, both religious and lay catechists,
killed in Laos “out of hatred for the Christian faith” between 1954 and 1970.
The process thus enters its second phase with the start of official procedures by
the Vatican congregation 4 .
Other Christian denominations
At around 7 pm on January 4, 2011 some 20 officials from Hinboun Police District,
in the central province of Khammouan, took into custody Rev Wanna at his home,
which was also used as a place of worship. He was arrested without charge,
3 UCANews, June 2011
4 Fides, December 16 th 2011
LAOS

with ten other people, Christian leaders and ordinary believers5, as they
shared a meal. The next day, the authorities released two believers, but remanded
the others in custody. According to local sources, the action was taken because
the Christians were conducting a “secret meeting” without prior authorisation by
local officials.
In mid-January (cf AsiaNews), Laotian authorities formally charged Rev Wanna
LAOSalong
and two other Protestant leaders, Revs Chanlai and Kan, with a “political crime”
and sent them again to prison. Their arrest, local sources explain, are but the latest
episode in a series of violations of religious freedom in Khammouan Province
that began early in the year.
For their part, the families that attended the house Church were accused of collusion
with the country’s historic enemy, the United States, and had to submit to
long days of “re-education”.
In late February6 international media reported the dramatic story of 65 Christian
villagers forced out of their homes and off their land by order of the Laotian authorities
because they had “refused to repudiate their Christian faith”.
Herded into an emergency centre, the Christians were at risk of starvation because
local officials had destroyed their crops and cordoned off the area, preventing
access to it as well stopping the supply of goods and food.
Local sources told Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) that village officials had
prevented these peasant farmers from going back to their village and their land.
Appeals by the international community were ignored and no short-term solution
was found to their plight.
In mid-July 20117 the fate of two other Protestant pastors, Revs Walla and Yohan
hit the front pages again. Arrested at the start of the year, they were given several
opportunities to leave prison on condition that they abjure their Christian faith.
Matters were worse for Rev Walla because he was his family’s only breadwinner.
Without him, his wife and nine children have had to face a life of difficulties and
hardships; his children—the oldest is 7—had to drop out of school to go to work
and earn some money doing little jobs.
Later in July8 , Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF)
launched an appeal for the release of a 58-year-old Laotian Christian, convicted
of “treason” and “sedition” in the late 1990s.
Originally from Oudomxay Province, he had converted to Christianity in 1997,
which he embraced with enthusiasm, zeal and fervour. Thanks to the impassioned
testimony of his Christian faith, very soon more than 70 people followed
5 Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom, HRWLRF – January 2011
6 AsiaNews, February 25 th 2011
7 Ibid., July 19 th 2011
8 Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom, HRWLRF – July 2011

his example and were baptised. The clothing store where he worked became a
virtual “house of testimony” of the Christian faith.
However, his activism alarmed the authorities, who told him on several occasion
to stop preaching. Eventually he was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison,
leaving a wife in desperate straits and five children without a father.
Now, after years in prison, his health has started to deteriorate, pushing a number
of activists and human rights organisations to campaign for his release, to
no avail.
On the last week of September, HRWLRF reported three additional cases of violation
of religious freedom in the summer.
In June, five Christian families (13 people in all) met to pray at the home of one of
them in the village of Pornsaad. During the service, security forces burst into the
house, and took all those present into custody because they had not “obtained an
official authorisation to meet”. Although no one was formally arrested, the police
warned those present not to meet for prayers “without the necessary permits” and
the authorisation of the local government.
On July 16 three Christian families from Nonsawagn village¸ in Thapangthong
District (Savannakhet Province), were expelled from their village by the local chief
because “they did not abjure the Christian faith”. In all, ten people were forced to
leave their homes and property, including some small land holdings that now lie
abandoned. During their expulsion, the Christian families had some of their personal
belongings destroyed.
Finally, on September 14, in Saybuly District, the local chief, a police officer and
the head of the Religious Affairs Bureau seized the Protestant Church in Dongwaiwan
along with some land and produce grown near the place of worship. During
the raid, the authorities also removed a cross from the façade of the building
and destroyed it.
A few days before Christmas, on December 16, 2011, eight Christian leaders were
arrested for “organising” a celebration in preparation for the festivity, an event
that drew more than 200 participants. Eventually, police went to Boukham village,
Savannakhet Province, where the incident had taken place, to confer with local
officials in order to decide what steps to take against the people arrested.
According to the Compass Direct News (CDN) agency, the Boukham village chief
had issued a permit authorising Christian leaders to organise Christmas services
Yet despite this, local security forces stormed the building where the celebration
was held and took away the eight leaders of the religious minority. Four of them
were jailed without charge after being led out, blindfolded and handcuffed.
On December 18, officials from the Lao Evangelical Church secured the release
of one of the prisoners, Kingnamosorn, after paying a fine of 1 million kip (US$
123), this in a country where unskilled workers earn on average US$ 40 a month.
LAOS

Christmas Day, a Christian woman died of natural causes in Savannakhet
Province. The next day, the authorities prevented her husband from burying her
in a traditional Christian ceremony, HRWRFL reported after speaking to the man.
Later, the village chief forced him and other family membres to “leave” the area
and turn to the authorities in Savannakhet. According to local sources, village
LAOSOn
leaders said they would never authorise a “Christian burial”. Eventually, the dead
woman was buried, but without a tomb or a cross to mark the location.
Still, there was some good news for the Protestant community of Laos in early
2012. Although Christians are still being arrested and Christmas celebrations are
still deemed “unlawful”, the civil authorities in Khammouan did release Revs Wanna
and Yohan, after a year in prison, the Fides agency reported.
Following their liberation, both men said they intend to resume their work as religious
leaders, as well as continue their mission of evangelisation, a task that falls
on every Christian 9 .
9 Fides, January 9 th 2012

AREA
64,600 Km²
LATVIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,248,374
REFUGEES
95
Christians 68.9%
Catholics 19.2% / Orthodox 36.7% / Protestants 13%
Agnostics / Atheists 30.4%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Latvian Constitution recognises each citizen’s right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion in a charter that establishes the separation between
Church and State.
Some “traditional religions” enjoy administrative and fiscal advantages while other
groups require non-compulsory registration and can thereby obtain fiscal benefits
and access to State funding.
In the period considered by this Report, there were no reports of violations of the
principles of religious freedom.
At an institutional level, the dialogue between the government and religious
groups is entrusted permanently to the Ecclesiastical Council, presided over by
the prime minister and composed of the representatives of Catholics, Lutherans,
Orthodox, Baptists, Adventists, Old Believers, Methodists and Jews. Additionally,
for the discussion of practical, administrative and fiscal issues, the Minister of Justice
Created the Consultative Council for Religious Affairs in 2009, which includes
14 Christian groups as well as representatives of Jews and the local neo-pagan
group, Dievturi.
For the 2007-2011 period, according to the fourth Report of the ECRI (European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance), approved on December 9, 2011
and published on February 1, 2012, two inquiries were started for violation of
Article 150 of the Penal Code, which forbids the incitement of religious hatred.
Sanctions for those violating the religious sentiments of people or inciting religious
hatred of others towards religion or atheism, envisage a prison sentence
of up to two years, the imposition of community service or a fine no higher than
forty times the minimum wage. Sentences are doubled when the crime involves
violence, fraud or threats by a group of people to a State official.
LATVIA

LEBANON
AREA
10,400 Km²
LEBANON
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,254,583
REFUGEES
8,845
At the institutional level, there were no changes to the status of religious freedom
or to the political system of the Lebanese State, which is based upon confessional
representation of the different faiths.
Some social and political movements are militating in favour of a fully secular State,
both at the political and the social levels, which would imply a “deconfessionalisation”
of the institutions of the State. However, Christian leaders are opposed to such
a reform in the absence of any real and lasting change in the mentality of the
Islamic world. They fear that such a change would allow Muslims to take over all the
institutions of the State and come to dominate the public administration because of
their greater demographic weight compared to Christians.
Still, one measure was adopted already in 2009, when the Interior Minister Ziyad
Baroud gave Lebanese citizens the right to drop their religious affiliation from their
official civil records. These details had already been removed from their ID cards
immediately after the end of the civil war in 1990, because many Lebanese had been
seized or murdered during the conflict, solely on the basis of their identity cards.
On March 15, 2011 Bishop Bechara Rai of Jbeil-Byblos, became the new Maronite
Patriarch. Many leaders of the country’s various religious groups expressed
satisfaction at this choice. Lebanese Prime Minister Naguib Miqati welcomed
the news of Bishop Rai’s election with joy, and after his visit to the patriarchal
residence in Bkerké, he said, “We wish the new patriarch all the best, hoping that
he will be able to serve Lebanon and its people and contribute to strengthening
national unity, because that is the basis of the nation’s existence”.
Similarly, Muhammad al-Sammak, the political and religious advisor to Lebanon’s
Chief Mufti, described the new patriarch as “a pioneer in working for Christian as
well as for Lebanese unity. He has a great ecumenical culture and a great faith in
Christian unity” 1 .
1 “Béchara Raï, una nuova speranza per i maroniti”, in Zenit.org, March 23 rd 2011
Muslims 52.8%
Christians 37.6%
Catholics 26.3% / Orthodox 7.8% / Protestants 3.5%
Druze 6.7%
Others 2.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
47,000

In June 2011, Patriarch Rai invited together 34 Maronite political leaders from both
ruling and opposition parties to discuss the separation of religion and politics,
the “defence” of Christian lands, a greater Christian presence in the public
institutions and the promotion of the common good for “for the betterment of
the country, society and government”. A committee was also set up to promote
further meetings 2 .
On September 27, 2011 a Christian-Muslim summit was held in Dar El-Fatwa, the
official residence of Lebanon’s Chief (Sunni) Mufti, Sheikh Muhammad Rashid al-
Qabbani. The discussion centred on the situation in Syria, and especially on the
danger that the country might fall into the hands of extremist movements, and on
what that might represent for the survival of Syria’s Christian community. The only
Syrian representative at the meeting was the Melkite Greek-Catholic Patriarch,
Gregorios III Laham.
The Maronite Patriarchate had organised the summit as a follow-up to one held
earlier, on May 16, 2011 in Bkerké, the See of the Patriarchate.
The final communiqué noted that “the presence of Christians in the Middle East
is a historical and authentic presence, and their role in the different countries is
fundamental and necessary”.
The statement went on to stress the need to “protect the emancipatory movements
that exist now in the Arab world from any adverse trend that would undermine
their nature and raise concerns. It is necessary to remain attached to the secular
nature of the State, based on citizenship”.
Finally, the press release said that “all foreign interference in the internal affairs of
the countries in the region should be banned, as well as every form of oppression
and violence” 3 .
On November 18, 2011 at a conference organised by the Université du Saint-
Esprit (Holy Spirit University), which is affiliated with the Lebanese Maronite Order,
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, spoke in the presence of a number of members
of the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
the Lebanese Parliament and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the
European Community. In his address, he urged participants to be wary of the
“Arab spring”, saying he feared it might lead to “confessional conflicts, harsher
regimes and a division of the region along confessional lines”.
2 “Lebanese Christians seek unity despite political differences”, in AsiaNews, June 2 nd 2011
3 JPG, “Muslim-Christian Summit in Beirut on Syria: No to the Islamic Radical Drift”, AsiaNews,
September 28 th 2011
LEBANON

In his address, he reiterated Lebanon’s vocation for unity in diversity. Although
“a small country, it can be compared to a laboratory”, he said. “In a world that
is becoming increasingly multicultural, multiethnic and multi-confessional, the
experience of the Land of Cedars is comforting. It gives us strength for it shows
that a world that respects human dignity and a plurality of cultural traditions based
on religious freedom and freedom of conscience is not only a dream to strive for
but also a possible reality that is already partly realised”.
In this sense, “The restoration of a synagogue in central Beirut is an eloquent sign
of hope for a future in which peace has been finally attained”, he added 4 .
LEBANONArchbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, was at the conference.
On November 28, 2011 Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati was received in
audience by Pope Benedict XVI, and it was on this occasion that the premier
invited the Holy Father to visit the country 5 , which the Pope did with great success
in September 2012.
4 AsiaNews, November 23 rd 2011
5 Zenit.org, November 29 th 2011

AREA
30,355 Km²
LESOTHO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,084,182
REFUGEES
34
Christians 91.8%
Catholics 48% / Protestants 38.5% / Anglicans 5.3%
Ethnoreligionists 7%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The right to religious freedom is fully acknowledged by the 1993 Constitution 1 .
Article 13 devotes considerable space to freedom of conscience and religion,
setting out in detail Constitutional guarantees for their exercise.
Religious groups are permitted to operate without registering, but if they do not do
so they lose a range of benefits, especially fiscal ones.
The Catholic Church runs about 600 schools, both primary and secondary,
equivalent to a little under 40% of the total number, thus making it the foremost
educational institution in the country, with more schools than the State.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=9016
LESOTHO

LIBERIA
AREA
111,369 Km²
LIBERIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,101,767
REFUGEES
128,285
Ethnoreligionists 41.7%
Christians 40.5%
Catholics 5.6% / Protestants 34% / Anglicans 0.9%
Muslims 16%
Others 1.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The 1985 Constitution recognises religious freedom (Art. 14) 1 and the State
respects and protects this provision.
Religious groups are obliged to register but the procedure is very routine and
there are no reports of requests being rejected or of discrimination against these
groups. Registration is generally not requested for traditional religious groups.
The government subsidises private schools, many of which are run by Christian
or Muslim groups.
There are still ritual pagan killings, inflicted in order to take parts of the victim’s
body to be used in traditional rituals. The authorities prosecute these killings as
murders 2 .
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.liberianlegal.com/Constitution1986.htm
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
1,759,540 Km²
LIBYA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
6,545,619
REFUGEES
7,540
Muslims 96.6%
Christians 2.7%
Catholics 1.5% / Orthodox 1% / Protestants 0.2%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
73,937
Uncertainty and confusion prevail over Libya’s new political-institutional status
following the killing of Muammar Gaddafi and the fall of the Libyan Arab Republic.
Confusion and uncertainty also reign regarding the new regime’s attitude to human
rights. As far as religious freedom is concerned, there are particular concerns
arising from plans to base the new Constitution on Koranic Law, the Sharia.
Some puzzlement has been created among observers following a statement by
the leader of the National Transition Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil. In a speech
in Benghazi on October 23, 2011, Jalil said, “As an Islamic country, we have
adopted Islamic Sharia as the main source for our laws. Consequently, all laws
in conflict with the Islamic principles of Sharia will be considered illegal”.
In an attempt to reassure the international community, Jalil explained that his
objective is to adopt Islamic laws that restrict interest rates and abolish the ban
on polygamous marriages 1 .
One of the breaks with the country’s recent past is that Libya is supposedly
preparing to allow the founding, activities and political life of parties based on
religious, tribal or ethnic ideals. The ban on such political parties announced
a week earlier by Salwa Al-Dgheily, a member of the Transition Government’s
Juridical Council, was withdrawn 2 .
At the beginning of March 2012 an episode of religious intolerance against
Christians and Jews was reported. The Commonwealth War Cemetery in Benghazi,
where British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in World War II are
buried, was desecrated by an enraged crowd intent on revenge following the
alleged desecration of a number of copies of the Koran by American troops in
Afghanistan. A number of crucifixes and a Star of David on gravestones were
1 CNN, October 26 th 2011
2 Agenzia Reuters, May 3 rd 2012
LIBYA

while the crowd shouted slogans against the “infidels”, also destroying
the crucifix at the cemetery’s entrance
LIBYAdestroyed 3 .
Similar acts of violence had been perpetrated on January 13, once again in
Benghazi, where the tombs of a number of wise men and scholars belonging
to Sufi brotherhoods were attacked by Salafite extremists, who exhumed the
bodies and at the same time destroyed a Sufi school4 .
3 Daily Mail, March 6 th 2012
4 Reuters Africa, February 1 st 2012

AREA
160 Km²
LIECHTENSTEIN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
35,894
REFUGEES
94
Christians 84.9%
Catholics 73.1% / Protestants 9.1% / Other Chr. 2.7%
Muslims 6.3%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.2%
Others 4.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In compliance with the Principality’s Constitution, the Catholic Church is the
national Church (Art. 37, 2) and as such benefits from the State’s full protection.
However for all religious communities full freedom of organisation and action is
guaranteed (Art. 37.1 and 2).
There have been no reports of significant institutional changes or notable incidents
relating to religious freedom during the period under review.
LIECHTENSTEIN

LITHUANIA
AREA
65,200 Km²
LITHUANIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,244,509
REFUGEES
821
Christians 88.8%
Catholics 79% / Orthodox 4.7% / Protestants 5.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 10.8%
Others 0.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution of 19921 of the Republic of Lithuania guarantees full religious
freedom (Art. 26) in a very detailed manner, going so far as to guarantee parents
and guardians the Constitutional right to take care of the religious education of
their children and wards as they see fit.
Article 43 recognises the “Churches and religious organisations that are traditional
in Lithuania”, which “have the rights of a legal person”. They can receive public
funding for their activities and are free to teach and set up their own schools.
The same article states, that “there shall not be a State religion”.
In the legislation implementing these Constitutional principles, those Churches
and religious groups that have been present in Lithuania for at least 300 years are
defined as “traditional Lithuanian religions”.
Religious practise is also protected in law from all forms of discrimination, incitement
to religious hatred, and interference in religious ceremonies. All forms of
discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs are penalised.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been significant
episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the period
covered by this report.
1 www3.lrs.lt/home/Konstitucija/Constitution.htm

AREA
2,586 Km²
LUXEMBOURG
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
502,066
REFUGEES
2,855
Christians 95.5%
Catholics 87.7% / Orthodox 0.3% / Protestants 1.5%
Anglicans 0.1 / Other Chr. 5.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 3%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution of 1868, Article 19, guarantees both freedom of religion and of
public worship, and therefore also the right to express one’s religious opinions,
except where offences are committed in the exercise of such freedom. At the
same time, no one may be forced to take part in any way whatsoever in the acts
and ceremonies of a religion or to observe its days of rest.
Religious marriage has no legal status and must by law be celebrated after the
civil ceremony.
The Napoleonic Concordat of 1801 with the Holy See is still in force, albeit supplemented
and changed by Constitutional provisions and other later amendments. In
addition to the Catholic Church, three other religions are recognised by the State:
the Jewish religion, the Protestant Churches and the Russian Orthodox Church,
their ministers being supported by the State.
Article 22, which regulates relations between the State and the Church, establishes
that “the State’s intervention in the appointment and installation of heads of
religions, the mode of appointing and dismissing other ministers of religion, the
right of any of them to correspond with their superiors and to publish their acts
and decisions, as well as the Church’s relations with the State shall be made the
subject of conventions to be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for the provisions
governing its intervention”.
In State schools there is an option to choose between Catholic religious instruction
or lessons in ethics.
There have been no reports of significant institutional changes or incidents relating
to the subject of religious freedom during the period under review.
LUXEMBOURG

MACEDONIA
AREA
25,731 Km²
Legislation
MACEDONIA
Article 19 of the Macedonian Constitution guarantees religious freedom, the right
to express this publicly and to practise it individually or in association with others.
The article additionally states that the Macedonian Orthodox Church and other religious
communities are free to start schools and conduct social and charitable works 1 .
An anti-discrimination law that came into force on January 1, 2011, prohibits any
form of discrimination, including discrimination based on religious faith.
In order to obtain legal status, religious communities must register, but non-registered
groups are allowed to practise freely.
There have been complaints by minority groups about registration difficulties
imposed on them by the government.
The Macedonian Orthodox Church, which has proclaimed its independence from
the Serbian Orthodox Church, is the only officially registered Orthodox Church, but
its self-proclaimed autocephaly has not yet been recognised by the other Orthodox
Churches. Most Orthodox Macedonians are members of this faith, while the
majority of Muslims, who are members of the Islamic Community of Macedonia,
are ethnic Albanians.
Ethnic-religious conflict
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,055,004
REFUGEES
801
The ethnic conflict between the Macedonians and Albanians, which broke
out into civil war in 2001, frequently assumed a religious nature. For
example, in the middle of January 2012 during the Vevcani Carnival, the
most famous in Macedonia, masks considered offensive to Islam sparked
ethnic-religious riots over the next few days, with the destruction of a woo-
1 www.makedonija.name/government/Constitution-of-macedonia
Christians 64.6%
Catholics 0.9% / Orthodox 62.9% / Protestants 0.8%
Muslims 29%
Agnostics / Atheists 6.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined

den cross in a country Church. At the end of January the Church in the village
of Labunitsa was set on fire, but was saved by the timely intervention of
the villagers 2 .
Restitution of confiscated property
Even though most of the churches and mosques which had been confiscated by
the Yugoslav government, have been returned to their rightful owners, the problem
has not yet been completely resolved. Many religious communities have
not obtained restitution of their confiscated assets. Some have only received
part of them. The issue is complicated by the fact that frequently they were sold
to private owners or were so structurally altered that they can no longer be used
as places of worship.
Many religious groups are also critical of the complicated bureaucratic process
they have to go through to obtain the necessary permits to build new places of
worship or enlarge those already in existence3 .
2 Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso- www.balcanicaucaso.org, February 16 th 2012
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
MACEDONIA

MADAGASCAR
AREA
587,041 Km²
MADAGASCAR
On November 14, 2010 a new Constitution was approved1 .
In Article 3 the Constitution defines the country as a secular State, in Article 4 declares
the separation between religion and the State, prohibiting any interference
from either side. Article 13 guarantees freedom of religion for all citizens2 .
All religious groups must register with the Ministry of the Interior, but must
have at least 100 members who are Malagasy citizens. Recognition provides
the organisation with autonomous legal status, allowing it to own property and
receive donations.
Groups that do not obtain registration from the Ministry of the Interior may still be
registered as associations, however, although this does not allow them to receive
gifts and donations or hold religious ceremonies, but only permits them to carry
out social activities. However, according to government data, there are hundreds
of religious groups that pursue out their activities with no recognition at all, not
even as simple associations.
The main Christian denominations and Churches are grouped in the Council of
Christian Churches in Madagascar (Fiombonan’ny Fiangonana Kristianina eto
Madagasikara, or “FFKM”).
Charges of religious discrimination are occasionally brought, generally by Muslims
who believe they have been treated unequally in schools, hospitals or the
workplace3 .
1 Reuters, November 22 nd 2010
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
20,146,442
REFUGEES
9
2 http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/MG/madagascar-2010-Constitution-2011-french/view
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Ethnoreligionists 48.9%
Christians 48.5%
Catholics 25% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 19.7%
Anglicans 1.9% / Other Chr. 1.8%
Muslims 2%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
118,484 Km²
MALAWI
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
13,947,592
REFUGEES
5,308
Christians 79.8%
Catholics 25.2% / Protestants 52.8% / Anglicans 1.8%
Muslims 13.2%
Ethnoreligionists 6.3%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Chapter 4, Article 33, of the Constitution of 1994, which was amended in 2001,
proclaims the right to freedom of conscience, religion, belief and thought 1 .
By and large, the authorities have respected and protected this right.
Religious groups must register as well as describe the structure and purpose of
their organisation. When they are registered, they can enjoy a more favourable
tax regime.
Foreign missionaries and volunteers working for charities need a permit to operate
in the country. They are also required to pay the corresponding tax on the same
basis as every foreign professional.
The State schools offer the option of religious education. Students may choose
between Christian-oriented “Bible Knowledge” courses and “Moral and Religious
Education” courses (including Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, and Christian material).
The clash with President Mutharika
The Catholic Church and other religious groups have become involved in a political
confrontation with President Bingu wa Mutharika (who died in 2012), whose
decisions in the fields of economics and freedom of expression have caused
deep dissatisfaction in the country.
“The Church should not be identified with any political party and it is therefore
unwarranted for politicians to insinuate that the Chairman of the Episcopal
Conference was inspired by some opposition elements”, three associations
(of diocesan priests, men and women religious) declared in a public statement
in September 2011. In it they reject the president’s accusations against
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=218796
MALAWI

MALAWI
Mgr Joseph Mukasa Zuza, bishop of Mzuzu and president of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of Malawi 2 .
Earlier, on August 16, 2011, at a prayer meeting for peace in Malawi sponsored by
the country’s main religious groups, Mgr Zuza had said that the “Presidency must
stop suffocating civil society, the press, the judiciary system and democracy” 3 .
The suspicious fire, possibly arson, which destroyed the headquarters of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malawi in the capital, Lilongwe, is an example of
the prevailing atmosphere 4 .
2 Agenzia Fides, September 5 th 2011
3 Ibid., August 18 th 2011
4 ACN News, October 14 th 2011

AREA
329,758 Km²
MALAYSIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
27,565,821
REFUGEES
85,754
In principle Malaysia’s Constitution acknowledges the secular character of the
State and in Article 11 protects and guarantees the inviolable right to religious
freedom. However, Islam remains the official religion and there is a dual judicial
system that legalises Islamic Sharia courts and provides them with wide-ranging
powers, permitting them to intervene in various sectors. In theory, Islamic
courts have no jurisdiction over non-Muslims; however, judges can rule on issues
concerning marriage, inheritance, divorce and the custody of children as well as
burial rituals and other factors that end up by affecting non-Muslims, thereby provoking
interreligious conflicts. The Fundamental Charter of the State establishes
a number of restrictions on the practise of religious faith which, in conjunction with
other everyday laws and repressive policies, end up by restricting – sometimes in
a glaring and blatant manner – the religious freedom, especially of those whose
beliefs are labelled as “heretical” by the official (Sunni) Islam.
In all there are 56 versions of the Muslim faith that are considered “deviant” and
which, according to the authorities, are also a threat to “national security” because
they could potentially divide the Islamic community. The groups banned
include the Ahmadi, the Ismailis and other Shiites and the Baha’i.
Legal restrictions on religious freedom
Muslims 56.6%
Chinese folk religionists 18.4%
Christians 8.9%
Catholics 4.5% / Protestants 3.5% / Anglicans 0.9%
Hindus 6.3%
Buddhists 5.3%
Ethnoreligionists 3.5%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution reserves to the federal government and to the governments of
the various states in the country, the power to “control or restrict the spreading of
different doctrines and faiths among those professing the Islamic religion”.
It also describes the Malayan ethnic group as Muslim. The civil courts usually
pass to the Islamic courts all cases concerning conversion from Islam, which
the Sharia law is not inclined to judge favourably. Muslims are not permitted to
convert to another faith, but the opposite is allowed. Officials from the central and
local administrations control all religious activities and at times influence the contents
of sermons, using the mosques to spread political messages and preventing
some imams from speaking publicly in places of worship.
MALAYSIA

emains an enduring tendency to consider Islam as above all other religions
recognised by the law.
The religious minorities are generally free to worship, although in recent years
there have been an increasing number of reports about a gradual move to transfer
power from the civil courts to the Islamic courts. In particular this phenomenon
concerns family law and controversies in which a Muslim and a non-Muslim
are the parties involved. The religious minorities face continuing restrictions on
their freedom to express their faith and to worship, as well as restrictions on exercising
their ownership of property, land and fixed assets. These restrictions
also affect Christian publications in the Malay language, following the controversial
case involving the use of the word “Allah” to describe the Christian God,
MALAYSIAThere
and the ban on all proselytising by non-Muslims within the Islamic community.
Reports indicate that there are ongoing abuses and discrimination against
minority believers in relation to their religious adherence, expressions of faith or
acts of worship.
Finally, as far as the traditional festivities and days of rest are concerned, Sunday,
the traditional Christian feast day, remains the official day of rest in the federal territories
and in 10 of the 13 states of the nation, albeit amidst growing controversy
and in spite of what happens in the Muslim countries of the Middle East.
The exceptions are the states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, where the
weekend takes place on Fridays and Saturdays.
Many other festivities are officially acknowledged and celebrated, including the
Muslim festivities of Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji and Mohammed’s birthday,
the Buddhist Wesak, the Hindu festivities of Deepavali and Thaipusam, the Christian
Christmas as well as Good Friday in the Sabah and Sarawak states.
Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Malaysia
As far as the Catholic community is concerned, the most significant event in 2011
was the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Kuala
Lumpur, officially announced on July 27, a few days after Prime Minister Najib Bin
Abdul Razak’s visit to the Vatican.
The Holy See and Malaysia, “desirous of promoting bonds of mutual friendship”,
had mutually agreed to establish diplomatic relations, the Vatican announced,
confirming what had been established on July 18 during the visit of the Malaysian
Premier to Benedict XVI and stating that the relationship would be at the highest
level, with an apostolic nuncio from the Holy See and an embassy on the Malaysian
side.
A statement issued on that occasion spoke of “cordial discussions” in which “the
positive developments in the bilateral relations were recalled and it was agreed to
establish diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See”.

At the moment when the relations were made official, the Fides news agency
spoke to Father Lawrence Andrew SJ a priest in Kuala Lumpur and the former
editor of the Herald Malaysia, the authoritative Catholic weekly published by the
archdiocese of the capital. Father Lawrence confirmed that having an apostolic
nuncio in Kuala Lumpur could have very positive consequences for the Church
and the entire Christian community, because “communication between the government
and the Church will improve. Furthermore, for us Christians it is an opportunity
to visibly become a great “moral bank”, a reference point for morality,
for spreading and defending values, for fighting corruption, abuse and other evils
afflicting the national life”. The Church, he added, “will continue to be herself,
representing the truth, defending fundamental rights such as human dignity and
religious freedom”, and in this way will contribute to “the development of this country”.
Father Lawrence also emphasised that most of the current issues remain on
the table, including the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims, the freedom to have
Bibles in circulation, the battle to eliminate the death sentence as well as respect
for freedom and fundamental human rights with no discrimination.
The Church and NGOs oppose death sentence for mentally disabled
Catholic woman
At the end of July the Vatican Insider column in the Italian daily newspaper La
Stampa reported on the efforts made by the Church and by various NGOs to save
a Catholic girl of Indonesian origin who is facing the death sentence. Wilfrida Soik
is currently held in a Malayan prison charged with having killed her employer, a
crime for which she could be sentenced to death. Many NGOs in Indonesia and
Malaysia, as well as the Indonesian Church of Atambua (the diocese in the west
of the Island of Timor, where the girl comes from) have taken action to defend the
girl. This case presents a number of ambiguities and is made more serious by the
fact that the young woman is mentally disabled and in the past was the victim of
human trafficking. The Catholic Church in Atambua, thanks to the personal intervention
of its Bishop, Mgr Dominikus Saku, has reported the case to Indonesia’s
“Human Rights Commission” and is working to obtain a pardon for Wilfrida, so
that she can return home.
Speaking about this issue to the Fides news agency, the Kuala Lumpur-based
Catholic lawyer Charles Hector Fernandez, director of “Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture” (MADPET), gave an assurance that his association would
“do everything possible to help her”. He also explained, “In Malaysian Law, in cases
of homicide, the judge is obliged to impose the death sentence. This is one of
the issues we are working on and we have asked for this law to be amended, so
that the judge might at least have the choice to pass a life sentence when there
are mitigating circumstances”.
MALAYSIA

amidst light and shadows
In an interview published in August by Free Malaysia Today, the Catholic Bishop
of Melaka-Johor, Paul Tan Chee, SJ accused Malaysian politicians of fomenting
interreligious hatred, opposing what ordinary citizens feel and believe, as they do
not wish for any divisions based on religion. The controversy concerning the use
of the word “Allah” to describe God in the Bible, the ban on Bibles published in
the local language and the alleged Christian plot to weaken the status of Islam
in the country are all issues that have caused problems between Christians and
the government. The bishop also recalled a recent episode of interreligious conflict
that had occurred the week before the statements were made to the press,
MALAYSIACatholics,
namely the raid by some members of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department
(JAIS) on a Church, on the basis of a report alleging that numerous Muslims were
attending a dinner being held there.
Although this raid aroused widespread criticism from various parties, the director
of State Religious Affairs, Hasan Ali, asserted that Christians were proselytising
Muslims. Mgr Paul Tan Chee told AsiaNews that, “The matter is extremely simple.
If the charges are confirmed, I will do everything I can to correct matters and
apologise. Should these allegations not be confirmed, I demand they be withdrawn,
with apologies”. Commenting on the statement made by the JAIS’ director,
Marzuki Hassan, who said that the raid was aimed at protecting the interests of
Muslims, the bishop replied, “I believe that the interests of Muslims would be best
protected if their representatives told the truth without alarmist hypotheses”. The
bishop also added, “If anyone should wish to share our beliefs, we would not hesitate,
because we believe faith can be proposed but not imposed”.
Finally, according to Mgr Paul Tan, the politicians are responsible for the many
controversies that have recently involved the Christian faith. “This is due to the
manipulations and duplicity of politicians in search of votes at the expense of the
gullible and the ignorant”, said the bishop.
A few weeks later, in mid-September, the website Ucanews re-issued the statement
made by the Catholic Lawyers Society of Malaysia, which welcomed, favourably
while cautiously, the government plans to abolish the controversial Internal
Security Act (ISA), which among other provisions also includes the power of detention
without trial. Prime Minister Najib Razak emphasised that the amendment
will be approved by parliament in the near future, and according to the president
of the Catholic Lawyer’s Society this is a step in the right direction, “because in
the past this law was exploited to silence dissent. It is time for the government to
abolish this draconian law and all laws violating human rights, freedom of thought
and religious freedom”.

November 30, St Andrew’s Day, was a festive day for the entire Malaysian Catholic
community, who were celebrating the ordination of Andrew Wong, 43, from
Ipoh, and a member of the Congregation of the Disciples of the Lord (CDD).
The event was reported by the Herald Malaysia, which explained that those unable
to get a place in Church were following the ceremony on a screen set up
outdoors.
The last ordination in the parish of St Michael had taken place 22 years earlier,
when Father Michael Cheah was ordained.
The Mass was celebrated, in two languages, by the bishop of Penang, Mgr Antony
Selvanayagam and concelebrated by Father Philip Tan Chong Men, CDD
and by the parish priest of St Michael’s, Father Stephen Liew. There were 49
priests attending the ceremony as well as many monks and nuns.
A few days before Christmas, however, a case of violation of religious freedom
emerged, as reported by the Fides news agency. On December 15, two Churches
in Klang, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, received a note from the police requesting the
names and particulars of those singing Christmas Carols because, they claimed,
permission from the police is required before carols can be sung in Churches or
at home. The faithful responded, saying that these requests were “absurd and
unacceptable”. “This is a restrictive interpretation of the existing laws on religious
freedom and worship”, said a Catholic spokesperson, “The police are totally confused”.
He added that following protests from the Catholic faithful, government
representatives had already denied the need for such permissions. Bishop Paul
Tan Chee Ing of Melaka-Johor, who is also President of the Episcopal Conference,
insists that such restrictions would make the country “almost a police State”
if the police should continue with “these bureaucratic demands”.
Experts on Malayan politics believe that there are political and electoral motivations
behind such incident. Prime Minister Najib Razak had raised the hopes of
civil society in a new era of reform, with his decision to abrogate a series of greatly
detested laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), introduced by Malaysia following
independence from Great Britain in 1957. This document, the government
had promised, would be replaced by a new law in 2011, drafted in order to bring
Malaysia into line with international standards.
The government had made these statements in order to reassure the people, following
the street protests in Kuala Lumpur the previous July by the “Bersih 2.0” (or
“cleanliness”) movement, which had demanded “transparency and rights”.
Instead however, a new draft law, the “Peaceful Assembly Bill”, regulating the right
to gather and protest, was passed by the lower house, giving the government and
the police more power of preventive control. It has triggered protests from civil
groups and also from the religious minorities, united together in the Malaysian
MALAYSIA

Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.
The new law in fact specifically states that “locations at which gatherings will not
be permitted shall include places of worship”. According to Teresa Mok, secretary
general of the Democratic Action Party, these new rules are “an abuse of power
by the authorities” and “an attempt to violate religious freedom”.
Anti-Christian discrimination
Amidst open persecutions and small episodes of abuse and marginalisation,
the Malaysian Christian community bears witness to its faith with courage
and determination.
In March 2011, the controversy resurfaced over the publication of the Bible in
MALAYSIAConsultative
Malay, which has been blocked by the government over the long-standing controversy
regarding the use of the word “Allah” to describe the Christian God.
This has dragged on in the courts for years, despite court rulings which have
found in favour of the Christians. The largest Christian organisation in the country,
the Christian Federation of Malaysia, has stepped into the controversy stating
that it was “fed up” with the government’s refusal to allow the distribution of a
few thousand Bibles. The organisation believes that this is an affront to religious
freedom. It is quite a rare protest and a sign of the growing impatience with this issue
among the religious minorities. The Federation’s president, Bishop Ng Moon
Hing, was responding to the seizure by the authorities of 30,000 copies of the
Malay Bible in Kuching port, Borneo. This was the latest attempt by Christians to
import Bibles, in particular from Indonesia; all previous attempts have failed.
However, there are no problems whatsoever for editions in English. In December
2009, a court had decided that Christians have the Constitutional right to use the
word “Allah”. The government has appealed against the ruling but no date has
yet been established for the hearing. In January 2010 the court’s decision had
caused temporary tension and the rage of extremist Muslims. Eleven Churches
were attacked. The Catholic Church has reprinted a 400 year-old Latin-Malay
dictionary to prove the ancient use of the word “Allah” in the Christian sense in
that country.
Discrimination does not only involve religious texts, however, and in a country
with a large Muslim majority women are also the victims of social and religious
intolerance. In March 2011 the website Persecution.org told the story of a female
Christian lawyer who was refused permission to practise in Muslim courts
which apply the Sharia. Victoria Jayaseele Martin said that she wished to be
able to represent non-Muslims involved in Islamic court cases, in order to ensure
they would be fairly defended – and also because a growing number of cases in
these courts also involve non-Muslims. Malaysia has two parallel legal systems,
a “secular” system that applies the law to non-Islamic citizens, while the Sharia
theoretically decides issues concerning only Muslims, who are the majority
in the country.

Victoria has fought in court against the decision of a religious council that all
lawyers appearing in Islamic courts must be Muslims. However, a judge in Kuala
Lumpur found against her. She believes this sentence is unConstitutional and will
appeal to a higher court. In Malaysia the Islamic judicial system focuses on family
issues such as polygamy, divorce and the custody of minors. In 2010 the Malaysian
government admitted female judges in its Islamic courts for the first time,
accepting a request presented by the “Sisters in Islam”.
The lawsuit over the Bibles finally ended at the beginning of April, as confirmed
by AsiaNews which reported the decision by the Kuala Lumpur government to
authorise the import and publishing of Bibles in all languages. The authorities
have assured Christians that no official stamps or serial numbers will be required
on imported Bibles. These decisions are part of a 10-point solution for the controversy
over Malay-language Bibles. The government has also announced that
there will not be any conditions imposed on the import or the local publication
of the Bible in the regions of Sabah and Sarawak, thereby acknowledging the
large Christian communities present in these states. There will however be one
condition imposed for Bibles imported onto the Malaysian peninsula or published
locally. These Bibles will have to have a Cross on the cover and the words “Christian
publication”. This decision takes into account the interests of the country’s
majority Islamic community. The government has also announced that there will
be no bans or restrictions on those travelling between Sabah or Sarawak and
the Malaysian peninsula, carrying their Bibles. The Interior Ministry has issued
a directive on the Bible, confirming this, and officials who do not apply it will be
subject to disciplinary measures. The government has also allowed importers
to take possession, at no cost, of the 35,100 Bibles hitherto blocked in Kuching
and Port Klang.
In the same month of April, however, the website Persecution.org reported the
declarations of an extremist Muslim organisation, representing 20 different
groups, which has declared jihad against the “Christian extremists” who challenge
and insult Islam. These threats once again relate to the longstanding issue
of the publication of the Bible in the Malay language, which the extremists portray
as an inadmissible and unforgiveable crime. The spokesman of this jihadist group
also alleged that Christians are beginning to represent a “challenge” to the Islamic
State that could lead to its dismantling and loss of sovereignty.
On May 25, however, the daily newspaper Malaysian Insider reported the declarations
of a number of Muslim leaders, who claimed that the Christians and other
religious minorities have been treated excessively favourably and that their rights
should be “reviewed”. One of the leaders of the extremist Da’wah Foundation
Malaysia (Yadim), has even demanded the “deportation” of non-Muslims who do
not respect the “social compact”, and has pressed for the safeguarding of Muslim
MALAYSIA

A similar statement came two months later, on July 22, when AsiaNews
reported on a speech made the previous day at the Institute of Islamic Understanding
Malaysia (IKIM) conference by a prominent Malaysian Islamic scholar,
Mohd Sani Badron, who reignited the controversy concerning the translation of
the Bible into the local language and the word used to describe a divinity, saying
that the use of the word “Allah” to describe God by Christians must stop as it could
cause Islamic rage.
The Islamic scholar’s attack came a few days after the historical meeting between
the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Pope Benedict XVI.
In his paper entitled “Kontroversi Nama Khas ‘Allah’ Dalam Konteks Pluralisme
Agama”, Badron, the director of Economic and Social Studies said that “the bad
MALAYSIAinterests.
translation of the word ‘God’ as ‘Allah’ in the Malay Bible must be abandoned because
it mistakenly portrays the two religions as being equal”. “The translation of
‘God’ as ‘Allah’ is a serious mistake, it should be translated correctly…we interpret
not only the word, but the meaning and the meaning is wrong and inaccurate”.
He also added, “As far as the meaning is concerned, the correct word for ‘God’ in
Christianity is ‘Tuhan’ and the word ‘Lord’ is also ‘Tuhan’, not ‘Allah’”.
The controversy surrounding conversions became a national issue in mid October,
according to an article in the Malaysian Insider, reporting that the Mufti of Perlis
State, Dr Junanda Jaya, when questioned by the press, had described as “illogical”
the claims that over 250,000 Malaysian Muslims had renounced their faith.
According to this religious leader, all proselytism should be stopped and news of
conversions should not be publicised, because the subject is too “sensitive” and
could destroy the image of the nation by portraying it as “incapable of defending
its faithful”.
Muslim leaders, in cooperation with youth associations and extremist movements,
called for a street protest at the end of August, urging the participation of a million
people to defend Islam’s integrity in Malaysia.
On December 1 the country’s main Catholic daily newspaper, the Herald Malaysia,
reported the complaints of a number of Christian parents in rural areas
of Sarawak, whose children had returned from school reciting Muslim prayers.
They spoke of a “subtle attempt” to instil in these young children the teachings
and dictates of Islam in order to convert them. “Many agricultural areas”, said
one parent, “have a large Christian majority and this problem is beginning to be
a serious one”.
The law establishes that teachers who profess a religion different to that of the
children, should not proselytise or intentionally reveal their beliefs to their pupils.

Muslims and extremism
In Malaysia too the extremist vision of Islam ends up by affecting people and
even festivities and celebrations perceived as a “symbol of the West” or of corrupt
morals. These even include the St Valentine’s Day celebration of love, described
by the fundamentalists as a “trap” and contrary to Islamic principles. During the
days preceding February 14, 2011 and on the day itself, the Christian community
emphasised that this was a purely commercial event and not ‘linked’ to religion
and should therefore not be made an excuse for “hostile” protests.
On a talk-show called “St Valentine’s Day: forbidden by Islam” which was also
posted on YouTube, Muslim leaders warned the young not to celebrate this day.
The government too played a leading role in the campaign against the St Valentine’s
Day “trap” while in many of the country’s hotels; checks were carried out
to prevent couples from having “extramarital affairs”. This campaign dates back to
2005, when a fatwa against those in love was issued. The youth wing of the Opposition
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party promised repression and intervention in the
case of “immoral activities”. Not all Muslims, however, agree with this repression.
40-year-old musician Akmal Arrifin considers it ‘tribal” to forbid this celebration
and warns that ‘modern’ Islam cannot afford such repressions.
At the end of January 2012, as reported by AsiaNews, the axe of religious extremism
fell upon a Saudi poet regarded as “blasphemous”, who was therefore
arrested by the Malaysian authorities and extradited to Jeddah, where he faces
the death sentence. The Saudi poet and author Hamza Kashghari, had left his
country to avoid the threats and the arrest warrant issued by judges in Riyadh who
had accused him of having offended the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed.
He was arrested in Kuala Lumpur and extradited to Saudi Arabia, where he will
stand trial for contempt of the Islamic religion. This young man had been obliged
to flee his country following the controversy caused by a number of posts on
‘Twitter’ concerning Mohammed that were considered offensive.
He was arrested while trying to organise travel to a country that could grant him
asylum, but the Malaysian authorities instead detained and deported him, in spite
of the fact that there are no specific extradition agreements between the two
countries. The key element at the basis of the decision to send him back to Saudi
Arabia was the alleged offense against Islam.
A Facebook group formed quickly and now has 8,000 members. Its home page is
entitled “We demand the execution of Hamza Kashgari”. It is extremely probable
that he will be sentenced to death.
MALAYSIA

MALDIVES
AREA
298 Km²
MALDIVES
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
313,920
REFUGEES
---
Muslims 98.4%
Christians 0.5%
Catholics 0.3% / Protestants 0.2%
Others 1.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
As with the previous version of the Constitution, in force since 1999, the
Constitution approved in 2008 establishes Islam as the State religion and citizens
are forbidden from professing any other faith 1 .
Foreigners are forbidden all public manifestations of other religions, and
conversion to religions other than Islam is strictly forbidden. All the country’s
legislation, even Civil Law, is subordinated to Koranic Law. The teaching of
Islam is compulsory in all schools.
It is estimated that over 0.1% of the population is Christian, but obliged to practise
their faith in secret to avoid being arrested and “reconverted” by force or lose their
citizenship. The many foreign tourists can practise their faith only in private and on
condition that they do not share their beliefs with local inhabitants 2 .
It is illegal to bring Bibles or other non-Muslim religious material into the country.
In the period under review there have been no improvements regarding religious
freedom. In fact Islamic extremist tendencies have increased. A significant case
was the exaltation by some politicians of those who had damaged two monuments
donated respectively by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The monument gifted by Pakistan consisted of figures of animals and human.
The Sri Lankan monument was of a lion, the country’s national symbol.
The monuments were considered idolatrous and irreligious and have therefore
been removed 3 .
1 www.maldivesinfo.gov.mv/home/upload/downloads/Compilation.pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
3 Asia Times Online, November 23 rd 2011

AREA
1,240,192 Km²
MALI
In the Constitution of 1992, amended in 1999, Article 4 recognises the right of
every person to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and worship, Article 25
defines Mali as a secular republic and Article 28 prohibits the existence of confessional
parties 1 .
Before making important decisions on controversial issues, the government usually
consults the so-called “Committee of the Wise”, which consists of the Catholic
and Protestant archbishops as well as the Islamic leaders.
The various Muslim organisations are gathered in an organism called “Malian
High Council of Islam (HCIM)”.
Religious organisations are obliged to register like all other associations. However
non-registration does not in practise result in sanctions.
The minister of territorial administration and local collectivities has the power to
forbid religious publications that defame other religions, although there are no
recent reports of him exercising this power 2 .
The country has a long tradition of peaceful coexistence between Muslims and
the Christian minorities.
In recent times the political situation has deteriorated because of the upheaval resulting
from the military coup of March 2012 and the ongoing secessionist attempt
in the north of the country 3 .
Among the secessionist components is a Islamic extremist group Ansar al-Din, allied
to the group “Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” (AQIM), which seeks to impose
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=193672
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
3 Agenzia Fides, March 22 nd 2012
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
13,323,104
REFUGEES
15,624
Muslims 86.8%
Ethnoreligionists 10.2%
Christians 2.9%
Catholics 2% / Protestants 0.7% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 0.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
158,857
MALI

MALI
Sharia throughout the country and which on March 31, 2012 set fire to the Catholic
Church in Gao, hunting down priests and religious in an attempt to kill them 4 .
The attempt to create an independent Tuareg State, the so-called “State of
Azawad”, and the presence of extremist groups could destabilise the entire area 5 .
4 Agenzia Fides, April 3 rd 2012
5 Wise Men Center For Strategic Studies, Saturday, May 12th 2012 www.bilgesam.org/en/index.
php?option=com_content&view=article&id=509

AREA
316 Km²
MALTA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
412,970
REFUGEES
6,952
Christians 98%
Catholics 93% / Protestants 4.8% / Anglicans 0.2%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 2.1 of the Constitution establishes that the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion
is the official religion of the Republic of Malta. The authorities of the Catholic
Church, states Article 2.2, consequently have “the duty and the right to teach
which principles are right and which are wrong”, and Article 2.3 states that the
teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith must be available in all State
schools as part of the compulsory curriculum, although it is possible to opt out.
Article 32 guarantees all citizens basic individual rights and freedoms, whatever
their race, origin, political opinion, colour or gender may be, on condition that
the public interest is respected. These rights specifically include the right to “life,
freedom, security, enjoyment of property and protection of the law, freedom of
conscience, free speech and freedom of assembly as well as peaceful association
and respect for private and family life”.
There are no reports of significant institutional changes or other noteworthy events
in relation to religious freedom.
MALTA

MARSHALL ISLANDS
AREA
181 Km²
MARSHALL ISLANDS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
54,439
REFUGEES
---
Christians 95%
Catholics 8% / Protestants 71.9% / Other Chr. 15.1%
Baha’is 2.7%
Others 2.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 2 (Bill of Rights) of the 1979 Constitution recognises full religious freedom.
It is not compulsory for religious groups to register and foreign missionaries
present in the country are allowed to operate freely.
There are private schools run by the Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ,
the Assemblies of God, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Baptist Church and also
by other groups. There is no religious instruction in State schools.
Christmas, Good Friday and Gospel Day are national holidays.

AREA
102,532 Km²
MAURITANIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,365,675
REFUGEES
---
Muslims 99.1%
Christians 0.3%
Catholics 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The 1991 Constitution acknowledges the country as an Islamic Republic and in
Article 5 indicates Islam as the only religion for the State and for its citizens1 .
Article 306 of the penal code outlaws apostasy. It states that any Muslim found
guilty of the crime will be given the opportunity to repent within three days and
if the person does not repent, the individual will be sentenced to death and the
person’s property will be confiscated by the Treasury.
Also the refusal to comply with the prescribed Islamic prayer is considered a
crime of apostasy2 .
The government forbids the printing and distribution of non-Islamic material, such
as, for example, the Bible but the possession of non-Islamic religious books for
private use is not forbidden.
The government forbids non-Muslims from proselytising on the basis of a
restrictive interpretation of Article 5 of the Constitution, which states that “Islam
is the religion of the people and of the State”. There are close links between the
government and the Muslim religion; Sharia (Islamic law) indicates the principles
with which the laws must comply. The High Council of Islam, composed of six
imams, advises the government on the compliance of laws with Islamic precepts.
Courts apply the Sharia on family matters and civil law for all other sectors.
Religious groups are not required to register, although registration is needed for
all social and humanitarian activities carried out by religious groups. In these
activities the government forbids all forms of proselytising.
The Islamic religion is taught in all schools, including private ones. Attendance
at these courses is compulsory although students can apply for exemptions for
ethnic, religious or simply personal reasons.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.mpil.de/shared/data/pdf/Constitution_english_2006.pdf
2 www.droit-afrique.com/images/textes/Mauritanie/Mauritanie%20-%20Code%20penal.pdf
MAURITANIA

MAURITIUS
AREA
2,040 Km²
MAURITIUS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,296,569
REFUGEES
---
Hindus 43.9%
Christians 32.7%
Catholics 24.8% / Protestants 7.5% / Anglicans 0.4%
Muslims 16.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.7%
Others 3.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution1 (Art. 11) and the law both guarantee religious freedom and the
authorities usually respect it.
There is a very close correlation between ethnic groups and religious beliefs.
The descendants of European citizens and the Creoles are mainly Christians,
the Chinese are Buddhists or Catholics, while the ethnic Indians are Hindus
or Muslims.
Religious groups with ancient traditions, present before the country’s declaration
of independence, are not required to register since they are already recognised
by a parliamentary decree.
New groups must instead request registration. Although there are no provisions
forbidding or restricting missionary activities, foreign missionaries must register
and obtain a permit for their group as well as a personal one for each missionary.
The government generally approves these non-renewable permits for a maximum
of three years.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during the
reporting period.
1 www.gov.mu/portal/site/AssemblySite/menuitem.ee3d58b2c32c60451251701065c521ca/

AREA
1,958,201 Km²
MEXICO
POPULATION
112,336,538
Changes in Legislation
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
1,677
Christians 95.9%
Catholics 88.3% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 7.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.7%
Others 1.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
141,900
In March 2012 the Senate approved a number of amendments to Article 24 of the
Constitution, which had been approved the previous December by the Chamber
of Deputies 1 .
The new version of Article 24 establishes that “Every person has the right to
freedom of ethical convictions, of conscience and religion and to have or adopt
in each case, the one preferred. This freedom includes the right to participate,
individually or collectively, in public or private, to the respective ceremonies, acts
of devotion or worship, so far as it does not constitute a crime or act punishable by
law. No one is allowed to use these public acts of expression of these freedoms
for political ends, proselytsing or propaganda” 2 .
The reform was challenged by Protestant circles, who consider it too restrictive for
the full exercise of religious freedom, and also by secularists who think it opens
the door to religious education in schools, despite there having been approved at
the same time a reform of Article 40, which defines Mexico as a “secular, federal,
representative republic”, thereby enshrining the secular State in the Constitution.
While the Secretary General of the Mexican Episcopal Conference praised the
work of the parliamentarians who had contributed to the constitutional changes
regarding religious freedom, mitigating, in his opinion, the secular regime that
held sway in Mexico 3 , other Catholic circles have argued that in reality the reform
does not produce a real improvement over the previous situation 4 .
In June 2011, Congress approved various Constitutional amendments that
1 Proceso.com.mx, March 28 th 2012
2 Abc.es, April 2 nd 2012
3 Cem.org.mx, March 29 th 2012
4 www.es.catholic.net/sexualidadybioetica/371/942/articulo.php?id=53509
MEXICO

ecognise human rights in general and incorporate international
legislation on this subject in Mexican law
MEXICOexpressly 5 . The Episcopal Conference also
expressed a positive reaction on the reforms in this instance6 .
The Catholic Church
In 2011 there were a number of attacks against Catholic priests. While in the
current violent climate these might be considered common crimes, they have had
a serious impact on the freedom of the Church’s ministers. Among the murder
victims in 2011 were parish priests Santos Sanchez and Salvador Ruiz Enciso,
Father Marco Antonio Durán and the kidnap and murder of María Elizabeth Macías
Castro, a journalist with the Community of the Scalabrinian Lay Movement7 .
Religious images have also been the object of violence. According to figures
from the Multimedia Catholic Centre (CCM) and the Council of Catholic Analysts
of Mexico (CACM) released in January 2011, violence against sacred images
rose from 2% in 1993 to 12% today. Every week, 26 sacred locations were the
target of violence 8 . The reaction by the Mexican Episcopal Conference was
expressed in the Declaration “Que en Cristo, nuestra paz, México tenga vida
digna” (That in Christ, who is our peace, Mexico may have a life worthy of that
name), in which a series of initiatives were presented, for example, a prayer for
peace that is said in almost all the Churches in the country at the end of Mass
and the Rosary as a prayer for peace and one necessary to ensure that the
nation recovers its serenity 9 .
The Pope’s visit
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI conducted a pastoral visit to Mexico from March
23, to March 26, 2012.
The announcement of the visit had generated conflicting reactions from members
of various religious denominations, among them the directors of Casa Tíbet México,
the National Confraternity of Christian Evangelical Churches (Confraternice), the
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and the administrator of the Hari
Krishna temple in Mexico City. Although some opposed the visit as going against
the secular character of the State, others expressed respect, assessing it as the
5 Aida-Associazione Interamericana per la Difesa dell’Ambiente, July 7 th 2011
6 Cem.com.mx, March 29 th 2012
7 Zenit.org, September 26 th 2011
8 Ibid., January 20 th 2011
9 Ibid., April 3 rd 2011

visit of someone bringing a message of harmony, brotherhood and a desire to
become close to the divine 10 .
Everyone agreed the trip was a great success as shown by the participation of
hundreds of thousands of faithful and the close attention paid to the words of the
Holy Father, even by sections of society little interested in the Christian message
or even downright hostile to it.
10 Noticias.terra.com.mx, March 25 th 2012
MEXICO

MICRONESIA
AREA
702 Km²
MICRONESIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
102,624
REFUGEES
---
Christians 94.8%
Catholics 62.2% / Protestants 31% / Other Chr. 1.6%
Ethnoreligionists 2.8%
Others 2.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In the period addressed by this Report, the 1978 Constitution of the Federated
States of Micronesia, which in Article IV (Declaration of Rights) guarantees
total religious freedom, has been entirely respected.
The government funds private schools run by religious groups.
State schools offer no religious education. Missionaries of various faiths can operate
freely.
Religious groups have their own schools, radio stations and a cable TV network.

AREA
33,831 Km²
Legislation
MOLDOVA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,119,054
REFUGEES
146
Article 31 of the 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Moldova guarantees freedom
of religion and organizational freedom of religious communities. It states that the
latter are free from State control and can rely on State support, including religious
support in the army, hospitals, prisons, old people’s homes and orphanages 1 .
In December 2011, parliament amended the 2007 “Law on freedom of conscience,
thought and religion” bringing it up to European standards, simplifying registration
procedures, expanding rights of conscientious objectors facing military service
and eliminating State pensions, which up till now were reserved solely for the
Orthodox clergy.
To register, a group must present a declaration to the justice ministry containing
the group’s official name, its principles and doctrinal fundamentals, organizational
structure, scope of religious activities, financial sources and the rights and duties
of its adherents. There must also be at least 100 members.
At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, primary and secondary schools introduced
an optional course in religious instruction. The guidelines were drawn up
by the Ministry of Education, the Moldovan Orthodox Church and, more recently,
the Bessarabian Orthodox Church.
Two State primary schools and a kindergarten are theoretically reserved only for
Jews, but children of all faiths and origins attend them without any problems.
A kindergarten in the capital of Chişinãu has a special Jewish section, though
Jewish children are not obliged to attend these schools.
1 http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/moldova3.pdf
Christians 95.9%
Catholics 0.6% / Orthodox 93.7% / Protestants 1.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.9%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
MOLDOVA

MOLDOVA
The visit by the U.N’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
From October 1 to 8, 2011 the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, visited Moldova to analyze the religious
freedom situation. He also evaluated the situation in the breakaway region
of Transnistria. Bielefeldt said progress worthy of note had been made in the
field of human rights, including religious freedom and noted the satisfaction of
the leaders of the various religious organizations, compared to the persecution
and repression during the Soviet period.
Bielefeldt concluded in his report that although there was no actual religious
conflict expressed in a violent form, there was still a need to develop a culture
of interreligious communication within the country. He emphasised that he had
received news of demonstrations of intolerance, intimidation and vandalism
against religious minorities, especially in rural areas of Transnistria2 .
Incidents of social intolerance
Despite this, there have generally been no serious cases of intolerance or
religiously motivated violence. Nonetheless, suspicion towards members of
other faiths remains, even if there are no obstacles to the private practise of their
faith, whether in places of worship or in private homes. But they can experience
problems when trying to organise public religious ceremonies, such as processions
or meetings in public places.
Occasionally, when there are funerals of members of religious minorities, some
Orthodox religious groups protest, expressing hostility to them being buried
in city cemeteries.
There are also reports of acts of vandalism against Protestant Churches, with
windows broken and walls under construction knocked down.
Positive Signs
One positive episode in the direction of cooperation between the various Christian
communities was the first Social Week of the local Catholic Church, which
began on October 11, 2011 in the Moldovan capital. The event was attended by
hundreds of Catholics from across the country, representatives of the government
and other Christian Churches 3 .
2 www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11354&LangID=E
3 ZENIT.org, October 12 th 2011

Transnistria
The authorities in the breakaway region of Transnistria, not controlled by the central
government, generally respect the right to religious freedom for registered
groups, but even in this area a number of minority groups are denied legal status
and even harassed when carrying out their activities.
The situation concerning religious freedom in Transnistria is particularly restrictive.
All religious organizations seeking legal recognition must supply a list of
founder members with all their personal information, the organization’s statutes
and the Minutes of the constituent assembly.
One difference from the past is that religious organizations in Trasnistria can now
freely produce and publish texts and can import and export religious material in
printed form, audio and video recordings and other religious articles.
The greatest obstacle to religious freedom posed by the government remains the
difficulty for some religious groups in obtaining legal recognition 4 .
4 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
MOLDOVA

MONACO
AREA
1 Km²
MONACO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
35,881
REFUGEES
37
Christians 92.7%
Catholics 82.3% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 2.1%
Anglicans 0.9% / Other Chr. 7.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.9%
Others 2.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 9 of the Constitution of the Principality establishes that the Roman Catholic
Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State. Article 17 guarantees that all Monegasques
– citizens of Monaco – are equal in the eyes of the law and there are no
individual privileges among them.
Article 23 guarantees “religious freedom, its public exercise, as well as the freedom
to express one’s own opinions on all subjects”, with the exception of “the
repression of crimes committed during the exercise of this freedom” and also
guarantees that “no one may be constrained to participate in the activities and
ceremonies of a religion or to observe its days of rest”.
There have been no reports of significant institutional changes or notable
incidents relating to religious freedom.

AREA
1,566,500 Km²
MONGOLIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,754,685
REFUGEES
1
Agnostics / Atheists 36.3%
Ethnoreligionists 32.2%
Buddhists 24.2%
Muslims 5%
Christians 1.7%
Catholics 0.1% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 1.5%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Under Articles 9.2 and 16.15 of the Constitution of 1992, freedom of religion is
recognised, separating organised religion from political activities.
Religious education is not allowed in State schools, but the government does allow
foreign missionaries into the country. Each religious group must register and
only those that are registered can engage in apostolic activities. The offering of
economic incentives or other forms of pressure is banned.
The government can limit the number of priests and places of worship and does,
in fact do so, relying on its regulatory authority to control these places.
Since registration requires a letter of approval by local city councils or other
local authorities, local government in practise exercises a discretionary power
over places of worship because approval by the Justice and the Internal Affairs
Ministries is usually just a formality. Applicants who want to register must provide
the names of those who are in charge of such places as well as the names
of the faithful.
There have been no reports of notable incidents relating to religious freedom
during the period under review.
MONGOLIA

MONTENEGRO
AREA
14,480,000 Km²
MONTENEGRO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
625,266
REFUGEES
12,874
Christians 77.7%
Catholics 3.8% / Orthodox 70.2% / Protestants 3.7%
Muslims 16.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 5.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 14 of the Constitution approved in 2007 establishes the separation between
religious communities and the State as well as their equality and freedom
to practise religious rituals and manage religious issues. Additionally, Article 46
guarantees full freedom not only to express and practise one’s religion in private
and in public, with others or alone, but also the right to change religion1 .
These principles are usually respected by the authorities, although problems between
the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church have
not yet been resolved with each claiming the status of the country’s “true” Orthodox
Church. The problem is not only a religious one but also has significant
political consequences and results in occasional tension between the members
of the two religious communities.
On August 19, 2011 for example, the police prevented access to the Church of the
Transfiguration near Cetinje because members of both Churches had gathered
to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. The decision avoided physical confrontation
between the two opposing factions, which had previously happened in
January 2010, on a similar occasion in this same area.
On March 22, 2012 Montenegro’s Constitutional Court rejected a proposal from
the representative of the Montenegrin Cultural Society in Cetinje to ban the services
provided by the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro 2 .
Issues involving the restitution of assets confiscated from religious communities
by the Yugoslav Communist regime since World War II have still not been resolved.
For some time it was thought that these assets would be regulated by
specific and separate legislation but so far this has not happened 3 .
1 www.comparativeConstitutionsproject.org/files/Montenegro_2007.pdf
2 Agenzia Nova, March 22 nd 2012
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
446,550 Km²
MOROCCO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
32,381,283
REFUGEES
736
Muslims 98.9%
Christians 0.1%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In 2011 Morocco adopted a new Constitution approved by referendum on July
1st1 . Article 3 reiterates that “Islam is the religion of the State, which guarantees to
all the free exercise of beliefs”. The word “all” applies to Muslims and the followers
of those religions having an official status, such as Judaism and Catholicism2 .
Christians, however, can only enjoy religious freedom on two conditions:
firstly they cannot be Moroccans, and secondly, they must not proselytise.
According to Article 220 of the Dahir (the royal decree) dated November 26,
1962, which is part of the Penal Code, “anyone resorting to means of seduction
in order to make a Muslim doubt his faith or to convert him to another religion”
risks between six months and three years in prison and a fine of between 100
and 500 dirham. Nothing therefore is likely to change for the 2,500 Jews and
the 25,000 Catholics in the Kingdom, most of whom are foreigners, or indeed
for the 1,500 Protestants.
The Preamble to the new Constitution announces the State’s intention to “ban
and oppose all forms of discrimination against anyone based on their beliefs”, but
Muslims of Moroccan origin are still forbidden from formally recanting their religion.
It is thought that there are between 3,000 and 4,000 Christian Moroccans who are
followers of Evangelical movements. Most of them have discovered Christianity
online and they are obliged to practise in secret.
As far as Christian women married to Moroccan Muslims are concerned, they are
permitted to retain their religion and to worship, but their children automatically
become Muslims (in the Islamic tradition religion is passed down through the father)
and they are pressured to embrace Islam. These women are also discriminated
against under Sharia law and if widowed, they lose all inheritance rights.
1 Zenit news agency, July 3 rd 2011
2 www.maroc.ma/NR/rdonlyres/EE8E1B01-9C86-449B-A9C2-A98CC88D7238/8650/bo5952F.pdf
MOROCCO

MOZAMBIQUE
AREA
801,590 Km²
MOZAMBIQUE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
22,417,093
REFUGEES
4,079
Christians 52.5%
Catholics 22.6% / Protestants 29.3% / Anglicans 0.6%
Ethnoreligionists 30.3%
Muslims 16.6%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The government respects religious freedom as established by the Constitution.
The State defines itself as secular and does not concede particular privileges to
any religion. Political parties are forbidden from being affiliated to any religious
organisation or referring directly to any religious principles. All religious instruction
is forbidden in State schools, although it is permitted in private ones.
Religious groups and missionary organisations must request registration indicating
their financial sources and providing the names of at least 500 followers.
There are no reports of the authorities denying anyone registration. Religious
organisations are also permitted to own assets and run schools. The Catholic
Church runs 66 kindergartens, 310 primary schools and 53 secondary schools
with more than 21,000 students. They also have one university.
Missionaries must obtain residency permits, like all other foreign citizens, but there
are no reports of the authorities obstructing their work. Catholics are also very
active in the social sector, providing 70 hospitals, 12 homes, 33 orphanages and
43 day nurseries.
The Catholic Church and a number of Islamic groups are still in litigation with the
government over property confiscated by the State after independence. The local
bishops are still complaining that the government continues to occupy various
buildings seized from the Church in the provinces of Inhambane, Maputo, Beira,
Chimoio, Pemba, Nampula, Niassa and Zambezia, and are asking for them to be
returned. These properties are currently used by the State as schools or for other
social activities.

AREA
676,578 Km²
MYANMAR
In the course of 2011 and during the first few months of 2012, Burma’s government
implemented a series of political reforms that re-launched the country at an
international level after decades of military dictatorship and economic isolation.
Initially the international community welcomed the promise of reform with scepticism
and reservations. However, as the months went by and reforms were attempted
– among them the right to strike, the first steps towards the creation of a
free trade union, the partial removal of media censorship – the United States and
the European Union revised their policy of economic and commercial sanctions,
which were partially removed.
In January 2012, in an act of clemency by President Thein Sein, a number of Burmese
dissidents were released from the country’s prisons after years of detention.
The provision currently in force is only the last of a series of pardons decided
by the new “civilian” government which aims to return to be a fully recognised
member of the international community 1 .
In May 2012, the Bishops of Burma expressed their satisfaction and hope for the
“new step forward” made by the country, when the legendary opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in and officially became a member of the Burmese
parliament, together with other members of her party 2 .
On the other hand, the central government has experienced its most serious
problems with the ethnic minorities, effectively combining the political issues with
a policy of denominational and religious repression.
The Kachin ethic minority is in fact mainly Christian. In June 2011 clashes resumed
between the national army and rebel militias, escalating to such an extent
that there was fear a civil war might break out.
1 AsiaNews, December 7 th 2011
2 Fides News Agency, May 2 nd 2012
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
50,495,672
REFUGEES
---
Buddhists 74.5%
Ethnoreligionists 9.7%
Christians 7.9%
Catholics 1.3% / Protestants 6.5% / Anglicans 0.1%
Muslims 3.8%
Others 4.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
458,000
MYANMAR

In May 2011 the Ucanews website published interviews with a number of Burmese
priests who had asked to remain anonymous so as not to incur retaliation
from the troops. The priests emphasised that while with the new semi-civilian
government “people are freer” Christians still experience “difficult situations” and
alienation. One of them reported “problems” obtaining permits to build a Church,
while a priest who originally came from the Shan state added that Christianity
is often “still perceived as a foreign religion”. Faith in Christ becomes a reason
for discrimination “also in the workplace, especially when looking for jobs within
the public administrations”. A priest from Yagon added that, “officials always find
Catholics amidst festivities and discrimination
some invented excuse to ensure one does not get a job”
MYANMARBurmese 3 .
On October 16, 2011 a group of soldiers belonging to the 438th Battalion burst
into and took control of a Catholic Church in Namsan, in the village of Yang near
the city of Waimaw. When the soldiers entered the Church there were 23 believers
present, mainly women and elderly people, who had gathered to attend
morning Mass. So as to protect themselves from being shot, the parishioners
took refuge behind the altar in the Lady Chapel. The soldiers also brutally beat up
the 49-year-old assistant priest, who had intervened to try and return calm to the
Church and to protect the faithful. In the end the soldiers put him in handcuffs and
arrested him, together with four other people. In the same month the Burmese
authorities issued an order requiring all Churches in the state of Kachin to present
a written request, 15 days before the event, should they wish to hold “seminars
and Bible studies, catechism, prayers and say the Rosary”. Officials added that
authorisation, where granted, would be issued by the competent offices 4 .
Albeit with many problems, last year the Burmese Catholic community was able
to celebrate a special event, the centenary of the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Yangon,
which had just undergone restoration that lasted over three years. In an
interview given on the eve of the celebrations, Archbishop Charles Bo said that
these festivities were an opportunity for “reconciliation with God, with others and
for each person with their individual consciences”. In this interview the Burmese
prelate added that the reconciliation process in Burma also involved Burmese
Catholics. “Just as we prepare to recreate in Christ our lost love, obfuscated truth,
frozen personal relationships”, he explained, “we must be committed to recreate
our lives with relationships marked by real love”.
He asked everyone to “pray for the country, that we may experience a New Jerusalem”,
in which – just like the new cathedral – man’s freedom and dignity will
shine. He expressed the hope that the citizens would “prepare” with prayers and
3 ucanews.com- Myanmar, May 13 th 2011
4 Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), October 21 st 2011

devotion for a new era, marked by “real freedom”. The cathedral in Yangon is Burma’s
most important Christian place of worship and one of the most important in
the whole of Asia. The cathedral, built in the Gothic style, was totally restored over
a three year period. The damage caused by time, by the 1930 earthquake, World
War II bombs and Cyclone Nargis in 2008, had finally necessitated a programme
of restoration that was only completed in recent weeks5 .
The Mass celebrated on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception,
was also attended by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who, although a Buddhist,
wished to attend the service from the beginning to the end. After the celebrations
the Nobel Peace Prize winner also met with Cardinal Renato Raffaele
Martino who “praised” the “lady’s” courage, inviting her to continue to work for the
good of the country. On the eve of these celebrations Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD
(National League for Democracy) leader had appealed to Burmese Catholic and
Protestant bishops, asking for them to contribute to strengthening a path of peace
that must lead to “lasting reforms” and real democracy6 .
The “political” persecution of Kachin Christians
The repression of ethnic minorities in Burma also has religious elements.
Religious discrimination tends to be a tool of political oppression.
They do, however, overlap in two senses and end up in repression implemented
by the army that violates freedom of worship, and results in massacres, rape and
violence of many kinds. All this takes place while the central government tries to
present its “good” side - in favour of establishing a dialogue - to the international
community, attempting to gain its respect and consensus.
On January 19, 2011 the news portal Compass Direct News reported “the Burmese
army’s systematic use of forced labour, torture and rape” against the mainly
Christian Chin people, in the state of the same name in western Burma.
In a report entitled “Life under the junta: Evidence of crimes against humanity in
the Chin state”, activists belonging to Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) documented
the “extraordinary levels of state violence” against the Burmese Chin
- 90% of whom are Christians, thanks to the missionary work carried out between
the end of the 19 th century and the first half of the 20 th century. Persecution
against Christians is an integral part of a more widespread campaign addressed
at creating a “uniform” society in which “the only religion professed is Buddhism”.
5 AsiaNews, December 7 th 2011
6 Ibid., December 9 th 2011
MYANMAR

of the violence against the Chin is specifically the result of their Christian
faith, because of which they have suffered the destruction of their homes and property,
as well as experiencing threats and the murder of their relatives
MYANMARMuch 7 .
In May 2011 the Kachin Christians obtained their first victory in a battle that saw
them opposed to the government over the removal of two historical crosses set on
top of a mountain in an area in which the Irrawaddy dam is expected to be built.
The crosses are over 100 years old and were built by two Kachin Churches in
Tang Hpre, a village situated near the place where the two rivers merge into one8 .
The situation Kachin State was, however, destined to deteriorate, so much so that
in mid-June 2011, a priest from the north reported a “civil war” between the Burmese
army and rebel troops. From the very beginning this conflict has resulted in
thousands of refugees, with many taking refuge in Churches.
The appeal launched the day after the first clashes by the NGO Christian Solidarity
Worldwide (CSW), calling for intervention by the United Nations and the European
Union to put an end to this conflict, fell on deaf ears. A few days later there
were reports that the clashes had been sparked by the local population’s opposition
to the construction of an immense energy plant by a Chinese company, with
a devastating environmental impact on the Kachin territory, in exchange for a
negligible energy contribution to the country. Most of the production – up to 90%
in fact – would be destined for industries in the Chinese province of Sichuan9 .
At the end of June there were already reports of “ethnic cleansing” and a “humanitarian
crisis”, in which priests and nuns were doing everything possible to
assist the civilian population tormented by war and ferocious repression. There
are about 20,000 internal refugees already and the number is constantly rising.
At least 5,000 people are in Laiza (a city on the border with China), over 2,000 are
in the city of Shwegu, more than 10,000 in the villages of Manwing and Prang Hku
Dung and thousands are scattered in the forests10 .
A report broadcast by Vatican Radio in mid-July 2011 spoke of civilians being
used at the front as “human shields” by the Burmese army. The report drafted
by Burma Campaign UK indicates that “many bearers or ordinary people living in
villages are taken by force to war zones ... and used as human shields or as bomb
disposal experts” without having any specific competence.
In spite of a ceasefire that lasted a few weeks, the conflict was resumed in October
with all its tragic violence. In an article published on October 21, Fides sources
7 Compass Direct News, January 19 th 2011
8 AsiaNews, May 5 th 2011
9 Fides News Agency, June 16 th 2011
10 Ibid., June 27 th 2011

eported that Churches had been seized, civilians beaten and women and young
girls raped by the Burmese army. A few days earlier, on October 16, soldiers
occupied a place of worship and gang-raped a 19-year-old girl, implementing a
campaign that the civilian population have described as “ethnic cleansing” 11 .
In November the Burmese army attacked an orphanage in Kachin territory, killing
19 people and wounding dozens more. A grenade was thrown, injuring members
of a prayer group gathered for a study session and at the same time damaging
three other buildings that caught fire. The reasons for such violence against
locations devoted to solidarity and welcome have never been clarified, though it is
yet another sign of the army’s violence against the property, activities and centres
owned by Kachin Christians in the region 12 .
Buddhist monks still in prison
In spite of the government’s change in attitude, with promises of reform and democracy,
hundreds of human rights activists are still in prison, among them the
Burmese Buddhist monks who started the 2007 revolt, which was violently repressed
by the military junta. Theravada Buddhism – the most popular religion
in Burma – is still today carefully monitored by the authorities and is “sponsored”
by a large group of elderly monks who carefully avoid causing tension with government
leaders. On September 27, 2011 four years after the Saffron Revolution,
a name inspired by the colour of the monks’ habits, police officers intervened
often and in large numbers to prevent any kind of street protests 13 .
In mid-November in Mandalay a protest singing the praises of the Saffron Revolution
was organised by five monks led by Ashin Sopaka.
The five monks had been under pressure to stop the protest as demanded by a
group of older monks, among them the president of the local Sangha Committee,
who feared retaliation from the government and the army. Some sources have
instead reported that the intervention of the “elders” was the result of a strategy
adopted by the government, which wished to avoid bloodshed and bad publicity
in the eyes of the international community. The government therefore “used” the
older Buddhist leaders in an attempt to “dissuade” the younger monks from continuing
their protest. The Burmese authorities have imposed a press blackout on
this issue, stopping the broadcasting of footage or news on all main media.
On the afternoon of November 16, however, at least 1,200 people listened to the
words of the protest’s leader, the monk Ashin Sopaka who originally came from
Yangon as did his brothers. In a 15-minute-long speech, he repeated the requests
11 Fides, News Agency, October 21 st 2011
12 Christian Post, November 14 th 2011
13 AsiaNews, November 27 th 2011
MYANMAR

the previous day, asking for the release of all political prisoners, the end of
clashes between the army and ethnic militias, freedom of speech and conscience
for the monks. “We are very satisfied”, added the monk leading the protest,
Ashin Sopaka, saying that he “trusts the best will happen”, but that he was also
“prepared for the worst”. Local sources quoted by the Democratic Voice of Burma
(DVB) have reported that on that same evening the group of five monks left the
Maha Myatmuni pagoda where the protest had started and took refuge at the
Masoeyein monastery, also in Mandalay, considered a safer place should the authorities
have intervened. They were escorted on the route by about one thousand
people, ready to protect them should there have been a raid by security forces.
In the days that followed they abandoned the more extreme forms of protests to
avoid intervention by the authorities MYANMARmade 14 .
Rohingya, the persecuted Muslim minority
The Rohingya are one of Burma’s many ethnic minorities and mainly live in a
region in western Burma near the border with Bangladesh, in the northern part of
the Rakhine province (in Arakan state). The majority are Muslims and there are
about three million of them, with one million living in Burma. The Rohingya have
their own culture and language and speak a dialect very similar to the one spoken
in an area in Bangladesh, to which many of this ethnic group have migrated
to escape persecution by the Burmese junta. In recent years the regime has not
recognised their right to citizenship (they are effectively stateless), to own land, to
travel or to marry without “special permission” provided by the authorities.
Abuse and persecution of the Rohingya and their desperate flight abroad also continued
in 2011. Human Rights Watch (HRW) activists have reported that between
January 21 and January 23, 2011, a group of 158 people arrived in Thailand after
a long and dangerous sea journey on overcrowded boats.
Stopped by the authorities in Bangkok, they were detained in special prisons reserved
to illegal immigrants, joining another 53 detainees held there since 2009.
A few days later, on February 2, HRW activists reported the hard line followed by
the Thai authorities, who on various occasions refused to allow the United Nations
Commissioner for Refugees to enter the prisons to verify whether among the
over 200 detainees there was anyone who might be eligible for political asylum.
Brad Adams, the director of HRW in Asia, said that “the persecution to which the
Rohingya are subjected in Burma is atrocious”, but Bangkok “continues to ignore
the matter”.
14 AsiaNews, November 16 th 2011

The tragedy experienced by the Muslim minority made the headlines again in
mid-December, when various non-governmental organisations once again raised
the alarm for 28,000 refugees “who risked being expelled from Bangladesh”.
In an attempt to improve relations with the government in Dhaka, in mid-December
Burma accepted the return of tens of thousands of Rohingya, without however
acknowledging them their rights or freedom to travel. In addition to the officially
registered refuges, it is thought that several hundreds of thousands of Rohingya
are living in Bangladesh as illegal refugees in inhumane conditions.
Since January 2011 over 1,310 non-registered Rohingya refugees have
been deported from Bangladesh to Burma where they now face persecution
and discrimination.
MYANMAR

NAMIBIA
AREA
824,292 Km²
NAMIBIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,143,411
REFUGEES
6,049
Christians 88.9%
Catholics 20.6% / Protestants 65.1% / Anglicans 3.2%
Ethnoreligionists 8.7%
Others 2.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia safeguards the inalienable rights and
indispensable freedom of its citizens.
While speaking on the fundamental freedom of all persons of this country, the
Constitution says that all persons shall have the right to freedom to practise any
religion and to manifest such practise.
Religions and religious organisations so far have enjoyed the freedom outlined in
the Constitution.
The Catholic Church’s presence is significant, with its educational institutes (preschools,
primary schools, junior secondary schools, high schools and hostels),
health services (private hospitals, district hospitals, health clinics and hospices)
and Catholic Aids Action. The Namibian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (NCBC)
also contributes towards the promotion of justice, peace and freedom in the
country, through its publication of Pastoral Letters on relevant issues from time to
time in the national media.
For the period analysed for the report there have been no negative events with
regard to the respect for religious freedom.

AREA
21 Km²
NAURU
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
9,976
REFUGEES
---
Christians 75%
Catholics 16.5% / Protestants 53% / Anglicans 5.5%
Chinese folk Religionists 10.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 3.5%
Others 11%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 11 of the Constitution of 1968 of this small democracy recognises full
religious freedom; however, this right can be limited to the extent that a “law makes
provision which is reasonably required […] in the interests of defence, public
safety, public order, public morality or public health”.
Religious groups must in any event register in order to operate. The Catholic
Church and two long-standing Protestant denominations, the Nauru Congregational
Church and the Kiribati Protestant Church, are officially recognised.
During the period under review no significant events regarding the exercise of
religious freedom were reported.
NAURU

NEPAL
AREA
147,181 Km²
NEPAL
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
29,852,682
Legal and institutional aspects
REFUGEES
55,283
Hindus 67.8%
Ethnoreligionists 13.9%
Buddhists 10.5%
Muslims 4.2%
Christians 3%
Catholics 0.1% / Protestants 0.7% / Other Chr. 2.2%
Others 0.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
50,000
In 2007, Nepal became a secular State after centuries of rule by an absolute Hindu
monarchy. The country’s temporary Constitution, adopted under the aegis of
the United Nations, bans proselytising but does allow people to profess their faith,
including by means of missionary and charity activities.
According to Church officials, since the end of the monarchy, thousands of Hindus
have converted to Christianity and more than 200 non-Christians attend Mass in
Kathmandu’s Catholic cathedral every Sunday.
However, the political and economic instability of the past few years, caused by a
power struggle among secular-oriented parties, has breathed new life into Hindu
movements that seek to restore the monarchy and slow down by any means the
rising number of conversions.
After six years of relative tolerance towards Christians and other religions, the
coalition government, led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist),
has proposed a new penal code that would ban proselytising in order to
stop conversions to Christianity and religions other than Hinduism and Buddhism.
Under Article 160 of the new code, anyone preaching or trying to persuade a
Nepali citizen to change religion could get up to five years in prison and fines in
excess of US$ 500.
Christians, Muslims and members of other religions are deeply worried that the
proposed new laws might restrict religious freedom in the country.
Religious minorities are still not represented in parliament, and many people
fear that the new code might be adopted without input from Christians and other
religious groups and that it could be used by Hindu extremists. Some people
point out that certain legislative proposals also violate Article 23 of the temporary
Constitution, which grants every Nepali citizen the right to profess the creed of
their choice.

Representatives of the Christian, Muslim, Baha’i and tribal Kirati minorities as well
as secular-oriented leaders have proposed a separate law for minorities, and also
the creation of a commission for religious affairs that would uphold the rights of
various religions other than Hinduism as well as the rights of Hindus to convert to
any other religion.
At the time of writing this report, the code has not yet been approved by parliament
and signed into law by President Ram Baran Yadav. The latest deadline for
approving the final draft of the new Constitution was extended to May 2012.
Difficulties for religious minorities
Even though it declared itself secular and against caste divisions, the Nepali State
is still under the strong influence of the country’s Hindu establishment. Hinduism
remains the de facto state religion. Besides the anti-conversion laws, a ban on
building cemeteries exemplifies this subordination. In fact, Christians, Muslims
and tribal Kirati are forced to bury their dead in makeshift plots, or in existing
tombs.
In 2011, Christians, Muslims and indigenous Kirati organised various demonstrations
and hunger strikes to protest against the authorities of the Hindu temple
of Pashupati Nath (Kathmandu), who practise cremation and view the burial of
bodies as sacrilegious. For years, they have hindered, sometimes violently, burials
in Slesmantak forest, a wooded area near the temple. In so doing, they have
ignored an ordinance by the local government allowing minorities to use the site
as a cemetery.
A ban on the public slaughter of cows (viewed as sacred in the Hindu tradition) is
another example of Hinduism’s influence on Nepali society. Amar Dhoj Tamang, a
member of the Tamang tribe and vice president of the Tamsaling Party, said that
in August 2011 members of his community were arrested in Kathmandu for killing
a cow for its meat 1 .
Muslim and Christian leaders claim that thousands of Nepalis have converted
in the past few years. The National Churches Fellowship of Nepal, the largest
Protestant denomination in the country, noted that 400 Christian communities dot
the Kathmandu Valley, each with its own Church. Leaders of the Kamia Masjid
(mosque) in Kathmandu said that the country has more than 3,600 madrassas
and an equal number of mosques 2 .
1 Kalpit Parajuli, “Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Baha’is launch appeal against anti-conversion
proposal”, in AsiaNews, August 17 th 2011
2 US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2011, Nepal
NEPAL

of persecution and restriction on religious activities
Christians
Since the attack by a Hindu extremist group called the Nepal Defence Army
(NDA) against the Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption on May 23, 2009, which
killed three people and wounded scores more, no serious attack was reported in
NEPALCases
2011 against Catholic or Protestant communities. Nevertheless, during the same
period Nepali police foiled several attacks against Christian Churches and public
buildings. For example, on March 4, 2011, they arrested six people who had come
to the capital from other parts of the country in order to plant bombs in Christian
places of worship3 .
During questioning, they revealed that they were old followers of Ram Prasad
Mainali, a NDA leader arrested in late 2009. After training in bomb-making techniques,
they were supposed to set off explosive devices to cause panic and harm
as many people as possible. Later, the group would try to extort money from businesses
and politicians by threatening further attacks against sensitive targets like
Churches, mosques and public buildings.
According to police, Mainali had personally supervised the operation via a mobile
phone, which he also used to threaten the victims. On January 14, 2010, he wrote
a letter addressed to the country’s Christian and Muslim communities asking for
their forgiveness for his violent deeds.
Between November 22 and 28, NDA members planted bombs at the headquarters
of the country’s largest Protestant organsation, the Unified Mission to Nepal
(UNM), at St Xavier College in Maitighar, a prestigious Catholic school, and Navajiwan
Church in Kathmandu. No one was killed or injured in the attacks4 .
Muslims
In the past few years, Hindu extremists have often attacked Nepal’s Muslim community.
The last major case occurred on April 26, 2008 in Birantnagar, when two
people were killed.
Last year saw the death of Faizan Ahamed, secretary general of the Nepali Islamic
Association (NIA), murdered in front of the mosque in Kathmandu’s Ghanta
Ghar Square. No one knows why he was killed, nor has anyone claimed responsibility
5 , but some experts and religious leaders have blamed Hindu extremists,
3 AsiaNews, March 5 th 2011
4 Assist News Service, November 25 th 2012; AsiaNews, November 30 th 2011
5 AsiaNews, September 26 th 2011

arguing that he was killed to slow down the adoption of the new secular Constitution,
which is still awaiting approval.
NIA members have also complained of police harassment. Instead of investigating
Hindu extremists, they claim, law enforcement agents have focused on the
association itself, interrogating its members - not as witness for the injured party
but rather as the potential principals and perpetrators of the murder. Yet the investigation
has not yielded any evidence suggesting that radical Muslim groups
were involved.
Faizan Ahamed’s assassination has raised concerns and caused sorrow among
Muslims, but also among Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists and Baha’is,
who have expressed their solidarity and condemned the crime.
Buddhists
Ever since Nepal’s Communist and Maoist administrations accepted Beijing’s
‘One China’ policy, the country’s 20,000 exiled Tibetan Buddhists have experienced
increasing persecution.
The fall of the monarchy in 2006 and the rise to power of the Unified Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
were followed by a series of economic agreements with mainland China. In exchange,
Nepal has banned all anti-Chinese demonstrations by Tibetans.
For example, in 2008, at the time of the Beijing Olympics, the government was
heavy-handed when it cracked down on protests.
Violence, beatings and arbitrary arrests have continued throughout 2011.
On February 13 the police raided the HQ of the Chushi Gangdruk, an exiled Tibetan
non-governmental organisation, while an election was being held 6 . They burst
into the building and seized the ballot boxes, turning everything upside down.
According to Tibetan community leaders, the action coincided with a visit by a US
State Department official who wanted to express the “continued support” of the
US government to Tibetan refugees in the Himalayan nation.
On March 10, 52 nd anniversary of the Tibetan uprising, a young woman activist
was beaten and raped by a soldier near the Buddhist temple of Swoyambhunath
in Kathmandu 7 . She was on her way to a store to buy a Tibetan flag to wave at a
demonstration. Her attack sparked protests by members of the Tibetan community
who organised a series of sit-ins near the headquarters of Kathmandu police.
On the same day, as part of its crackdown against anti-Chinese demonstrations,
Nepali police charged protesters, beating dozens of Tibetan exiles who had met
6 The Tibet Post, February 18 th 2011
7 AsiaNews, March 10 th 2011
NEPAL

pray at the Buddhist temple in Bauddha, Kathmandu. The ensuing violence left
15 people injured
NEPALto 8 .
In April, more and more exiles were arrested and beaten as the elections to the
Tibetan government-in-exile in India approached. To please China, the Nepali
government used every means at its disposal to prevent the election activity on
its territory.
The European Union responded to the crackdown by criticising Nepal. In a resolution
passed on April 7, the European parliament stressed that the right to participate
is a “fundamental right of all citizens that must be upheld, protected and
guaranteed in every democratic State”. In dismissing the criticism, Nepali authorities
said that allowing Tibetans to vote would compromise its economic and political
agreements with China.
On July 7, Nepali police banned all celebrations marking the Dalai Lama’s birthday.
Violence reached its peak on August 5, when police arrested Thinley Lama,
the Dalai Lama’s official representative in Nepal and coordinator of the Tibetan
Refugee Welfare Office in Kathmandu, after he had held a conference to demand
respect for the rights of Tibetan refugees 9 .
Thinley was released after being questioned for eight hours, local sources said.
But before this, the police told him to moderate his positions and demanded that
he inform the authorities of any activities undertaken by his office.
In November, Tibetan activists organised a series of protests in front of the Chinese
Embassy in Kathmandu to draw attention to the repeated acts of self-immolation
by Tibetan monks against Chinese repression in Sichuan province.
According to police, some activists tried to set themselves on fire in emulation of
the young monks 10 .
Economic cooperation between Kathmandu and Beijing has also influenced
how Nepali authorities administer Buddhist religious sites, especially Lumbini,
the Buddha’s birthplace. One project, launched by the Maoist government in
December with funds from UNESCO and China, aims to change Lumbini’s
vocation, from a place of pilgrimage to a mass tourist destination. With plans
that include hotels, restaurants and an airport, the project would totally disregard
traditional Buddhist values.
When this was reported, it touched off protests by Buddhists. On December 8,
thousands of people, including monks, political leaders and activists, marched
8 “Nepal police crackdown on March 10 commemoration in Kathmandu”, in International Campaign for
Tibet, March 11 th 2012
9 Phayul, August 6 th 2011
10 AFP, November 1 st 2011

from the Nepali parliament to the United Nations building, calling for the cancellation
of the project and respect for Buddhist religious values 11 .
Hindus
Cases of restrictions against the Hindu majority are rare. However, the existence
of Hindu fundamentalist groups, opposed to the secular State, has pushed the
government to enforce greater controls on funding to Hindu religious organisations
and associations.
In January 2011, the government announced a law to verify all movements of
money and donations by the faithful during religious celebrations and events.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, most Hindu religious events in the
capital and around the country raise huge amounts of money, which go
completely unrecorded. Under the new law, fundraising and donations would have
to be accounted for so that none goes to radical movements12 .
11 AsiaNews, December 12 th 2011
12 Ibid., January 21 st 2011
NEPAL

NETHERLANDS
AREA
41,526 Km²
NETHERLANDS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
16,654,979
REFUGEES
74,598
Christians 64%
Catholics 31.9% / Protestants 32% / Anglicans 0.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 27.5%
Muslims 6.2%
Others 2.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The first article of the Constitution establishes that “All persons in the Netherlands
shall be treated equally in equal circumstances. Discrimination on the grounds of
religion, belief, political opinion, race or sex or on any other grounds whatsoever
shall not be permitted” 1 .
Article 6 guarantees that “Everyone shall have the right to profess freely his
religion or belief, either individually or in community with others, without prejudice
to his responsibility under the law. Rules concerning the exercise of this right other
than in buildings and enclosed places may be laid down by Act of Parliament for
protection of health, in the interest of traffic and to combat or prevent disorders” 2 .
In the period under consideration there were no significant changes in the country’s
overall situation as far as religious freedom is concerned.
Islam and foreign influence
To reduce undesired foreign influence, especially on the two largest Muslim
communities in the country, the Turkish and the Moroccan, the government
continued to subsidise universities providing training for residents interested in
becoming imams, to ensure they have a basic understanding of local social norms
and values. Selected universities cooperated with the main Muslim organisations
on designing training programs. The government continued to require all imams
and other spiritual leaders recruited in Islamic countries to complete a year-long
integration course before permitting them to practise in the country.
The problem of the Islamic “full veil”
In 2011 parliament’s centre-right majority presented a draft law to ban the wearing
of the full veil, commonly known as the burqa or niqab. The main promoter
1 www.denederlandsegrondwet.nl/9353000/1/j9vvihlf299q0sr/vgrnb2er8avw
2 www.denederlandsegrondwet.nl/9353000/1/j9vvihlf299q0sr/vgrnbhimm5zv

ehind this ban is Geert Wilders, leader of the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV). On
June 23, 2011, Wilders was acquitted by the courts in Amsterdam of charges of
having slandered Muslims by describing the Koran as “fascist” and comparing it
to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in a documentary he directed in 2008 entitled Fitna 3 .
In January 2012, the Cabinet of the Netherlands affirmed an earlier decision that
would ban such veils later in the year on public transport, in public buildings, and
on the streets.
Rules for slaughtering animals
As far as religious rites and customs are concerned, the government has proposed
the creation of a study commission tasked with establishing the rules for
slaughtering animals. According to a report by Human Rights Without Frontiers,
this new institution will be responsible for trying to accommodate the needs of the
Jewish and Islamic communities, following a vote in the Dutch parliament on animal
welfare that had forbidden certain traditional religious forms of slaughter as
causing suffering to animals. The commission was set up in response to Jewish
and Islamic protests at the new law. According to Rabbi Arye Goldberg, deputy
director of the European Rabbinic Centre (ERC), “this decision is a clear victory
for common sense, tolerance and religious freedom” 4 .
Where rights and duties clash
The existence of laws against incitement to religious, racial and ethnic hatred
sometimes clash with the right to freedom of speech and thought Convictions are
rare in such cases, however, because the courts are reluctant to restrict freedom
of expression, especially in the context of public debate when politicians or journalists
make statements that “offend, shock, or disturb”.
Disputes sometimes arose when the exercise of the right to freedom of religion
and free speech clashed with the strictly enforced ban on discrimination. Such
disputes were addressed either in the courts or by antidiscrimination boards.
Complaints were repeatedly filed against religious or political spokesmen who
publicly condemned homosexuality; however, longstanding jurisprudence dictates
that such statements, when made on religious grounds, do not constitute a
criminal offense in the absence of an intention to offend or discriminate against
homosexuals 5 .
3 www.bbc.co.uk, June 23 th 2011
4 Human Rights Without Frontiers, January 18 th 2012
5 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
NETHERLANDS

NEW ZEALAND
AREA
270,534 Km²
NEW ZEALAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,367,700
REFUGEES
1,934
Christians 70.1%
Catholics 12.1% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 18.3%
Anglicans 14.9 / Other Chr. 24.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 23%
Buddhists 2.2%
Hindus 2%
Others 2.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In the period under review there has been no change in the situation, whether in
terms of legislation or of actual incidents.
All rights relating to religious freedom are recognised in Part 2 of the New Zealand
Bill of Rights Act of 1990, which was amended in 1993. There is no State religion
and religious groups are not required to register with the authorities. However
doing so allows them to take advantage of tax benefits. Political parties based on
religion are allowed.
Many schools are run by the Catholic Church and other Christian groups and
receive public funds. The law prohibits religious education during school hours,
but it is standard practise to allow religious meetings and prayers upon request.
Traditional religious beliefs and magic are still widespread.

AREA
130,000 Km²
NICARAGUA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,822,265
Changes in Government policy
REFUGEES
86
Christians 96.2%
Catholics 70% / Protestants 26% / Anglicans 0.2%
Others 3.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The government subsidises two Catholic universities and one Evangelical
university, but has gradually reduced educational subsidies for institutions run by
the Churches and in particular the Catholic Church, insisting that State school,
and in some cases private school, curricula should be unified under the heading
“Solidarity, Christianity and Socialism”.
Catholics
As far as violence against the Catholic Church was oncerned - much of it probably
in response to criticism by members of the clergy of the actions ofthe government
of President Daniel Ortega - during 2011 there were a series of attacks on
individuals and outrages against sacred images.
On August 20, 2011 the body of Father Marlon Ernesto Pupiro García was
discovered. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear 1 .
In October of the same year a series of threats and attacks were aimed at priests in
the diocese of Matagalpa, including its bishop, Mgr José Rolando Alvarez Lagos.
The fact that various parish priests had been threatened was made public 2 .
On June 15 there were a series of thefts from the church of St Augustine in the
capital with the profanation of the Most Holy Sacrament 3 .
Other religious denominations
In April 2011 the Reverend Sixto Ulloa, a member of the First Baptist Church of
Nicaragua, said, “The slogan of the people of Nicaragua is ‘Christianity, Socialism
1 Zenit.org, August 24 th 2011
2 Ibid., October 4 th 2011
3 Ibid..org, June 17 th 2011
NICARAGUA

Solidarity’ and in this we side with our government, President Daniel and his
wife Rosario, who every day preach the Resurrection of Christ with social projects
aimed at providing health, education and dignified accommodation to those living
in precarious situations, because this is the hope expressed by the Resurrection,
this is the message Christ wants for his people”
NICARAGUAand 4 .
In March 2011 of the election year there were a number of statements by
Evangelical leaders who also expressed their dissatisfaction with the way the
government treated them, demanding respect, because the members of their
Churches have the same qualities as the rest of society, and, as Nicaraguan
citizens they should be integrally part of the country’s public administration.
On March 12, 2012 the Evangelical Church of Nicaragua spoke out against a
proposal to decriminalise drugs in Central America, stating that the result would
be a rise in consumption and the deterioration of the people’s health, especially
among the poor who use cheap and damaging substances such as crack5 .
The Reverend Julio Gonzales, director of Incidencia Pública Evangélica (IPE),
said that they are working on a draft law that should be supported by MPs so that
the Evangelical Church is considered as a Church, and recognised as an NGO at
a Constitutional level as equal to the Catholic Church6 .
4 El 19 Digital, April 24 th 2011
5 La Prensa, March 19 th 2012
6 NoticiaCristiana.com, January 6 th 2011

AREA
1,267,000 Km²
NIGER
The Constitution promulgated on November 25, 2010 establishes the separation
between State and religion (Article 3), while Article 8 states that the republic
respects and protects all faiths, and finally Article 30 adds that the State guarantees
the free exercise of worship and the manifestation of beliefs 1 .
On the other hand, the law and the authorities are very careful to control and
prevent anything they consider a threat to public order and national unity.
Political parties, for example, are forbidden to have an agenda founded on
religious principles.
Religious groups must register, but usually this is a formality and there are no
reports of requests being speciously rejected. Official permission is also required
for the construction of any place of devotion or worship, but in the period covered
by this report there were no known instances of a refusal. Foreign missionaries
must seek registration, as associations.
Religious instruction is not permitted in public schools.
In a country which has a very large Muslim majority, the Minister for Religious
Affairs (created in 2007) promotes interreligious dialogue and expresses opinions,
based on religious principles, concerning government policies 2 .
The country’s small Catholic community runs 7 kindergartens, 14 primary schools
and 2 secondary schools as well as 2 hospitals, 6 surgeries, a lepers’ hospital
and an orphanage
Relations between Muslims and other faiths are generally peaceful and the
Catholic Church has been appreciated for the work it has done in distributing food
during the serious famine that has been afflicting the country for years now.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes relating to freedom of religion during the period under review.
1 http://mjp.univ-perp.fr/constit/ne2010.htm
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
15,207,000
REFUGEES
302
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Muslims 92.9%
Ethnoreligionists 6.6%
Christians 0.4%
Catholics 0.1% / Protestants 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 0.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
11,000
NIGER

NIGERIA
AREA
923,768 Km²
NIGERIA
POPULATION
158,258,917
Legal institutional aspects
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
REFUGEES
8,806
Christians 45.5%
Catholics 13.3% / Protestants 19.2% / Anglicans 13%
Muslims 45.4%
Ethnoreligionists 8.8%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
The Nigerian Constitution recognises freedom of religion, including the right to
express and promote one’s religious beliefs and the right to convert to other religions.
Article 38, Section 1, says, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in
private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practise
and observance”.
Article 10 says, “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt
any religion as State Religion”. Yet, Nigeria is a member of the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) and since October 1999, 12 of the 36 states of the Nigerian
federation (Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi,
Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, all in the north) have begun enforcing the principles
of Sharia (Koranic law) not only in the area of family law, as was the case
until then, but also in criminal law. This has meant the introduction of new bans
and punishments like flogging, amputation and execution by stoning.
At least five states (Bauchi, Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna and Kano) have created a
religious police, the Hisbah, to enforce Sharia in daily life. In some cases, they
have been accused of enforcing the law in an abusive manner (for example,
seizing alcoholic beverages without justification).
In principle, Sharia civil and criminal law is not enforceable on non-Muslims.
Islam’s apostasy laws likewise do not apply to other religions. However, the lives
of non-Muslims in northern Nigeria have been affected by Sharia law in many
ways, especially in terms of restrictions on the consumption and distribution of
alcoholic beverages as well as the segregation and discrimination against women
in public transport, schools and health clinics.
Those states that enforce Sharia, liberally fund mosque construction and
pilgrimages to Mecca, but are less generous with Christian religious buildings
or pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Many Christian Churches in the north and some

Muslim groups in the south of the country have complained that the local
authorities apply the planning laws in such a way as to prevent them from
building their own places of worship.
Inter-religious Dialogue
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is Nigeria’s main ecumenical Christian
group. It operates as an umbrella organisation to defend Christian rights and
promote interfaith relations with Muslims.
In the past few years, the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has emerged
as the most important forum for inter-faith cooperation and peace. It has 50
members, 25 Muslim and 25 Christian, and is co-chaired by the CAN president
and the country’s highest Muslim authority, the sultan of Sokoto. Unfortunately, in
2011 it met only once, compared to every three months in previous years.
On the positive side, governors in central and northern states have encouraged
interfaith meetings in the wake of sectarian incidents to prevent them from
happening again. In Kano and Kaduna, prominent Muslim leaders have visited
Christian leaders threatened by Boko Haram as well as Christian places of
worship, in solidarity, after they were attacked by this extremist terrorist Islamist
organisation.
During protests against higher fuel prices, Christians protected Muslims during
their prayer meetings. Christian and Muslim women have protested together in
Maiduguri, Bauchi State, against actions by Boko Haram, which is particularly
active in the area.
Intolerance and discrimination
The most widespread acts of religious intolerance and discrimination have been
those suffered by the various Christian communities in Nigeria’s most Islamised
states (almost invariably the 12 states that have imposed Sharia law).
Examples of this treatment include: false accusations of blasphemy against
Islam, resulting in Christian students and teachers being forced to withdraw
from the schools they attended or in which they taught; refusal of permits for
the construction of Christian places of worship and cemeteries, the demolition
of Churches deemed illegal; the abduction and forced ‘conversion’ of teenage
Christians, especially girls, who are subsequently ‘married’ to Muslim men;
anti-Christian discrimination in public sector employment and the provision of
public services; intimidation and death threats against Muslims who convert to
Christianity; Christians put on trial before Sharia courts, even though they do
not come under their jurisdiction; imposition of the Islamic dress code on female
NIGERIA

students in State schools; and the manipulation of admissions criteria
for State schools and universities in favour of Muslims.
Members of the Maguzawa, an ethnic Hausa tribe, have endured intense
discrimination because, unlike other Hausa tribes, they are not Muslim. Considered
“indigenous” to the northern states under Nigerian law, they follow traditional
religions or various forms of Christianity. For this reason, they are excluded from
public sector employment and State schools since they do not embrace Islam.
Religiously inspired acts of violence
NIGERIAChristian
From 1999 to the end of 2011, 14,000 Nigerians have died in Muslim-Christian
clashes. In the week that followed the April 16, 2011 election, at least 800 people
were killed and 65,000 forced out of their homes, many of which were destroyed,
as a result of riots that broke out in northern states after Goodluck Jonathan, a
Christian from the south, defeated Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim from the north.
Boko Haram terrorism
Terrorist attacks by Boko Haram grew exponentially in 2011. Their main targets
were federal and State institutions and their staff as well as Christian Churches
and Christian residents in the central and northern states. Their declared aim is to
eliminate all vestiges of Christianity from Nigerian territory.
Right after it carried out attacks against Churches in five cities on Christmas Day,
Boko Haram issued a statement ordering all Christians to leave Nigeria’s central
and northern states within three days or face death. After the deadline expired, the
attacks resumed. Even some traditional Muslim leaders who have openly criticised
the group have been targeted by the organisation. Three have been killed.
Post-election violence in April 2011
Although the violence that followed the April 16 presidential elections was
outwardly politically motivated, it was also a grave violation of religious freedom, to
the extent that people were attacked for their religion and places of worship were
the object of destructive attacks. CAN reported that at least 430 Churches were
damaged or destroyed. In the previously quiet state of Kaduna, many Muslims
were also among the victims.
The situation in the Middle Belt states
Throughout 2011 large-scale sectarian violence broke out in the states of the
Middle Belt, especially in the city of Jos, capital of Plateau State, where Christians

and Muslims have now become totally separated and where the slightest incident
of a personal nature between people of different religion can trigger large-scale
violence, and a cycle of reprisals.
In the rural areas of Plateau State, Muslim Fulani herdsmen have repeatedly
carried our raids against Christian Berom farmers, as close as on the outskirts
of Jos. In the area of Tafewa Belawa alone, more than 70 Christians were killed
in 23 attacks.
Deadly attacks
In 2010, Boko Haram disrupted Christmas Eve events by attacking Christian sites
in Maiduguri and Jos, respectively the capitals of Borno and Plateau states. In the
latter case, the attacks sparked a series of reprisals which, during the course of
January 2011, left some 200 Christians and Muslims dead.
Near Maiduguri, the attacks on December 24 against the Victory Baptist Church
in Alemderi and the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Sinimari claimed the
lives of six people, including Rev Bulus Marwa, a Baptist pastor 1 .
On the same day, December 24, four bombs exploded in two Christian
neighbourhoods in Jos, killing 28 people. In retaliation, eight young Muslims were
killed on January 7 in the Christian village of Barkin Ladi. The next day, gangs of
young Muslims attacked Christian traders in Dilimi’s market and along the Bauchi
Road to Jos.
The victims, 48 according to sources in the Ibo community, were hacked to death
with machetes and knives or burnt alive. On the same day, at least 14 Muslims were
killed in Jos and surroundings. Some were captured at improvised checkpoints.
Buses were stopped and the victims separated from the other passengers.
On January 10, 2011 armed men attacked the Christian village of Wareng, south
of Jos, where they torched houses and killed 11 residents, four women and
seven children.
According to Muslim and Christian leaders in Jos, dozens of people went missing
in January 2011, mostly motorcycle taxi operators. According to this list, 42 of
them were Muslims and 51 were Christians 2 .
Night raids on the Christian villages of Farin Lamba and Fan left eight people
dead in the second half of January. In other local villages, 13 people were killed in
five attacks during the two previous weeks 3 .
On the night of January 26-27, armed men attacked four Christian villages in
the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, killing 14 people. Army Special Forces
1 Compass Direct News, December 28 th 2010
2 Human Rights Watch, January 27 th 2011
3 allafrica.com, January 24 th 2011
NIGERIA

29 attackers and killed two of them. A police officer from the federal
capital of Abuja was the leader of the armed attackers.
Between January 28 and 30 Christian and Muslim students clashed on the
campus of Jos University. Four people were killed and 20 more wounded, some
when the army intervened.
The violence in Plateau State has also led to protests by Christian groups who
complain of poor police protection or even of police complicity with the attackers.
On December 31 thousands of Christian women led a protest march in Jos to
protest against members of the Special Task Force, whom they accuse of siding
NIGERIAcaptured
with Muslim extremists.
“We deplore the many instances where Muslim soldiers have aided and participated
in the attack on villages”, read a newspaper advertisement published on January
24 by the North Central Zone of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN),
and signed by the Revs J. K. Katung and S. Dangana, respectively PFN national
vice president and secretary. “In a Christian-dominated state such as Plateau, we
wonder why the entire commanding structure of the state police command should
be headed by Muslims”.
In a statement on January 23, Rev Mwelbish Dafes and Rev Chuwang Davou,
respectively chairman and secretary of the Plateau State branch of CAN, the
Christian Association of Nigeria said, “There seems to be no serious attempt to
properly handle the situation, either in forestalling future occurrences or purposefully
prosecuting the perpetrators in order to serve as a deterrent to others”.
More generally, Christian leaders noted that security was not reinforced even
though the Christmas Eve attacks had been announced ahead of time 4 .
Another nine Christians of different ages were killed at night between February
10 and 12 near a farming school in Kuru and in the village of Shekan, both not
far from Jos 5 .
Between January 27 and February 1 clashes in the Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro
Local Government Areas of Bauchi State, left 96 dead, mostly Christians. Five
thousand people were left homeless. A row between Christian and Muslim
neighbours drove a group of Christians to attack five mosques and the homes of
50 Muslim residents, leading to a Muslim reaction on a massive scale. They took
out weapons hidden in caches and brought in mercenaries. This was fifth time
since 1991 that sectarian incidents have broken out in Tafawa Balewa 6 .
4 Compass Direct News, February 4 th 2011
5 ICC www.persecution.org, February 14 th 2011
6 Compass Direct News, February 15 th 2011

On March 10 more incidents were reported in Tafawa Balewa, resulting in
the destruction of 13 Churches and 450 houses with another 5,000 people
forced to flee7 .
On March 20 two attacks against Churches failed in Jos. Two attackers lost their
life when a bomb they planned to detonate near the Church of Christ in Nigeria,
in the Nasarawa Gwom area, exploded. Another bomb was defused near the
Mountain on Fire Church. On the same day, three Christians were stabbed to
death and six were wounded8 .
Between 16 and 20 April violence swept across at least ten northern Nigerian
states following the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, a southern
Christian. Mobs of young Muslim sympathisers of the defeated candidate, General
Muhammadu Buhari, attacked homes, shops and places of worship belonging to
the winning candidate’s sympathisers, mostly Christians, and set them on fire. At
least 200 Christian Churches were destroyed or seriously damaged.
Two Protestant Churches were set ablaze in Kaduna and Zaria, where a man was
killed as he tried to stop the destruction of a Church. Two more Churches were
torched in Wusasa, five in Katsina and an unspecified number in Kano. In Gombe
State, Muslim students attacked Churches and vicarages as well as Christian
businesses. The Anglican bishop Henry Ndukuba had to be rescued by two antiriot
police squads9 .
Five churches and the home of a pastor were destroyed in Zamfara State,
including St Jude’s Catholic Church. St Vincent Ferrer’s Church, Gusau, was also
heavily damaged. The Dominican sisters working in the Church had to flee and
find refuge in a neighbouring village10 .
As many as 300 Christians were reportedly slain in Kaduna State alone, with
14,000 forced to abandon their homes following the attacks. In Katsina State, 65
Churches were either burned or damaged, including some Catholic churches - St
Gabriel’s in Daura and St Theresa’s in Funtua, both of which were completely
destroyed. A health clinic run by a parish Church in Malumfashi was also torched
and the beds in the main ward were destroyed. More than 100 Christian men,
women and children from the border town of Jiba had to flee to the neighbouring
country of Niger. Others fled to the southern states where they had come from.
Seven Christians were killed and many were wounded.
In Bauchi State, 28 Christians, including Rev Isman Dogari of the Evangelical
Church of West Africa, were killed, whilst 78 Church buildings and other properties
7 Release International, March 22 nd 2011
8 The Christian Post, March 21 st 2011
9 International Christian Concern, April 21 st 2011
10 The Nigerian Voice, April 20 th 2011
NIGERIA

set ablaze between 16 and 19 April. In Gombe State, 38 Christians were
murdered, 17 Church buildings and 27 houses were torched, and 11 cars were
set on fire. Seventeen Churches were burnt in Hadeija and seven in Jahun, both
in Jigawa State.
Christian leaders called for a federal probe into the post-election violence. “The
violence was both political and religious, because Christians, our Churches and
property, were the main targets for the destruction by the perpetrators of the
violence”, said Peter Jatau and Saidu Dogo, respectively chairman and secretary
of the northern branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in a press
NIGERIAwere
statement on April 30.
Present in 19 northern states, CAN feels “that the time has come for the federal
government to take decisive steps to put the persistent carnage in the north under
the guise of religious fanaticism to a stop and bring the perpetrators to justice”.
Bishop Jonas Katung, national vice president of the North Central Zone of the
Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, said in a statement released on April 29 that the
post-election attacks were “a descent into barbarism” in which northern Christians
were targeted and subjected to horrendous and relentless acts11 .
The post-election violence was condemned by the country’s highest religious
authorities, including CAN National President Rev Ayo Oritsejafor and the Sultan
of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar.
In a joint declaration of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC) the two said,
“Resorting to violence is a travesty of our religious teachings and a betrayal of our
claim to faith [. . .] NIREC implores all Nigerians to explore Constitutional means
of seeking redress [. . .] rather than take the law into their own hands” 12 .
In some cases, the attacks elicited reprisals by groups of young Christians, which
caused death among Muslims and damages to their property.
In Dengi (Plateau State), on April 29, a Muslim gang attacked and destroyed a
Church belonging to the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), a Christianowned
music store and the homes of five Christian families from different
congregations. The attackers had previously complained that the music from the
store disturbed their prayers.
On the night of May 4, a gang of Muslim extremists attacked the village of
Kurum, Bogor province (Bauchi State). They set ablaze 20 Christian-owned
homes and killed 16 people with machetes and guns. The dead included a man,
three women and 12 minors, some very young. A number of the victims were
members of the family of Rev James Musa Rike, from the Church of Christ
in Nigeria (COCIN), namely his 35-year-old wife Dune James Rike and two
children, 13-year-old Sum James Rike and 1-year-old Fyali James Rike. He
11 Compass Direct News, May 3 rd 2011
12 Eni News, April 20 th 2011

provided his wife and daughter Sum spiritual comfort as they lay dying after
they were deliberately stabbed in the stomach13 .
On June 1 and again on June 7 terrorists attacked St Patrick’s Catholic Church in
Maiduguri (Borno State), throwing bombs which killed ten people. On June 1, in
addition to the Catholic Church, other sites were attacked, killing 14 people. Later,
14 suspects were arrested.
Also in Maiduguri, Boko Haram terrorists carried out an attack on June 7 that killed
Rev David Usman, 45, and Hamman Andrew, respectively pastor and secretary
of a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation in the Railways Quarters
area. Rev Usman had criticised Boko Haram’s terrorist actions against Christian
Churches in Borno State14 .
In the afternoon of June 16 Boko Haram militants attacked a congregation of the
Church of the Brethren in Damboa, 87 km from Maiduguri, causing the death of
four people15 .
On July 10 Boko Haram terrorists threw a bomb at a Church of the All Christian
Fellowship Mission in Suleja, Niger State, as worshippers were coming out after
a religious service. Three were killed16 .
On the night of July 30 and in the morning of July 31 three bombs exploded
near three Churches in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in the city of Jos
(Plateau State). One bomb hit a Baptist Church building in the Angwan Rimi area
that was no longer in use because of a previous attack. A second bomb exploded
near a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) place of worship on Sarkin Mangu
Street. A third bomb hit an Assemblies of God sanctuary in the Kwarrarafa Area17 .
Many witnesses have asserted that the Muslim extremists who caused the death
of 24 Christians in a series of attacks against villages in central Nigeria’s Plateau
State in mid-August were acting with the support of Army personnel. Six Christians
in Ratsa Foron village died in two attacks, one on August 11 and the other on
August 15. Also on the 15th , Muslim extremists killed nine members of the same
Christian family along with another Christian in Heipang village.
A survivor from the slaughtered family testified under oath that army soldiers took
part in the attack.
On August 14 Muslim extremists killed two Christians and wounded one woman
in the community of Chwelnyap, near Jos. Eyewitnesses confirmed that Muslim
elements within the army’s Special Task Force (STF), a unit set up to protect law
and order and end sectarian violence, had taken part in the attack.
13 Compass Direct News, May 10 th 2011
14 Ibid., June 10 th 2011
15 Ibid., July 13 th 2011
16 Ibid., July 19 th 2011
17 Ibid., August 2 nd 2011
NIGERIA

have likewise been accused of participating openly or tacitly in the attacks
on August 20-21 carried out by Muslim extremists in the villages of Kwi, Loton and
Jwol, which left six more Christians dead
NIGERIASoldiers 18 .
In the early hours of August 21, Muslim extremists entered the Christian village of
Fadiya Bakut in the Zango-Kataf Local Government Area. A dozen or so Muslims
from the neighbouring country of Niger attacked local homes, killing an adult and
a 10-year-old child, Fidelis Iskaku, and wounding three more people, including a
70-year-old woman19 .
On August 27 Mark Ojunta was shot dead in the Borno State capital of Maiduguri.
He was a 36-year-old Evangelical pastor with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO), a
Nigerian Protestant organisation specialising in evangelisation among Muslims.
After receiving death threats from Boko Haram, all CAPRO staff working among
the Shuwa Arab, Kotoko and Kanuri peoples, and their families, were evacuated.
However, Mark Ojunta had gone back to teach some Kotoko catechumens.
His name was on a list of Protestant clergymen Boko Haram had condemned
to death20 .
On August 29, 20 people were killed in Jos during sectarian strife after fighting
broke out with knives and machetes after some Muslims had organised public
prayers to mark Ramadan in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood. About 50
vehicles and 100 motorcycles were destroyed21 .
On September 4, Muslim extremists attacked the village of Tatu near Heipang,
killing eight Christians, all members of the same family (Chollom Gyang, his wife
Hannatu and their six children, including a 3-year-old). The victims were shot and
then butchered with machetes.
In the village of Zakalio in the Jos North Local Government Area, at about 2 am
on September 5, Muslim extremists killed seven Christians. On the same day,
another group of Muslim attackers raided the Christian communities of Dabwak
Kuru and Farin Lamba in Jos South and Riyom Local Government Areas, killing
four Christians.
On September 8, Muslim extremists attacked the village of Tsohon Foron, killing
10 Christians, all members of Danjuma Gyang Tsok’s family. Survivors said the
attackers were assisted by members of the Nigerian armed forces.
In the evening of September 9, a mixed group of soldiers and Muslim civilians
attacked Christian homes in the village of Vwang Kogot, killing 14 people, including
a pregnant woman. Many of the victims came from the same family: Mallam
Danboyi, Zaka Danboyi, Ngyem Danboyi, Hjan Badung, Naomi Gyang, 15-year-
18 Compass Direct News, August 28 th 2011
19 Ibid., August 31 st 2011
20 Ibid., October 17 th 2011
21 African Spotlight, August 29 th 2011

old Rifkatu, 9-year-old Patience, 5-year-old Ishaku, 4-year-old Nerat, 22-year-old
Dauda Badung, 20-year-old Martha Dauda, 6-year-old Mary Dauda, 4-year-old
Isaac Dauda and 18-year-old Mafeng Bulus, who was pregnant.
On September 10, Muslim extremists attacked the village of Vwang Fwil at about
3 am, killing 13 Christians. The dead included Danjuma Gyang Tsok, Polohlis
Mwanti, 9-year-old Perewat Polohlis, 3-year-old Patience Polohlis, 5-yearold
Blessing Polohlis, 13-year-old Paulina Pam, Maimuna Garba, Kale Garba,
10-year-old Hadiza Garba and 3-year-old Aisha Garba22 .
Suspected Muslim extremists killed three Christians and wounded eight overnight
on September 17 in the village of Ungwan Rana Bitaro, Jaba province (Kaduna
State). The 15 or so attackers dragged their victims outside of their home and then
shot at them before finishing them off with machetes. The victims were 55-year-old
Monday Hassan, his 13-year-old daughter Godiya, and his 35-year-old nephew,
Istifanus Daniel.
In the evening of September 22, suspected Boko Haram terrorists killed five
Christian shop owners in the town of Madala, Niger State. The attackers ordered
the victims to recite verses of the Koran. The dead include Sunday Emmanuel,
John Kalu, Uche Nguweze, Oliver Ezemah and a fifth Christian who was not
immediately identified23 .
On November 3 and 4, Muslim extremists attacked two villages near Zonkwa,
Kaduna State, killing three and wounding 12. The main targets were the villages
of Tabak 1, where the St Joseph Catholic Church was attacked, and the village of
Kurmin-Bi. In both cases, the attacks came at around 10 pm. In the first incident,
two women were killed, 28-year-old Justina Zugwai and 39-year-old Hassana
Luka. In the second incident, a man called Hassan Peter was killed 24 .
At five o’clock in the afternoon on November 4 a gang of more than 200
Boko Haram members stormed the city of Damaturu, Yobe State, targeting
police stations, an army base and banks. In New Jerusalem, the city’s only
predominantly Christian borough, home to 15,000 Christians, they bombed ten
Churches and carried out a bloodbath, killing 130 people.
Many of the victims were slaughtered after the attackers determined their religion
by having them to recite verses of the Koran. According to eyewitnesses, some
Muslim residents of the city joined the attackers 25 .
22 Compass Direct News, September 22 nd 2011
23 Ibid., September 27 th 2011
24 Ibid., November 8 th 2011
25 Ibid., November 11 th 2011
NIGERIA

November 20 and 24, 45 Christians of the Berom tribe were killed in
and around the town of Barkin Ladi, Plateau State. Three Christians were killed
between November 20 and 21, allegedly for stealing cattle. In the course of the
two attacks that followed, hundreds of Fulani herdsmen, backed by soldiers, first
stormed a Church of Christ of Nigeria (COCIN) congregation in the evening of
November 23, killing four people, including a catechist, and then, the next day,
attacked Christians in Barkin Kadi and the village of Kwok, leaving 26 people
dead. Shouting “Allahu Akbar”, the herdsmen carried out the attack in the morning
of November 24 after morning prayers at the Izala sect mosque
NIGERIABetween 26 .
At 2 am in the night of November 18, a group of Muslims from a neighbouring village
raided Gargari, Bogoro province (Bauchi State), killing four Christian women,
three of them children: 48-year-old Rifkatu Samaila, 12-year-old Laraba Samaila,
11-year-old Gloria Zakka and 7-year-old Martha Zakka. Six other Christians
were wounded.
In late afternoon on November 26 Boko Haram terrorists stormed the city of
Geidam, Yobe State, in a convoy of cars. After attacking a police station and the
main bank, with the help of local residents they identified properties, business
and Churches belonging to the town’s 700 Christian residents, which they
proceeded to destroy systematically. Five of the town’s eight Churches were
bombed: St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Emmanuel Anglican Church, Living Faith
Church, Deeper Life Bible Church and Cherubim and Seraphim Church. All of the
destroyed buildings were located in the Geidam areas of Kafela, Akodiri Street,
and Low-Cost Housing Estate27 .
One person died and ten were wounded (four seriously) after Muslim extremists
set off three bombs in the evening on December 10 in three separate Christian
areas in the city of Jos (Plateau State) during the screening of a movie and a
football match28 .
Fulani herdsmen and other Muslims attacked the Christian section of Kukum
Gida village, Kaduna State, overnight of December 10, killing one woman and
wounding two, all members of the same Christian family. The victim was Kunam
Musa Blak, 50, a member, like the other 425 residents, of the Evangelical Church
Winning All (ECWA) 29 .
Boko Haram terrorists claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks carried
out on Christmas Day against Christian Churches in Madalla (Niger State), Jos
(Plateau State) and Gadaka and Damaturu (Yobe State). The deadliest was in
26 Compass Direct News, November 28 th 2011
27 Ibid., December 2 nd 2011
28 Ibid., December 15 th 2011
29 Ibid., December 20 th 2011

Madalla where a car bomb killed 45 people and wounded 73 coming out of the
St Theresa Catholic Church at the end of the Mass, including the three police
officers on guard.
Speaking to the Fides news agency, Mgr John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, archbishop
of Abuja (60 km from Madalla), said, “I hope that these people have not died in
vain, Nigerians are realizing that terrorism threatens us all, Christians and Muslims.
[. . .] The day after Christmas, when I went to the site of the attack along with
the Nuncio, in the presence of the Minister of the Interior, I took the opportunity
to launch a strong appeal through the local press to the Islamic leadership of
Nigeria to do something. Even if the Muslim religious leaders continue to assert
that the members of Boko Haram do not belong to true Islam, they must however
recognise that these are Muslims, regardless of whether they are good or bad,
and that they are the ones who have the best opportunity to identify them and
must demonstrate that they are doing so”.
The life of a police officer was lost in the attack against the Mountain of Fire and
Miracles Church in Jos. Some people were wounded but no one was killed in
attacks in Gadaka and Damaturu.
“Worshipers have cause to be afraid after an incident like this, but they are
strengthened by the blood of the martyrs and have not stopped attending daily
Mass”, said Rev Joseph Akor, director of communication of the Minna Diocese to
which St Theresa’s Parish belongs 30 .
30 Compass Direct News, December 29 th 2011
NIGERIA

NORWAY
AREA
323,877 Km²
NORWAY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,920,305
REFUGEES
40,691
Christians 91.3%
Catholics 1.3% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 89.8%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.7%
Muslims 3%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Religious freedom is guaranteed by Article 2 of the Constitution, which also
establishes that the Evangelical-Lutheran Church as the State religion and
obliges those professing it to “bring up their children in the same religion”. The
King himself is obliged to belong to this religion, protect it and preserve it 1 .
The debate on the separation of the State and the Lutheran Church has resulted
in a report drafted by a Parliamentary Commission. It has decided to gradually
introduce legislative measures and changes to the Constitution that will over a
number of years grant the Evangelical-Lutheran Church greater autonomy and
abolish the confessional character of the State.
Since May 2012, with the amendment of Article 2 of the Constitution, the Lutheran
Church is no longer the State Church 2 .
All other registered religious communities receive State subsidies in proportion to
the number of their members and there are no restrictions on residence permits
for foreign missionaries.
1 www.stortinget.no/en/In-English/About-the-Storting/The-Constitution/The-Constitution
2 www.kirken.no/english/news.cfm?artid=378447

AREA
212,457 Km²
OMAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,694,094
REFUGEES
83
Muslims 88.1%
Hindus 5.5%
Christians 4.4%
Catholics 2.7% / Orthodox 0.7% / Protestants 0.1%
Anglicans 0.2% / Other Chr. 0.7%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The State’s Basic Charter, dated 1996, declares that Islam is the country’s religion
and that Sharia is the source of the law.
Freedom to practise religious rites is guaranteed if these are in accordance with
tradition and do not disturb public order.
Article 29 of the Penal Code establishes a prison sentence for anyone blaspheming
against God or the prophets and for those offending any religions. This article
is used at times to restrict religious expression
The Sultan has given land to the Christian and Hindu communities, which consist
almost exclusively of immigrants, so they may build their own places of worship
All religious organisations must register with the Ministry for Religious Heritage
and Religious Affairs. Christian denominations recognised by the ministry include
the Catholic Church, Oman’s Protestant Church, the al-Amana Center (Christian
inter-denominational). The Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) presented
a request in November 2009 but there are no reports of an official answer.
Non-Muslim religious communities are free to remain in touch with their Churches
outside the country. The publication of non-Islamic religious material is forbidden,
although the authorities tolerate it being imported from abroad after it has been
checked by them.
During the period analysed by this Report there were no significant events linked
to religious freedom.
Sources consulted
Al-Khalij
AsiaNews
U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
OMAN

PAKISTAN
AREA
796,095 Km²
PAKISTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
184,753,300
REFUGEES
1,702,700
Muslims 96.2%
Christians 2.2%
Catholics 0.7% / Protestants 1.2% / Other Chr. 0.3%
Others 1.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
980,000
The year 2011 was an annus horribilis for religious freedom in Pakistan.
Undoubtedly, it will be remembered as one of the most violent, bloody and tragic
years in the history of the country, marked by two major assassinations, that of
Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and that of the (Catholic) Federal Minister of
Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti.
Their murders are closely related to the question of religious freedom since both (a
Muslim and a Christian respectively) were killed because they wanted to abolish
or at least change the so-called blasphemy laws (Article 295 paragraph B and C
and Article 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code), which imposes life imprisonment or
death on anyone who insults the Koran or the name of the Prophet Mohammed.
The law has been used and abused to settle private scores or coerce religious
minorities since it came into effect in 1986. It is especially oppressive, since the
burden of proof is not on the accuser.
The two aforementioned Pakistani leaders were killed over the case of Asia Bibi,
a Christian woman sentenced to death on false blasphemy charges.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) - a NGO that monitors human
rights, religious freedom and te fate of Christians in the world - Muslim extremism,
growing intolerance, lawlessness and impunity have cast a dark shadow on
religious freedom in Pakistan 1 .
Legal framework for religious freedom
The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
Pakistan called for respect of freedom of conscience and religion. It warned that
the blasphemy law “transfers power from the State to Muslim extremists”.
The blasphemy law was introduced by the government of dictator Zia ul-Haq (1977-
1988) who pursued a policy of Islamisation. The new law was adopted without
1 Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Religious freedom in the shadow of extremism, July 1 st 2011

parliamentary approval. When Pakistan (“Land of the Pure”, in Urdu) was created
in 1947 following the partition of British India, the new State was supposed to
have a secular basis. For its founding father, Ali Jinnah, the new nation would be
a ‘land for Muslims’ in the Indian subcontinent but not a ‘Muslim land’ governed
by Sharia. The Islamist trend that eventually emerged is a later development, but
the negative consequences of this process can be seen today.
In 2011, the main issues from a legal point of view were not any new rules limiting
religious freedom, but rather the failure to repeal laws that limit the rights and
freedom of believers and preserve a system of discrimination and, in some cases,
persecution against religious minorities.
The possible revision or abolition of the blasphemy law, called by many the
‘black law’, was front and centre in the public debate. Sherry Rehman, a
Pakistan People’s Party Member in the National Assembly, who was also head
of the prestigious Jinnah Institute in Karachi, and was later appointed Pakistani
ambassador to the United States, presented a bill to alter the blasphemy law in
the wake of the Asia Bibi case.
Under her proposal, a five-year prison term would replace the death penalty in
blasphemy cases. Anyone who made false accusations or incited religious hatred
would be punished and blasphemy cases would be adjudicated by the High Court.
No one could be arrested without evidence, and people who were arrested would
be protected2 .
The bill enraged extremist groups and religious parties. Rehman herself was
accused of blasphemy. With the murders of Taseer and Bhatti, the debate ended
and the bill was withdrawn. In the end, violent extremism defeated the rule of law
and further weakened religious freedom.
Still, not all was bad. Growing pressure on the Pakistani government in international
forums has had some effect. In 2011, Pakistan changed position and dropped its
demand to have defamation of religion classified as prohibited speech.
Pakistan and other Muslim countries had hit her to pursued a campaign “against
blasphemy”, the defamation of religions and criticism of religions (above all Islam).
Had they been successful, secular views might have been banned altogether.
Whilst respecting established views about human rights and religion, a resolution
adopted by the Council on Human Rights acknowledged the complementarity of
freedom of religion and freedom of expression.
At home, the Federal Ministry of Minorities was abolished in 2011 in accordance
with the 18th amendment to the Constitution, which transferred certain federal
powers to the provinces. Some of the responsibilities vis-à-vis minorities
were transferred from the old Ministry of Minorities to the new Ministry of National
Harmony.
2 Agenzia Fides, November 23 rd 2011
PAKISTAN

and abuses against religious freedom
Various studies and data show that the minorities face a difficult situation. They
also highlight the fact that religious freedom urgently needs protection against the
rise of extremism.
Three separate reports reach more or less the same conclusion. One is by the
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), one of the country’s foremost
NGOs; another is by the Catholic Church’s Commission for Justice and Peace, and
the third is by the Jinnah Institute, a largely Muslim secular-oriented think tank.
According to the HRCP, 161 people were charged under the ‘black law’ in 2011.
PAKISTANMinorities
Nine people accused of blasphemy were also killed in extrajudicial executions.
In a report titled Perils of Faith, the HRCP documented the murder of 18 human
rights advocates and 16 journalists in 2011. They had fought the ills of society, from
corruption to Muslim extremism, whilst the “State remained a silent spectator” 3 .
The National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of Pakistan called on the UN special observer on religious tolerance
to visit Pakistan and ask the government to abolish the blasphemy legislation. In
its Human Rights Monitor 2011, the Commission noted that religious minorities
in Pakistan are the victims of religious intolerance and social discrimination.
This includes attacks against their Churches and institutions as well as hate
propaganda. Their right to religious freedom has been openly violated and they
have been the victims of forced conversions. Their land and assets have also
been forcibly seized 4 .
The report noted that at least 40 people were charged with blasphemy in 2011
(15 Christians, 10 Muslims, 7 Hindus and 6 Ahmadis). Between 1986 (when the
blasphemy law came into effect) and 2011, 37 people charged with blasphemy
had been killed in extrajudicial murders (including 18 Christians and 16 Muslims).
During the same period, 1,081 people were charged with blasphemy (138
Christians, 468 Muslims, 454 Ahmadis and 21 Hindus).
In its report, the Commission calls for the establishment of two permanent
committees, one for human rights and one for religious minorities. They would
have the powers of a tribunal and would be tasked with monitoring the situation.
An important secular think tank, like the Jinnah Institute, inspired by the Father
of the Nation, Ali Jinnah, also looked at religious freedom and the situation of
3 Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Perils of Faith, December 2011
4 National Commission for Justice and Peace, Human Rights Monitor 2011, September 2011

eligious minorities in 2011. It released a report titled “A Question of Faith” 5 that
paints a bleak picture. Religious minorities have seen their status deteriorate as
violence against them has increased.
The institute makes 23 recommendations in relation to the status and freedom
of the country’s religious minorities. They include the abolition or substantive
transformation of the blasphemy law to prevent its abuse, changes to the Pakistan
Penal Code to punish anyone who incites violence or religious hatred, the end of
impunity for Muslim leaders who preach hatred in mosques and a reform of the
police and legal system.
Biased education
Education is crucial. A 2011 study by the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan organisation, found
that intolerance towards religious minorities is taught in Pakistan’s public and
private schools, as evinced by the textbooks they use. Its findings indicate that
Pakistan’s educational system is at the root of widespread Muslim radicalism,
noting that militancy in the country is often supported, tolerated and justified 6 .
Titled Connecting the dots: education and religious discrimination in Pakistan, the
authors of the study reviewed more than 100 textbooks from grades 1-10 from all
four of Pakistan’s provinces. In February 2011, they visited 37 middle and high
schools and interviewed 277 students and teachers. They also interviewed 226
students and teachers in 19 madrassas.
The results show that members of religious minorities are often depicted as
inferior or second-class citizens. Hindus were repeatedly described as extremists
and eternal enemies of Islam. Textbooks also made specific, generally negative
references to Christians. On the whole, the education material promoted
the idea that Pakistan’s Muslim identity was under constant threats from
anti-Islamic forces.
In addition, Islamic teachings are found not only in religious texts but also in history
books. This means that non-Muslim students are indoctrinated with Islamic ideas,
which is a violation of the Constitution of Pakistan and the universal principle of
freedom of religion.
Anti-Christian attacks
There were many acts of violence against Christians and Christian sites in 2011.
5 Innah Institute, A Question of Faith, June 7 th 2011
6 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
Connecting the dots: education and religious discrimination in Pakistan, November 9 th 2011
PAKISTAN

of those that occurred went largely unreported because the victims were
afraid of possible retaliation. The stories that are described below are merely the
most striking, those that made it into the Pakistani and international press and are
thus just the tip of the iceberg.
On March 28, 2011 a group of men attacked the St Thomas Catholic Church in
the town of Wah Canntt, about 50 km from Rawalpindi. Although it suffered only
minor damage, the attackers were able to break into the Church courtyard, where
they threw rocks at lamps and windows, and tried to force open the Church door
by setting it on fire. An attendant, alarmed by the noise, alerted the parish priest
and the police
PAKISTANMany 7 .
On April 17, 2011 a mob of radical Muslims attacked the United Pentecostal
Church in Gujranwala (Punjab), preventing the celebration of Palm Sunday.
Hundreds of assembled Christians were forced to flee; many were also beaten
up. Paradoxically, police arrested 12 Christians as a result of the incident8 . The
extremists who attacked the Church were after Eric Issac, the Church pastor,
because he had called for the release of Mushtaq Gill and his son, Farrukh
Mushtaq Gill, who had been arrested on 16 April on false blasphemy charges.
Michael Javed, a Catholic lawmaker, caused an outcry when he described events
in Karachi (Sindh), southern Pakistan’s main city, as “ethnic cleansing” 9 . In the
suburban neighbourhoods of Essa Nagri (home to 700 Christian families), Ayub
Goth (home to about 300 Christian families) and Bhittaiabad, Christian children
were raped and tortured, Christian families were ransomed, and the Christian
community had to endure untold abuse and violence.
Among the many unspeakable examples of violence perpetrated by Islamic (often
ethnic Pashtun) political movements, Javed singled out the cases of Christian
children held and raped in actual “torture cells”. The purpose of such violence was
to eliminate Christians from the area.
Rev Jamil Sawan 10 , a Protestant clergyman, and Jamil Masih, a 50-year-old
Christian shopkeeper 11 , were killed in Karachi, a city characterised by sectarianism
and high levels of violence. Two unknown gunmen shot the shopkeeper at pointblank
range as he opened his store in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, the same neighbourhood
where Rev Sawan was killed.
7 Agenzia Fides, March 29 th 2011
8 Ibid., April 18 th 2011
9 Ibid., January 14 th 2012
10 AsiaNews, November 17 th 2011
11 Pakistan Christian Post, November 17 th 2011

Punjab, the country’s beating heartland, has been particularly bad for Christians.
The best-known cases are that of Shahbaz Masih, a young Christian man killed
by Muslims in Kasur12 , and one indicated by the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance
(APMA), involving another young Christian man, Imran Masih, who was tortured
and killed by his employer, a rich Muslim land owner, in a context of social and
religious discrimination13 .
Christian women and girls have continued to be victims of acts of violence as
well. Sonia Bibi, a 20-year-old Christian woman from Kasur, was gang-raped by
a group of young Muslim men. Rebecca Bibi, a 12-year-old Christian maid from
Lahore, lost an eye from the beatings of her employer, a Muslim woman14 .
Another sensational case was that of Mariah Manisha, a young Catholic
woman from Samundari (Faisalabad) who was killed by a Muslim man who
had abducted her with the intention of “marrying” her15 . For local Christians,
she has become a “martyr of the faith”, a “Pakistani Maria Goretti”.
Following a police investigation and mediation between Christian and Muslim
leaders, her family forgave the murderer.
Christians have also been kidnapped. Rev Robin Javed, an Anglican minister,
was abducted in the city of Attock (Punjab) in May 2011, probably by Muslim
fundamentalist groups linked to the Taliban.
The victims of the blasphemy laws
The iniquitous blasphemy law has produced its own victims. As already suggested,
it has too often been used as a blunt instrument against innocent people and
religious minorities, especially when backed by false accusations.
The Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), a multi-confessional
Christian association, reported that Mgr Pervaiz Joseph, a Protestant bishop, and
Rev Baber George, were forced to flee abroad after they were falsely accused of
blasphemy and had received death threats from radical Muslims 16 . At the time,
the bishop was the Christian representative on the International Peace Council for
Interfaith Harmony (IPCIH).
When Amanat Masih, a Christian man unjustly arrested on blasphemy charges in
2007, was released by a court order, a group of Muslim fundamentalists, led by an
imam, abducted his son Shahzad Masih, 23, and daughter-in-law Rukhsana Bibi, 20.
They wanted to find him in order to kill him. The young couple were held for ten
12 Legal Evangelical Association Development, November 20 th 2011
13 Agenzia Fides, February 10 th 2011
14 Ibid., December 2 nd 2011
15 Ibid., December 2 nd 2011
16 Ibid., November 15 th 2011
PAKISTAN

in their native village of Farooqabad, near Sheikhpura (Punjab), where they
were beaten and forced to recite Muslim prayers on pain of death
PAKISTANdays 17 .
Khurram Masih, from Qazi, a town near Lahore (Punjab), is another Christian who
was arrested on false blasphemy charges. The Masihi Foundation, a Christian
rights organisation, said that the 25-year-old construction worker had burnt some
pieces of wood and paper. When a Muslim man called Abdul Majeed saw the fire,
he began shouting that Khurram Masih had ripped up a copy of the Koran and
burnt bits of it18 .
Meanwhile, the legal nightmare of Ruqqiya Bibi also continues. She was sentenced
in 2010 by a court in Kasur (Punjab) to 25 years for desecrating the Koran because
she had touched it without washing her hands. Her husband Munir Masih received
the same sentence19 .
Happily, one case has had a positive outcome. Rehmat Masih, 72, a Catholic from
Faisalabad, was released after spending two terrible years in prison because of
false blasphemy charges.
Qamar David, another Catholic sentenced to life in prison on blasphemy charges,
died on March 15, 2011 in a Karachi prison, ostensibly from a heart attack20 .
The Catholic Church called on the authorities to clarify the case because very few
people believe the official version of events.
Over the past few years, Punjab has become the centre of blasphemy cases.
Of the 45 people accused, 43 have been killed in extrajudicial executions,
sometimes even before a case was filed against them.
Even women have not been spared. Agnes Nuggo, a 50-year-old Catholic mother
of five from Faisalabad, was accused of blasphemy by some of her Muslim
neighbours who claimed ownership of a plot of land21 .
Accused of blasphemy, a Christian man, Masiah Gill, went into hiding after he
began to receive death threats if he did not convert. This was near Mardan, a city
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (northern Pakistan), and was connected to the
case of Rev Terry Jones, the US clergyman who burnt a copy of the Koran.
In the same province, a 13-year-old Christian girl, Faryal Bhatti, was accused of
blasphemy because she mispronounced a word during a school exam22 in the
village of Havelian. Her mistake, which was used as an excuse to get back at her
and her family, was to pronounce the word ‘naat’ (poetry of praise) as ‘laanat’
(curse), an error children typically make since the two words are similar in writing.
17 Agenzia Fides, November 4 th 2011
18 AsiaNews, December 6 th 2011
19 Agenzia Fides, October 29 th 2011
20 Assist News, March 15 th 2011
21 Agenzia Fides, February 22 nd 2011
22 The Express Tribune, September 25 th 2011

The school principal, Asif Siddiqui, expelled the girl and called in local Muslim
religious leaders to deal with the matter. The latter filed an official complaint of
blasphemy against the girl.
Given the number of cases, calls were made once again for a moratorium on
enforcing the blasphemy law, a proposal backed by Paul Bhatti, special minority
affairs adviser to the prime minister, as well as scores of intellectuals, editorial
writers, scholars and human rights activists.
The Asia Bibi case
In 2011, world public opinion was stirred by the fate of Asia Bibi. She is a Christian
woman with children who was sentenced to death for blasphemy. She has been
held in Sheikhpura prison (Punjab) since June 2009. Her fate roused Pope
Benedict XVI to make an appeal on her behalf in November 2010. When a Muslim
leader put a price on her head, prison authorities moved her in early 2011 to an
isolation cell to protect her from possible attempts on her life23 .
However, the case against her is full of holes. The court that tried her was
“under the obvious pressure of Islamic extremists” and her conviction was due
to “personal vendetta”.
The investigation was vitiated by an obvious procedural irregularity. For the Jinnah
Institute, the police interrogated Asia during the preliminary phase without the
presence of a defence lawyer. This, for the Karachi-based think tank, is sufficient
ground to have the case thrown out of court. Since the beginning, the Asia Bibi
case has been marred by irregularities and abuses24 .
After meeting Asia Bibi in prison, Pakistan’s National Commission on the Status of
Women, ascertained that it was not until eight days after the incident in which the
Christian woman had allegedly made blasphemous remarks, that a local Muslim
religious leader, Qari Mohammed Salim, with three women as his witnesses, had
filed the complaint that lead to Bibi’s arrest.
However, everything indicates that the judge who convicted her ignored the
evidence and acted under pressure of Muslim extremists. Above all, from the start,
Asia Bibi was not provided with legal counsel, which is a right protected under the
Constitution, and a serious enough error to have her conviction overturned.
In its 2010 report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) provided more evidence of the
sorry state of human rights in Pakistan. For the human rights organisation, the
Asia Bibi case symbolises the persecution Christians and other religious minorities
have to endure25 .
23 Agenzia Fides, January 26 th 2011
24 Ibid., September 15 th 2011
25 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2011, January 31 st 2011
PAKISTAN

than 580,000 people in more than a hundred countries around the world
signed a petition launched by Voice of Martyrs (VOM). It calls on the Pakistani
government to release Asia Bibi, who has become a symbol of the ways in which
the blasphemy law is abused. Some NGOs submitted her case to the United
Nations Council for Human Rights.
Shabhaz Bhatti, martyr for religious freedom
The year 2011 will be remembered for the murder on March 2, in Islamabad
of Shahbaz Bhatti, the 42-year-old Catholic federal Minister for the Minorities.
According to preliminary investigation, Tehrik-i-Taliban-Punjab, a Taliban group,
PAKISTANMore
was responsible26 .
As part of his action in favour of human rights and religious minorities, Bhatti
established the Christian Liberation Front and the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance.
As a champion of religious freedom, he sought to change the blasphemy law, and
that cost him his life.
In an assembly held in Multan on March 20-25, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of Pakistan decided to make a formal request to the Holy See to proclaim the slain
Catholic Minister Shahbaz Bhatti a “martyr and patron of religious freedom” 27 .
His Urdu Bible was put on display at the Basilica of St Bartholomew, on Tiber
Island in Rome, a Church dedicated to “new witnesses of faith”.
“If the word has any meaning, Salmaan Taseer, the 64-year-old governor of Punjab
in Pakistan would also be considered “a true martyr”, the British journal The Tablet
wrote28 . As a true witness, “he advocated changing the law of blasphemy” and
tirelessly defended one of it victims, Asia Bibi.
The lawyers representing Mumtaz Qadri, Taseer’s self-confessed murderer (but
a “hero” for radical groups), filed an appeal on his behalf with the High Court in
Islamabad, which has suspended for the duration of the appeal phase the death
sentence imposed by the Anti-terrorism Court in Rawalpindi.
Attacks against Hindus, Ahmadis and Shias
Other religious groups have not avoided sectarian violence, whether non-Muslim
Hindus, “heretical” Muslims like the Ahmadis or Pakistan’s other major Muslim
group, the Shias, who represent 20% of the population.
Four Hindu physicians were murdered in their clinic in Chak, a town near Shikapur,
26 BBC News, March 2 nd 2011
27 Agenzia Fides, March 26 th 2011
28 The Tablet, January 8 th 2011

in Sindh province. The incident raised fear and caused protests among members
of religious minorities some of whom went on a “hunger strike” 29 .
In 2011, 30 attacks were carried out against Shias, resulting in the death of 203
people30 . Among radical Sunni groups, Shias are viewed as “heretical” and
“traitors”, unworthy of treading the “land of the pure”.
In July 2011, the Supreme Court of Pakistan released Malik Ishaq, the leader of
a radical Sunni group called Lashkar-e Jhangvi. He was involved in 44 cases of
mass killings.
In June 2011 in Baluchistan, this and other Sunni extremist groups, like Tehrik-e-
Taliban Pakistan and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, handed out flyers that said that
killing Shias was “compulsory”.
Ahmadis too are the victims of systematic intimidation and persecution. Pakistan’s
Constitution denies them the right to call themselves Muslims, visit mosques or
sing hymns praising the Prophet Mohammed.
Following the killing of 94 Ahmadis in May 2010 in Lahore, anti-Ahmadi violence
and persecution went up considerably. Last year, at least six died in targeted
killings, whilst an additional 31 survived attacks or attempted murders31 .
In June 2011, flyers appeared in the city of Faisalabad (Punjab). They contained
the names and addresses of Ahmadi families and called for their murder.
Naseem Ahmed’s name was on the list. A few months later, the 55-year-old
man was killed at home.
The government of Punjab now requires students to say whether they are
“Muslims or non-Muslims” in their school or university application. As a
result, many Ahmadis have been expelled from university or have had their
applications rejected.
For their part, the Taliban have continued their terror campaign. Inspired by the
teachings of the Deobandi School, they have attacked Sufi shrines. For them,
Sufism with its focus on the spiritual dimension of Islam, is too moderate.
One of the worst anti-Sufi incidents occurred on April 3, 2011. A suicide attack
was carried out against the Sakhi Sarwar Sufi shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan District
(Punjab). About 50 people were killed, women and children included, with more
than 100 wounded32 .
Minority discrimination in society
Pakistan’s religious minorities are systemically discriminated against. This was
29 Agenzia Fides, November 8 th 2011
30 South Asia Intelligence Review, April 23 rd 2012
31 Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan, Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan during the Year 2011, May 2012
32 Pakistan Observer, April 3 rd 2011
PAKISTAN

abundantly clear in the aftermath of the 2011 floods. In Sindh province,
more than 5 million people in 22 districts were affected by the problem. Many
of them were Christian and Hindu Dalits, i.e. untouchables, who were denied
humanitarian aid and expelled from refugee camps set up by the government, as
the local Church reported
PAKISTANmade 33 .
At a cultural level, radical groups also want to reduce or eliminate Christian
influence in Pakistani society. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a radical Islamic party,
launched an campaign against the Bible, which it described as a “pornographic
and blasphemous book”. To achieve its end, it filed an appeal with the Supreme
Court of Pakistan to have it banned.
Only the intervention of Pakistan’s Ministry of National Harmony blocked a similar
attempt to have the words ‘Jesus Christ’ added to a list of words banned from text
messages, as the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority had initially planned to
do34 .
Lastly, in Okara (Punjab), a print shop refused to reproduce sacred images with
the face of Jesus and the Holy Cross35 .
The issue of forced conversions
Forced conversions are a serious violation of religious freedom in Pakistan.
Almost a thousand girls and women are involved each year, 700 Christian and
250 Hindu. The situation is such that the government has been forced to look into
the problem 36 .
In one case, a gang of Muslim militants abducted Anna, a 12-year-old girl from Lahore,
and raped her for eight months. After that, she was “converted” and forced to marry
a Muslim man. The men who kidnapped and raped her are out on bail because they
belong to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a radical Islamic group banned for terrorism 37 .
Another case involves Farah Hatim, a young Christian woman who was abducted,
forced to convert and marry a Muslim man in the city of Rahim Yar Khan.
A group of Christian NGOs have called on the United Nations Council for Human
Rights to intervene 38 .
Major Arif Atif Rana, an officer with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI),
abducted Sehar Naz, 24, from Faisalabad, Punjab. He held her for four days
33 Agenzia Fides, September 16 th 2011
34 Ibid., November 23 rd 2011
35 Ibid., September 29 th 2011
36 Ibid., June 10 th 2011
37 Ibid., October 11 th 2011
38 Ibid., August 22 nd 2011

during which he abused her and repeatedly raped her39 .
In May 2011, a group of Muslim men kidnapped two young Christian women,
Rebecca Masih and Saima Masih, in Jhung District, near Faisalabad, and forced
them to convert to Islam.
Sidra Bibi, a 14-year-old girl from Sheikhupura District, was also physically and
psychologically abused; however, she was able to escape her tormentor. Pregnant
and prostrated by her ordeal, she managed to make her way home to her family.
When she filed a complaint with police, her request was rejected.
A 15-year-old Christian girl from Gulberg, Uzma Bibi, and a 20-year-old from
Lahore, Saira Bibi, were forcibly taken by their Muslim neighbours, “converted” to
Islam and forced to marry according to Islamic rites40 .
In 2010, two other stories caused uproar. In the first, Kiran Nayyaz, a 13-year-old
Catholic girl from Faisalabad, became pregnant after being sexually assaulted. In
the second, Shazia Bashir, a 12-year-old Christian girl, was raped and murdered
in January 2010.
A report by the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Bishops’ Conference note
that women from religious minorities find themselves in an intolerable situation,
“doubly discriminated and marginalised”, abused, harassed and sometimes
converted by force.
Titled Living on the Margins, the report is based on interviews with more than a
thousand Hindu and Christian women, carried out in 8 districts in Punjab and 18
in Sindh, which are home to 95% of Pakistan’s religious minorities.
The survey shows that minority women face “legal disparities, prejudices, forced
conversions and the lack of political attention”. For this reason, there is an “urgent
need to go over laws that touch the sphere of religion and gender equality” 41 .
39 Agenzia Fides, April 29 th 2011
40 Ibid., October 11 th 2011
41 Ibid., March 6 th 2012
PAKISTAN

PALAU
AREA
459 Km²
PALAU
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
20,518
REFUGEES
1
Christians 95.1%
Catholics 41.5% / Protestants 32% / Other Chr. 21.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.5%
Others 2.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article IV of the Constitution of 1979 fully recognises religious freedom and in
the period examined no episodes in conflict with the exercise of this right have
been reported.
Religious groups must register as non-profit organisations and are exempt from
taxation. Registration is quick and no application has been turned down in recent
years.
Foreign missionaries need a visa from the Palau Bureau of Immigration. There
are no known cases of applicants having been rejected.
The government provides financial assistance to parochial schools as well as
cultural organisations. It also funds cultural activities. No religion is taught in
public schools.
Since 1998 Bangladeshi nationals have been denied work permits (since 2001
Indians and Sri Lankans as well) after employers complained that the religious
practises of “non-Christian” religions interfered with work. However, nationals
from the aforementioned countries already present in the country were not
expelled and continue to be free to practise their faith.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES AND GAZA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
Muslims 80.6%
Jewes 11.8%
Agnostics / Atheists 5.7%
Christians 1.9%
Catholics 0.4% / Orthodox 0.9% / Protestants 0.2% GAZA
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.3%
AREA
POPULATION REFUGEES INTERNALLY DISPLACED
6,257 Km² 4,108,631 ---
160,000
AND
The Palestinian Authority, with headquarters in Ramallah (West Bank), has not
chosen Islam as the official religion, although the Muslim population is far larger
than the Christian one. Furthermore, according to a tacit agreement, the Mayor
of the Municipality of Bethlehem, founded in 1884, has always been a Christian
due to the role played by this town in Christian history. Until now this tradition has
never been questioned by the Palestinian Authority or by Muslims.
Most Palestinian Christians live in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas.
However, the movement for the re-Islamisation of customs and the anti-Christian
provocations that accompany it, place Christians in a very difficult and at times
untenable situation, especially in those sectors in which the coexistence between
Muslims and Christians is increasingly compromised.
Anti-Christian behaviour includes pressure applied to women because of their
clothes, public prayers against Christian sanctuaries including the Nativity Basilica,
the refusal to sell property to Christians since they are not permitted to own TERRITORIES
any “land of Islam” etc.
Christians also fear the possibility that Islamic Law, Sharia, may be imposed on all
Palestinian citizens, a possibility that cannot be excluded in view of developments
in neighbouring countries during 2011.
Christians are feeling increasingly besieged, squeezed between the Israeli security
wall that surrounds them and an increasingly strong radical Islam. Hence,
worried about their future and their freedom, many Christians emigrate to Europe
and to the Americas.
In Gaza, which is governed by the Islamic movement Hamas, Christians (2,500
out of 1.5 million inhabitants) must make do with the status of dhimmi (protected
citizens), which establishes different rights and duties to the disadvantage of Christians.
However, the Church authorities on the spot are respected by the political
authorities, especially due to the services the Church provides to the entire population,
in particular with its Catholic schools that enjoy an excellent reputation.
This does not however protect Christians from violence. PALESTINIAN

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES AND GAZA
On February 26, 2011 the director of Gaza’s Anglican Hospital, Maher Ayyad, suffered
an attack in which he was not hurt. He had previously been sent threatening
letters in which was ordered to stop his “missionary activities” 1 .
On January 8, 2012 the small Catholic community in Gaza welcomed the visit of
eight European and North American bishops for the yearly meeting of the Group
for the Coordination of Local Churches in the Holy Land. Accompanied around
the city by a group of 40 scouts, the prelates brought messages of support for the
Palestinian Christian community from their dioceses and episcopal conferences.
Mgr William Kenney, auxiliary bishop of Birmingham (UK), told the faithful, “You
are not alone, no one has abandoned you, place your hope and trust in God and
in the Church” 2 .
In the Palestinian Territories, Muslims too must deal with a number of obstacles
to freedom of expression, due to a law that forbids all criticism of the Islamic religion.
This law was introduced in 1960 by Jordan, which controlled the West Bank
until June 1967, after the Six Day War, when Israel occupied the region. Never
questioned by the Palestinian Authority, this law carries a one to three-year prison
sentence for those charged with blasphemy.
On the basis of this law, on October 31, 2010, a young militant atheist blogger
named Walid Husayin, was imprisoned for having publicly criticised Islam 3 .
1 CBNNews.com, February 28 th 2011
2 AsiaNews, January 9 th 2012
3 www.hrw.org, December 5 th 2010

AREA
75,517 Km²
PANAMA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,405,813
REFUGEES
2,262
Christians 90.5%
Catholics 67.8% / Protestants 22% / Anglicans 0.7%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.3%
Others 5.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 35 of the 1972 Constitution, frequently amended up until 2004, fully
acknowledges religious freedom, on condition that Christian morals and public
order are respected. This same article recognises Catholicism as the religion
professed by the majority of citizens, although with no specific privileges.
Religious freedom is effectively respected. Religious associations have juridical
status, and consequently are self-governing and permitted to own property.
Foreign missionaries are allowed in the country with a visa that is valid for three
months and can be renewed.
PANAMA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA
AREA
462,810 Km²
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
6,888,387
REFUGEES
4,810
Christians 94.8%
Catholics 29.9% / Protestants 62% / Anglicans 2.9%
Ethnoreligionists 3.4%
Others 1.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Preamble to the Constitution of 1975, which was amended in 1995, refers
to “our noble traditions and Christian principles”, but the Constitution itself does
not recognise any State religion. Instead, religious freedom is guaranteed under
Article 45, and missionary activities are allowed.
The Christian Churches provide healthcare and educational services for which, in
principle, they receive financial assistance from the State.
During the period under review no significant events regarding the exercise of
religious freedom have been reported.

AREA
406,752 Km²
PARAGUAY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
6,459,727
REFUGEES
124
Christians 95.5%
Catholics 86.9% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 3.6%
Anglicans 0.3% / Other Chr. 4.5%
Ethnoreligionists 2%
Others 2.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
There have been no changes in legislation in the period under examination
regarding freedom of religion.
During his visit to Paraguay at the end of March 2011, Heiner Bielefeldt, the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, was
complimentary about the open and tolerant climate both in the government and
in society. However, he emphasised, “there is still room for improvement in the
sense of a more effective respect for human rights, especially in the area of
non-discrimination”. The reference was mainly to the situation of the indigenous
peoples, following his meeting with their representatives, who had said that in
general the attitude towards their traditional beliefs and practises had become
more respectful in recent years.
Relations between the Catholic Church and the State
On October 6, 2011 the bishop of the diocese of Ciudad del Este, Mgr Rogelio
Livieres, took part in a life and family protest to oppose the “Educational guidelines”
established by the Education Ministry for primary and secondary schools in
Paraguay. On this subject the bishop declared that “these educational guidelines
presume to teach, from kindergarten or first grade onwards, that there are not
just men and women, but people who have a different gender, which is just as
legitimate as the others. We must reiterate that God created man, and created
him male and female. There are two genders, male and female. There is no third
gender. (…) We must positively present an alternative, providing sexual education
to children starting from the age at which they experience their first attraction in a
manner is honest, correct and without excluding anyone, but without confusion”.
The bishop went on to say that the diocese of Ciudad del Este would establish a
commission that will take on the task of spreading correct ideas in sexual matters
in order to offer healthy a sexual education 1 .
1 Zenit.org, October 6 th 2011
PARAGUAY

In May 2011, to mark Paraguay’s bicentenary, a service of blessing was organised
by Evangelical pastors at the Parliament and an historical exhibition was staged
on the theme of “the important contribution of the Evangelical Churches to the
Paraguayan Nation” 2 .
In August 2011, the 4 th Assembly of the Permanent Forum for Inter-Religious
Dialogue at the Parliament was held within the framework of the “Everyone
for Values” national campaign. Invitations were extended to all leaders and
representatives of religious and philosophical organizations in Paraguay in order
to debate, reflect and work together for life values, education for the family and
Christian communities / other religions
PARAGUAYNon-Catholic
for the elderly3 .
The first Iberian-American Inter-Religious Meeting entitled “Transformation of
the State and Development; Prospects for the Community of Faith” was held
in October 2011. The final declaration emphasised that “shared values create
areas of dialogue, interaction and recognition between the different identities
present in every country” and affirmed that “religious freedom as a social
cohesive factor and mutual understanding between the nations of the world” 4
must continue to be protected.
2 Abc.com.py, May 20 th 2011
3 Mec.gov.py, August 22 nd 2011
4 Grupdereligions.org, October 10 th 2011

AREA
1,285,216 Km²
New legislation
PERU
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
29,461,933
REFUGEES
1,144
Christians 96.5%
Catholics 83.3% / Protestants 12.5% / Other Chr. 0.7%
Others 3.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
150,000
In 2011, Peru’s Religious Freedom Act came into force. Passed in December 2010,
the new law guarantees freedom of religion, protects the right to take part in a religion
and recognises the right of conscientious objection in cases of otherwise
mandated legal obligations when it is motivated by moral or religious convictions.
Two days after the law came into effect, however, the government introduced a
supplementary bill to change it in order to make clear that the right of students to
opt out of religion class is applicable only to State schools. At present, the proposed
amendment has not yet been made into law 1 .
When the legislation was adopted, Peruvian President Alan Garcia said that with
the new law the Peruvian State would treat all religions and confessions equally,
whilst recognising the historical and cultural importance of the Catholic Church to
the country’s national identity 2 .
The new law came into force in July 2011. Soon after, the Ministry of Justice expressed
its intention of amending it, mindful of the observations made by various
religious organisations. This was followed in October by a draft proposal designed
to solicit further ideas and comments 3 .
Catholic Church-State relations
In 2011, the Constitutional Court issued two rulings on matters concerning
religious freedom.
In March, a petition calling for the removal of all Catholic symbols from courtrooms
and judges’ offices was dismissed. The court ruled that the presence of Catholic
1 Peruvian Congress, Congres.gob.per
2 RPP Noticias, December 20 th 2010
3 El Comercio, November 16 th 2011
PERU

symbols in government buildings is not unconstitutional or harmful to
freedom. On the contrary, such symbols correspond to an identity based on transcendental
and universally accepted values and are part of the country’s heritage.
The same is true for time off for processions or holy days that are in the calendar
as public holidays.
The Court also ruled that questions about the religion of any of the parties in any
PERUreligious
proceeding or in any statement made to the courts are not admissible for they are
contrary to religious freedom4 .
In September, the Court dismissed a request by the parents of a child in which
they demanded that the diocese of Callao “excommunicate the child by way of
apostasy”, arguing that the inclusion of his name in the baptism registry was a
violation of the child’s right not to believe in any religion.
The ruling found that a person, whose name appears in the baptism registry, is not
required to believe and can always change religion. Such a person can profess
any religion of his or her choice, or profess no religion at all. Nothing can prevent
or undermine a child’s right to have a religious or moral education in accordance
with his or her parent’s convictions.
The court also found that the State does not have the power, under the Constitution,
to force the Catholic Church to make a formal declaration of apostasy since
this is an internal matter of the Catholic Church. Therefore, to grant such a petition
would be a violation of the Church’s own right to religious freedom in its collective
or associative capacity. It would violate the principle of separation of State and
Church as well as the non-confessional nature of the State. It would equally infringe
the independence and autonomy of the Church, principles that are recognised
by the Constitution and the international treaty of 1980 between the Peruvian
State and the Holy See5 .
Currently, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the Archdiocese of Lima
are embroiled in a controversy that could be considered an internal problem of the
Catholic Church. Nevertheless, it affects the principle of religious freedom insofar
as the rulings issued by Peru’s Constitutional Court and other tribunals relate to
property rights, university autonomy and the inviolability of agreements.
Likewise, whenever the Holy See has had to intervene, Canon Law has been respected.
Since this case has not been settled and the university’s statutes have
not been changed to conform to the Apostolic Constitution Ex corde Ecclesiae,
the Holy See has decided to remove the right to use the titles “Pontifical” and “Catholic”
from the university, a decision the State is expected to respect6 .
4 El Comercio, March 22nd 2011
5 Tc.gob.pe, September 12th 2011
6 News.Va, www.news.va/it/news/pontifica-universita-cattolica-del-peru-la-santa-s

In January 2011 F. Mario Bartolini, an Italian-born Passionist missionary was acquitted
on charges of rebellion and other alleged crimes, in a case brought by
a deputy and by a deforestation company in the Peruvian Amazon, in the High
Court of the Upper Amazon region. He had been attempting to defend the land
rights of the indigenous peoples. In its decision, the court recognised that the
priest had acted “in accordance with his mission as a priest and in obedience to
the social teaching of the Church”. This is an important precedent for the work of
the Church in her mission of evangelization and humanization7 .
7 Zenit, www.zenit.org/article-37841?l=spanish
PERU

PHILIPPINES
AREA
300,000 Km²
PHILIPPINES
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
94,013,200
Juridical and institutional aspects
REFUGEES
125
Christians 88.7%
Catholics 77.5% / Protestants 11.1% / Anglicans 0.1%
Muslims 6.6%
Ethnoreligionists 3.3%
Others 1.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
46,000
The 1986 Constitution of the Philippines sanctions religious freedom in Section
5 of Article 3 and allows the free profession and enjoyment of professing faith
and religious worship with no discrimination or privileges. Apart from East Timor,
the Philippines is the only other Asian country with a Christian majority. With
over 73 million believers, the Filipino Catholic Church is the most active in Asia,
with initiatives targeting the poor and the defence of Christian values and human
rights. In the period analysed by this Report, these principles were respected
and there are no reports of violations by the government led by Benigno Aquino,
elected in May 2010, succeeding the previous Head of State Gloria Arroyo, now
on trial for corruption.
Attacks on Christians in Muslim Mindanao
The Mindanao region (in the southern Philippines), has a Muslim majority and
has for over 40 years been the setting of a conflict between the Filipino Army
and Islamic extremist groups fighting to obtain the island’s independence
and create an Islamic State ruled by Sharia. Although since 2009 there have
been negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) – the historic
Islamic separatist movement – other separatist branches of the MILF, and the
terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, which are linked to al-
Qaeda, have continued to carry out kidnappings and attacks on Christian and
government buildings.
Over the past few years, Catholic communities in Jolo and Basilan have often been
the targets of attacks. On December 25, 2010 a bomb exploded during Christmas
Mass in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in Jolo. The explosion blew the roof off
the building, wounding 11 people. The attack, thought to be by the extremist group
Abu Sayyaf, aroused the indignation and condemnation of the Muslim religious
authorities. According to the ulemas, the “continuous kidnappings and attacks in

various areas of Mindanao are barbarian acts as well as showing cruelty and a
lack of respect, and must be condemned. The kind of Islam embraced by these
extremists and their local accomplices and international terrorist groups has no
place in Islamic teachings”. According to the religious leaders, these extremists
are only interested in their own political agenda and use Islam to obtain the
support of innocent and desperate people1 .
In spite of the peace agreements negotiated between the MILF and the
government of the Philippines, the kidnappings and attacks on Churches and
government buildings continued during 2011. On February 8, 2011, a separatist
wing of the Moro movement attacked a Christian village near the city of Mlang
(Cotabato, central-western Mindanao) 2 . The MILF spokesman, Eid Kabalu,
denied the involvement of any of its affiliates, in order to avoid compromising
peace negotiations being held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). On March 10, a bomb
exploded near a school in Jolo and five people were killed and 11 wounded3 . In
September a number of fringe elements of the Jemaah Islamiyah placed a number
of bombs in the city of Cotabato. Two exploded during a meeting of the Regional
Council of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), without killing
or injuring anyone. The buildings attacked included the cathedral in Cotabato. The
remaining bombs were found and defused by police bomb disposal experts4 .
Defending the tribal groups and the murder of Father Fausto Tentorio
There are over 100 tribal groups in the Philippines, spread all over the country.
Most of them are in the central part of the country (Visayas) and in the south
(Mindanao). To assist economic growth, in 1995 President Fidel Valdez Ramos
approved the Philippine Mining Act, a law that makes it easier to exploit areas
rich in natural resources, but thereby depriving the natives of much of their land.
In recent years a number of human rights activists and journalists have been
assassinated for having exposed acts of abuse and violence against tribal people.
For most of these murders, no perpetrator has yet been convicted.
2011 began with the death of Gerry Ortega, a Catholic journalist and tribal rights
activist shot dead on January 24, in Puerto Princesa on the Island of Palawan
(central-western Philippines). Among those suspected of having ordered this murder
is the former Governor of Marinduque Island Province, Jose Carreon, who
was arrested together with three other persons, also politicians 5 . Ortega had for
1 abs-cbnnews, December 26 th 2010
2 AsiaNews, December 8 th 2011
3 Mindanao Examiner, March 10 th 2011
4 abs-cbnnews, September 14 th 2011
5 Inquirer, March 13 th 2012
PHILIPPINES

hosted a radio show on which he often welcomed missionaries, representatives
of the Christian communities and the NGOs - and also groups of environmentalists
who had launched a petition to save the Island of Palawan from
mining exploitation. Thanks to an agreement with the government, the companies
MacroAsia and Celestial are allowed to exploit the lands of the indigenous tribes.
The event that most shocked public opinion in 2011, reopening the debate on
murders linked to the defence of tribal people, was the murder of Father Fausto
Tentorio, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), in
the Arakan Valley, in northern Cotabato (Mindanao). Local sources report that this
area, like others on the island of Mindanao, suffers from a climate of impunity and
violence. The price is paid above all by the tribal peoples. On the one hand they
are victims of the Maoist guerrillas of the New People’s Army (NPA), who carry
out terrorist attacks on landowners and the State, killing anyone suspected of
cooperating with businessmen, while on the other hand the army and the militias
PHILIPPINESyears
defending the villages, supported by the government, do not trust the Church and
at times attack it, accusing it of cooperating with Muslims and Communists.
On October 17, 2011 Father Fausto Tentorio was murdered outside the parish
Church in Arakan, in the diocese of Kidapawan. A number of eyewitnesses reported
that the murderer approached him and then fired two shots to the priest’s head
before fleeing on a motorbike with an accomplice. The name of the man remains
unknown, as does the reason for this assassination. The murderer was wearing a
crash helmet that hid his face. So far the police have arrested only one possible
culprit for this murder, Jimmy Ato, initially considered the perpetrator, together
with his brother Robert, but later charged with just being an accomplice.
Father Tentorio had lived in the Philippines for over 32 years and worked among
the Manobo tribal people, an ethnic group threatened with extinction following the
loss of their land to mining and oil companies. One of the reasons for this crime
may have been Father Tentorio’s commitment as the president of the Indigenous
People’s Programme, which may have resulted in conflict with the large agricultural
and mining companies that are expropriating the land of the local people in
order to enlarge their properties or search for gold in Mindanao. For his work in
defending the natives, Father Tentorio was respected by Maoist groups, who after
his death described him “a real Communist”, thereby exploiting his memory 6 .
Over 15,000 people, 6 bishops and 100 priests attended his funeral, held on
October 25, 2011 at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Kidapawan, among them
also Father Gian Battista Zanchi, the Superior General of PIME, and the Italian
Ambassador to Manila, Luca Fornari 7 .
6 Inquirer, October 26 th 2011
7 AsiaNews, Report, The Year of the Faith and the Martyrdom of Father Fausto Tentorio

Conflict over the birth control law
The debate on the Reproductive Health Bill has been ongoing for five years.
The law was imposed on the Arroyo government by powerful international
organisations such as the United Nations, UNICEF and the World Health
Organization. These organisations apply pressure on developing countries
asking them to accept family planning policies promoting abortion, contraception
and voluntary sterilisation, in order to reduce high birth rates, which they
believe are the main cause of poverty. The law proposed in the Philippines
rejects clinical abortions but promotes a family planning programme that invites
couples to not have more than two children, overrides conscientious objections
and encourages voluntary sterilisation. The Church and Catholic associations
believe instead in promoting Natural Family Planning (NFP), which focuses
on spreading among the people a culture of responsibility and love based on
Christian values.
Though opposed by the Catholic Church and by (former) President Gloria Arroyo,
the draft Bill is supported by the government led by Benigno Aquino, elected in
May 2010. Thanks to support from the newly-elected president, the opposed bill
was approved by a parliamentary commission in January 2011 after a number
of amendments agreed on by the government and the Philippines’ Episcopal
Conference as well as by pro-life associations8 .
In 2010 the bishops had threatened to excommunicate Aquino because of his
pro-abortion stand. In an attempt to soothe Catholic sensibilities, legislators
have changed the name of this law from the “Reproductive Health Bill” to the
“Responsible Parenthood Bill”.
However, in spite of efforts made by Catholics and more recently by President
Aquino, controversial provisions allowing the use of so-called abortifacient (or
abortion-inducing) contraceptives remain in force. When this report was drafted
the law was still being debated.
8 AsiaNews, January 26 th 2011
PHILIPPINES

POLAND
AREA
323,950 Km²
POLAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
38,186,860
REFUGEES
15,847
Christians 97%
Catholics 91.5% / Orthodox 1.5% / Protestants 4%
Agnostics / Atheists 3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In Articles 25 and 53, the Polish Republic’s 1997 Constitution 1 guarantees all
registered religious organisations full freedom to implement their pastoral, cultural
and editorial activities.
There are 15 religious groups whose relationship with the State is governed by
specific legislation that outlines the internal structure of the religious groups, their
activities, and procedures for property restitution. There are 158 other registered
religious groups that do not have a statutorily defined relationship with the State.
All registered religious groups, including the original 15, enjoy equal protection
under the law.
Citizens have the right to sue the government for Constitutional violations of
religious freedom, and legal protections cover discrimination or persecution on
the basis of religion or belief.
The judicial system regulates this subject in detail and effectively there have
been no problems linked to the free activities of the various religions and
religious communities.
The Criminal Code stipulates that offending religious sentiment through public
speech is punishable by a fine or up to a three-year prison term.
The law places Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox, and Protestant communities on the
same legal footing, and the Government attempts to address the problems that
minority religious groups may face.
Foreign missionaries and religious organisations are not required to register in the
country and may operate freely without registration 2 .
In general it is possible to state that there are no signs indicating possible obstacles
to the activities of Churches and religious associations in Poland.
1 www.legislationline.org/documents/action/popup/id/16683/preview
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
91,982 Km²
PORTUGAL
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
10,732,357
REFUGEES
408
Christians 89.7%
Catholics 85% / Protestants 1.3% / Other Chr. 3.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 9.2%
Others 1.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In Portugal, over the last two years there were no reports of social abuses or
discrimination based on religious belief or practise, since freedom of religion is
an accepted fact in society, respected by the established powers on a central,
regional and local level.
In Portugal, the Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom ensuring
that nobody can be “persecuted, deprived of rights” or on the other hand “free
from obligations or civil duties because of their beliefs or religious practise”,
although the conscientious objection is guaranteed, according to the law.
In the Portuguese law, “the Churches and other religious communities are
separate from the State and are free to organise and exercise their activities
and worship”. Also guaranteed is “the freedom to teach any religion practised in
the context of their denomination”, “as well as the use of the media suitable for
the exercise of their activities”.
The relations between the Portuguese State and the Catholic Church are regulated
by the Concordat of the May 18, 2004. With the other religious denominations
this relation is ruled by the Law No. 16/2001 of the June 22, called the Religious
Freedom Law. This Law foresees the possibility of differentiated agreements by the
State with the Churches or religious communities established in Portugal (Art. 45).
Under Article 52 of Law No. 16/2001, a Religious Freedom Commission was
created, an independent consultative body of the Parliament and Government.
Its jurisdiction is defined in Article 54 of the same Law and in the Decree-Law
No. 308/2003 of the December 10.
According to legislation published subsequently, established minority
denominations can celebrate religious marriages with civil effect, just like the
Catholic Church. Spiritual and religious assistance in the armed and security
forces, in prisons and in the hospitals under the National Health Service is
assured, according to the legislation published in September 2009.
PORTUGAL

PORTUGALNo Church or religion is State funded, although the State can support the building
of Churches (and occasionally non-Catholic temples) and works of social care.
In certain situations the faith communities may be eligible for tax conccessions.

AREA
11,000 Km²
QATAR
In spite of its small size, Qatar exercises considerable influence in countries in the
area because of its enormous wealth.
The 1972 Constitution declares Islam as the State religion and Muslim law as the
main source of legislation 1 . Recognition of the legal status of religious minorities
and the promotion of regular inter-religious meetings has turned Qatar into one of
the Muslim countries most open to respecting religious freedom 2 .
Since 2009 the government in Qatar has sponsored an organisation called the
Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) aimed at promoting interreligious
dialogue. The DICID periodically organises international conferences in
Doha dedicated to subjects linked to cooperation and dialogue between religions.
In October 2010 more than 200 participants, among whom were Christians, Jews
and Muslims from 58 different countries, attended the 8 th Doha Conference on
Inter-Faith Dialogue. The theme that year was “Raising the New Generation with a
foundation of values and tradition: Religious Perspectives”. It and was sponsored
by the DICID and strongly supported by Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Tani.
The conference was attended by Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue representing the Catholic Church,
Sheikh Khaled Akasheh, head of the Muslim section of the Pontifical Council
for Inter-Religious Dialogue, Archimandrite Macario, the representative of Orthodox
Churches in Qatar, the Metropolitans Nikiphoros and Isaiah of the Orthodox
Church of Cyprus, Abbot Phillip of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Reverend
Saurin Celaru, representing the Romanian Patriarchate at the European Union.
1 www.qatarembassy.net/Constitution.asp
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,699,435
REFUGEES
80
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Muslims 83.5%
Christians 9.6%
Catholics 7.3% / Orthodox 0.3% / Protestants 0.4%
Anglicans 0.6% / Other Chr. 1%
Hindus 2.5
Agnostics / Atheists 2.3%
Others 2.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
QATAR

of worship for the three religions should not be turned into venues hostile to dialogue,
as they risk being used to provoke exclusivist and hostile attitudes.
The religious leaders emphasised that all three faiths have experienced repression
and it is therefore it is very important to work to overcome ignorance and to
ensure differences are respected.
The DICID also organised an interreligious round table on March 19, 2011 entitled
“The Role of Education in strengthening ties among Communities in Qatar”
with the participation of numerous academics and representatives o civil society.
Among the themes addressed were religious values, interdenominational communications
promoted by schools and points of view of the religions on the role of
education in building up societies.
QATAR The representatives of the three monotheistic religions agreed that places
The 9 th Doha Conference on Inter-Faith Dialogue held between October 24 and
26, 2011, was organised by the Qatari Foreign Ministry and the DICID. The
conference’s theme was “Social Media and Inter-Religious Dialogue: A New
Relationship”.
Among the local Orthodox Churches attending this conference were the Patriarchate
of Jerusalem and the Patriarchate of Moscow, represented by Deacon
Dimitry Safonov of the Department for External Church Relations. The forum
saw the participation of about 200 representatives of the Christian, Muslim and
Jewish world from 55 countries. Qatar’s Minister of Justice Hassan bin Abdullah
al-Ghanim was one of the speakers. Among the subjects examined were
“Science and Religion” and “The Benefits of Using Social Media in The Interfaith
Dialogue” 3 .
3 www.dicid.org/english/index.php

AREA
238,391 Km²
ROMANIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
21,462,186
REFUGEES
1,005
Article 29 of the 1991 Romanian Constitution expressly, and in great detail,
provides for the right to full religious freedom, giving full autonomy to religious
organisations in their relations with the State and their right to administer themselves
according to their own rules and statutes, as long as they do not conflict
with the country’s laws 1 .
Government bodies normally adhere to this and no significant incidents or threats
to religious freedom have been recorded in the period under examination.
The various religious communities are generally localised in specific parts of the
country. Most Muslims are found in southeast Romania, and Greek (Eastern-rite)
Catholics generally in Transylvania and Bucharest, and also in the regions of Banat
and Crisana. Most Latin-rite Catholics live in Transylvania and around Bacau.
About half of the Jews live in Bucharest, while the rest are spread across every
part of the country.
Relations between the faiths are now generally friendly, even if there have been
cases of criticism by the Romanian Orthodox Church against other Christian
denominations, especially the Protestants, who are accused of aggressive
proselytism 2 .
Relations between the Greek-Catholic Church and the Orthodox Archbishopric of
Timisoara are cordial and cooperative and have resulted in the return of almost all
the confiscated Greek-Catholic property in the diocese.
Difficulties persist for some minority religious groups in obtaining legal registration,
and there is also an evident disparity in government treatment of non-registered
groups, compared to those already registered.
Also unresolved is the issue of the restitution of religious assets confiscated by
the Communist regime that oppressed Romania for so many years.
1 www.cdep.ro/pls/dic/site.page?den=act2_2&par1=2#t2c2s0a29
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Christians 98.5%
Catholics 5.6% / Orthodox 86.2% / Protestants 6.7%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
ROMANIA

issue is frequently complicated by the fact that schools, hospitals and cultural
institutions have been built on those properties, and obviously need to be relocated.
For example, it has not yet been possible to completely return the bishop’s
palace in the Catholic diocese of Oradea, which for years has housed the important
museum of Tarii Crisurilor, until now only partially relocated. Occasionally,
moreover, local authorities have refused to return buildings or properties where
financial or economic interests are involved.
In Pesceana, the Greek-Catholic community, which re-established itself there in
2005, continues to face discrimination and harassment. Its members complain
that the local authorities and the Orthodox Church clergy continue to deny them
ROMANIAThe
access to the public cemetery, in spite of a ruling by the Court of Appeal in February
2009, allowing Greek-Catholic priests to celebrate funeral services in the
cemetery for their members.
From November 3 to 6, 2011 3 the bishops representing the 14 Eastern-Rite Catholic
Churches in Europe met in Oradea, on the Hungarian border in northwestern
Romania.
3 ZENIT.org, November 3 rd 2011

AREA
17,075,400 Km²
The legal situation
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
141,914,509
REFUGEES
3,914
Christians 81.3%
Catholics 0.6% / Orthodox 79.1% / Protestants 1.6%
Muslims 10.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 7.1%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
28,5000
The Constitution of the Russian Federation, approved on December 12, 1993,
establishes Russia as a secular State (Art. 14) and guarantees full religious
freedom for all the Federation’s citizens in compliance with international standards
(Art. 28). Furthermore, Article 4 of the Constitution establishes the supremacy of
the Constitution and federal laws throughout the Federation’s entire territory.
The implementation of these general provisions is entrusted to Federal Law
No. 125-FZ of September 26, 1997. This law, although confirming the secular
character of the State, accords the Orthodox Church a particular role in the
formation and development of Russia’s spirituality and culture, and states that
respect for Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, the Jewish faith and other religions is
an integral part of the historical legacy of the Russian people.
Several pieces of legislation affecting the interests of religious organisations were
adopted in 2011, generally with the aim of facilitating their activities.
On July 18, the Fiscal Code was amended, exempting donations given for
charitable activities, including those of religious organisations, with the changes
coming into effect on September 1.
On November 22 a federal law was signed, which changes existing rules on
raising and using endowment capital by non-profit organisations, including
religious ones. Under the new law, religious organisations and other non-profit
organisations can increase their assets not only through endowment capital but
also from other sources (shares and real estate).
On November 18 the State Duma adopted amendments to the law ‘On State
Security’, which the president signed into law on December 8. It extends
government protection to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The rapprochement between the State and the country’s main religious groups
has continued, especially with the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition to
providing public funds for Church initiatives and accepting property claims by
religious associations, there has been a change in official language. Indeed,
on several occasions, President Dmitry Medvedev has described Church-State
relations as a “symphony”.
The Orthodox Church has increased its presence in the public space. It was
decided to adopt the experimental course on the ‘Fundamentals of Religious and
Secular Ethics’ as a compulsory course in the schools.
Even in the armed forces, where the top military echelons had opposed the
introduction of military chaplains, new rules came into effect governing the latter’s
role, in the form of a decree regulating the activities of those bodies working with
soldiers who are believers. As a result a number of chaplains have been attached
to the armed forces.
No adequate legislation has yet been put in place to protect the rights of believers
in the Russian Armed Forces, which are still governed by Article 8 of the federal
law ‘On Soldiers on Active Duty’, and a few lines in the 1997 law ‘On Freedom
of Conscience and Religious Associations’, in which the right to practise one’s
religion is restricted to the private sphere and the soldier’s off-duty time.
The new law on allowing religious associations to establish places of worship
has not significantly changed the situation. In many cases, the issuing of permits
still depends on the attitude of local authorities and the persistence of the
religious associations.
Government support for some religious associations
RUSSIAN FEDERATIONGeneral situation
As in previous years, public funds were used to restore places of worship, mostly
heritage buildings. According to Russia’s federal culture minister, Alexander
Avdeev, around five billion roubles in federal funds were set aside for this purpose
in 2011. Orthodox Churches benefitted the most, but occasionally mosques did
as well. By contrast, the Moscow authorities refused to restore the Rogozhskaia
Sloboda complex, which belongs to the Old Believers.
In a few cases, public funds were also used to build new places of worship,
including several mosques in Tiumen and an Orthodox Church in Tomsk.
On several occasions, local authorities tried to find sponsors to pay for the
construction of places of worship, in Yaroslavl and Penza for instance. In 2011,
the oil pipeline company Transneft allocated 390 million roubles to the Russian
Orthodox Church.

As in the past, the fund for the support of Islamic culture, science and education,
created under the aegis of the Russian Presidency, allocated funds to Islamic
education. In November, President Dmitri Medvedev promised to earmark one
billion roubles over three years, on a par with previous years.
Catholic-Orthodox relations
Numerous incidents demonstrate the excellent relations that now exist between
the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.
On January 27, 2011, Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow saluted the former
papal nuncio to Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, for his help in improving
relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Holy See. For his part,
Archbishop Mennini thanked Patriarch Kirill for his support in the work undertaken
over the years. “I was pleased to work for the wellbeing of our Churches, but this
would have been far more complicated without his help, his friendly attitude and
Christian charity”, he said.
On March 13, 2011 Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, who is
president of the External Affairs Department of the Moscow Patriarchate,
emphasised the need for an alliance with Catholics and Protestants to support
common Christian values.
On March 18, 2011 during his first official visit to Russia, Cardinal Kurt Koch,
president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, met Patriarch
Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. A statement from the Moscow Patriarchate said
that the meeting, held at the patriarch’s residence, had concentrated on “principles
of cooperation” between the two Churches. The statement added that “despite
theological differences, the two Churches can come closer in greater cooperation
in those areas where their positions coincide, in other words the defence of
traditional Christian values in Europe, the defence of the Christian point of view in
the socio-economic arena and in the ethics of scientific research and bio-ethics”.
Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who until 2010 was apostolic nuncio to Russia and
is currently the nuncio to Great Britain, received the “Friendship” award from the
Russian State on June 10, 2011, as announced by the Patriarchate of Moscow’s
Department for External Relations. The award was presented in London by the
Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mr Jakovenko.
On that occasion Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, president of the Patriarchate
of Moscow’s Department for External Relations, sent him a personal message
in which he acknowledged his “merit in the development of friendly relations
between the Holy See and the Russian Federation”, as well as his contribution
“to establishing reciprocal understanding between the Catholic Church and the
Russian Orthodox Church”.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The Municipality of St Petersburg authorised a procession to celebrate the
Catholic Feast of Corpus Christi on the city’s most important street, the Nevski
Prospekt. According to the Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow,
this is an important step forward because the Corpus Christi procession has only
been held twice before on this boulevard, in 1917 and in 1918.
This year, 93 years later, the procession was attended by the Consuls of various
European countries and presided over by Mgr Paolo Pezzi, archbishop of the
diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow.
The “International Conference on the Discrimination and Persecution of Christians”
was held in Moscow and organised by the Patriarchate of Moscow, with contributions
from the Pontifical Foundation ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ and marked by a speech
made by Patriarch Kirill that was widely reported by the Russian press. It ended
on December 1, 2011. The conference sent a message to the world, asking that
persecutions against Christians – a global and even a humanitarian emergency
involving a million victims and with, as publicly now known, over 100,000 deaths
each year – be openly and immediately reported everywhere.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, responsible for the Patriarchate of
Moscow’s Department for External Relations, correctly described it as the
largest ecclesiastical meeting ever organised on this subject. The conference
in fact hosted, among others, speeches by Catholic Archbishop Paolo Pezzi,
of the Diocese of Moscow, Ivan Jurkovic, the Apostolic Nuncio in Russia, and
Archbishop Josef Ender, the Holy See’s special Archbishop Ivan, Representative
at this conference. They were followed by speeches from the metropolitan of the
Assyrian Church of Iraq, Mar Gewargis, and numerous archbishops and patriarchs
from the Orthodox world. The presence at the conference of representatives from
the Russian Jewish and Islamic communities was also a significant event.
On May 30, 2012 Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk opened the conference
with the leaders of Aid to the Church in Need. On the day of Pentecost in Moscow,
Metropolitan Hilarion hosted Baron Johannes von Heereman, the executive
president of the Pontifical Foundation of Aid to the Church in Need, the foundation’s
ecclesiastical assistant, Father Martin Barta, and the international director of the
Russian section, Peter Humeniuk. For more than 20 years Aid to the Church in
Need has supported the Russian Orthodox Church, allocating 700,000 euro to
this community in 2010, and also promoting many interdenominational projects,
bearing witness to the Foundation’s great ecumenical commitment. “We will
always be grateful to Aid to the Church in Need”, said the Russian archbishop,
before ending the meeting with one last request, saying, “Faced with the great
challenges that await out two communities, it is important that we look to the
future together”.

Other organisations
There have been no significantly critical reports during the period analysed concerning
the situation of the other religions that are recognised as traditional religions.
Complaints concerning the behaviour of some local authorities have been reported
to the office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights. Most of these complaints
concern the behaviour of local authorities who at times do not respect federal
legislation on the religious organisations. There have also been complaints that
the federal authorities have rarely intervened to put an end to the reported abuse.
There has been an attempt by the various Islamic associations in the Russian
Federation to create a united front in order to put an end to the extremism of radical
Islamist groups. This decision, taken during a session held by the joint group of
Islamic associations in February 2010, was warmly welcomed by analysts and
the authorities, who see in this an opportunity to control and contain the extremist
fringes, above all in the Caucasus.
No one was murdered for his or her religion in 2011, and the attacks against
members of other faiths were far fewer than in the past.
As the year before, there were several cases of religious vandalism. An attempt
was made to burn down two Orthodox Churches, some synagogues, and buildings
belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
A mosque was fired upon in Kamensk-Uralsky. In Rostov and Orenburg
Oblasts, buildings belonging to the Jehovah’s Witness were also shot at, and in
Nizhnevartovsk, a Pentecostal Church came under fire twice in less than a week.
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast was the most affected by cemetery vandalism with ten
incidents. In most cases, Muslim graves were the target. In a number of cases,
attackers left neo-Nazi graffiti on the gravestones.
In Tomsk, the Siberian movement, the Pan-Slavic Youth Organisation, the
Congress of Russian Communities and Tomsk Cossacks went to court to stop
the erection of a Khachkar, an Armenian cross stone. They argued, among
other things, that such a monument was illegal because of “the lack of historical
connection between Armenians and the territory of Tomsk and Siberia”.
Sources consulted
ACN News
Gazeta www.gazeta.ru
L’Osservatore Romano
Religija the Pravo (Religion and law)
Slavic Centre for Law and Justice
SOVA Centre for Information and Analysis
U.S. Department of State - Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2011
Zenit.org
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

RWANDA
AREA
26,338 Km²
RWANDA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
10,277,212
REFUGEES
55,325
Christians 86.1%
Catholics 47.1% / Protestants 26.9% / Anglicans 12.1%
Ethnoreligionists 8.8%
Muslims 4.8%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Undetermined
The Constitution of 2003, with several amendments until 2010, establishes
the right to religious freedom (Art. 33). Political organisations based on an
ethnic, tribal or religious basis are forbidden, as are all those that could result in
discrimination (Art. 54) 1 .
Public gatherings must be authorised, including religious ones. Authorisation,
however, is not required if the meeting is organised by a religious group known to
the authorities.
Religious groups are obliged to gather in their places of worship as the authorities
do not wish such meetings to be held in private homes. It is compulsory to inform
the authorities immediately about any meetings held at night, even religious ones
and even if held in private locations.
Furthermore, the government wishes to attend various different religious ceremonies.
For example, at weddings the bride and groom are asked to make their vows
while touching the national flag.
Those who disturb a religious ceremony or a minister of religion in the exercise
of his duties are committing a crime that is punishable with a fine and/or a prison
sentence of up to six months.
Non-profit organisations, including religious ones, are obliged to register. There is
strict control over religious organisations. Groups must provide information concerning
their objectives and the activities planned, in order to obtain temporary
authorisation. Some religious groups, however, operate without authorisation 2 .
Religious instruction is provided in State schools and can be replaced by a course
on morals. Both Catholic and Islamic private schools operate in the country.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes concerning the subject of freedom of religion during
the reporting period.
1 www.rwandaparliament.gov.rw/parliament/default.aspx
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
261 Km²
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
49,898
REFUGEES
---
Christians 94.6%
Catholics 9.2% / Protestants 53.7% / Anglicans 31.7%
Others 5.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
This small State, which is part of the British Commonwealth, consists of
three small islands of the Lesser Antilles. The 1983 Constitution guarantees full
religious freedom in Article 11 and sets out in detail both the rights of individuals
and those of religious groups.
There are neither reports of interference by the authorities in the life of religious
groups nor any episodes of intolerance.
Registration is not compulsory for religious organisations.
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

SAINT LUCIA
AREA
616 Km²
SAINT LUCIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
165,595
REFUGEES
2
Christians 95.9%
Catholics 67.5% / Protestants 26.5% / Anglicans 1.9%
Others 4.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
This island in the Lesser Antilles is a member of the British Commonwealth.
The Constitution is dated 1979, the year in which the country became independent.
The document guarantees full religious freedom in Article 9.
The dominant religion is Christianity, mainly Catholicism.
Non-Christian religions, such as Islam and the Rastafari Movement (Rastafarians)
have very few followers and were brought to the country via immigration.
There are no reports of violations of religious freedom or events involving
intolerance.

AREA
388 Km²
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
109,284
REFUGEES
---
Christians 88.7%
Catholics 7.3% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 54.5%
Anglicans 17.2 / Other Chr. 9.6%
Hindus 3.4
Agnostics / Atheists 2.5%
Others 5.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The group of islands in the Lesser Antilles that form the State of Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines is part of the British Commonwealth. Article 9 of the Constitution,
approved when the country became independent in 1979, sets out in detail the
rights deriving from complete religious freedom.
State schools provide moral instruction based on the principles of Christianity, but
attendance at these classes is not compulsory.
There are no reports of events involving intolerance or violation of religious freedom.
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

SAMOA
AREA
2,831 Km²
SAMOA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
187,032
REFUGEES
---
Christians 99.8%
Catholics 20.1% / Protestants 79.5% / Anglicans 0.2%
Others 0.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Religious freedom is guaranteed by the 1997 Constitution. In practise, religious
freedom is respected by the government, which punishes all acts of persecution
or discrimination. There have not been any reports of violation of these rights
during the period under review.
There is no established State religion, although the Constitution’s introduction
describes the country as “an independent State based on Christian principles and
Samoan custom and tradition”.
Public ceremonies generally start with a prayer. Religious groups are permitted to
operate with no formal State recognition.
Specific religious instruction is not provided in schools. Each religious community
can operate its own schools and include religious instruction within the
educational timetable.
In villages and small towns there is strong social pressure for everyone to take
part in the community’s religious functions and activities and for every family to
contribute to the financial needs of the leaders and activities of the local Church.
This contribution can amount to 30% of the family’s income.

AREA
61 Km²
SAN MARINO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
31,888
REFUGEES
---
Christians 96%
Catholics 88.9% / Other Chr. 7.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution. Relations with the Catholic
Church are regulated by the Concordat of April 1992. On the basis of this agreement,
citizens may ask for 3/1000th of their tax to be given to the Catholic Church
or to other charitable institutions.
There are no reports of significant institutional changes or other noteworthy events
in relation to religious freedom.
SAN MARINO

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
AREA
964 Km²
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
165,397
REFUGEES
---
Christians 96.1%
Catholics 84.8% / Protestants 4% / Other Chr. 7.3%
Baha’is 2.4%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In this small archipelago religious freedom is recognised by the 1990 Constitution,
which in Article 8 establishes the secular character of the State and the
separation of religion and politics, while Article 26 guarantees “freedom of conscience,
religion and worship”.
Religious groups must register, but there are no reports of unregistered groups
being banned. Missionaries, both Christian and of other faiths, are present in
the country.
There have been no reports of institutional changes or notable incidents relating
to religious freedom during the period under review.

AREA
2,149,690 Km²
SAUDI ARABIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
27,136,977
REFUGEES
572
Muslims 93%
Christians 4.9%
Catholics 3.8% / Orthodox 0.2% / Protestants 0.1%
Anglicans 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.7%
Others 2.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Wahabi kingdom continues to be described by all international observers as
a CPC, a Country of Particular Concern, due to persisting serious violations of
religious freedom both from a legal and a factual perspective.
The Wahabi kingdom too has been threatened by the popular uprisings that in
2011 shook large parts of the Arab world. Appeals were circulated online, calling
for organised protests, while intellectuals and human rights activists addressed
requests to King Abdullah asking for social and Constitutional changes.
The Saudi royal family adopted a dual strategy to oppose the threat. On the one
hand the most important Wahabi religious leaders were mobilised to disavow
the protests, which were described as “going against Islam”. Firstly the Wahabi
religious leaders used the minarets to warn that the wrath of God would fall upon
those believers who attended the peaceful protests organised to take place after
midday prayers, while secondly the official religious authorities warned of an
Iranian plot led by the Shiites in the Eastern Province and aimed at causing fitna
(chaos) and dividing Saudi Arabia. They resorted to the entire repertoire of Wahabi
opinions against Shiites, whom they have historically described as heretics
and, more recently, of acting as a fifth column for Iran.
In addition to this denominational religious strategy, the authorities used the ‘carrot
and stick’ method, threatening to use force against those violating the law and
distributing significant economic aid to the Saudi population.
On March 6, 2011 the Supreme Council of the Saudi Ulemas ruled that appealing
for protests and petitions to ask for reform in the kingdom, following the example
of the Arab revolutions, was “un-Islamic”. The Council, presided over by Saudi
Arabia’s Grand Mufti, issued a statement reiterating, “protests are forbidden in
this country and the Islamic way of achieving the common good is to offer advice”.
The Minister of the Interior for its part announced on State television that all forms
of protests and marches were forbidden in Saudi Arabia, adding that security
SAUDI ARABIA

at risk. The minister stated that “the rules of the kingdom categorically forbid
all kinds of protests, marches or sit-ins, since these go against Sharia and the
values and traditions of Saudi society”. Both these announcements followed a
series of protests that broke out in the regions mainly inhabited by Shiites, especially
in the east of the country, as well as appeals to follow the example of the
revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt that had been posted online on social networks.
Christians
In recent years there have been more and more statements from Saudi officials
saying that non-Muslim workers would be permitted to worship in private.
The notion of what of “private” means, however, remains vague. The Saudi government
has reiterated that as long as gatherings of non-Muslims remain small
and are held in private homes, no security forces would intervene. This official
position is, however, violated since there continue to be cases involving the Religious
Police raiding private homes in which prayer meetings are held.
SAUDI ARABIAforces would use all means available to prevent any attempt to put public order
Another reason for concern that has emerged during this period among
Christians, as well as all non-Muslims residents in the kingdom, is the excessively
long period of time needed, sometimes weeks, to obtain permission
to repatriate the bodies of foreign workers who die there. Saudi
Arabia does not permit non-Muslims to be buried in the country. This
issue was raised during a visit to Saudi Arabia by an American delegation.
During the period addressed by this report, there were a number of cases of
Christians being arrested. In some cases news of the arrest was allegedly not
reported so as to guarantee a positive outcome of the negotiations for their
release between the government and the authorities in their countries of origin.
In January 2011 two Indian Christians, Yohan Nese, 31, and Vasantha Sekhar
Vara, 28, were arrested during a raid carried out by the Religious Police on a
private home in Batha, in the province of Riyadh, where a prayer meeting was
being held. The two Indians were later sentenced to 34 days in prison. While detained,
the two members of the Pentecostal community of “Rejoice in the Church
of the Lord”, experienced terrible conditions. Police officers pressured them to
convert to Islam, while there was no room in their cell to sit, so that in order to
sleep one person had to stand to allow the other to lie down. When the arrest was
reported, the Indian ambassador said there was nothing he could do since the
arrest concerned religious issues. The two workers were unexpectedly released
on July 12, 2011 and deported to India on July 24. While in prison Vara had been
under pressure to convert to Islam.

On February 12, 2011 an Eritrean Christian, Mussie Eyob, was arrested because
he had spoken about Christianity with a group of Muslims in a mosque in Jeddah,
a “crime” which carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Eyob, who was initially
diagnosed as having mental health problems, was seen by doctors who confirmed
him fit to stand trial and be sentenced. He was then moved to the famous
high-security prison in Briman and after five months he was released in July and
deported to Eritrea.
In October 2011 a Filipino worker was arrested and sentenced for blasphemy
on the basis of a report from his employer who stated that his employee had insulted
the prophet of Islam. There have been no further reports about this case.
On December 15, 2011 Saudi police broke into a home where about 35 Ethiopian
Christians, mainly women, had gathered to pray. Many of them reported that they
had been ill-treated and suffered abuse when questioned. No further news about
this case has been reported.
In March 2012 the fatwa issued by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia stating the
need to destroy all Churches in the Arabian Peninsula, resulted in serious reactions
from Christians and the international community. Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin
Abdullah Al Sheikh was replying to a request for clarification presented by a Kuwaiti
delegation from the “Society for the Revival of Islamic Heritage”, concerning
a proposal presented by a Kuwaiti MP requesting that all construction of new
Churches should be forbidden in the country. The conclusion reached by the
Grand Mufti of Kuwait, was that the presence of Christian places of worship in
Arabia “effectively means acknowledging that their beliefs are true”.
Shiites and Ismailis
Shiites are considered second-class citizens although they represent between
10 and 15% of the Saudi population. There are no Shiite Muslim ministers in the
government and only five of the 150 members of the Shura (consultative council)
belong to this community. Very few Shiites hold important positions in the State
apparatus, especially in security agencies. Although there has been a little progress
in recent years (such as permission to celebrate Ashura in the city of Qatif)
the celebration of Shiite festivities in other areas such as Ahsa’ and Dammam
remains forbidden. The issue concerning Shiite education for children (no alternative
to the teaching of Sunni beliefs) remains unresolved, as is the reopening of
a number of Shiite mosques (hussainiya) closed by the government.
Since many Saudi judges consider the Shiites infidels, they are often treated more
strictly in court cases.
SAUDI ARABIA

demanded the creation of a Constitutional monarchy and an end to discrimination
against Shiites, during a sermon made in Hofuf. Ahmar was released on March
6th following protests organised by his supporters during which police officers
arrested many people.
In March 2011, following the wave of protest movements shaking the Arab world,
hundreds of Shiites from various cities in the eastern region (Safwa, Qatif, al-Ahsa’)
protested to demand the release of religious and political detainees from their
community. The authorities proceeded to arrest dozens of them.
In December 2011 an Australian citizen of Iraqi origin was sentenced by the Saudi
authorities to 500 lashes of the whip and a year in prison after being found guilty
of blasphemy. The 45-year-old man, Mansor Almaribe, resident in the State of
Victoria, had been arrested on November 14 in the holy city of Medina where he
was on a pilgrimage. His relatives in Australia reported that Mansor had been
accused of insulting the “Companions of the Prophet”, while his family says he
was praying with a group of Shiite pilgrims. The Australian ambassador to Riyadh
contacted the local authorities to present an “urgent” request for clemency in the
name of his government. “The Australian government is totally and generally opposed
to corporal punishment”, said the Department for Trade and Relations with
Foreign Countries. In the end Mansor received “only” 75 lashes and was permitted
to wear a leather jacket to lessen the pain.
SAUDI ARABIAOn February 27, 2011 the Shiite dignitary Tawfiq al-Ahmar was arrested for having
In February 2012 King Abdullah pardoned the Ishmaelite Hadi Al-Mutif, detained
since 1994 and charged with apostasy. For many years various western governments
and NGOs had worked for Mutif’s release.
Various
In February 2012 the 32-year-old blogger Hamza Kashgari left Saudi Arabia to
take refuge in Malaysia, fleeing accusations of apostasy and blasphemy. Kashgari
had received a number of death threats for having posted on Twitter comments
considered incompatible with Islam. After a few days the Malaysian authorities
deported him back to Saudi Arabia where he remains detained in a prison in
Jeddah while waiting to stand trial.
In May 2012 the Saudi clergy strongly criticised the reformist Kuwaiti author Tareq
al-Suweidan, who, in a series of articles, had publicly called for the abolition of the
death penalty imposed by Sharia law for apostasy (i.e. abandoning the Muslim faith
for another religion), and for allowing Churches to be built in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Saudi Mufti, Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, attacked these proposals stating,
“these articles have been written by a person who has no faith or one who does
not know what he is saying. How can we oppose the word of Allah?” Sheikh Saleh
al-Fawzani, a member of the Committee of Ulemas also opposed the positions
assumed by the Kuwaiti author, saying that “there is no doubt that the person who
wrote these things is wrong, because apostasy is an offence against God”.
In March 2012 Saudi Arabia decided to improve its battle against witchcraft, which
is punishable with the death sentence in the kingdom. The Commission for the
Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, in other words the powerful Religious
Police, has reported that it has created an “operational unit”, responsible for
fighting witch doctors, who were described as “major instigators of religious and
social instability in the country”. This new unit is led by Sheikh Adel al-Muqbil, an
important dignitary, and includes many other well-known Ulemas. The president
of the religious police, Sheikh Abdul-Latif Al Shaikh, ordered the creation of this
unit, which was set up “to implement action in the field to fight witch doctors and
charlatans throughout the kingdom”.
A statement from the Commission announced that “this unit has been ordered to
immediately arrest witch doctors and charlatans and hand them over to the authorities
to be subjected to the punishment of God and to put an end to their damaging
work against Muslims”. Saudi newspapers have reported a rise in cases of
“black magic” which have increased to about 586 over recent years.
The Commission did not specify which acts of witchcraft are considered crimes,
but there have been reports of cases involving all forms of black magic including
water divining, exorcism, the multiplication of money through magical rituals,
tarot card readings, faith healers, chiropractors, osteopaths, the creators of potions,
herbalists, fortune tellers, those who attract animals, alchemists, mediums
and empathy.
A number of people accused of witchcraft have been executed in Saudi Arabia in
recent years.
Positive Progress
During the period analysed by this report, the Saudi government adopted a number
of provisions to address the issue of controversial fatwas. In September 2010,
many websites containing intolerant fatwas and those inciting religious hatred
were blocked following a decree issued by King Abdullah.
The decree was issued to avoid the Saudi authorities embarrassment
when faced with opinions expressed by ultra-conservative religious leaders,
such as the one issued in February 2010 by a Sunni dignitary, Sheikh
Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, in which he deemed lawful the killing of anyone
SAUDI ARABIA

tional institutions. This decree restricts the right to issue fatwas to the members
of the Council of Great Ulemas, which is approved by the government.
Furthermore, in May 2010, the Council of Ulemas issued a fatwa condemning the
financing of terrorism, while in January 2011, Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Fouzan joined
other Ulemas in asking the government to put an end to the custom of prayers
against non-Muslims. Fouzan, a member of the Saudi Human Rights Commission,
said that such prayers go against the spirit of Islam.
Officials from the Saudi Ministry for Islamic Affairs said in 2011 that at least 3,500
imams were dismissed for having assumed extremist positions and more than
40,000 (out of a total of 75,000 imams) had been made to undergo educational
courses. The ministry estimates that about 70% of the imams have distanced
themselves from fanatical positions and meet the required qualifications, adding
that further efforts are being made to re-educate the remaining 30% of imams.
Those responsible have also stated that members of the Religious Police have
been dismissed, that disciplinary measures have been implemented and some
individuals have been charged with abuse of power or with having caused the
death or wounding of Saudi citizens.
SAUDI ARABIApromoting promiscuity between the sexes in the workplace and in educa-
The issue concerning textbooks used in schools, however, remains unresolved,
since in spite of reviews undertaken in recent years, some still continue to contain
incitement to hatred towards members of other religions or branches of Islam. In
November 2010 the British media reported the worrying case of the books used
in about forty Saudi schools in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In October 2011 the Foreign Ministers of Austria, Spain and Saudi Arabia signed
a treaty establishing the “King Abdullah International Centre for Interreligious and
Intercultural Dialogue” with headquarters in Vienna. The centre will be opened
officially in 2012 and its main objective will be to provide a forum for non-political
debate between different denominations and within religious communities themselves,
which is considered essential for creating long-term peace and security.
According to those who attended the constituent ceremony, the Centre will promote
virtues, respect for human beings regardless of race or religion, the prevention
of intolerance and racism as well as reciprocal understanding on a cultural
and religious basis. The idea for creating this centre was launched by the Saudi
sovereign during the World Conference on Dialogue, held in Madrid in July 2008.
All expenses for the creation and running of the new institutions will be paid for
by Saudi Arabia.
It is perhaps too soon to know whether this is a “positive step forward” or
a simple bureaucratic formality undertaken by the complex Saudi Kingdom.

In January 2012 King Abdullah dismissed the head of the Religious Police,
Abdul-Aziz Humayen, replacing him with Abdul-Latif bin Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh,
a member of the Al Sheikh family that leads the Wahabi establishment. No
specific reasons were provided concerning this change of the guard at the top
of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the
Religious Police’s official name.
As a matter of fact, Al Sheikh’s predecessor had himself been appointed in 2009
to reform the Religious Police. He had hired consultants, met with human rights
groups and image experts in order to improve the police’s reputation following
events that filled Saudi public opinion with indignation. Officers in the religious
police unit supervise the application of the laws regulating the civil, religious and
sexual mores in the country; they search shops to ensure that they are closed
during prayers, they stop unmarried couples, women not covered from head to
foot and make sure women do not drive cars etc.
Sources consulted
AKI
Asia News
Avvenire
BBC
NGO “Nessuno Tocchi Caino”
Oasis
The Guardian
U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
Voice of the Martyrs
SAUDI ARABIA

SENEGAL
AREA
196,722 Km²
SENEGAL
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
12,860,717
REFUGEES
20,644
Muslims 89%
Ethnoreligionists 5.6%
Christians 5%
Catholics 4.8% / Protestants 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.1%
Others 0.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
24,000
The Constitution defines the State as secular (Art. 1) and recognises religious
freedom and the full administrative and organisational freedom of religious
communities (Art. 24) 1 .
The government allocates funds for religious groups, for example, for buildings or
to finance particular events.
Religious organisations are required to register and acquire legal status so they
may own assets and become subjects in juridical relations.
Religious instruction is provided on request in primary schools and parents may
choose between Islam and Christianity. Private schools are permitted and receive
State funding if they meet State standards. Much of these funds are allocated to
Christian schools, which have a longstanding tradition and are also attended by
many Muslim students 2 .
Islam is the religion of the majority and Muslims are permitted to ask to be judged
according to Islamic law on issues concerning the family and inheritance.
Relations between Christians and Muslims are characterised by dialogue
and reciprocal respect.
No significant incidents relating to freedom of religion were noted during the
period under review.
1 www.africanlegislaturesproject.org/content/Constitution-senegal
2 U..S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
88,361 Km²
Serbia
SERBIA AND KOSOVO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
9,078,872
Article 11 of the Serbian Constitution (approved in 2006) establishes the secular nature
of the State and Articles 43 and 44 guarantee the right to full religious freedom 1 .
While it is not the State religion, the Serbian Orthodox Church enjoys a privileged
social position in the country and is afforded special favours by the State, which
continues to pay salaries to members of the clergy who perform their ministry in
other countries.
While some members of other religious groups also receive favourable treatment,
such as a State pension or financial assistance with medical care, these are cases
based on individual agreements and not special privileges extended to all
members of the religious group they belong to.
Serbian law regulating the activities of religious groups has different rules for minority
religions, including some that were previously recognised. The law currently
recognises seven traditional religious communities, which are thereby exempt
from having to re-register. They are the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Catholic
Church, the Slovak Evangelical Church, the Christian Reformed Church, the
Evangelical Church, the Muslim and Jewish communities.
Other denominations may register, but approval of their request is at the government’s
discretion. Many non-governmental organisations, many religious communities,
the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the
Council of Europe have, on more than one occasion, criticised this law on religion,
saying it invades the freedom of religious groups. To register, a religious group
must provide its name, that of its members, their signatures, the group’s statute, a
description of its ceremonies and its main activities2 .
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=7378
REFUGEES
70,707
2 The Review of Faith & International Affairs, January 24, 2011
www.rfiaonline.org/extras/articles/711-eu-accession-serbia-religion-policy
Christians 91.6%
Catholics 5.5% / Orthodox 85% / Protestants 1.1%
Muslims 3.2%
Others 5.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
210,146
SERBIA AND KOSOVO

ter difficulties in various situations, such as opening a bank account, buying or
selling property or publishing religious material.
Religious instruction is provided in primary and secondary schools. Students
are required to attend a class in one of the seven traditionally recognised faiths.
Should a student, or his or her family, not wish to receive religious instruction, the
student can opt to take a course in civic affairs instead.
The issue continues of the restitution of property confiscated from religious communities
by the former Communist regime. Many communities have complained
about the government’s poor management of the issue on a number of points.
Some have complained that the government utilises property values based on
1945 figures to decide whether or not to comply with requests for restitution. Jews
moreover complain that, by treating the properties of individuals and of communities
in the same manner, it is easy to fall behind and delay resolving cases.
All of the Churches emphasise the special treatment reserved to the Serbian Orthodox
Church, which has also presented the largest number of claims. For those
groups still without legal recognition it is not even possible to make requests for
restitution or compensation. The Serbian Orthodox Church has now had 44% of
its properties returned, while Catholics have received 11% and Jews 0.5%. The
Muslim community has not had any of its properties returned, however.
The Ministry of Religions continues to deny legal registration to four communities.
They are the Baptists, Hare Krishna, the Pentecostal Church, and the Evangelical
Protestant Church in Subotica.
Eight registration requests by what the government considers “non-traditional”
groups are still pending.
Some non-government organisations working in the country have criticised the
government’s refusal to register minority groups and especially the relative tolerance
of the State towards those who vandalise the property and attack the
members of such minority groups. The police response in such cases has rarely
resulted in arrests or trials of those committing these acts.
Obstacles also persist for some groups in obtaining the necessary permits to
build new places of worship. Even the Catholics complain that they have not been
able to easily obtain the necessary permits to build new Churches in Sabac and
Belgrade. Muslims complain about the lack of their own cemetery in the capital.
SERBIA AND KOSOVOWhile legal registration is not obligatory, non-registered religious groups encoun-
In June 2010 the Ministry of Religions formed an Interreligious Council, entrusted
with the task of promoting respect for religious freedom and discussing the more
relevant social issues. The council is composed of the Minister himself and representatives
of the seven “traditional” religions. Those the government considers
“non-traditional”, even if registered, are not allowed to participate.

Non-governmental organisations working in the country report a fall in the number
of attacks based on religious grounds. Minority religions continue to report
attacks, discrimination and vandalism. Because ethnic and religious identities
tend to be inseparable in this part of the world, it is hard to know the true motivations
of those committing these acts 3 .
Kosovo
Within its internationally defined borders, Kosovo measures 10,908 square kilometres,
with a population of 1,733,872 (2011 census). According to recent figures,
Kosovo’s religious composition is 91.5% Muslim, 3.5% Catholic, 4.9% Orthodox
and 0.1% Protestant.
In July 2010 a consultative opinion issued by the International Court of Justice,
stated that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 did not violate
agreed international standards 4 .
On September 12, 2012 the International Supervisory Committee formally ended
its mission, implicitly recognizing that Kosovo had become an independent nation
5 . Serbia however refuses to recognise its independence and still regards it
as part of Serbia.
There are no procedures in the country for religious organisations to achieve legal
recognition and status. The various religious faiths and groups have complained
about this situation. To deal with this, the office of the Public Ombudsman sent
a formal recommendation in July 2011 to parliament to pass legislation on this
strongly felt issue, but so far no action has been taken.
Since religious and ethnic factors are inextricably linked, it is frequently difficult
to classify violent incidents as acts of religious intolerance or expressions of
ethnic hatred.
For example, many Kosovo Albanians identify themselves as Muslims, but that
label is more than anything a cultural connotation. Religion in Kosovo is not a determining
factor socially, but is increasingly becoming so in the mingling of ethnic
and cultural issues. There is a substantial lack of Islamic rhetoric in public discourse,
and mosque attendance is also not large. But although this phenomenon
is as yet still marginal and infrequent, there has been an increase in the wearing of
traditional Islamic dress in public as well as in other traditional religious elements.
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
4 www.balcanicaucaso.org/Dossier/Pronunciamento-Cig-sull-indipendenza-del-Kosovo
5 East Journal, September 13 th , 2012
SERBIA AND KOSOVO

Serbian Orthodox Church, but here too this reflects more of a historical and
cultural reference.
Compared to previous years, there have not been reports of attacks on members
of the Serbian Orthodox clergy. However there are still instances of threats,
and there have been burglaries in religious buildings and acts of vandalism.
The authorities have decided to strengthen security measures at some Serbian
Orthodox religious events and ceremonies.
In the eastern towns of Pec, Decani, Djakovica, Klina and Srbica as well as the
southern town of Mitrovica, Orthodox clerics have requested and been granted
escorts composed of NATO peace-keeping forces when travelling in public.
For the Serbian Orthodox monks and nuns of some monasteries it continues to
be impossible to gain access to certain, predominantly outlying, areas belonging
to them, for security reasons.
The Reconstruction Implementation Commission (RIC) has however made some
progress on various projects, including the repair of Churches damaged during
the revolt of Albanian extremists in 2004. On July 14, 2011 the RIC completed
the reconstruction of the presbytery of the Church of the Holy Virgin of Ljeviska
in Prizren, which is noted for its precious mediaeval frescos. At the same time
rebuilding work began on the Church of St George in the same town. Walls in
the monastery of Devic were repaired and the bells reinstalled. Work has also
begun on the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin in Djakovica and on the
Church of St John the Baptist in Pec.
Local government authorities have subsidised and are paying for the refurbishment
of Serbian Orthodox cemeteries. For example, a project to restore the Serbian
Orthodox cemetery in Prizren was begun on October 8 and restoration work
began in November on the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Podujevo, which had
been vandalised by unknown attackers in June.
SERBIA AND KOSOVOThe Serbian residents in Kosovo however substantially identify with the
Protestants continue to claim they are being discriminated against by both the
national and local authorities at various levels. They primarily complain that they
have not been given permission to establish cemeteries for their own faithful.
To resolve this problem, they are forced to bury their dead in Muslim cemeteries,
with the funeral rites conducted – with all the problems this implies – by members
of the Muslim clergy. Protestants maintain that their rights to religious freedom
are being violated, inasmuch as they are forced to be buried among people of
other faiths with different traditions and funeral rites. They also complain that the
municipal authorities demand a tacit assurance from them that they will not exhibit
religious symbols on the outside of their buildings.

This is the only way they can get permission to expand or build on land they own 6 .
On September 14, 2010 the new Catholic cathedral, dedicated to Blessed Mother
Theresa of Calcutta, was opened in a solemn ceremony in Pristina, in an atmosphere
of harmonious interreligious relations and cooperation 7 .
6 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
7 Zenit.org, September 6 th 2010
SERBIA AND KOSOVO

SEYCHELLES
AREA
455 Km²
SEYCHELLES
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
88,311
REFUGEES
---
Christians 96.4%
Catholics 80.6% / Protestants 9.4% / Anglicans 6.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.3%
Others 1.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 21 of the 1993 Constitution guarantees in detail full religious freedom and
the authorities respect this right. There are no reports of significant disagreements
between the various religious groups.
Religious groups are not obliged to register, but must present a request to the
Ministry of Finance in order to obtain tax exemptions.
Religious organisations and political parties cannot hold radio licences, in compliance
with a law of 2006. However, the various religions, including Muslims,
Baha’i and others, are given television and radio airtime, and for example Catholic
Masses are broadcast.
There have been no reports of institutional change or significant episodes
concerning religious freedom in the period analysed for this report.

AREA
71,740 Km²
SIERRA LEONE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,835,664
REFUGEES
8,092
Muslims 46.4%
Ethnoreligionists 39.4%
Christians 12.7%
Catholics 4% / Protestants 8.3% / Anglicans 0.4%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 24 of the Constitution recognises the right to profess, practise and
spread one’s faith, either alone or in community with others and in public or in
private, and to change one’s religion or belief. Also that no person shall be compelled
to take any oath which is contrary to his religion or belief 1 .
The law permits religious instruction in schools run by religious communities and
students are free to participate if they wish.
Relations between the different faiths are generally good, and intermarriage
among Christians and Muslims is common, while many families have both Christian
and Muslim members living in the same household2 .
There is an Inter- Religious Council, made up of Muslim and Christian leaders,
that contributes to maintaining peaceful relations between the communities.
The Catholic Church enjoys full freedom also for her missionary apostolate and
on January 15, 2011 the fourth Catholic diocese in the country was established 3 .
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant episodes relating to freedom of religion during the
period under review.
1 www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/Constitution1991.pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
3 Agenzia Fides, January 15th 2011
SIERRA LEONE

SINGAPORE
AREA
639 Km²
SINGAPORE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,771,721
REFUGEES
3
Chinese folk religionists 39.2%
Muslims 18.7%
Christians 16.3% Catholics 5.3% / Orthodox 0.1%
Protestants 4.5% / Anglicans 1.2% / Other Chr. 5,2%
Buddhists 14.1%
Hindus 5%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.7%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 15 of Singapore’s 1963 Constitution (amended in 1993 and 1994) explicitly
protects freedom of religion, acknowledging that every person has the right to
profess, practise and promulgate his or her religion as long as it does not involve
any act contrary to public order, health or morality.
All religious groups must be registered with the authorities, and religious education
cannot be taught in State schools. Foreign missionaries are allowed, but the
Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act prohibits religious groups from engaging
in political activities. The law also bans incitement against the government
and subversive activities.
The authorities can order an end to such activities and anyone who breaks the
law can be punished with up to two years in prison and a fine.
Under the Compulsory Education Act of 2000 all students must attend
State schools.
The only groups to suffer discrimination are the Jehovah’s Witnesses (banned
since 1972) and Rev Moon’s Unification Church (banned since 1982).
Despite the ban, Jehovah’s Witnesses have not been arrested; instead they have
been able to meet in private homes, which the government, de facto, tolerates.
Jehovah’s Witnesses or any group associated with them, like the Watch Tower
Bible and Tract Society or the International Bible Students Association, are not
allowed to distribute their religious material.

AREA
49,012 Km²
SLOVAKIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,435,273
REFUGEES
546
Christians 85.6%
Catholics 74.6% / Orthodox 0.9% / Protestants 10.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 14.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The relationship between State and Church could be characterised as one of
co-ordination and parity. There is no single State Church with special privileges.
The Churches as legal entities are subject to the normal restrictions arising
from generally binding laws. The Slovak Republic adopts a neutral stance in
regard to religion.
The Preamble of the Constitution acknowledges the spiritual heritage of Sts Cyril
and Methodius. Section 24 guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, religious
confession and belief. Everyone is free in his choice of religious belief or nonbelief
and in the manifestation of it.
The Churches and religious communities are totally independent from the
State. They establish their own institutions, appoint clergy and provide
religious instruction. The State supports the registered Churches and religious
communities financially in some areas, e.g. in carrying out their charitable work,
preserving cultural landmarks and the administration of their headquarters.
They also benefit from certain tax exemptions. The State guarantees their legal
status and functions in public life. The Churches are seen as significant part of
the cultural and social life of the State.
The Constitutional Court has deemed valid an amendment to the law on legal
registration of religious groups, which had increased the minimum number of
members required for their recognition. This law has in fact disadvantaged
some minority groups, since a minimum number of 20,000 members is required
for registration 1 .
Registration is still not mandatory in the country, although recognised communities
receive benefits from the government, including a subsidy for the clergy, the
payment of certain administrative expenses, and the right to minister to their
1 www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/11554
SLOVAKIA

in prisons and in hospitals, the right to validly celebrate religious
marriages and access to State television channels.
Some cases relating to the return of property confiscated under the communist
regime remain open, although relatively few in number. The government, the
municipalities, government bodies and private individuals involved have by
now regained possession of their properties, in the condition in which they
are currently, but unfortunately the churches, synagogues and cemeteries are
now frequently in a condition of extreme disrepair and degradation, and the
religious groups who are their owners lack the necessary funds to restore them
and then use them. The law does not currently provide any compensation for the
damage done to these structures
SLOVAKIAmembers 2 .
With the exception of the Reformed Church, most religious groups now have few
claims still pending. Although still lacking fully accurate statistics on the number
of properties returned, the Slovak Bishops’ Conference has calculated that the
Catholic Church has received approximately 60% of the properties claimed3 .
2 www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?dlid=192861
3 www.buongiornoslovacchia.sk/index.php/archives/30504

AREA
20,266 Km²
SLOVENIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
2,050,189
REFUGEES
142
Christians 90.4%
Catholics 81.4% / Orthodox 2.9% / Protestants 6.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 9.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 7, of the 1991 slovenian Constitution decrees the separation of the State
and the religious communities, to which in Article 41 it guarantees full religious
freedom 1 .
Registration is not compulsory for religious groups, but those wishing to do so
may register with the Government Office for the Religious Communities, in order
to acquire legal status.
On March 3, 2007 a new law on religious freedom “the Religious Freedom Act” 2
came into force.
The Law makes clear that the State respects the right to religious freedom, the
legal status and the rights of the various different faiths and their members,
outlining the procedures to be followed for the registration of these groups,
the opportunities available to registered groups and the responsibilities of the
Government Office for the Religious Communities.
By the end of the year 2011, the government had restored to the Catholic Church
approximately 99% of the 1,191 properties claimed for restitution. These included
church buildings, other related buildings, houses, businesses, and forests that
were nationalised after World War II 3 .
Negotiations between the Government, the World Jewish Restitution Organization
(WJRO) and the Jewish community in Slovenia, announced in 2010, have not yet
started. Hence the restitution has not yet occurred of properties belonging to the
Jewish community or to heirless individuals exterminated during the Holocaust.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=180804
2 www.arhiv.uvs.gov.si/en/religious_freedom_in_the_rs/index.html
3 www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,SVN,4562d8b62,502105865f,0.html
SLOVENIA

government has promoted tolerance through its programmes in the primary
and secondary schools and has made the Holocaust a mandatory topic in the
primary and secondary contemporary history curriculum
SLOVENIAThe 4 .
There have been no reported cases of abuse or persecution because of religious
beliefs and, in general, inter-religious relations remain friendly. For example,
on April 27, 2011 Catholic Archbishop Anton Stres met with the Chief Rabbi
of the Slovenian Jewish community, Ariel Haddad, as Catholic and Jewish
congregations celebrated Easter and Passover, respectively5 .
4 www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?dlid=192863
5 STA – (Slovenska tiskovna agencija), www.sta.si/vest.php?s=a&id=1631181

AREA
28,896 Km²
SOLOMON ISLANDS
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
535,699
REFUGEES
---
Christians 95.3%
Catholics 19.3% / Protestants 43.7% / Anglicans 32.3%
Ethnoreligionists 3.2%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 11 of the 1978 Constitution fully acknowledges religious freedom in all its
aspects and this is also respected by the laws and by the authorities.
Religious groups must register but there are no reports of registrations being
denied.
The State subsidises private schools that are effectively run exclusively by
the five main Christian groups: Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Evangelical and
Adventist, although other denominations are not forbidden from having schools.
During the period under review no significant events regarding the exercise of
religious freedom have been reported.
SOLOMON ISLANDS

SOMALIA
AREA
637,657 Km²
SOMALIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
9,358,602
Juridical and institutional aspects
REFUGEES
2,099
Muslims 99.8%
Christians 0.1%
Other Chr. 0.1%
Others 0.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
1,500,000
Somalia has not had a central government capable of exercising power over the
whole of the country since 1991, when an armed uprising brought about the collapse
of President Siad Barre’s government. Currently power is divided and contested by
four entities. In the centre-south the conflict is between the internationally recognised
Transitional Federal Government (TFG), appointed by President Sharif Ahmed, who
has been in power since January 31, 2009, and the armed radical Islamist group
al-Shabaab, which over time has absorbed all the Islamic groups that were fighting
against the TFG. These groups were the product of the fragmentation of the Islamic
Courts Union (ICU), whose leader was Sharif Ahmed himself.
The ICU took over Mogadishu in 2006 and governed all of central-southern
Somalia for a few months before being expelled by a coalition of TFG and Ethiopian
forces. Al-Shabaab which was officially designated a terrorist organization both
by the United States (on February 28, 2008) and the European Union, for its ties to
Al Qaeda, officially allied itself with Al Qaeda in February 2010 and on
February 9, 2012 formally became a part of that organization. Some commanders
did not accept this decision and decided to establish separate units and to operate
on a strictly Somali political platform. Throughout 2011 Al-Shabaab has lost ground.
In August it was completely expelled from Mogadishu (where it once controlled
almost a third of the city) by a coalition of TFG and AMISOM (the African Union’s
military contingent) and, under assault from the national Army and its Ethiopian and
Kenyan allies, has had to surrender other portions of territory.
The TFG was aided in its territorial gains by an alliance, from March 2010, with
Ahlu Sunna waa Jamma (ASWJ) an apolitical Sufi organization founded to counter
the radicalism of the Islamist groups. From 2008, when Al-Shabaab began to
destroy Sufi sanctuaries and kill Sufi imams, the ASWJ raised a militia from
various clans that control regions in the country’s centre. Some of its supporters

have joined the TFG. In June 2011 the mandates for President Ahmed and the
other institutions were extended until August 2012, presumably for the last time,
when general elections are to be held for the first time since the fall of Siad
Barre in 1991.
There are two political entities in the country’s northern regions. In the far north
is Somaliland, which has claimed independence since 1991 but has not been
recognised by any other country. South of Somaliland is the autonomous region
of Puntland, which since 1998 has claimed self-government within a federal
Somali State.
The federal transitional Constitution drafted by the TFG formally guarantees
religious freedom, while at the same time it establishes Islam as the national
religion. Article 15 of the Constitution States that “all citizens of the Somali
Republic (…) have the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law,
without distinction of race, origin, language, religion, gender or political affiliation”.
There is no specific section on religious freedom and its limits in the Constitution.
Article 71, paragraph 2 establishes that “for all matters not dealt with and
incompatible with this charter” the 1960 Somali Constitution and national laws
following it are applicable. Article 29 of the 1960 Constitution states, “every person
shall have the right to freedom of conscience and freely to profess and practise
his religion, subject to any limitations which may be prescribed by law for the
purpose of safeguarding morals, public health or order”.
There is a new draft Constitution, drawn up by the Independent Federal
Commission for the Constitution (I FCC) and delivered in August 2010, which is
intended to be subject to debate and a popular referendum when political and
security conditions in the country allow it. The first article specifies that the new
Constitution is based on the foundation of the Holy Koran and the Sunna. Article
2 establishes Islam as the State religion and states that proselytising by any other
religion is forbidden and that no law may be enacted that is contrary to Sharia.
Article 3 States that Sharia must be the law of the land. The earlier provision is
reaffirmed which declares that the State does not discriminate against anyone on
the basis of religion and that Somalis may freely practise their faith, but it reiterates
that Muslims cannot convert to another religion. Members of the legal profession
must be qualified in Islamic law as well as in civil and Constitutional law.
On April 18, 2009 parliament approved a law to apply Sharia, the Koranic law,
throughout Somalia, which came into effect when the president signed it on
May 10. In practise, in the territory under the TFG’s control, the courts rule on
the basis of norms that are a combination of Sharia, traditional law, established
practise (xeer) and articles of the penal code in force before 1991, since there
is no agreement on what exactly Sharia should be understood to be. In signing
SOMALIA

decree, President Sharif stipulated that the application of Koranic law would
respect democracy, human and women’s rights and that he would appoint legal
experts to smooth out the differences between Sharia and the other laws currently
in force. These experts have yet to be appointed.
Somaliland and Puntland also have Constitutions that contain measures relating to
religion and freedom of religion. Article 5 of Somaliland’s Constitution establishes
Islam as the official religion and prohibits the promotion of any other religion.
Article 313 of the Penal code establishes fixed penalties for Muslims who try to
change religion. Articles 41 and 82 of the Constitution expressly state that the
president, the vice president and the speaker of the houses of parliament must
SOMALIAthe
be Muslims. Article 15 states that Islamic education is mandatory at all levels and
that the promotion of Koranic schools is a State responsibility. The Constitution
also states that the laws of the country must derive from Islam and must not
contradict it. As far as political parties go, there is a list of restrictions on those
based on a particular religious group, creed or interpretation of Islamic doctrine.
Puntland’s new Constitution, which came into effect on June 30, 2009, permits
freedom of worship, but not the conversion of Muslims to another religion. Article
8 prohibits proselytizing by any religion other than Islam. Article 12 states that
non-Muslims are free to practise their religion and cannot be forced to become
Muslims, but also that Muslims are not allowed to abandon Islam. Puntland’s
Constitution allows the formation of religious-based parties and lays down that all
presidential candidates must be Muslim.
There is no Constitution in the areas under the control of Al-Shabaab, but a radical
version of Sharia is applied that leaves no room, not only for the practise of faiths
different from Islam, but also for traditional Somali Islam, which is Sufi and thus
considered heretical. People suspected of abandoning Islam for Christianity have
been executed without trial, while adultery is punishable by stoning, stealing by
amputation of the hands and minor infractions by a varying number of strokes
of the lash. In the areas under Al-Shabaab control Sufi sanctuaries and ancient
cemeteries have been destroyed for religious reasons. Watching movies and
musical shows, smoking, hairstyles considered Western, football, singing and
dancing at weddings and watching TV in public places are all forbidden.
Strict Islamic dress has been imposed on women, who now have to wear clothes
that cover the entire body. Women cannot engage in commercial activities that
place them in contact with male clients, as for example selling tea.
They cannot travel in the same vehicles as men nor can they shake their hands
when greeting them. Men are not allowed to shave their beards and must wear
trousers that go below their ankles. Movie theatres have been closed, markets
selling khat, a traditional Somali narcotic, have been burned down, cell phone ring

tones have been banned except when they recite sung verses from the Koran,
all video games and non-Islamic music have been prohibited. Radio stations that
have not followed these instructions have been closed. All commercial activity
must stop five times a day for prayers.
In February 2011 alone, and in the Lower Juba region alone, 150 people were
arrested for violating some of the prohibitions listed above.
Al-Shabaab recruits young people educated in radical Koranic schools where
jihad and martyrdom, including suicide attacks, are exalted. The organization’s
political-religious objective is the creation of an Islamic State, guided by an
interpretation of Sharia that coincides with the above-stated laws, that will annex
to the internationally recognised Somali State those territories in Kenya, Ethiopia
and Djibouti that are inhabited by ethnic Somalis.
Situation on the ground
The rights of freedom of religion affirmed in the Constitutions of the TFG and
Puntland are not respected in practise. The governments have not equipped
themselves with the instruments to enforce respect for what is stated in their
Constitutions, nor do legal procedures exist for recourse or legal complaints by
anyone who feels his religious rights have been violated.
In fact, practicing any faith other than Islam provokes an intolerant reaction
throughout the entire country and conversions are discouraged by ostracism
and social marginalization. Religious activities by Christians, be they Catholics or
Evangelical Protestants – only a few thousand in the entire country – take place
in secret, mostly in private homes. There are no longer any Churches anywhere
in Somalia that are open to the public. The murder of Christians and suspected
Christians by Al-Shabaab, which began systematically in 2008 along with other
forms of persecution, continued throughout 2011. Violence also continued against
Sufis and government officials who followed forms of Islam other than those
preached by Al-Shabaab. Their religious activities, including pilgrimages and
religious festivities, have been obstructed and their mosques have been closed 1 .
Murder of Christians and other anti-Christian violence
Al-Shabaab militia murdered a mother of four children (aged between 4 and 12
years) for her Christian faith, near Mogadishu on January 7. Asha Mberwa, 36,
had her throat cut in front of other members of the village of Warbhigly in the late
afternoon. She had been taken from near her home the morning before. She had
1 For the general situation, see: United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2012
Annual Report; Release International.org; Open Doors
SOMALIA

eceiving threats for months and was preparing to leave her home, along
with her husband and children, who now live in a different, secret location
SOMALIAbeen 2 .
A Muslim convert to Christianity, Abdirahman Hussein Roble, was murdered
in Mogadishu on January 26 by Al-Shabaab militiamen, who accused him of
espionage and fitna (internal division of the Islamic community). His family found
out about the murder from witnesses. Abdirahman, his father and two sons,
converted to Christianity in 2009.
Another Christian, captured by Al-Shabaab militia in the area of Afgoy on January
8, was able to escape from his makeshift prison on January 29 while his jailers
were praying, and went into hiding. This is the first time a Christian Somali prisoner
has been able to escape from imprisonment and save himself after being taken
prisoner by Al-Shabaab3 .
In the second half of January, in the district of Afgoy, Al-Shabaab members
confiscated eight farms belonging to five Somali Christians who had converted
from Islam, and to three Muslims, who were taking Bible classes held by
Christians in the towns of Afgoy and Baidoa. Most of the owners concerned fled
and are still in hiding4 .
Hassan Aawe Adan, a young man of 21 from Shalambod in the Lower Shebeli
region, was dragged out of his house and shot dead on the evening of April 18 by
two Al-Shabaab militiamen. He had been accused of conversion to Christianity
and a relative who belonged to Al-Shabaab had warned his mother. His murderers
ran away shouting, “Allah-uAkbar”. Hassan had converted to Christianity a few
months before and lived with his parents and his family, none of whom knew
he had converted5 .
The decapitated body of an Islamic convert to Christianity, Juma Nuradin Kamil,
was found on the outskirts of the town of Hudur, in the region of Bakool, in
southwest Somalia on the afternoon of September 2. He had been kidnapped
on August 21 by three suspected Al-Shabaab militiamen who forced him
into their vehicle6 .
On September 25 Al-Shabaab militiamen decapitated a Somali Christian, Guled
Jama Muktar, 17, in his home in Deynile, 20 km from Mogadishu. His entire family
had been targeted, but at the time of the attack, at 6 a.m., they had gone to their
shop in the market at Hamarweyne on the outskirts of Mogadishu. The Muktar
family had converted to Christianity while in Kenya. They had returned in 2008
after living there for some years and had organised secret Bible study meetings in
2 Compass Direct News, January 17 th 2011
3 International Christian Concern, February 23 rd 2011
4 International Christian Concern, February 3 rd 2011
5 Compass Direct News, April 20 th 2011
6 Compass Direct News, September 12 th 2011

their home. Al-Shabaab had been keeping the family under observation for some
time. The survivors disappeared after burying Guled’s body7 .
In a Kenyan town on the Somali border, a 25-year-old Somali Christian emigré was
savagely attacked by a group of his fellow countrymen, who beat him with wooden
staves and iron bars and slashed him with a knife. He was left unconscious and
naked near the entrance to a Church belonging to the Presbyterian Church of
East Africa on the evening of October 25.
Hassan, whose full name has been withheld for his own protection, has been
a Christian since age seven and was accused of apostasy by his attackers.
Hassan belongs to a Christian family of eight and is part of a network of domestic
clandestine Churches. His family moved to Kenya ten years ago after the death
of his father. His mother had recently received threats from Muslim Somali
neighbours who heard her smallest children singing Christian hymns8 .
On the afternoon of December 22 Sofia Osman, a 28-year-old Somali woman who
had converted to Christianity, was publicly flogged before a large and enthusiastic
crowd in her home town of Janale, in the Lower Shebeli region, for having
embraced “a foreign religion”. Al-Shabaab militants had previously arrested her in
November. After receiving 40 lashes, she was released to her family and moved
to an unknown location. Sofia had abandoned Islam and embraced Christianity
in 2007 9 .
Violations of religious freedom against Muslims
At the beginning of February Al-Shabaab militia arrested Sufi sheik, Mohamed
Roble, and eight of his students in the town of Baidoa, as they were preparing to
celebrate the birth of the Prophet Mohammed 10 .
7 Compass Direct News, October 19 th 2011
8 Ibid., November 4 th 2011
9 Ibid., January 10 th 2012
10 Alshahid Network, February 15 th 2011
SOMALIA

SOUTH AFRICA
AREA
1,221,037 Km²
SOUTH AFRICA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
49,991,300
REFUGEES
57,899
Christians 81.7%
Catholics 7% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 31.8%
Anglicans 3.6% / Other Chr. 39.2%
Ethnoreligionists 9.3%
Agnostics / Atheists 3.2%
Muslims 2.4%
Hindus 2.4%
Others 1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The latest South African Constitution was promulgated on December 10, 1996 and
came into effect on February 4, 1997. Its Bill of Rights (Chapter 2) bans all forms
of discrimination on the basis of religion, reiterating everyone’s right to practise his
or her religion and participate in the activities of religious groups1 .
Religious groups do not have to register.
Religious education is allowed in State schools but is not compulsory.
Some of the schools run by the Catholic Church have assumed the character of
“privately owned State schools”. This underlines the role of service such schools
play for the common good. Religious education and worship are fully guaranteed
in Catholic schools.
Religious freedom is legally guaranteed, but the South African bishops have
lamented the fact that the Church has to struggle to be heard, especially on issues
like sexual morality and the appropriate ways to use wealth in a society that is
becoming increasingly materialistic.
In his report to the Plenary Session of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’
Conference (SACBC), which includes the bishops of South Africa, Botswana
and Swaziland, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, who is also SACBC
President, said, “It is relatively easy to appreciate the public role of the Catholic
Church in the area of social services, health care and development projects.
[...] What is missing in the public spaces of our societies is the voice of the Catholic
Church (or of the religious sector) that genuinely seeks to engage the public on
those moral-ethical issues which impinge on society as a whole” 2 .
South Africa’s 16 main Christian Churches (including the Catholic Church)
expressed the same assessment in a statement issued at the end of their annual
meeting in Gauteng.
1 www.info.gov.za/documents/Constitution
2 Agenzia Fides, January 27 th 2011

“Our nation”, the Christian leaders said, “is in a state of crisis, a crisis of dignity
and discipline, a crisis of education and crisis in our communities. Together,
the Christian communities can help turn this situation around and help to restore
the dignity of all the people we serve” 3 .
A positive step forward was achieved when a Catholic radio, Radio Veritas, finally
received its license to broadcast after 11 years of bureaucratic obstacles 4 .
3 Agenzia Fides, October 19 th 2011
4 Catholic News Service, May 15 th 2011
SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH SUDAN
AREA
644,329 Km²
SOUTH SUDAN
POPULATION
8,260,490
Juridical-institutional aspects
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
DATA NOT AVAILABLE
REFUGEES
105,023
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
350,000
On July 9, 2011 the Republic of South Sudan declared its independence on the
basis of the outcome of a referendum held on January 9, 2011. This referendum
was organised as set out in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed
by the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the SPLM/SPLA (Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement/Sudan People’s Liberation Army). A transitional Constitution
approved on July 7 by South Sudan’s legislative assembly is currently in
force, replacing southern Sudan’s interim Constitution in force since 2005.
Article 8 of the new Constitution establishes the separation of Church and State,
declaring that all religions will be treated equally and that religious beliefs will
not be used to create divisions. Religious rights are established in Article 23 and
include freedom of worship and assembly, the right to build and own places of
worship and the land on which they are built, to set up charitable and humanitarian
institutions of different religious denominations, to distribute religious publications,
to request and receive private and/or public donations and contributions,
to observe days of rest for one’s credo, to communicate on religious matters with
individuals and communities nationally and internationally.
The Constitution also contains an article created to defend traditional African
religions, stating that “ethnic and cultural communities shall have the right (…)
to freely enjoy and develop their particular cultures (...) to practise their beliefs
(...) and raise their children within the context of their respective cultures and customs,
in accordance with this Constitution and with the law”.
The Constitution also establishes that no political party can decide to exclude
anyone for reasons linked to religion (Art. 25) and that pubic services will be
provided impartially and without discrimination, including any of a religious
nature (Art. 139).
The new transitional Constitution thus reiterates the full religious freedom already
established in the 2005 Constitution as well as the State’s secular nature.
However, there are still no legal instruments available for those wishing to report
violations of their constitutional right to religious freedom.

Apostasy, blasphemy and the defamation of a religion cannot be criminally prosecuted
and both Muslim and Christian proselytising is widespread and allowed.
On the basis of the Constitution, religious groups are no longer required to register
as NGOs in order to enjoy fiscal and customs exemptions, as had been the
case under previous Sudanese legislation that has now been abolished.
The officially recognised days of rest from work are the Christian ones. On official
occasions, however, ceremonies are open to all prayer expressions in which
Christians and Muslims take turns. Peaceful coexistence between Christians
and Muslims is a recurrent theme in speeches made by government ministers.
The government does not have a Ministry for Religious Affairs and contacts with
the representatives of religious groups are maintained by one of the Head of
State’s advisors and the Minister of Justice.
In the working week, Sunday is a day of rest. In theory Muslims are by law permitted
a two-hour break on Fridays for worship, but employers rarely respect this
law. The school week also treats Sunday as the day of rest. Muslim students are
not exempt from attending lessons on their own festive days, where these are
not locally recognised. Christian Education is part of the curriculum in all State
schools and Muslim students may ask to be exempted and automatically receive
dispensation1 .
Violations of Religious Freedom
The only violation of religious freedom reported in 2011 was the temporary suspension
of the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses ordered by the governors of a
number of regions as punishment for their refusal to vote in the self-determination
referendum 2 .
On March 3, 2010, when South Sudan was not yet independent but was selfgoverning,
police forces interrupted broadcasting by Radio Bakhita in Juba, closing
the headquarters and arresting for an hour Sister Cecilia Sierra Salcido,
the Combonian missionary who was the director of the Catholic radio station.
This was caused by an interview with a candidate in the South’s parliamentary
elections. She was ordered to restrict broadcasting to strictly religious issues or
her equipment would be seized and the radio station permanently closed 3 .
1 www.sudantribune.com/Draft-constitution-of-the-Republic,38679
2 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2012 Annual Report
3 www.gurtong.net, March 3 rd 2010
SOUTH SUDAN

SPAIN
AREA
505,992 Km²
SPAIN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
46,864,418
REFUGEES
4,228
Christians 74.8%
Catholics 72.5% / Protestants 0.3% / Other Chr. 2%
Agnostics / Atheists 23.2%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In May 2012, on receiving an award in Madrid for defending religious freedom,
Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne commented that “the spiral of intolerance
against Christians in the West [. . .] unfolds in three stages. In the first, it takes the
form of cultural intolerance. In the second, it becomes legal discrimination. In the
third, it turns to hate-motivated crimes. The social agents involved in these three
stages are obviously different, but the dividing line between them is very thin and
fragile” 1 . Starting with Introvigne’s remarks and recent events in the country, it
is possible to say that, during the period under consideration, Spain saw many
episodes of religious intolerance, and this despite the fact that religious freedom
is guaranteed.
World Youth Day 2011
Some of the most glaring examples of intolerance occurred during the World
Youth Day in Madrid (WYD) at which Benedict XVI presided in August 2011.
The Europa Laica (Secular Europe) Association and the Asociación Madrileña
de Ateos y Librepensadores (Madrid Atheist and Free-thinkers Association) sent
a form of model emergency motion to all the municipalities in the Autonomous
Community of Madrid (Comunidad autónoma de Madrid), urging members to
pass a formal vote of censure protesting against the papal visit and criticising the
municipalities for sponsoring an event which in their view was private in nature 2 .
On August 17 some 2,000 people took part in an anti-papal demonstration.
In a confrontation, some protesters attacked about 20 pilgrims.
The Izquierda Unida (United Left) party in the Autonomous Community of Madrid
1 INTROVIGNE, Massimo. “La difesa dei cristiani perseguitati nelle istituzioni europee” (Defending
Christians persecuted by European institutions). Conferenza di chiusura della 2° Giornata sulla Libertà Religiosa
nel Mondo (Closing conference of the 2nd Day on Religious Freedom in the World), Madrid, May 11 th 2012
2 El País, July 7 th 2011

called for the removal of World Youth Day banners from public buildings, arguing
that “public institutions must respect the view of all citizens, not of some alone”.
Some members of the Board of Governors of the Radio y Televisión Española
(RTVE), the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation, criticised the “excessive”
WYD media coverage provided by the State-owned Radio Nacional de España
(RNE) and Televisión Española (TVE) 3 .
Public demonstrations against religion
In 2011 and 2012 Madrid’s Superior Court of Justice banned an ‘atheist procession’
planned to coincide with the Holy Thursday procession. The 2011 procession
had been intended to include the participation of the ‘Congregation of the Cruel
Inquisition’, the ‘Holy Pedophilia Brotherhood’ and the ‘Confraternity of the Pope
of the Holy Robbery’, and the actor Leo Bassi, who is currently facing charges in
Valladolid for offences against religious sentiments, insults and calumnies (see
below), was to have led the 2011 atheist procession 4 .
In April 2011 a court in Seville opened an investigation against an AIDS prevention
campaign promoted by the Juventudes Socialistas de España (Socialist Youth of
Spain) that included offensive, anti-Catholic slogans.
The Valencia football club was forced to change its 2011-2012 subscription
campaign in which it had compared a football trophy to the Chalice at Mass and
mocked the Sacrament of Confession.
In May 2011 a court ordered the withdrawal of an advertising campaign sponsored
by Medio Markt-Saturn because it was deemed offensive to the Eucharist 5 .
For the first time, the bishops of the Basque Country sponsored a campaign
on the local pro-autonomy radio channel to encourage parents to register their
children for religious education classes. However, the campaign was withdrawn
because the rules of the regional broadcasting authority (Euskal Irrati Telebista, or
EITB) allegedly prohibit “the public defence of religious ideas” 6 .
3 El Periódico de Extremadura, April 1 st 2011; Diariopolitico.com, Finanzas.com, ABC, April 12 th 2011;
Público, August 9 th 2011; El Mundo, August 10 th 2011; El País, August 11 th 2011; El País, La Razón,
September 8 th 2011; La Razón, September 17 th 2011
4 Europa Press, April 3 rd 2011; ABC, La Razón, April 9th and 10 th 2011; Análisisdigital, Lainformación.com,
La Razón, April 11 th 2011; ABC, La Razón, Análisisdigital, April 13 th 2011; El Mundo, April 14 th 2011;
ABC, April 20 th 2011; Análisisdigital.com, April 21 st 2011; Religiónconfidencial.com, March 21 st 2012
5 El Mundo, April 14 th 2011; Libertadreligiosa.es, May 19 th 2011; Aciprensa, June 3 rd 2011;
La Razón, June 4 th 2011; Imparcial.es, June 13 th 2011
6 El Correo, El País, La Razón, ABC, February 7 th 2012; e-cristians, February 8 th 2012
SPAIN

The presence of chapels and other places of worship in public universities was a
focus of hostile attention during the period under consideration.
In November 2010 and January 2011 the University of Barcelona had to temporarily
close the chapel in the Faculty of Economics and suspend the celebration of Holy
SPAINEducation
Mass because of the hostility of extremist groups who tried to prevent students
from entering the Church7 .
On March 10, 2011, at Madrid’s Complutense University, a group of young people
burst into a chapel on the Somosaguas campus, shouting abuse against the
Church and the clergy. Some of the female protesters surrounded the altar and
stripped off topless, to the cheers of the other hooligans. This incident came a
few days after the campus wall and gates had been spray-painted with graffiti
attacking the Catholic religion with allusions to pederasty among the clergy.
Neither the university nor the government authorities responded in any way to the
incident, leading some to view it as another example of discriminatory treatment
of Christians8 .
In March 2011 in Andalusia, the Autonomous Government backed school
authorities who had denied (compulsory) secondary education certificate (ESO)
to two female school students for refusing to follow the prescribed course on
Education and Citizenship because of its anti-Catholic content9 .
(NB: this is the latest stage in an ongoing battle between parents and education
authorities who have imposed a compulsory citizenship course on students which
contradicts traditional moral values. The latest ruling appears to deny the right to
object on grounds of conscience.)
Statements
In an article titled La laicidad, objetivo de la democracia en España (The secular
State, the goal of democracy in Spain), published on April 10, 2011 in El País,
Gregorio Peces Barba, former rector of the Carlos III University, wrote (referring to
the Catholic Church), “The more we give them space and tolerate them, the worse
they respond. They only understand the language of the stick and of the separation
of domains; a free Church in a free State, each in its own domain, without giving
them any room for exemptions or any privilege. Making compromises with them in
good faith is to ensure that they will take advantage whenever they can”.
7 Forum Libertas, February 2 nd 2011; Religionconfidencial.com, February 23 rd 2012
8 Público, March 14 th 2011; Provincia Eclesiástica de Madrid communiqué, March 22 nd 2011; El País,
La Razón, ABC, March 23 rd 2011; La Razón; ABC, March 25 th 2011; Análisis Digital, March 30 th 2011
9 Hazte Oír, March 22 nd 2011

Cultural events
On March 24, 2011 the Sala Tallers (Hall) of the Teatro Nacional de Catalunya
(TNC) held the premiere of Josep María Miró i Coromina’s ‘Gang Bang’, a play
about a homosexual bathhouse, near Barcelona’s Sagrada Família Basilica just
a few hours before the basilica was consecrated by Benedict XVI. The TNC
again dealt with a religious topic in ‘Musicolèpsia - Rapsodia per a set putes’,
(Musicolepsis, Rhapsody for six whores), which sets out to portray the relationship
between the seven deadly sins and various popes10 .
At the end of March 2011, the media reported that the Sixth Section of the
Valladolid Court of Instruction had opened proceedings in relation to charges
made against Marcos Sacristán, the rector of the University of Valladolid, and the
Italian actor and comedian Leo Bassi (referred to above). It is alleged that Bassi
had offended religious sentiments and engaged in insults and calumnies during
a public performance at the University in October 2010, given with the rector’s
blessing, in which he had parodied Pope John Paul II and “consecrated” condoms
which were later handed out in the university’s main hall 11 .
In Merida, organisers of a local festival were forced to withdraw one of the pictures
from the ‘Camerinos’ photographic exhibition after receiving numerous e-mails
from people protesting that the image was “offensive to Christians” 12 .
In February 2012, Madrid’s La Fresh Gallery opened an exhibition entitled
‘Obscenity’ by Bruce Labruce that shows images offensive to Catholics.
In his photos, Labruce takes religious icons and turns them into expressions
of sexual desire 13 .
Legal initiatives
When this report was written, the Autonomous Government of the Basque Country
was working on legislation affecting places of worship. First made public in early
2012, the draft law is intended to regulate the opening and management of places
of worships and other sites with a religious character “so as to avoid discrimination
among various confessions and communities” 14 .
10 La Razón, March 21 st 2011; Público, March 23 rd 2011; ABC, Público, April 1 st 2011;
La Razón, April 4 th 2011
11 Público, El Correo, March 29 th 2011
12 El País, Público, July 29 th 2012
13 El País, El Mundo, El Periódico, Público.es, the Voz de Galicia, Periodistadigital.com, February 17 th 2012
14 El Correo, July 15 th 2011; Religiónconfidencial, January 3 rd 2012
SPAIN

eligions
Meeting in plenary session, the Municipality of Sa Pobla (Balearic Islands) banned
the wearing of the burka and niqab – as well as of balaclavas and helmets with
visors – in public spaces and at official events. According to the mayor, “this is a
preventative political measure to ensure public safety. It does not aim at starting
SPAINOther
a cultural debate nor is it designed to favour religious segregation”. Sa Pobla was
the 14th Spanish municipality to ban the burka15 .
In January 2012, Mayor Xavier García Albiol of Badalona asked Muslims who
meet for their Friday prayers in a local public square to find an alternative location
for their prayers. They have been praying in the Plaza Camarón de la Isla in the
neighborhood of Sant Roc. (For some years, another group of about 500 Muslims,
mostly from Pakistan, have rented a sports centre in the Sant Roc neighbourhood
for Friday prayers) 16 . The mayor has offered the 3,000 local Muslims an alternative
venue in the courtyard of a local secondary school but so far there has been no
response to his offer 17 .
Defending religious freedom
In the period under review, some positive steps have been taken to defend
religious freedom. For example, on February 22, 2011 the Spanish Congress of
Deputies condemned “in the strongest terms” the “brutal” terrorist attacks and
systematic persecution of Christian communities in Asia and Africa, as well as
other religious groups in other parts of the world. The motion was backed by most
Spanish political parties in parliament 18 .
For its part, the Islamic Commission of Spain issued a statement on May 29,
2011 in which it rejected the “persecution and unequal treatment that religious
minorities endure in Arab countries as well as in the other nations of the Islamic
world”. More specifically, it called for respect for such minorities, especially if they
are Christians or Jews 19 .
15 El Mundo, September 2 nd 2011;
La Razón, RTVE.es, El País, lasextanoticias.com, Diario de Mallorca, September 6 th 2011
16 El Correo, January 17 th 2012
17 http://en.paperblog.com/mayor-of-badalona-bans-muslims-from-praying-in-the-street-268546/
18 Diario de Sesiones del Pleno del Congreso de los Diputados, February 22 nd 2011
19 La Razón, May 29 th 2011

AREA
65,610 Km²
SRI LANKA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
20,653,000
REFUGEES
188
Buddhists 68%
Hindus 13.1%
Muslims 9.6%
Christians 8.8%
Catholics 7% / Protestants 1.5% / Anglicans 0.3%
Others 0.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
125,000
Sri Lanka still carries deep scars, three years after the end of the civil war that
pitted Tamils against Sinhalese. The government continues to incur debt by investing
large sums in tourist megaprojects (resulting in a ruined ecosystem and
harming thousands of farmers and fishermen) and in defence spending. From
1983 to 2009 Sri Lanka was the scene of a bloody war between the government
and the rebels of the Tamil Tigers (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE),
a militant organization demanding the creation of an independent State of Tamil
Eelam in the northern and eastern provinces of the island, where there is a Tamil
ethnic majority. The war quickly assumed the character of an ethnic conflict, with
the (mainly Buddhist) Sinhalese of the south pitted against the (Hindu and Christian)
Tamils in the north. The war, which ended with the rebels being defeated, has
left a heavy legacy and still today human rights activists and the Catholic Church
speak of “the ethnic problem”.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee
Council, the country has over 200,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs)
still living in refugee camps, without the possibility of returning to their villages
and homes or being moved to other locations. In the Jaffna Peninsula, in North
Western Province, one of the areas most affected by the war, 39,000 war widows
receive no benefits of any kind and have no work to support themselves.
In the area of Mannar, the communities have reported that about 12,000 people,
mostly men, have vanished and have not been accounted for by the government.
In May 2010, faced with continuous pressure from human rights activists and
from the Catholic Church, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa created the
Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) which was charged with
investigating the final phase of the ethnic conflict.
At the end of December 2011, the LLRC published a 400-page report which stated
that, “during the final phases of the civil war, national security forces did not deliberately
attack civilians, while the Tamil Tiger rebels committed serious human
SRI LANKA

ights bodies – is in fact a response to the United Nations report of April 26, 2011
which accuses the Sri Lankan government of the murder of thousands of civilians
in 2009 during the final phase of the war. The UN report specifically refers to a
massive air strike that supposedly killed 40,000 people. It paints a grim picture
of life in Vanni, the “no-fire zone” where the government gathered 330,000 civilians,
of prisoners executed with a shot to the back of the head, women raped and
children’s bodies torn apart. The UN document also accuses the Tamil Tigers of
using civilians as human shields during air strikes.
Sisiter Eliza, a Mother Teresa sister accused of “selling children”
In the last months of 2011 a scandal convulsed the Roman Catholic community of
Sri Lanka. For the first time in the history of the Congregation of the Missionaries
of Charity, a sister of Mother Theresa was sent to prison.
In mid-November an anonymous phone call to the police accused Sister Mary
Eliza of the Missionaries of Charity of “selling children” from her Prem Nivesa
hostel for teenage mothers at Moratuwa, on the outskirts of Colombo. On November
23, police and officials from the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA)
surrounded the building to conduct an investigation into the hostel residents.
At the end of the operation, the building was seized and all adoptions were halted.
Two days later, during the night of November 25, a group of police officers took
Sister Eliza and two other sisters to the house of a judge at Ja-ela. From there,
in circumstances that remain unclear, Sister Eliza was taken by car to the prison
at Welikada, while the other two sisters were taken to their convent. According
to initial testimonies, the arrest warrant was triggered by pressure from Anoma
Dissayanake, president of the NCPA, an independent organization that answers
directly to the office of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Many have explicitly accused
Dissayanake of engineering the legal and media attack on the missionaries
of the hostel in order to benefit the Buddhist orphanages. After four days in prison,
Sister Eliza was released by the magistrate, Yvonne Fernando, on the evening
of November 28 after fining her 7,500 rupees (about 50 euro) for each charge of
illegal adoption and child trafficking, as well as a security bond of 50,000 rupees
(about 330 euro).
SRI LANKArights violations”. The document – which has been heavily criticised by human
For the moment Sister Eliza has received orders to transfer to another convent in
her congregation and to surrender her passport, and she is also forbidden from
leaving the country until her case is resolved. In the mean time, the defamation
campaign in the media against her continued and the first hearing in her case was
postponed from December 1 to the 15. Numerous articles in local papers spoke of

children being sold for 700,000 rupees (about 4,500 euro) and others for 35,000
rupees (about 230 euro).
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo and president of the Episcopal
Conference of Sri Lanka, broke the Church’s media silence, maintained to that
point, and asked the government and national media to withdraw the “unfounded
and unjust accusations” against Sister Eliza “as soon as possible”. In the meantime,
the director of the Probation Office, which answers to the Ministry of Social
Affairs and works together closely with the sisters, released an interview confirming
that the work of the sisters at Prem Nivasa was in order. Cardinal Ranjith’s protests
brought official apologies to the missionaries. On December 8 a government
spokesman called the situation, “very serious and delicate”, adding that “if errors
were committed, the government will take action to correct them”.
On December 15, 2011 the magistrate Yvonne Fernando acquitted Sister Mary
Eliza of the charges of illegal adoptions and child trafficking. Both she and the
Prosecutor, Nevil Abeyratne admitted that the National Child Protection Authority
had been behind the accusations against Sister Mary Eliza. Fernando “advised”
the NCPA to pay greater attention in future investigations and ordered the return
to the orphanage of all documents taken during the police search. Putting it more
bluntly, the public prosecutor said the NCPA had acted “in an irresponsible manner,”
sullying the unblemished record of the Sisters of Mother Theresa, who had
been serving Sri Lankan society for many years. In spite of its proven responsibility
in the Prem Nivesa affair, the NCPA has not been punished in any way.
Sources consulted:
AsiaNews
Caritas Sri Lanka-Sedec
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee Council
www.colombopage.com
SRI LANKA

SUDAN
AREA
1,861,484 Km²
SUDAN
POPULATION
34,900,00
Legal-institutional aspects
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
DATA NOT AVAILABLE
REFUGEES
113,439
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
2,200,000
Although President Omar al-Bashir has officially stated, and this on three different
occasions (December 2010, October 2011 and January 2012), that with the
secession of South Sudan, Sudan would adopt a new Constitution entirely based
on Sharia (Islamic law) with Islam as its official State religion, the interim national
Constitution of 2005 remains in place at the time of writing. This recognises
freedom of religion across the country on the basis of the protocols on statereligion
relations agreed in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in
January 2005, which ended 22 years of civil war between the Sudan People’s
Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Islamist government in Khartoum
and its local allies. In June 2005, northern opposition parties within the National
Democratic Alliance accepted the deal as well.
The provisional Constitution does however recognise Sharia as a source of
legislation in the 16 northern States, which after July 9, 2011 constitute the whole
of Sudan. This enabled the Government of National Unity established in July
2005 to adopt legislation that favoured Islam and the Islamisation of social life at
the expense of religious pluralism in the aforementioned provinces.
Sharia, which applies to all of the country’s residents irrespective of their religion,
imposes the death penalty on Muslims for apostasy from Islam. Depending on the
nature of the offence, is also provides for corporal punishment such as flogging
and mutilation (amputation of limbs) as well as the death penalty by crucifixion.
Likewise, it bans alcoholic beverages and does not allow Muslim women to
marry non-Muslim men. Since Sudan’s independence (1956), the death penalty
for apostasy was carried out only once, in 1985, against Mahmoud Mohammad
Taha, a reform-minded Muslim condemned as a heretic.
Usually, Muslims who convert to other religions or are only suspected of converting
are jailed or fined under section 125 of the Criminal Act, which bans insulting
religion, inciting hatred and contempt of religious beliefs. By and large, converts
are also subject to extrajudicial pressure, including threats, intimidation, social

ostracism, police surveillance and controls. Emigration becomes the only way out.
Legal punishments and extrajudicial pressures also fall on non-Muslims who
proselytise among Muslims. However, converting to Islam from any other religion
is lawful and allowed.
Apostasy laws limit the apostolate of foreign missionaries and native clergy who
provide pastoral care to local Christians, or work in the field of education or in
favour of refugees.
Christian missionary personnel are not granted visas unless they limit their activity
to the social sphere. In many cases, visas are granted after a long wait.
During a seminar on interfaith dialogue in Khartoum held on September 20, 2011,
Azahry al-Tighani Awad el Sayeed, federal minister of Guidance and Religious
Endowments, told Church leaders that the introduction of Sharia as Sudan’s only
law would protect the rights of Christians1 .
Yet throughout 2011, in the major towns and cities, the Federal Ministry of
Guidance and Religious Endowments investigated Church activities, focusing on
the number and identity of members in each Church, as well as their programmes’
sources of funding. For Christian leaders, such actions constitute an attempt to
collect sensitive information on behalf of the State’s security forces to be used as
part of policies designed to impose Sharia on the country.
Under the interim Constitution, political parties that call for discrimination on
the basis of religion are illegal. Nevertheless, no legal instrument is available
for those who want to complain when their Constitutional right to religious freedom
is violated.
As indicated, Sharia is applied to all residents independent of their religious faith.
However, the Constitution does allow for different treatment on religious grounds
at the discretion of the courts. This is the case when sentences are imposed.
For instance, Muslims caught consuming alcoholic beverages get 40 lashes;
Christians get only 20.
In 2007, as part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a Commission for the
rights of non-Muslim residents was set up in the Sudanese capital. It included
officials named by the Government of National Unity and Christian and Muslims
religious leaders.
In its first year, it successfully obtained the release of hundreds of Christian women
arrested for brewing alcoholic beverages at home. It also secured the return of
part of Khartoum’s Christian cemetery, which the authorities had expropriated.
The Commission also raised the issue of the problems Christians face on a
recurrent basis, such as the difficulty in obtaining building permits for their places
of worship, police harassment, pro-Islam bias in history courses, and the limited
number of Christian teachers in schools.
1 Compass Direct News, September 29 th 2011
SUDAN

Commission also made proposals to allow Christian-owned restaurants and
beverage shops to stay open during Ramadan and mid-day Friday prayers.
The government did not respond to them however.
All Muslim festivities are celebrated. Christmas is celebrated in accordance with
the Western (Catholic and Protestant) calendar (December 25), whilst Easter
celebrations follow Coptic practise. Islam has access to a number of radio and TV
channels. Christians are only allowed to broadcast on Christmas Day.
SUDANThe
The law requires religious groups to register as non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) if they want to enjoy tax and customs advantages. However, this
requirement is not usually enforced and religious groups often operate without
registering as NGOs.
In order to build a place of worship, religious groups must obtain permits from the
Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments, the Ministry of Construction
and Planning and local urban planning bureaus.
Between 1975 and 2005, no application to build a Church was approved in northern
Sudan. Many Churches were built but without a permit. In some instances, the
authorities had them torn down, especially in camps for people displaced by the
civil war. Since 2005, three applications for Church buildings were approved and
construction is currently underway.
The State usually favours mosque construction through funding and quickly
issues permits. Yet, some mosques have also been built without a permit in order
to bypass the red tape.
The interim Constitution explicitly bans discrimination on the basis of religion in
public sector employment. However, in practise the selection process favours the
members and friends of the ruling Islamist National Congress Party.
Moreover, although the country’s social welfare system is limited, Muslims receive
preferential treatment. The same is true in the justice system when Muslims are
opposed to non-Muslims.
Compulsory Islamic education in Arabic is included in all schools, from kindergarten
to university. Even Christian educational facilities are subject to this requirement,
and must hire teachers trained for that purpose. State schools are not however
required to offer religious education courses to non-Muslim students. Depending
on the school, the latter may be exempt from Islamic religious courses.
Some Christian leaders, like Anglican Bishop Ezekiel Kondo (Episcopal Church
of Sudan), have complained of the Islamisation of school programmes. They have
equally lamented the fact that history courses completely ignore the contribution
Christians have made to the history of the country, starting with the ancient
Christian kingdoms that once ruled the area that is now Sudan.

Friday is the weekly day of rest. Christians are in theory entitled to a two-hour
break on non-official holy days. Employers tend not to respect the rule and
workers generally have no recourse at their disposal to uphold their rights.
By contrast, during Ramadan, work hours are always reduced.
In schools, Friday is also the day off. Christian students are not however allowed
a day off on their holy days, which are not officially recognised.
Violence and hostile acts against Christians
On January 15, 2011 unknown individuals set fire to a Presbyterian Church in
Wad Madani, 138 kilometres south-east of Khartoum. The attack caused an
estimated 2,000 Sudanese pounds (€560 / US$ 450) in damage, including
Christian literature, Bibles in local languages, chairs, tables and a pulpit. Prior to
the fire, Muslim extremists had made repeated verbal threats against members
of the Church. Those behind the attack have not been identified and arrested.
Christians lament that the investigation is going nowhere 2 .
On May 9 Sudanese police and intelligence officers arrested Hawa Abdalla
Muhammad Saleh, a Christian woman from Darfur who was living in a camp
for internally displaced people near Al-Fasher. She was accused of Christian
proselytising, which is banned, and unauthorised possession and distribution
of Bibles to camp residents, including minors. She was eventually moved to a
secret location in Khartoum. She had been arrested on similar charges in 2009.
At the time, she filed a complaint saying the she had been tortured during her
six days of detention 3 .
Violence in South Kordofan 4
Government repression in the region of South Kordofan, where armed clashes
have been ongoing between Sudanese forces and elements of the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement-Northern Sector, has included violence against
religious freedom and persecution directed against the Christian faith of many of
the inhabitants of the area 5 .
On June 8, elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and pro-government
Islamic militias attacked three Churches in the regional capital of Kaduqli, looting
and burning two of them.
Shouting “Allah-u-akbar”, Islamic militants fired at a Catholic Church from the
2 Compass Direct News, August 23 rd 2011
3 Ibid., May 24 th 2011
4 Agenzia Fides, August 11 th 2011
5 Agenzia Fides, September 23 rd 2011
SUDAN

as Fr Abraham James Lual conducted a peace Mass inside. Soldiers
later arrested the priest in front of his congregation, accusing him of turning the
worshippers against the government. He was released after two days in detention,
during which he was tortured and had his personal effects stolen.
Soldiers and members of Islamic militias also set fire to buildings belonging to the
Episcopal (Anglican) Church of Sudan and the Sudanese Church of Christ. The
Episcopal Church’s hostel and the Residence of Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail were
plundered and set on fire after everything of value had been removed, including
SUDANoutside
an amplifier, a projector, beds, chairs and two motorcycles.
Also on June 8 a Catholic seminarian, Nimeri Philip Kalo, from the St Paul Major
Seminary, was arrested by Sudanese intelligence near the headquarters of the
United Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). He was eventually shot dead in cold blood in
front of bystanders who were themselves threatened by the agents.
The seminarian was trying to leave the city following the attacks on the Churches.
On the same day, Islamic militants, aided by Sudanese Army elements, attacked
Adeeb Gismalla Aksam, a 33-year-old bus driver, and killed him with a sword in
Kaduqli Market, shouting “Allah-u-akbar”. The dead man’s father is a well-known
elder in the town’s Evangelical Church.
In the following days, almost all the Christian buildings in Kaduqli were plundered
and then destroyed by fire. They included four Churches, belonging to the Catholic
Church, the Sudanese Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the
Presbyterian Church of Sudan. Soldiers also set fire to a Catholic hostel and a
school named after Blessed Daniel Comboni.
On June 12 Governor Mutasim Mirghani Zaki El-deen of North Kordofan declared
jihad against all ethnic Nuba in his province and in neighbouring South Kordofan.
Many Nuba are Christian 6 .
A humanitarian crisis still looms over Abyei, another area claimed by both Sudan
and South Sudan. “The population is still displaced”, said Mgr Roko Taban Mousa,
apostolic administrator in Malakal, “and only receives some sporadic help.
The rains continue to beat the area constantly and displaced people are
without protection”.
“Children and the elderly are the most affected by this tragic situation”, he
explained. “Malaria and diarrhoea continue to kill people. There is therefore
no significant improvement of the humanitarian conditions”. Although “there is
currently no fighting or bombing” in Abyei, the city “is still occupied by Khartoum’s
army and the population is afraid to return”, the apostolic administrator added 7 .
6 Compass Direct News, June 17 th 2011
7 Agenzia Fides, June 20 th 2011

Survivors of the extrajudicial killings in June when Sudanese armed forces
murdered scores of civilians previously arrested in South Kordofan, testified that
the massacre was motivated by anti-Christian prejudice. A Christian man from
Leri East, near Kaduqli, who had been arrested on June 20, was able to escape
from his captors on 8 July before his execution. As he talked about the execution
of six Christians imprisoned with him, he said that the killers had insulted them,
telling them that “this land is an Islamic land and that we [Christians] were not
allowed to be in this land”. The man, a Muslim convert to Christianity in 2001,
is now in hiding8 .
On July 10 a 16-year-old Christian woman, Hiba Abdelfadil Anglo, was finally
reunited with her family. She had been abducted on June 17, 2010 by a gang of
criminals. During her captivity, she was beaten, raped and had her life threatened
repeatedly unless she converted to Islam. Kidnapped in broad daylight, as she
made her way to the Education Ministry in Khartoum to get her documents for
entry into secondary school, she managed to escape from the location where she
was being held, some two hours by motorcycle from the capital.
During her confinement, her captors had prevented her from praying whenever
they caught her trying.
Hiba’s mother, Ikhlas Omer Anglo, a widow, said that when she went to report her
daughter’s abduction at her local police station, officers had told her to convert to
Islam to improve the chances of the investigation. The two women belong to the
Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Khartoum 9 .
On July 18 a group of Islamic extremists attacked the residence of the Anglican
bishop of Kaduqli, Andudu Adam Elnail, in Omdurman (opposite Khartoum, on
the other side of the River Nile) in an attempt to kill him and two other clergymen
whom they accused of supporting the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-
Northern Sector, an opposition group in South Kordofan. Failing to find the men
they were looking for, they left a threatening letter promising more attacks. In early
August, the bishop travelled to the United States and on 9 September he applied
for asylum as a victim of persecution whose life was in danger 10 .
Father Abraham James Lual, a priest of Kaduqli’s Catholic parish, was arrested
and subjected to intense questioning, on August 28 and again on September 6.
He had already been detained on 6 June, in front of members of his congregation,
held for two days, tortured and had all his personal effects stolen 11 .
8 Compass Direct News, September 29 th 2011
9 Ibid., August 3 rd 2011
10 Ibid., September 13 th 2011
11 Zenit, June 23 rd 2011
SUDAN

he was arrested in the morning of September 6, he was interrogated for five
hours in the offices of the security forces in El Obeid. On August 28, he had been
arrested and held for two days in Kaduqli, South Kordofan, where he had come
to assess the damage to parish properties. During this detention, Father Lual was
tortured again and was told he would be killed if he ever returned to Kaduqli. After
his third arrest in El Obeid, he went into hiding
SUDANAfter 12 .
In Khartoum, security forces ordered Christian communities not to organise any
more Biblical festivals, which they had regularly done in the past until last year,
without prompting any objections.
Throughout the course of 2011, Christian leaders continued to protest at the
anti-Christian rhetoric by Muslim leaders and government officials. In some
mosques, the imams responsible for Friday sermons called on Muslims to have
absolutely no dealings with Christians, even refusing to greet them, because
they were “infidels”.
Bishops and priests also objected to the language used by government officials
describing the Churches as foreign institutions serving the West.
12 Compass Direct News, September 19 th 2011

AREA
163,820 Km²
SURINAME
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
524,345
REFUGEES
---
Christians 51%
Catholics 29% / Protestants 21.9% / Anglicans 0.1%
Hindus 20.4%
Muslims 15.9%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.8%
Spiritists 3%
Ethnoreligionists 2.1%
Others 2.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The former Dutch colony, known at the time as Dutch Guyana, reflects its history
in its ethnic and religious composition. The country is home to ethnic groups originating
in various areas of past Dutch colonies, such as Indians, Indonesians etc.
Article 18 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Suriname states that each
individual has the right to freedom of worship and religious belief.
There are no reports indicating violation of these rights of free exercising of
religious freedom.
National holidays respect the varied and multiethnic social environment. Religious
holidays include the Christian Good Friday, Easter Monday and Christmas
as well as the Islamic anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed and the
Hindu Spring festivity of Holi (or Phagwa).
SURINAME

SWAZILAND
AREA
17,361 Km²
SWAZILAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,201,904
REFUGEES
759
Christians 66.7%
Catholics 4.7% / Protestants 59.9% / Anglicans 2.1%
Ethnoreligionists 12.2%
Others 21.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Chapter 3, Article 23, of the 2006 Constitution recognises that everyone has
“a right to freedom of thought, conscience or religion”, at the individual and
group level1 .
Those religious groups which choose to register must do so through one of
three main religious bodies: the League of Swaziland Churches, the Swaziland
Conference of Churches, and the Swaziland Council of Churches.
Religious organisations that do not apply through the aforementioned three bodies
are still legal, but do not enjoy the tax benefits registered groups do.
Official permission is required to build places of worship. In rural areas, village
chiefs must give their permission.
Religious education is compulsory in primary schools, but optional in secondary
schools. Religious organisations are permitted to run private schools.
On June 9, 2011 the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC)
issued a statement condemning the violation of political rights by the Swaziland
government. This followed a visit to the country by a SACBC delegation led by
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, archbishop of Durban.
Swaziland has been under a state of emergency since April 12, 1973, “when
King Sobhuza II usurped all legislative, administrative and judicial powers by
royal decree”, Cardinal Napier explained. “By that decree supreme authority was
vested solely in the institution of the Monarchy [and] in the person of the King”. All
political parties and indeed all political activities continue to be banned, he added.
Even though the Constitution guarantees rights enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the fact that the 1973 decree is included in the
Constitution “deprives citizens of their fundamental rights: of expression, assembly
and association”, Cardinal Napier explained. “This makes Swaziland a police
State in which political parties remain banned”.
1 www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=217889

For the prelate, the violent crackdown of a protest rally held on April 12, 2011 is an
example of how seriously human rights are violated in the country.
The same is true for the death “in mysterious circumstances” of two activists
detained by the authorities under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008, a law that has
been “used by the government to silence its critics” 2 .
Despite the gravity of the political situation, during the period covered by this
report, there was no sign of violence due to religious reasons.
2 Agenzia Fides, 10 th June 2011
SWAZILAND

SWEDEN
AREA
449,964 Km²
SWEDEN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
9,415,570
REFUGEES
86,615
Christians 64.8%
Catholics 1.6% / Orthodox 1.4% / Protestants 61.8%
Agnostics / Atheists 31.2%
Muslims 2.8%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
“Religious freedom, in other words the right to practise, alone or together with
others, one’s own religion” is declared by Article I of Chapter II on the “Fundamental
freedoms” of the Constitution promulgated in 1974. However, although
the articles declaring the Lutheran Church of Sweden to be the State Church
have been abolished in the year 2000, Article 2 of the 1809 Constitution is
still in force. This article specifies that “the King must always profess the pure
evangelical doctrine adopted and explained in the Confession of Augsburg in
the original version and by the Decree of the 1593 Uppsala Synod, and the
Princes and Princesses of the Royal household must also be brought up in
this same faith and within the Kingdom. Any member of the Royal Family not
professing this faith will be excluded from all rights of succession”.
Following the separation of Church and State, eight other religious denominations
have also received State funding. These other Churches are: the Swedish
Missionary Church, the Catholic Church, the Swedish Missionary Alliance, the
Baptist Union of Sweden, the Salvation Army, the Methodist Church, the Pentecostal
Church and the Evangelical Church. In all, there are 39 religious groups
which have the right to receive State funding.
In the education sector, there are 67 denominational primary schools and 6
secondary schools, mainly Christian, which, although not part of the State
system, do follow the State’s curriculum.
The attitude of the state institutions towards freedom to choose education
from a denominational school is confrontational and tends towards a form of
secularist control.
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the
government during the reporting period.

AREA
41,284 Km²
The minaret issue
SWITZERLAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
7,866,498
REFUGEES
50,416
Christians 82.6%
Catholics 43.6% / Orthodox 1.5% / Protestants 32.7%
Anglicans 0.2% / Other Chr. 4.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 12.2%
Muslims 4.3%
Others 0.9%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The issue that began with a victory following the 57.5% majority in the November
29, 2009 referendum that resulted in a Constitutional amendment on the basis
of which “The construction of minarets is forbidden” (Art. 72, paragraph 3 of the
Constitution), has come to a temporary conclusion.
On June 28, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared inadmissible
the appeals Ouardiri v. Switzerland and Ligue des musulmans de Suisse
v. Switzerland (no. 65840/09 and 66274/09) inasmuch as the plaintiffs cannot
declare themselves “victims” of a violation of the convention. Thus, both sides
cannot ask that the case be brought before the Grande Chamber for a final judgement.
The first plaintiff was a Muslim, formerly spokesman of the Geneva mosque
and currently a member of a foundation. In the second case three associations
and a foundation were involved. Their function is to supply social and spiritual
assistance to Muslims living in Switzerland.
However, the court ruled, on the basis of a previous ruling dated January 21, 2010,
that Swiss courts are capable of reviewing the compatibility with the Convention
of every ensuing and successive refusal to allow the construction of a minaret.
Episodes of “Christianophobia”
In the climate of confrontation between members of various religions, the Aargauer
Zeitung reported on September 18, 2011 that the immigrants’ association Secondos
Plus, requested in August 2011 that the sign of the cross be removed from the
Swiss flag, as it “no longer corresponded with today’s multi-cultural Switzerland”,
and proposed a return to the 1799 flag, which featured green, red and yellow
stripes. The confrontation has not been taking place exclusively about symbols.
On November 18, 2011 the Solothurner Zeitung reported that unknown persons
profaned Christian images that same month in the village of St Pantaleon-Nuglar.
SWITZERLAND

number of sculptures portraying the body of Christ were removed from crosses
and destroyed or vanished and in one case were substituted with pictures of
naked women. La Liberté reported on January 17, 2012, that a Swiss citizen had
committed vandalism against three crucifixes on as many mountain peaks in
2010, after conducting a campaign against the public display of religious symbols.
SWITZERLANDA

AREA
185,180 Km²
A changing situation
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
20,866,000
REFUGEES
6,195
Muslims 92.8%
Christians 5.2%
Catholics 2.1% / Orthodox 2.9% / Protestants 0.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
1,500,000
Since March 2011 Syria has experienced extreme instability. Opposition to
President Bashar El-Assad, whose dictatorial regime is inspired by the secularist
ideology of the Baath Party and relies on the Alawite minority, is being violently
repressed by the army and security forces. On February 26, 2012, Syrians were
asked to vote in a referendum on a number of Constitutional amendments. Approved
by 90% of those who voted, according to data provided by the government in
Damascus, the new text amends primarily Article 8 which had, until then, ensured
that the Baath Party was the pillar of the State and of society, thereby paving the
way for a multi-party system1 .
This reform did not end the uprising or the repression. The movement, initially
a protest demanding greater freedom and democracy, has slowly become an
Islamic revolution and is increasingly a denominational civil war. This revolution is
supported by many Sunni states in the Near East and benefits from the arrival in
Syria of armed mercenaries who are also Sunnis2 .
Although in favour of some kind of reform, Christians in Syria have not generally
joined the opposition movements, while the religious leaders have warned the
West about the consequences of the fall of Bashar El-Assad’s regime. Keeping
Islamism “muzzled” does at least guarantee Christians and other minorities
(Alawites, Druze) security and freedom of worship. Christians are aware that they
risk becoming the object of retaliation from Islamists and of being accused of
having supported the regime3 .
The situation, when this report was drafted, was confusing and the outcome
is not predictable.
1 AsiaNews, March 5 th 2012
2 Ibid., May 24 th 2012
3 Agenzia Fides, May 16 th 2011
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

has been going on for months.
In a statement reported by the Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) several
members of the Syrian Church describe a situation much more complex than that
reported by Western media: “The situation in Syria is much more complex and
difficult to assess than the media in the West make it out to be”.
Many media outlets are simply turning in sloppy reporting. “They seem to be
ignoring that there are also internal power struggles and religious tensions
between the different Muslim groups: tribal feuds and acts of vengeance are a
daily occurrence, and crime is rising in the country, due to the unstable situation” 4 .
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC230,000 inhabitants left the city of Homs, in particular, because of the figting that
4 www.acnuk.org/news.php/348/syria-media-not-telling-the-truth-about-conflict-says-expert

TAIWAN
AREA
33,961 Km²
TAIWAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
23,162,123
REFUGEES
---
Chinese folk religionists 43.1%
Buddhists 26.5%
Neoreligionists 6.8%
Christians 6%
Catholics 1.3% / Protestants 1.7% / Other Chr. 3%
Agnostics / Atheists 4.4%
Others 13.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
On December 2, 2011 the Holy See and the government of Taiwan (officially, the
Republic of China, ROC) signed an agreement recognising degrees offered by
universities linked to the Holy See around the world and those recognised by the
Education Ministry of Taiwan.
Thanks to the agreement, certificates, diplomas and degrees obtained at Church
universities around the world would be recognised in Taiwan. Similarly, the
degrees offered by Taiwanese universities would be recognised by all Church
universities around the world.
Locally, the agreement had a major impact. Degrees and other titles conferred
by the Jesuit-run Faculty of Theology (at Fu Ren Catholic University) will now
be legally recognised.
What is more, Catholic universities and schools in Taiwan will be able to include
programmes connected to the Catholic faith in their course curriculum, and
not limit them to the catechesis. Until then, Taiwanese authorities had refused
confessional programmes for fear of proselytism.
The agreement is the result of one year of solid work. On the Vatican side,
the Congregation for Catholic Education, Taiwanese bishops, Fu Ren University
and other Catholic colleges worked on the project. On the Taiwanese side,
the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (which is responsible
for religious communities), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were instrumental
in reaching the deal. The Embassy of Taiwan to the Holy See and Taiwanese
President Ma Ying-jeou also made a major contribution to the outcome 1 .
1 AsiaNews, December 2 nd 2011
TAIWAN

TAJIKISTAN
AREA
143,100 Km²
TAJIKISTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
7,565,000
REFUGEES
3,323
Muslims 86.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 11.9%
Christians 1.4%
Catholics 0.1% / Orthodox 1.2% / Protestants 0.1%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In theory, the Constitution of Tajikistan protects religious freedom; however, a
2009 law designed to implement the Constitution actually criminalise unregistered
religious activities, bans private religious education and proselytising, severely
restricts the number and size of places of worship, legitimises government
interference in the appointment of Muslim religious leaders, demands that
religious communities seek official recognition to impart religious education and
communicate with fellow believers abroad, and imposes strict State controls on
the publication and importation of religious literature.
In 2011 more restrictions were imposed, including administrative measures that
harshly sanction crimes associated with religion. The Tajik parliament amended
the country’s Criminal Code, increasing to two years in prison the sentence
for people who organise and participate in “Breaking the order for conducting
and organising meetings, mass-meetings, demonstrations, street processions,
picketing”, including religious meetings. Another new provision in the Criminal
Code punishes with 8 to 12 years in prison activities conducted by an organised
group that cause religious hostility.
In August 2011 Tajikistan adopted the ‘Parental Responsibility Act.’ The new law
holds parents responsible for their children’s religious activities. It bans people
under the age of 18 from taking part in any religious activities, except funerals.
Children can only receive a religious education in government-authorised schools.
In a country were half of the population is under the age of 18, such a law is going
to have a major impact on society.
Despite opposition, the law was adopted in a record time at the initiative of
President Emomali Rahmonov, a rare event in Tajikistan’s legislative history.
Soon after, the law was amended to impose heavy sentences (five to eight years,
plus stiff fines) on parents whose children organise or take part in “extremist
religious” lessons1 .
1 Forum 18, “Tajikistan: Religious activity is only banned up to the age of 18”, July 21 st 2011

According to the government, such measures are necessary to stop Islamic
fundamentalism, a growing problem in the country. Tajikistan borders with
Afghanistan where terrorist groups are most active. However, restrictive measures
on religious freedom affect all Tajik families and religious communities.
Foreign religious organisations, like Christian missions, have been forced to
change their youth pastoral plans since they have become virtually illegal.
A survey on religious freedom by Forum 18 found “continuing violations of freedom
of religion or belief and related fundamental human rights” 2 . According to the
study, the State has targeted all independent activity by Muslims, Christians, Jews
and Jehovah’s Witnesses and other believers. In addition to the aforementioned
legislative steps, list of violations includes: demolitions and closures of mosques,
Churches, and the country’s only synagogue; the closure of some communities
of Jehovah’s Witnesses and some Islamic and Protestant movements; arbitrary
jailing of Muslims and criminal charges laid against Jehovah’s Witnesses; an
absolute ban on all religious activity without State permission; restrictions on the
number of mosques allowed; restrictions on the right to share beliefs; and rigid
government censorship of religious material.
NGOs like Human Rights Watch 3 , Freedom House 4 , and the World Christian
Council 5 have openly criticised Tajikistan for its poor record on human rights and
religious freedom.
Hard times for Christians
With the new restrictions and the new law on parental responsibility, the country’s
small Christian community (about 150,000) could be facing yet more difficulties
and problems. Fewer than half of all existing Churches have been able to register.
Many Christians (mostly the young) have become “outlaws” overnight, just for
praying, worshipping and working together in social outreach programmes.
Under the law, Bible studies, group prayers, Church worship, catechism and
other religious practises could be labelled “illegal meetings” if they are not directly
authorised by the State.
In addition, under a measure approved in 2011 the opportunities for Tajiks to gain a
religious education abroad were drastically curtailed 6 . This change has had a very
negative impact on the Churches and Christian communities, which have often
benefitted from support, exchanges and relations with Christian communities and
coreligionists around the world.
2 Forum 18, “TAJIKISTAN: Religious freedom survey”, March 2011
3 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2012
4 Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2011
5 World Christian Council criticizes religious policies of Tajikistan, The Christian Telegraph, 22 September 2011
6 International Christian Concern, 27 May 2011
TAJIKISTAN

to the organisation Open Doors, it is not easy for Christians to live
in an Islamic social and cultural context. Often converts to Christianity face
threats, physical violence, arson and other forms of persecution by mullahs, local
authorities, neighbours and relatives.
Similarly, importing Christian books is restricted, and their availability is minimal.
The country’s only Evangelical bookstore was forced to close. The Bible society
can operate, but under certain restrictions. If Christians engage in active
evangelisation, they are liable to prosecution and fines for their activities.
They also risk harassment and physical violence. In the country’s more remote
tribal areas, Christians are isolated and the pressure from Muslim fundamentalists
is even greater. The activities of all Churches and Christian organisations are
closely monitored by the authorities
TAJIKISTANAccording 7 .
Data from a census conducted at the end of the 20th century show that the
Christian population was growing, all confessions and communities included8 .
The Russian Orthodox Church had about 20 registered communities, seven
temples and about 70,000 members. The Bulgarian and Ukrainian Orthodox
Churches had members as well. Since the establishment of a mission sui iuris
in 1997, the Catholic Church has had three registered Churches with about 250
members (mostly Russians, Germans and Ukrainians). At one point, Dushanbe
had registered 3,000 conversions. Protestants, Evangelical and Pentecostals as
well as some 500 Baptists were also present.
The Lutheran Church had about 8,600 members. In more recent years, the
number of Christians, Russian Orthodox for the most part, has dropped
dramatically as a result of emigration, which rose in the wake of the country’s
civil war and its aftermath.
Muslims under tight control
On May 28, 2011 a court ordered the closure of the country’s largest and most
important mosque, the Muhammadiya Mosque, in Vahdat, which is run by the
family of Haji Akbar Turajonzoda, a popular theologian and charismatic leader
during the country’s civil war in the mid-1990s. The closure was “part of a larger
campaign against unofficial Muslim life in all its forms”, said John Heathershaw
of the University of Exeter, an expert on Islam in Tajikistan, as well as against all
forms of political opposition 9 .
7 Open Doors, Tajikistan World Watch List 2012
8 www.worldmap.org/index.php
9 Eurasianet, “Tajikistan: Could Showdown With Popular Cleric Backfire?”, June 1 st 2012

Turajonzoda was the leader of the state-sanctioned clergy during the late Soviet
era, and has become a staunch critic of President Emomali Rahmonov.
He is also one of the leading figures in the anti-government Muslim opposition.
The mosque in Vahdat regularly drew 15,000 men for Friday prayers, and the sermons
recorded at the mosque were sold on compact disks throughout the country.
The court decision is part of a campaign by the government, the courts and
parliament to impose tighter controls on Islam in order to stop radical and terrorist
groups. The case of the mosque in Vahdat was followed by many others.
The government in fact used an iron fist against unofficial Muslim communities or
unauthorised demonstrations. It sent its forces into mosques, put believers in jail
without a trial, fined and removed imams and banned sermons10 .
After two years of reorganisation, the country now has 3,347 authorised mosque
and 327 centres for Friday prayers11 . Under the law on religion, new regulations
have been issued for mosques, restricting their number and clearly defining their
activities. Large buildings are allowed in districts of 10,000 to 20,000 members, or
50,000 in the case of the capital.
Under the law, imams must be selected by “authorised State bodies responsible
for religious affairs”, and Muslims are allowed to pray only in four types of places:
mosques, cemeteries, homes or shrines.
However, “After decades of enforced secularism, the people of this impoverished
former Soviet republic have been flocking to their traditional religion with all the zeal
of born-again movements anywhere in the world”, an observer recently wrote. 12
Driven by the fear of Islamic radicalism, the government has tried to bring all forms
of religious expression under its control. For if it is true that extremist Muslim
groups prey upon a growing number of Tajik street kids and orphans, as some
NGOs contend, in order to recruit and instil in them radical ideologies and to turn
them into little terrorists 13 , on the other hand, too much government pressure
could equally have the opposite effect and drive many, especially young people,
to join “illegal organizations”, as Mahmadali Hait, deputy chairman of Tajikistan’s
opposition Islamic Revival Party, observes. This could lead to a vicious cycle that
can only increase the level of radicalisation in the country.
10 Forum 18, February 6 th 2012
11 US Department of State, July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, September 2011
12 The New York Times, “On the Rise in Tajikistan, Islam Worries an Authoritarian Government”, July 17 th 2011
13 Agenzia Fides, May 28 th 2011
TAJIKISTAN

TANZANIA
AREA
883,749 Km²
TANZANIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
45,039,573
REFUGEES
131,243
Christians 53.2%
Catholics 28.3% / Protestants 18.5% / Anglicans 6.4%
Muslims 31.6%
Ethnoreligionists 13.4%
Others 1.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 19 of the 1997 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania recognises
freedom of religion, including the right to change one’s beliefs, as well as stating
the non-interference of the State in religious matters.
Religious organisations are obliged to register, proving they have at least ten
followers, presenting their charter and a letter of presentation from the District
Commissioner. In the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, organisations need a
letter of approval signed by the Mufti.
Religious organisations are forbidden from involvement in political issues.
There has been no significant change since the previous report, but there but are
reported cases of violence in Zanzibar against Muslim converts to Christianity
and an increase in the same island of the influence of Islamic extremists 1 .
There continue to be cases of violence caused by superstition against albinos 2 in
spite of the election of an albino member of parliament in November 2010 3 , which
was a historical event in the evolution of public opinion towards this problem.
1 Compass Direct News, September 5 th 2011
2 www.reuters.com, May 5 th 2011
3 http://it.peacereporter.net/articolo/25047/Tanzania,+un+albino+entra+a+far+parte+del+parlamento

AREA
513,115 Km²
THAILAND
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
65,124,334
REFUGEES
89,253
Buddhists 86.7%
Muslims 6.4%
Ethnoreligionists 2.3%
Christians 1.2%
Catholics 0.5% / Protestants 0.5% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 3.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
240,000
The 2007 Constitution 1 guarantees full religious freedom (Section 37) and forbids
all discrimination based on religious beliefs (Section 30).
There is no State religion, although the Theravada Buddhist school of thought
practised by almost all citizens enjoys special protection from the authorities and
must be professed by the king (Section 9).
There are five religious families that are officially recognised: Buddhism, Islam,
Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianism.
Any new group wishing to register must belong to one of these religions. A special
agency that depends from the Ministry of Culture called the RAD 2 (Religious Affairs
Department), deals with registrations and verifies the presence of the required
status. Non-authorised groups are able to operate freely, however. Although there
is supposed to be a restriction on the number of foreign missionaries, there are
many present who do not have official authorisation yet operate without experiencing
any problems 3 .
Thailand is in fact one of the Asian countries with the best record in the area of
interreligious coexistence.
In spite of the political instability that has characterised the country in recent years,
during the period analysed for this report there have not been any instances
of obstacles to the exercise of religious freedom.
Interreligious activities
From January 11 to January 13 a conference entitled “Dialogue between Asian
cultures” was held at the Catholic-run Assumption University in Bangkok.
It was attended by 50 important representatives of the Buddhist, Christian, Muslim
1 www.asianlii.org/th/legis/const/2007/1.html
2 Religious Affairs Department: www.dra.go.th
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
THAILAND

Confucian religious as well as the ethnic minorities. About twenty university
students also attended this event
THAILANDand 4 .
Violence in the South
In about seven years of armed insurrection and guerrilla warfare, Islamic terrorist
groups in Southern Thailand, in the three provinces where there is a Muslim majority
(Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat), on the border with Malaysia, have killed over
4,000 people, mainly police officers, Buddhist monks and teachers.
Although the violence has lessened in intensity and there have been fewer deaths,
it continues to cause many victims on both sides5 .
4 AsiaNews, January 13 th 2012
5 Ucanews, January 20 th 2011; Fides News Agency, July 14 th 2011

AREA
14,374 Km²
TIMOR LESTE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,066,582
REFUGEES
---
Christians 84.2%
Catholics 80.7% / Protestants 3.5%
Ethnoreligionists 11.2%
Muslims 3.8%
Others 0.8%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution1 of this country, better known as East Timor, which has a large
Catholic majority, guarantees respect for religious freedom – in Part I, Section 12
(State and religious denominations) and in Part II, Chapter II, Section 45 (Freedom
of conscience, religion and worship) – and these laws of the country protect
this fundamental right of the citizen at all levels.
The Protestant and Muslim minorities also enjoy full rights and there are no
reports of political or social discrimination. On the contrary, representatives of
these communities are appointed to important positions in both the government
and the armed forces.
In addition to the principal Christian festivities, such as Christmas, Easter,
All Saints, Good Friday, the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception, the
Muslim holy days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are also national holidays.
The complete withdrawal of all UN troops is planned for the end of 2012.
They have been present here since 1999 in order to guarantee peace and
security in the country2 .
No significant institutional or legislative changes have been reported, nor
have there been any significant incidents relating to freedom of religion during
the period under review.
1 www.gov.east-timor.org/Constitution/Constitution-Timor-Leste.pdf
2 AsiaNews, April 17 th 2012
TIMOR LESTE

TOGO
AREA
56,785 Km²
TOGO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,753,324
REFUGEES
19,270
Christians 45.7%
Catholics 24.6% / Protestants 12% / Other Chr. 9.1%
Ethnoreligionists 34.2%
Muslims 19.4%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The Constitution establishes religious freedom and the State authorities generally
respect this right. The Constitution also forbids the formation of political parties
based on religion and states that “no political party should identify itself with a
region, an ethnic group or a religion.” This does not prevent individual Catholic,
Protestant and Muslim citizens from holding positions of authority within the local
and national administrations.
The State recognises three official religions: Catholicism, Protestantism and
Islam, and requires other religious groups to register as associations. Registration,
and official recognition, brings fiscal advantages for imports via an application
to the Foreign Ministry.
For a request for registration to be accepted, a religious association must present
its statutes, a statement about its doctrine, the names and addresses of members
of its board of directors, the pastor or parish priest’s diploma, a contract, a map of
the place where it has its headquarters and a description of its financial situation.
The ethics of a religious group, which must in no way threaten public order, are of
the utmost importance for obtaining recognition of legal status.
For the period analysed there have been no reports of violations of the right to
religious freedom or changes in legislation.

AREA
650 Km²
TONGA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
104,260
REFUGEES
2
Christians 95.8%
Catholics 13.8% / Protestants 80.5% / Anglicans 1.5%
Baha’is 3.5%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In the archipelago of Tonga the right to religious freedom is recognised in
Article 5 of the 1875 Constitution, amended on various occasions until 1990.
Missionaries are present and active here and all groups are permitted to work
without registration. Almost all schools are run by religious groups.
For the period examined, no case of violation of religious freedom has been reported.
TONGA

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
AREA
5,130 Km²
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
1,317,714
REFUGEES
22
Christians 62.7%
Catholics 28.4% / Orthodox 0.7% / Protestants 20.6%
Anglicans 6% / Other Chr. 7%
Hindus 24.3%
Muslims 7.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.3%
Others 3.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The 1976 Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, amended at various
times until 2000, lists in Article 4 a series of fundamental rights of citizens.
Among them, in Paragraph H, freedom of conscience and religious belief and
observance is listed.
The main religion is Christianity in its various expressions, but there are also Islamic
and Hindu minorities.
The religious lives of the various communities take place without any problems
and these are totally autonomous from government authorities. Government representatives
take part in the various religious festivities thus facilitating good
inter-religious relations.
There are no reports of events involving intolerance or violations of individual or
associative rights to religious freedom.

AREA
163,610 Km²
TUNISIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
10,549,200
REFUGEES
3,048
Muslims 99.5%
Christians 0.2%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The revolution of December 2010 that ended President Ben Ali’s regime in January
2011 placed Tunisian Christians in an uncertain position regarding their future,
especially since the majority of seats in the October 23 general elections were
won by Islamic parties. Islam has always been the State religion of Tunisia, which
gained independence from France in 1956. Ben Ali, who followed the Bourguiba
regime, modernised the country’s law, putting aside a certain number of Sharia
(Islamic law) practises to allow those who wanted to conduct secular lives to
maintain their Muslim identity. Proclaiming the Gospels and changing religion were
officially forbidden, but not condemned by law. Additionally, importing Christian
books, especially in Arabic, was subject to strong restrictions.
Tunisians who became Christians encountered great difficulties with their families
and frequently lost their jobs.
The Catholic Church is the only Christian religion with official status, while
the other minority faiths, such as Evangelical Christianity, are not recognised
by the State. Most of the 25,000/30,000 Christians in Tunisia are foreigners,
but there are some converts among them. The victory of the Islamic Ennahda
(Renaissance) and the emergence of the Salafites (radical Islamists) will
doubtless be followed by the drafting of a new Constitution that threatens to
restore the preeminence of Sharia law, calling into question the advantages
that Tunisian Muslims now enjoy, and bringing negative consequences for
non-practising Muslims and new Christians.
Some Christian converts have expressed their concerns. “Under Ben Ali’s
leadership, the situation was not good, but we enjoyed a certain level of freedom
to practise our religion. We must pray for greater freedom in the future and to be
able to share our faith with Muslims without fearing serious consequences” 1 .
1 Zenit, January 31st 2011
TUNISIA

On February 18, 2011 a Polish Salesian priest, Father Marek Rybinski, was
murdered in his house in Tunis. The killer had borrowed 2,000 dinar from the
priest to buy professional equipment, but had used the money in other ways.
The reason for the murder may have been the person’s refusal to pay back
the debt to Father Rybinski, but the manner in which he was found after his
death, by having his throat cut, suggested that this murder could have had some
Islamic religious overtones. An investigation is going on to shed more light on
this tragic event 2 .
TUNISIATwo events that took place during the revolution could strengthen these fears.
In September 2011 about 20 Salafite militants occupied the Romanesque basilica
at Kef, in the country’s northwest in order to host Muslim Friday prayers.
The basilica was built in the 6th century and was transformed into a mosque
in the 17 th century before being returned to its original function and becoming a
cultural and tourist destination 3 .
2 Fides, February 22 th 2011
3 El Watan, September 17 th 2011

AREA
774,815 Km²
TURKEY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
73,722,988
REFUGEES
14,465
Muslims 97.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 2%
Christians 0.3%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
953,680 - 1,201,200
Following pressure by international organisations, the Turkish authorities have
on more than one occasion expressed their intention to improve the status of
some religious minorities. The resolution, for example, adopted in Venice in
March 2010 by the Council of Europe’s Commission for Religious Freedom,
asked Turkey to legally recognise religious minorities that have not yet been
acknowledged, such as the Latin Catholic Church and to firmly take action
against all forms of discrimination 1 .
On August 27 Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan announced the restitution of
all assets seized from religious minorities at the time of the creation of the modern
Republic of Turkey (1923), and then again after 1936 and after 1960.
This announcement, confirmed by a decree published in the country’s Official
Gazette, was addressed to the representatives of 161 religious foundations
affected by the issue. These foundations belong to the three non-Islamic minorities
recognised by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), namely the Greek Orthodox
community (depending from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), the
Apostolic Armenians and the Jews. In November, the General Board of Directors
of the Foundations, a government body, decided to grant these foundations with
juridical status 2 .
The prime minister has given them a year to present requests for restitution or
compensation, regardless of whether these assets, consisting of Churches,
monasteries, cemeteries, hospitals, schools, inhabited buildings, fountains or
lands, have became the property of the State or been sold to private individuals.
Over one thousand properties were confiscated from the Greek Orthodox Church
(represented by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) and about thirty
from the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Jewish community hopes to recover all
the cemeteries it owned before 1930.
1 The Tablet, March 27 th 2010
2 Agenzia Fides, November 19 th 2011
TURKEY

François Yakan, the Chaldean patriarchal Vicar in Istanbul, has protested,
since the Church he leads has been excluded from benefitting from this decree.
In fact, because it is not mentioned in the Treaty of Lausanne, it has no juridical
status in Turkey. In spite of this, Mgr Yakan has announced his intention to present
a request for the restitution of all his Church’s assets confiscated by the State. The
same applies to the Syriac Catholic Church, which was also not mentioned in the
Treaty of Lausanne and likewise intends to ask for the return of its property, which
includes the Church of the Sacred Heart in Istanbul, the Monastery of St Ephrem
and some property in Mardine.
TURKEYMgr
The government has announced its intention to return various Churches,
synagogues and monasteries in Turkey. The Turkish Episcopal Conference called
the publication of the decree on the restitution of assets belonging to religious
minorities, “another step in the right direction.” Government authorities have
decided to restore places of worship such as the Armenian Catholic Church in
the province of Diyarbakir, the largest synagogue in the province of Edirne, the
Greek Church of Taksiyarhis on the Island of Cunda, many Greek Churches
and monasteries on the Island of Imbro, the Syriac Church in Antioch and the
Greek-Catholic Church in Iskenderun. Furthermore, the Greek-Orthodox Church
of St Nicolas, destroyed in 1960, will be rebuilt in Bodrum (a well-known tourist
destination in south-western Turkey), according to an agreement signed by the
mayor of Bodrum and members of the municipal assembly3 .
Finally, the restitution proposed by the government does not take into account
assets seized from the Armenians at the time of the 1915 genocide. It is for
this reason that Aram I, Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, once
headquartered in Cilicia, in southern Turkey and moved to the Lebanon following
the massacres, addressed an open letter to Prime Minister Erdogan, in which he
emphasised the inadequacy of his decision. Aram I also wrote, “As the spiritual
and juridical head of the Patriarchate of Orthodox Armenians, uprooted from
its historical seat and moved to the Lebanon, and as the representative of the
children of the Armenian Church expelled from Turkey and spread all over the
world, I believe that your decree dated August 27, 2011 is a partial and unfair one”.
On February 21, 2012 Patriarch Bartholomew I was invited to make a deposition
behind closed doors in front of a parliamentary commission appointed to prepare
the draft for a new Constitution. This was the first time the Turkish State had
taken such an initiative since the advent of the republic. The Patriarch handed
in an 18-page document summarising the requests made by the non-Muslim
communities, which amount to about one hundred thousand members – from the
Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Chaldean, Syriac, Latin and Jewish communities.
3 Agenzia Fides, October 22 nd 2011

Helped by a number of jurists, the representatives of all these communities
participated in drafting this document4 .
On that same day, Kuryakos Ergün, president of the foundation of the Syriacs
of St Gabriel, was also heard by the parliamentary commission. Although a
number of leaders of the Armenian and Jewish communities are expected to
be heard, nothing has been announced concerning possible hearings involving
representatives of the Chaldean and Latin Churches or the Protestant communities
present in Turkey.
The requests set out in the document presented to the parliamentary commission,
include the desire for equal treatment for all Turkish citizens and a fair distribution
of public funds allocated to religious and educational services. The document
also insists on the reopening of the Armenian seminary in Istanbul and the Greek-
Orthodox seminary in Halki, closed by the authorities respectively in 1970 and in
1971 when higher education became a State monopoly. Since the law states that
it is compulsory for the Greek Patriarch, for whom the government rejects the title
of Ecumenical, to be a Turkish citizen, born and raised in Turkey, this requisite
poses serious problems in the event of a succession. The position improved,
however, when in 2010 it became possible for metropolitans residing abroad to
acquire Turkish nationality.
At the end of the hearing, Bartholomew I said, “We wish this Constitution to be
the charter of all citizens. We do not wish to be considered second-class citizens.
We do not wish to be treated differently, but equally. We want theological schools
to be reopened, we want freedom of conscience and religion. In the past I visited
many ministers and even the prime minister, and was always received with good
intentions, but promises have not always been kept” 5 .
The State has approved a number of specific provisions on behalf of the Churches.
In September 2010 the Armenian Apostolic Church was granted permission
to celebrate a Mass in the Church of the Holy Cross, situated on the island of
Aghtamar (Lake Van, eastern Turkey). The authorities, however, forbade a cross
being placed on the cupola of this sanctuary, which after being closed at the time
of the 1915 genocide, was restored and transformed into a museum in 2007.
In June and in July 2011 the Syriacs (not recognised by the Treaty of Lausanne)
also obtained permission to once again worship in two of their Churches, which
had been closed since the days of the genocide – one in Alexandrette (Iskanderun
in Turkish), capital of the province with the same name, and the other in Adiyaman,
also a provincial capital and the metropolitan seat of the Syriac Catholic Church.
4 Agenzia Fides, February 6 th 2012
5 La Croix, February 21 st 2012
TURKEY

was the first time since the days of the Ottoman Empire that the Syriac Christians
were able to reopen their Churches. They were immediately re-consecrated.
In spite of this, no decision has been taken concerning the destiny of the Mar-
Gabriel Syriac-Orthodox monastery (4
TURKEYThis th Century), in the Tour-Abdine region
in Western Turkey, where there are three monks, fourteen nuns and about
forty Christian students. Since 2008, they have been battling with procedures
challenging the Syriac-Orthodox Church’s ownership of this property.
In 2009 the land registry courts in Mydiat found for the Mar-Gabriel foundation
and then on January 26, 2011 the Ankara Court of Cassation passed a sentence
ordering that the land owned by the monastery be registered in the name
of the Treasury.
Furthermore, the Church of Santa Sofia in Nicea (Iznik in Turkish), the place
where two Ecumenical Councils were held in 325 and in 787, which had been
transformed into a mosque in 1331 and then into a museum in 2007, was once
again transformed into a mosque in November 2011.
The Latin Church is not involved in these provisions and these promises since it
is not mentioned in the Treaty of Lausanne and is thus deprived of any juridical
status. Furthermore, at times it has been arbitrarily deprived of some of its assets,
which are now in secular hands – with orphanages confiscated and parish
buildings demolished to make room for hotels. Mgr Louis Pelâtre, Apostolic
Vicar of Istanbul said, “Our real problem remains our basic property, we have no
ownership papers and have never had any. This is not an easy situation. I am not
recognised as a bishop, I can open a bank account in my own name but not in the
name of my diocese” 6 .
Finally, it is worth mentioning that for the first time in the past fifty years, a Christian
has been elected to the Turkish parliament. He is an Evangelical Protestant called
Erol Dora, elected in the constituency of Mardine (south-eastern Turkey) when the
assembly was renewed in June 2011 7 .
6 Interview with L’œuvre d’Orient, July 1 st 2011
7 Agenzia Fides, July 14 th 2011

AREA
774,815 Km²
TURKMENISTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
5,176,502
REFUGEES
59
Muslims 87.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 10.4%
Christians 2.3%
Catholics 0.1% / Orthodox 1.8% / Protestants 0.4%
Others 0.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Although guaranteed by the Constitution, religious freedom in Turkmenistan is
subject to a number of legal restrictions that can result in abuse. All religious
organisations must register and obtain authorisation, or be charged with a criminal
offence. Groups of believers are subject to harassment from the authorities and at
times registrations are cancelled on unfounded grounds. Unregistered religious
groups cannot undertake any religious activities, attend meetings, distribute
religious literature or speak of their faith.
There is no State religion in Turkmenistan, but Islamic institutions and imams
receive financial support from the State. Islamic studies are included in State
schools’ curricula. Private religious instruction is not permitted and religious
minorities cannot legally provide instruction without permission from the
institutions1 .
A survey on religious freedom in the country, commissioned by the Forum 18
news agency, indicated that religious freedom in Turkmenistan remains very
restricted2 . The systematic violations reported include the presence of prisoners
of conscience, including conscientious objectors imprisoned for having exercised
religious freedom, the lack of fair trial and legal aid, State control over religious
leaders and communities, severe restrictions concerning religious instruction, the
law forbidding women from studying theology, the registration system imposed
on religious communities planned in order to impose State control, serious
problems in obtaining registration, police raids on registered and unregistered
groups, impediments to obtaining a place of worship even for registered groups,
restrictions to freedom of movement for believers and the censorship of religious
books and other material.
One should bear in mind that, in spite of the aforementioned restrictions still in
force, the overall framework of the respect of human rights and freedom has
1 The Institute on Religion & Public Policy, July 27 th 2011
2 Forum 18, March 8 th 2012
TURKMENISTAN

improved since 2007 when, following the death of the authoritarian
President Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov became
the Head of State. There have been some improvements under the new president,
with the creation of two new human rights commissions, the expressed intention
to amend rigid laws on freedom of conscience, and a degree of openness to
the external world that has for the first time allowed United Nations and OSCE
observers access to the country.
Difficulties and restrictions for Christians
Christians have experienced difficulties due to a lack of places of worship. They
cannot engage in evangelisation but can only worship in strictly authorised
buildings and communities.
Although acknowledging that the Turkmen government has relaxed control
over imported religious material for Orthodox Christian parishes, the Russian
Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has emphasised that the Orthodox Church has not yet
obtained permission to build a new cathedral in the capital Ashgabad, and that
the community has started talks with the government on this issue. Designed in
TURKMENISTANhowever
1990, the Church was never built and the land allocated has now been used for
another building3 .
Almost 18 months after his arrest in August 2010, the Protestant Pastor Ilmurad
Nurliev, sentenced to four years in prison for leading an unregistered Christian
community, has now been released. His release was the result of an amnesty on
February 18, 2012 for about 230 prisoners detained in labour camps4 .
The pastor is, however, kept under close supervision by the police and must
report on his activities every week.
In January 2011, police officers carried out a raid on a private apartment in
Turkmenabad, where a group of Protestant Christians were praying.
The court imposed heavy fines on at least five of those present for unauthorised
religious activities5 .
Arrests of Jehovah’s Witnesses
At the end of 2011 there were eight Jehovah’s Witnesses in prison for reasons
of conscience, for refusing to serve their compulsory military service. Arrests
continued during the first months of 2012. In September, Jehovah’s Witness
3 Forum 18, March 11 th 2011
4 Ibid., February 20 th 2012
5 Ibid., January 28 th 2011

Mahmud Hudaybergenov was sentenced to two years in a labour camp for having
refused to do his compulsory military service 6 . Another Jehovah’s Witness was
sentenced in July to a year under the same charges, and then released under the
amnesty at the end of August.
Restrictions applied to Muslims
Although Islam is the religion professed by the majority of the country’s five million
people, and there is a special controlling committee, the “Gengeshi” (Council for
Religious Affairs) which appoints the grand mufti and the more important imams,
Muslims too suffer restrictions and problems. In November 2011, the Turkmen
authorities allowed about 180 believers to leave for the Haj, the pilgrimage to
Mecca, although the quota established by the government itself had been for
5,000 Muslims.
6 Forum 18, September 22 nd 2011
TURKMENISTAN

TUVALU
AREA
26 Km²
TUVALU
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
11,149
REFUGEES
---
Christians 94.4%
Catholics 1.5% / Protestants 90.4% / Other Chr. 2.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 3.3%
Baha’is 2.1%
Others 0.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
As the Preamble to the Constitution states, this country is “an independent State
founded on Christian principles, a state of law, and based on the customs and
traditions of Tuvalu”.
Religious freedom is acknowledged in detail in Article 23 of the 1978 Constitution,
amended in 1990.
All groups with more than 50 members must register. Missionary activities are
admitted with no restrictions.
In practise however, in this tiny nation, the profession of religious beliefs differing
from those generally recognised has at times resulted in discrimination.
In the various islands, the Council of Elders traditionally has the power to restrict
freedom of worship if it is considered contrary to current customs and traditions.
For the period under review no violations of the right of religious freedom have
been reported.

AREA
241,038 Km²
UGANDA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
31,784,600
REFUGEES
139,448
Christians 85.5%
Catholics 40.7% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 5.3%
Anglicans 36.8 / Other Chr. 2.6%
Muslims 10.7%
Ethnoreligionists 2.3%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
30,000
Article 7 of the 1995 Constitution 1 affirms that Uganda does not recognise any
religion as a State religion and Article 29 guarantees all citizens full religious freedom,
both for individuals and associations.
Furthermore, the law forbids the formation of political parties based on religion
or on ethnicity. Some Christian and Muslim festivals are recognised as national
holidays.
To obtain legal status, religious communities must register. The larger Churches,
such as the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church and
the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, benefit from the legislation established in
the Trustees Incorporation Act, which guarantees organisational autonomy, fiscal
benefits and full operational freedom 2 .
Other groups, such as the Evangelical and Pentecostal communities, are on the
same level as NGOs and although they enjoy the same operational conditions
as the aforementioned Churches, they are subject to an annual renewal of their
registration and a check on the donations they receive.
Religious instruction in State schools is optional. There are many private Christian
schools and Islamic madrassas in the country 3 .
Relations between the various religious communities are cordial and no significant
problems have been reported. Many shared initiatives are undertaken with
the objective of bringing peace to the country and putting an end to the tragedy
involving the kidnapping of children and their use as “child soldiers” by sectarian
armed movements.
From 1986 onwards, in the region of Acholiland in Northern Uganda, there was a
ferocious civil war between government forces and the Lord’s Resistance Army
(LRA), a sect-like movement of supposedly Christian inspiration, led by Joseph
1 www.ugandalawlibrary.com/ull/lawlib/Constitution.asp
2 www.usig.org/countryinfo/laws/Uganda/The%20Trustees%20Incorporation%20Act%20Cap%20165.pdf
3 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
UGANDA

For over twenty years the Lord’s Resistance Army spread terror among the
people of the area, with massacres, raids, and the kidnapping of children who
were then forced to fight for him. For this violence Kony has been indicted by the
International Criminal Court. The war resulted in about 300,000 deaths and over
a million and a half refugees.
The LRA forces were finally forced to leave Uganda, but are currently still causing
havoc in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and in
the Western parts of South Sudan
UGANDAKony. 4 .
Relations between Christians and Muslims are also managed in a friendly manner.
Since 2003 there has been a “Programme for Relations between Christians
and Muslims”, which seeks to promote good relations between the members of
the two communities and encourage awareness of the need for reciprocal tolerance
among the young. This body consists of representatives from the Catholic,
Orthodox and Anglican communities as well as representatives from the Uganda
Muslim Supreme Council.
Nevertheless, the cultural and political advance of Islam is a major cause of concern.
During a visit to the headquarters of the Pontifical Foundation “Aid to the
Church in Need” (ACN) in Königstein, Germany, Bishop Matthias Ssekamanya of
Lugazi, central Uganda, noted that Muslims have assumed key roles in several
major ministries in Uganda, including the economy and education5 .
4 Agenzia Fides, September 3 rd 2011
5 Ibid., June 8 th 2011

AREA
603,700 Km²
General situation
UKRAINE
At a press conference on religious freedom held in March 2012 the secretary general
of the Ukrainian Association of Religious Freedom, (UARS), Petr Ganulich,
said that the main problem in the country concerned relations with Protestant
Churches and communities. In his opinion, “there is a sufficiently developed juridical
and legislative basis in Ukraine. In various areas, however, there are restrictions
to freedom of conscience applied to all denominations, to the religious
freedom of a number of minorities and to the ownership and economic rights of a
number of religious associations”.
In particular, after the election of President Viktor Yanukovich, politically close to
the Kremlin, the relations between the authorities and the Greek-Catholic Church
have deteriorated. The February 11, 2011, at the presentation of his resignation to
the Archbishop of Kiev guide for health reasons, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar said:
“The authorities do not want to talk to us: for a whole year there have been no
meetings with the president or other government officials to discuss our situation.
This is a problem that must be resolved calmly and without exploitation”.
Legislative measures
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
45,724,242
REFUGEES
2,676
Christians 82.8%
Catholics 10.2% / Orthodox 68.5% / Protestants 4,1%
Agnostics / Atheists 14.6%
Muslims 2.2%
Others 0.4%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
During 2011 the Ukrainian government implemented a number of provisions to improve
conditions for religious associations, providing them with the right to the free
and perpetual use of land, and permission to pay the same price for gas as ordinary
citizens, instead of the price paid by companies as previously established.
On September 22 Ukraine’s Verkhovnaja Rada (parliament) passed an amended
version of the law on the juridical status of foreigners. The new law simplifies
procedures for visas for foreign priests, who may now remain in the country “to
preach religious doctrines, practise religious rites or other activities at the invitation
of religious associations”.
UKRAINE

April 2011 Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence approved the Ukrainian Armed Forces’
“Project for pastoral care”, aimed at guaranteeing troops freedom of conscience
and of religious faith. The concept of military chaplains is being introduced, though
this will require further work with the various Churches and religious associations
involved before it can be implemented.
At a government level, relations with religious denominations have been entrusted
to the Ministry for Culture, which has assumed the functions of the now disbanded
State Committee for Religious Affairs. State registration of religious associations
has been delegated to the State Registration Office. Following these decisions,
amendments were made to the law on religious associations.
UKRAINEIn
In 2011 there was also a debate on closing the National Commission for promoting
the defence of public morality, with religious associations instead requesting
that it remain active.
Problems
According to human rights organisations, it is the local administrations in Ukraine
that are creating obstacles to the development of the minority religious denominations,
in favour of the dominant ones in the various regions.
This was stated in the Report entitled “Human Rights in Ukraine in 2011”, presented
on March 13, 2012 by the Institute for Religious Freedom (IRS) in Kiev.
These problems mainly concern the granting of land for building places of worship,
the restitution to their legitimate owners of Churches confiscated during
the Soviet era and other similar issues. Furthermore, the report emphasises
that the predominance of the particular religions varies from region to region,
making it difficult to assess a national tendency in this sector.
So as to ensure electoral support, local politicians usually propose the support of
the most popular local religion.
Sources consulted
Agenzia informativa “Ukrinform”
Agenzia Informativa CNL-News
Associazione per la Libertà Religiosa dell’Ucraina (UARS)
Istituto per la libertà religiosa (IRS), Kiev
U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
83,600 Km²
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
4,707,307
REFUGEES
677
Muslims 76.2%
Christians 12.6%
Catholics 9.9% / Orthodox 1.3% / Protestants 0.2%
Anglicans 0.2% / Other Chr. 1%
Hindus 6.6%
Others 4.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Islam is the official religion of all seven emirates that make up the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) and of their Federal Constitution.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of worship for non-Muslims, provided this
does not violate the laws or public morality. Article 75 of the Federal Supreme
Court regulations states, “The Supreme Court shall apply the provisions of the
Islamic Sharia, the federal laws, and the other laws in force in the Emirates, that
are members of the federation, and which are consistent with the provisions of
the Islamic Sharia. Usages, the principles of natural law and of comparative law
shall be applied inasmuch as they do not contradict the provisions of this Sharia”.
The UAE established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See in May 2010.
On December 11, 2010 the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research,
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, attended the inauguration ceremony for
the Coptic Orthodox Church built at Al-Ain.
On Good Friday, the small Catholic Filipino community in Abu Dhabi was permitted
to organise the traditional pilgrimage to the “seven Churches” in the few religious
buildings in the country, which are more than 100 km distance from each other.
Orlan Santos, a nurse in Al Ain Hospital in Abu Dhabi and the initiative’s organizer,
said that dozens of people took part, in spite of the distance and the desert heat.
Among them were also many foreign Catholics who live and work in the UAE 1 .
The first Russian Orthodox Church was opened in June 2011 in Sharjah after
four years of work. Named after the Apostle Phillip, it is the first on the Arabian
peninsula to have five golden crosses on its cupolas. Very often, so as to obtain
permission to build Christian places of worship, the authorities ask that they avoid
exhibiting explicit symbols. The Patriarch of Moscow wrote on his web site that
this event, “so important for the community in the region”, took place thanks to the
Emir of Sharjah, Sultan bin Muhammad 2 .
1 AsiaNews, April 22 nd 2011
2 Ibid., June 2011
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UNITED KINGDOM
AREA
230,762 Km²
UNITED KINGDOM
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
61,899,272
REFUGEES
193,510
Discrimination directed at Christians
Christians 66%
Catholics 9.8% / Orthodox 1% / Protestants 10%
Anglicans 43.5% / Other Chr. 1.7%
Agnostics / Atheists 31%
Muslims 1.4%
Others 1.6%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
There have been more and more cases of discrimination against Christians of all
denominations who manifest their faith in public.
As of August 2012 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was
hearing a case brought by two British citizens who had opposed a ban on wearing
a cross or crucifix in the work place by their respective employers. One of them,
Nadia Eweida, is a Coptic Christian formerly employed by British Airways at
Heathrow Airport. In 2006 the company asked her to remove the crucifix she
wore during working hours. She refused and was put on unpaid leave, although
her Islamic, Sikh and Buddhist colleagues were permitted by British Airways to
wear turbans, head veils and religious bracelets. Eweida was later readmitted to
her job but asked to be paid for the period during which she had been prevented
from working. When the company refused, the case was taken to an employment
tribunal, then to the Court of Appeal. Both times the case was dismissed. Eweida
took the case to the European Court of Human Rights1 .
A similar case is that of Shirley Chaplin, a nurse whose hospital employer forbade
her from wearing the crucifix she had worn on her neck for the past thirty years.
She was banned from working on a hospital ward and she was transferred to
an office job by her employer, the UK National Health Service, who stated that
wearing a crucifix was not a requirement of the Christian faith in the same way
that, for example, a turban is compulsory for Sikhs2 .
In all these cases the British government intends to insist that the Christian faith
does not require believers to wear a crucifix in the workplace3 .
1 Press Association, October 22nd 2010; Judiciary.gov.uk Nadia Eweida v British Airways PLC
[www.judiciary.gov.uk/media/judgments/2010/eweida-v-ba-plc]
2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-17346834
3 CNSNews.com, March 12 th 2012

Ironically while Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said that the government
would call on European human rights judges to dismiss the Christian workers’
claims, both of the above cases were backed by the government’s own Equality
Commission4 – and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, stated that his personal
view was “that people should be able to wear crosses” 5 . In numerous interviews
various Christian leaders have observed that it is an obligation for Christians not
to hide their faith in public. In particular, John Sentamu, the Anglican archbishop
of York – the second highest ranking member of the Church of England’s hierarchy
– told the BBC “that this is not the business of Government actually. They are
beginning to meddle in areas that they ought not to” 6 .
The Strasbourg Court will also have to rule on appeals presented by two other
British citizens who claim they lost their jobs because of matters of conscientious
objections. The appeals were filed by Lillian Ladele, a registrar who was dismissed
by Islington Borough Council for having objected in principle, on conscientious
gounds, to conducting same-sex civil partnerships, and Gary McFarlane, a
therapist, who lost his job for not wanting to provide sex therapy to same-sex
couples7 .
The British government granted registered homosexual couples the same rights
as married heterosexual couples with the 2004 Civil Partnership Act – in force
since December 5, 2005 – and it is currently planning to introduce same-sex civil
marriage in England and Wales by 2015.
The president and vice-president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England
and Wales, Archbishops Vincent Nichols and Peter Smith, sent a letter to be read
in all Catholic Churches in England and Wales on March 10, 2012, warning that
changing the legal definition of marriage would be “a profoundly radical step” that
would “gradually and inevitably transform society’s understanding of the purpose
of marriage” 8 . The Catholic Education Service (CES) was investigated by the government’s
Education Secretary, Michael Gove, on the grounds that it may have
broken impartiality rules after circulating the Archbishops’ letter – which included
promotion of a petition in favour of keeping the law on marriage unchanged – to
nearly 400 state-funded Catholic schools. It followed complaints that St Philome-
4 Daily Mail, March 12 th 2012 [www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113639/Lynne-Featherstone-
launches-assault-right-wear-cross-work.html]
5 Daily Telegraph, March 13 th 2012 [www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9139508/Cameron-would-
consider-changing-law-to-protect-religious-freedom.html]
6 Ibid., March 11 th 2012 [www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9136641/Archbishop-of-York-Dr-
John-Sentamu-attacks-Government-over-right-to-wear-cross.html]
7 ACI Prensa, November 3 rd 2011
8 www.catholic-ew.org.uk/Home/News-Releases/January-March/Archbishops-Letter-on-Marriage
UNITED KINGDOM

the letter to pupils. Controversy centred around the school having invited pupils to
sign the petition. A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Schools have
a responsibility under law to ensure children are insulated from political activity
and campaigning in the classroom. While faith schools, rightly, have the freedom
to teach about sexual relations and marriage in the context of their own religion,
that should not extend to political campaigning”. CES says it is only intended to be
signed by people over the age of 16, and the age restriction would be stressed in
all future correspondence with schools9 . After the investigation Michael Gove told
the CES he was concerned that it had blurred the distinction between matters of
faith and politics, but stated the law had not been breached10 .
As of August 2012 the petition had more than 590,000 signatures11 .
In Scotland, Catholic midwives Mary Doogan, 57, and Concepta Wood, 51,
lost a legal battle to avoid overseeing staff taking part in abortion procedures
at Southern General Hospital, Glasgow. The women had given notice of their
conscientious objections under abortion legislation many years ago, but found
themselves supervising staff who participated in such procedures after medical
terminations were moved to the labour ward in 2007.
The judge at the Court of Session ruled that as the midwives did not have direct
involvement in abortions their rights were not violated. Lady Smith said: “Nothing
they have to do as part of their duties terminates a woman’s pregnancy. They
are sufficiently removed from direct involvement as, it seems to me, to afford
appropriate respect for and accommodation of their beliefs” 12 . After the ruling
Mario Conti, the then Catholic archbishop of Glasgow, said: “It is fundamental
to the functioning of society that all citizens act in accordance with an informed
conscience. Any law or judgement which fails to recognise this contradicts that
most basic freedom and duty which we all have as human beings, namely to
follow our conscience and act accordingly” 13 .
These were not just a few isolated incidents, Christian Concern reported that in
March 2011 its sister organisation, the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), whose lawyers
specialise in laws protecting the right to religious freedom, are dealing with
at least another fifty similar cases. On this same issue, The Christian Institute,
UNITED KINGDOMna’s Catholic High School for Girls, Carshalton gave a presentation based around
9 BBC News online, April 28 th 2012 [www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17883093]
10 National Secular Society, June 20 th 2012 16:19 [www.secularism.org.uk/news/2012/06/catholic-
education-service-rebuked-for-blurring-distinction-between-faith-and-politics-in-schools ]
11 http://c4m.org.uk/
12 BBC News online, February 29 th 2012 [www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17203620]
13 Scottish Catholic Observer, April 20 th 2012 [www.sconews.co.uk/news/18226/catholic-midwives-
appeal-over-forced-supervision-of-abortions/]forced-supervision-of-abortions/]

a charitable organisation, received 114 requests for help over a 12-month period
from British Christians who believe they have been discriminated against 14 .
Confirmation of this profound social divide has also come from the Marginalisation
of Christianity in British Public Life 2007–2011 a report published by the
Premier Christian Media Trust (PCMT) in November 2011. It revealed that 74% of
Christians polled believe they suffer discrimination because of their faith and that
they are discriminated against more than members of other religions.
This percentage has risen compared to the 66% recorded in 2009. Many of those
interviewed felt that there was considerable bias against Christians in British public
life, and that they were treated less favourably than those belonging to other
groups or religions, or people with same-sex attraction. The survey, moreover,
indicated that this perception is not restricted to those considering themselves
Christians, but is shared by the public in general, and it is thought that the level of
alienation experienced by Christians is destined to increase in the future.
Secularism, the growth of Islam and religious indifference were noted as being
the greatest threats to the Christian faith. More serious concern was caused by
the perception that there is an inconsistency in the way the Courts apply and interpret
equality laws in relation to Christians and fails to recognise that this conflicts
with Human Rights Legislation 15 .
The media play a major role here and are blamed by some people for fostering an
anti-Christian attitude. Some readers and viewers are so disillusioned that they
have embarked on a financial protest. Veronica Connelly has started a court case
against the BBC, refusing to pay her television licence due to the contents of the
programmes funded with public money which ridicule Christianity 16 .
The practise of different, and harsher, treatment of Christians was even admitted
by the BBC’s Director-General Mark Thompson in an interview with the Free
Speech Debate, an Oxford University research project 17 . This attitude is mainly
caused by fears of violent threats by other religious communities, which leads the
BBC to steer clear of satirising these faiths, and also because of these religions’
close links with ethnic minorities. In The Daily Telegraph, Andy Bloxham reported
an opinion poll, from which it emerged that “In terms of religion, there were many
who perceived the BBC to be anti-Christian and as such misrepresenting Christianity”.
Furthermore, “Christians are specifically mentioned as being badly treated,
whereas the minority religions are better represented, despite Christianity being
the most widely practised religion within Britain” 18 .
14 Release International, March 15 th 2011 [www.releaseinternational.org/pages/posts/uk-call-to-prayer-for-
authorities-to-respect-christian-conscience-818.php]
15 www.comres.co.uk/poll/559/premier-media-marginalisation-survey.htm
16 Catholic Herald, November 17 th 2011
17 The Daily Telegraph, February 27 th 2012
18 Ibid., June 1 st 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

that in 2010-11 there were 693 charges which were “aggravated by religious
prejudice” – a rise of nearly 10% from the figures for 2009-10.
The majority of these were against Christains but, with a third of the charges
relating to football, this suggests that sectarianism continues to be an issue in
Scotland: 58% of charges related to offences against Roman Catholics and 37%
of charges related to offences against Protestants.
There are proposals to introduce new laws targeting “sectarian and threatening
behaviour expressed at and around football matches which is likely to cause
public disorder”. 2.3% of attacks were against Jews and 2.1% of anti-religious
violence affected Muslims 19 .
UNITED KINGDOMAn official Scottish government report on religious hate crime in the country states
19 Detailed analysis of religious hate crime, www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/11/18120149

AREA
9,372,614 Km²
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
308,745,538
REFUGEES
264,763
Christians 81.2%
Catholics 22.2% / Orthodox 2% / Protestants 17.9%
Anglicans 0.7% / Other Chr. 38.4%
Agnostics / Atheists 12.6%
Others 6.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
In the context of the by now classic tensions that in recent decades have seen
an America made up largely of believers lined up, both in the lower courts and
in the Supreme Court, against a section of its political leadership determined to
assert the secular nature of the State institutions, this division has become a
confrontation. Indeed, in the years of the Barack Obama presidency, this division
has become a confrontation that in its intensity has now taken centre stage and
is involving the highest levels of the civilian and religious institutions. And this to
the extent that the American Catholic bishops have deemed it necessary to create
the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty1 , which has issued a long statement
in defence of religious freedom in the United States, caling it, “Our First, Most
Cherished Liberty” 2 .
The most open attack on the right to religious freedom has come from the United
States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which seeks to oblige
all employers to provide their employees with insurance cover that includes
contraceptive and abortifacient drugs. The plan comes straight from the White
House, in spite of being clearly in conflict with the First Amendment of the Federal
Constitution of the United States of America, which states, “Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances” and also clearly contradicts the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,
dated March 11, 1993, a federal law forbidding the approval of laws restricting the
right of American citizens to freely exercise their religion.
Catholics were the first to object to this imposition of contraception, so much so
that the gap that now divides the government in Washington from the American
bishops has never been so profound and the President risks being dragged into
1 www.usccb.org/news, September 30 th 2011
2 www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/our-first-most-cherished-liberty.cfm, April 12 th 2012
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

who have been damaged by the Obama Administration’s health reform, the socalled
“Obamacare”, which is attempting to impose on everyone, and hence
also on Catholic institutions and charities, the obligation to guarantee all their
employees health insurance packages that include free access to birth control,
abortificients, the “morning-after” pill, contraception and even sterilisation.
In addition to state interference in the rights of believers, the Obama administration
is also accused of infringing the fundamental rights of all citizens, in a significant
crescendo that started with “the White House’s widespread efforts to intervene
decisively in redefining the concept of marriage on the basis of “gender
ideology” and supposed new social “rights” deriving from it even describing as
unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law in force
since September 21, 1996 which recognises as a marriage only the conjugal
union between a man and a woman” 3 .
Since the Catholic Church cannot consider homosexuality equal to a heterosexual
monogamous marriage, nor can it extend the concept of marriage to gay
partnerships, neither let alone promote the rights of “domestic partnerships”
founded on a physical relationship between people of the same gender, the
American bishops, speaking through the president of the United States Catholic
Episcopal Conference, the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, Timothy M. Dolan,
have specifically asked the White House to totally revise its policy since it is
profoundly wrong and damaging to human dignity” 4 .
Many representatives of Protestant, Orthodox, Mormon and Jewish communities,
moved by such intense solidarity that they have sided with the Catholics, have
sent an open letter to U.S. citizens in defence of heterosexual marriage and the
religious communities’ right to celebrate it according to their doctrine5 .
The next stage in this attack, which took place on January 20, 2012, saw Health
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, confirming the Obama Administration’s intent to
force employers to provide employees with all-inclusive health insurance guaranteeing
certain free services, including abortifacients birth control and sterilisation.
The Secretary said that all employers must comply with these provisions by
August 1, 2012, with the exception of Catholic organisations, which have until
August 1, 2013.
Following these protests, on February 10, 2012, the White House offered a compromise
by postponing the obligation to provide free access to birth control methods,
which would be paid for by the insurance companies providing the health
services and not by employers. These are positions that are, however,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICAcourt by a group of states for violating the federal Constitution. There are many
3 www.labussolaquotidiana.it, February 16 th 2012
4 www.usccb.org/news, January 20 th 2012
5 ibid., January 12 th 2012

unacceptable for Catholic employers who still pay the insurance for their employees
as well as for Catholic insurance companies, which Catholic institutions and
institutes choose for that very reason. The subterfuge leaves the basic issue
unchanged, which is the fact that the Obama Administration’s health reform
authorises the country to cover the cost of contraception, abortion and sterilisation
through health insurance 6 .
Writing from Washington D.C., the ACI/EWTN agency reported the reactions of a
series of pro-life leaders in the United States, who had harshly criticised President
Obama for the cosmetic changes announced by the HHS.
According to Hannah Smith from the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom,
this was a “false compromise designed to protect the president’s chances of
being re-elected and not to protect the right to conscientious objection”. Tony
Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, believes that this new policy
changes nothing in a project that remains “fundamentally anti-religious and
anti-conscientious objection as well and anti-life”.
It is not, however, a denominational issue, but rather a civil one. According to the
American bishops, the HHS’s plan seriously infringes the principle of religious
freedom on which the United States of America were historically and culturally
founded. The Catholic bishops have explained that the obligation to provide
employees with free access to methods that destroy a human life is immoral
because it is anti-American - and anti-American because it is immoral - and thus
all American citizens have the right and the duty to oppose it 7 .
There are twelve American states that agree with this stand and, led by Nebraska’s
Attorney General Jon Bruning, intend to take the Obama Administration to court
for violating the First Amendment of the United States Constitution should this
birth control provision not be withdrawn immediately. The Attorneys General of
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
South Carolina and Texas have sent President Obama, Secretary Sebelius and
Health Secretary Hilda Solis a letter that sounds like an ultimatum.
Dozens of other lawsuits have been filed against the White House by religious
organisations and institutions.
At the legal level, some of the attacks on religion appear to have stalled in fact, as in
the case of the atheist activist Michael Newdow of the ‘Universal Life Church’, who
announced he was abandoning his six-year long court battle started in California,
aimed at abolishing the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance to the
6 Aci/Ewtn, February 10 th 2012
7 www.usccb.org/news, March 14 th 2012
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The battle continues in New Hampshire, where Newdow has requested that
students not wishing to take this pledge be allowed to prevent those wishing to,
from doing so. Since 1943, following a case involving the Jehovah’s Witnesses,
students not wishing to take the Pledge of Allegiance for reasons of conscience
have been exempted. California’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal had already
confirmed the Constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance in March 2010, while
in June 2011 the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by Newdow,
who then withdrew it. Carl A. Anderson, of the Knights of Columbus, said,
“The words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance express a fundamental
belief that we have held as a nation since our founding, that we are endowed
by our creator with certain unalienable rights. The notion that this somehow
violates the First Amendment has now been soundly rejected by both the First
and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court has now allowed
both decisions to stand. It is a victory for common sense” 8 .
On the other hand, in compliance with a sentence passed by the U.S. Federal
Court on July 15, 2011, the granite monument bearing the Ten Commandments
was removed in Cross City, Dixie County, in Florida 9 . This case began in 2007
and was started by the American Civil Liberties Union, which claimed that
exhibiting this monument violated the principle of separation between Church
and State, although it had been put in place and paid for in November 2006
by a private citizen, who also looked after its maintenance.
For its part, Dixie County had defended the public exhibition of this monument
as a manifestation of freedom of expression, while the Liberty Counsel, an
organisation promoting religious freedom, has lodged an appeal against
the sentence in the United States’ Supreme Court, where, according to
the Liberty Counsel’s founder and president Mathew Staver, “We have won all
cases concerning the Ten Commandments, except one”.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICAUnited States and the national flag that is taken in schools.
8 Becket Fund , March 24 th 2011
9 The Gainesville Sun, July 18 th 2011

AREA
175,016 Km²
Legislative changes
URUGUAY
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
3,356,584
REFUGEES
174
Christians 78%
Catholics 67.4% / Orthodox 1.1% / Protestants 9.5%
Agnostics / Atheists 20.8%
Others 1.2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
After the presentation in December 2010 of a bill on freedom of conscience and
expression, which is currently before the Human Rights Committee of the Uruguayan
House of Representatives (File nº 559/2010, Doc. nº 467), House Speaker
Luis Lacalle Pou, together with the State Institute on Religious Law and the Latin
American Consortium on Religious Freedom organised a parliamentary day on
“Freedom of Conscience”.
During the meeting, held in April 2011 in the House of Representatives in Uruguay’s
Legislative Palace, the participants analyzed freedom of conscience as
a fundamental right. They also discussed the challenges that emerge when the
law and personal conscience come into conflict as well as possible solutions that
might be included in the aforementioned bill 1 .
Catholic Church
On November 15, 2011 the Bishops’ Conference made public a pastoral letter signed
by the bishops on the bicentennial anniversary of the country’s independence
titled “Our homeland: gratitude and hope”.
The letter highlighted all the past contributions made by the Church in Uruguay as
well as the challenges it faces today, like the promotion of life and the family, and
the need for religious freedom, especially in the educational field 2 .
1 Sociedad Uruguaya, April 24 th 2011
2 Iglesiauruguaya.com, November 15 th 2011
URUGUAY

Christian Communities / Other religions
The Third Uruguay Interfaith Forum was held in August 2011. Created in 2009,
the forum aims to bring together various religious groups in a single venue
so that they can overcome specific differences and promote dialogue and possible
joint actions. Another one of its goals was to set up a space to engage the
State in dialogue in areas in which various religious groups share common ground
on specific issues.
Hence, the forum proposed the creation of an official mechanism within the State
that would allow interaction on religious issues and implement the separation of
State and religion in a coherent and harmonious way, with legislation as well as
URUGUAYOther
positive and inclusive actions in the field of education3 .
When two male nurses were accused of killing (at least) 15 patients, media reported
that they were followers of umbanda, an afro-brazilian ritual.
For this reason, the police in charge of the investigation looked into any connection
between his religious beliefs and the murders4 .
Granted legal status in 2000, Uruguay’s Afro-Umbanda Federation categorically
denied any connection between its religion and the crimes. In a statement, it said
that its members feel they are being discriminated because their beliefs are being
associated with the murders under investigation5 .
3 Iglesiaenmarcha.net, June 23 rd 2011
4 Perfil, March 24 th 2012
5 El Diario, March 26 th 2012

AREA
447,400 Km²
UZBEKISTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENTS
POPULATION
27,794,296
REFUGEES
214
Muslims 82.6%
Agnostics / Atheists 15.6%
Christians 1.3%
Catholics n° 4,000 / Orthodox 0.8% / Protestants 0.5%
Others 0.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
3,400
Systematic violations of both human rights and religious freedom have
unfortunately continued in Uzbekistan. The State harshly punishes anyone who
conducts independent religious activities. According to reports by government
and non-government organizations, like the USCIRF Report1 or the NGO Open
Doors2 , Uzbekistan is a “country of particular concern” because of its widespread
violations of international standards of religious freedom. Human rights activists
confirm that in 2011 the government strengthened its control, already intense,
on religious communities, fearing repercussions after the anti-government revolts
of the Arab Spring in the Middle East.
The NGO Human Rights Watch has called the human rights situation in Uzbekistan
“frightening”, citing the endemic use of torture and severe restrictions of human
rights activists, government opponents, journalists, religious leaders and believers.
The NGO stated that freedoms continue to be seriously limited 3 . In response,
Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court ordered the closure of the offices of Human Rights
Watch in the capital Tashkent and the expulsion of its staff of activists, evidently
regarded as “undesirables” 4 .
The violation of the right to freedom of religion in Uzbekistan “represents one
of the worst violations of human rights and threatens the future of Uzbekistan”,
said Sukhrobjon Ismoilov, the Uzbek director of a group of experts at the annual
meeting of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), held
in Warsaw, Poland in September 2011. Emphasising that the State control is
comparable to the type exercised during the period of the Soviet Union, Ismoilov
explained that the government is trying to control the growth and level of religious
feeling in society, imposing a “forced secularization of the public conscience”.
1 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Annual Report 2012
2 Open Doors, Annual Report 2011
3 Human Rights Watch, Annual Report 2011
4 New York Times, March 15 th 2011
UZBEKISTAN

esult, he said, is Uzbek prisons containing more than 7,000 prisoners of
conscience, held because of their religious convictions
UZBEKISTANThe 5 .
The Uzbek government continues to affirm that religious freedom is guaranteed,
saying that “in Uzbekistan, there are 2,226 religious organizations, belonging to
16 different religions, of which 2,051 are Muslim organizations. Now registered are
159 Christian organizations, eight Jewish communities, six Baha’i communities, a
Gaudily Vaishnavism society and a Buddhist temple.
The religious educational system in Uzbekistan includes the Islamic Institute of
Tashkent, nine madrasses, an Orthodox seminary and a Protestant seminary” 6 .
Laws on religious freedom
A 1998 law on freedom of conscience and the religious organizations strongly
limits the rights of all religious communities and imposes strict government
controls. The law, in its wording on freedom of religion, criminalises “unregistered
religious activity”, forbids the production and distribution of unofficial religious
publications, prohibits minors from belonging to religious organizations,
bans the public wearing of religious clothing. While many religious groups do satisfy
the registration requirements, many others are prevented from doing so and
thus become illegal.
In November 2010 President Islam Karimov, in promulgating a new administrative
code, increased sanctions and introduced new punishments for illegal religious
activity. A new law adopted in September 2011 authorises preventive detention for
“alleged criminals in the course of investigating procedures” in order to limit their
movements. This provision facilitates the arrest and custody of those accused of
“illegal religious activities”.
On the other hand, say some lawyers, it regulates imprisonment, which in the
past was completely arbitrary, and thus can be considered, in spite of everything,
“a step forward” 7 .
The government’s Religious Affairs Council reviews and approves all religious
literature according to rigid censorship criteria. The importation, production
and distribution of unapproved religious material is prohibited. Only eight
registered religious organizations are allowed to publish, import and distribute
religious literature. Religious instruction is strictly limited and religious teaching
is limited to state-recognised religious schools and State instructors and “private
lessons” are forbidden.
5 OSCE, Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, September 26th – 27 th 2011
6 Uzbekistan Embassy in Italy, October 7 th 2010
7 Eurasia Lift, October 17 th 2011

One of the reasons given by the government to justify restrictions on religious
freedom is the need to fight religious extremism and terrorism. Using the restrictive
laws on the books the government has arrested and imprisoned, imposing
sentences of up to 20 years, thousands of believers over the past ten years who
have refused to submit to State control over religious practises. Among them, the
government has labeled Muslims as “wahhabis” or “jihadists”.
The government has not hesitated to use such labels on a wide spectrum of
individuals or groups, among whom are political opponents of the regime. Jehovah’s
Witnesses are often defined as “extremists” because they practise their religion
outside of those organizations authorised by the State. For this reason they are
arrested and held for “illegal religious activities”. According to Martin Scheinin,
first United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism,
“the definition of terrorism (or violent extremism) is used by the government in a
selective manner, in a political or abusive manner as an instrument to stigmatise
undesirables, like minorities, trade unionists, religious movements” 8 .
The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, re-established with a “missione sui iuris” in 1997, currently
has an apostolic administration in Uzbekistan, immediately subject to the Holy
See, entrusted to the Conventual Franciscans. It covers Uzbekistan and has five
parishes. The Church is officially recognised, but, as Bishop Jerzy Maculewicz
OFM Conv said, “evangelization is a problem, because the law prohibits all
missionary activities. For this reason, we are forced to limit ourselves and work
inside our Churches. We welcome and catechise people who come to us, but we
cannot announce the Gospel in public” 9 .
The situation experienced by Christian communities
A delegation of the World Baptist Alliance that went to Uzbekistan from September
8 to 12, 2011 met various religious leaders and later reported on religious freedom
and the situation experienced by Christian communities in Uzbekistan before an
assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Istanbul 10 .
The Baptist Union is registered in Uzbekistan, along 20 other Christian Churches,
but about 30 affiliated communities are not registered and do not possess the
requisites to register (a minimum of 100 members, for example). The delegation
spoke various instances of intimidation by police against Christian Baptists.
8 Eurasia Lift, March 19 th 2011
9 L’Osservatore Romano, October 2 nd 2008
10 World Council of Churches Consultation on Religious Freedom, November 28th – December 1 st
UZBEKISTAN

Pentecostal Christian Church has 138 local communities, but only 21 are
officially registered. Most of the communities worship in the Uzbek language.
Assemblies held by Pentecostal Christians encounter serious problems, are
frequently dispersed by the police and it is very difficult for them to register, even
though they want to obtain official recognition.
Of all the Christian communities, the Russian Orthodox Church has the deepest
roots in the country. In 2011 the new Metropolitan Archbishop Vikentiy was
nominated with responsibility for the Russian Orthodox Church in Turkmenistan,
Kirgizstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Metropolitan Vikentiy has spoken of
regular meetings with government representatives in these countries and
of being open to cooperation in the field of religious freedom. However, a visit to
Uzbekistan by the Russian Orthodox Patriarch, Kirill, scheduled for November
2011, was blocked by the Uzbek authorities. The reason for this insult was the
decision by the Patriarchate of Moscow to modify its organizations in Central
UZBEKISTANThe
Asia and nominate the new archbishop in Tashkent without having first consulted
and obtained approval from the Uzbek government.
For this reason, the Russian Orthodox diocese of Uzbekistan, now part of the
Central Asian Metropolitan Region, has not been able to officially register its
new structure11 .
Persecution of Christians
Throughout 2011, police raided many meetings of registered and non-registered
Christian groups. The media, which is state-controlled, has also encouraged
prejudices against some religious minorities, in particular Protestant Christians,
labeling their missionaries “religious extremists”. Municipal authorities in the city
of Angren have warned all religious communities against “proselytizing” and
“missionary activities”.
The Baptist community has recorded a number of incidents. In April 2011 a Baptist
Church in Tashkent was searched by police, who accused them of having started
an unauthorised “Bible school” and the illegal possession, printing and sale of
Christian books. The police confiscated more than 53,000 books and leaflets
together with computers and other office equipment. Fines equivalent to 50 and 100
times the minimum monthly salaries were imposed on three Church leaders and the
custodian 12 . In the same month, a Baptist in the capital, Tashkent, was physically
assaulted by police and fined for having given a children’s Bible to a work colleague 13 .
11 Forum 18, November 2 nd 2011
12 Ibid., April 19 th 2011
13 Ibid., April 15 th 2011

Konstantin Malchikovsky, the pastor of a registered Baptist community, was
accused of not using a cash register to record sales and donations to his Church
and faces a possible two years in prison.
Lidiya Guseva, a Baptist woman, has been denied permission to leave the country,
seven months after having paid a fine for having “illegally brought Christian
magazines into Uzbekistan” 14 .
Other Protestant denominations have been subject to controls and restrictions.
In January 2011 Pastor Dmitry Shestakov, leader of the Pentecostal “Full Gospel
Church” was released. Arrested in 2007 he was sentenced by a court to four
years in a re-education camp for “illegally proselytizing Muslims” and for “inciting
national, racial and religious enmity”. Pastor Shestakov is subject to continuing
strict restrictions of “administrative control” and has to submit a weekly report
to the police15 . In May, ten police officers raided the house of a Protestant
Christian, Anvar Rajapov, and fined him the equivalent of 80 times the minimum
monthly salary for suspected proselytizing, illegal religious meetings and
possession of illegal literature. The judge ordered that the books confiscated
in the raid be destroyed16 .
In August 2011 police broke into the private home of a Protestant family in Fergana,
assaulting the father and confiscating a Bible and New Testament. In other similar
episodes in Tashkent and the eastern region of Syrdarya, police imposed fines of
up to 100 times the minimum monthly salary on ten Protestants for “unauthorised
religious activities” 17 .
Additionally, the authorities continue to check up on and inhibit the activities of the
“Uzbekistan Bible Society,” which is officially registered. In February 2011, police
forced the society’s General Assembly to meet outside, preventing Churches from
hosting them. Government officials also told the Uzbekistan Bible Society “it is
not necessary to import Bibles into Uzbekistan” 18 . In the same month, Natalya
Pitirimova, the society’s accountant, was fined for having violated procedures for
the importation of Bibles. The Council for Religious Affairs refused to release
15,000 Bibles it was holding, in spite of appeals by other Christian denominations.
A court ordered the Bible Society to send them back to Russia, where they came
from, at the society’s expense19 .
Twenty book shops of the “World of Books” were searched by Uzbek secret police,
tax officials and representatives of the Council for Religious Affairs and forced
14 Forum 18, September 9 th 2011
15 Voice of Martyrs Canada, January 27 th 2011
16 Forum 18, May 12 th 2011
17 Ibid., August 26 th 2011
18 Ibid., February 28 th 2011
19 Ibid., February 18 th 2011
UZBEKISTAN

close. The book shops, according to their managers, only sold books
approved by the State
UZBEKISTANto 20 .
The serious situation of the Christian community has come to the attention of
the European parliament, as shown by two parliamentary inquiries, one of
which was presented on May 13, 2011 and entitled “Intimidation of Christians in
Uzbekistan” and the second was presented on July 12, 2011 and was entitled
“New Persecutions of Christians in Uzbekistan”. The two reports noted the grave
violations of the rights of Christian Uzbeks in 2011, citing various cases.
Baroness Catherine Ashton, Europe’s High Representative of the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, answered in the name of the European
Commission that “the question of religious freedom in general and the conditions
of the Christian minority in particular, has been constantly raised by the European
Union with the Uzbek authorities during the political dialogue with that country,
especially in the annual dialogue on human rights” 21 .
Restrictions applied to Muslims
The government controls Islamic institutions and prohibits Muslims from the
independent practise of their religion. In the Fergana Valley, a region where
religious activity is the most active in the country, the government has, in recent
years, confiscated and closed a number of mosques and forbidden children from
going to mosques. The government controls the Islamic Council, which supervises
the training and appointment of Muslim leaders. It controls the content of sermons
by imams, and the quantity and content of Islamic religious publications.
Uzbek authorities, through the Council for Religious Affairs, imposed severe
restrictions on the number of people permitted to take part in the Haj, the pilgrimage
to Mecca, in 2011 as in previous years. They have allowed 5,080 faithful to go, out
of about 28,000 applicants 22 .
In February 2011, 13 people were sentenced to between six and ten years in
prison for their supposed membership in an extremist Islamic group.
Many of the condemned were small farmers and one was an imam. The men were
found guilty in a closed session of the court of the southern region of Qashqadaryo
for “subverting the Constitutional order” and “distributing material damaging to
security and public order”. Local and international organizations estimate that
more than 10,000 practicing Uzbek Muslims are serving long prison sentences,
20 Eurasia Lift, March 31 st 2011
21 European Parliament, Parliamentary interrogations on May 13th 2011 and July 12 th 2011
22 Forum 18, November 7 th 2011

mostly charged with attempting to subvert the Constitutional order and imposing
a theocracy 23 .
In March 2011 a court sentenced three Uzbek men, who had fled to Kazakhstan
but who were sent back, to prison sentences ranging from four to 13 years
for “illegal religious activities” and “religious extremism” 24 .
23 Eurasia Lift, February 19 th 2011
24 Eurasia Lift, March 10 th 2011
UZBEKISTAN

VANUATU
AREA
12,189 Km²
VANUATU
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
245,786
REFUGEES
---
Christians 93.5%
Catholics 14.5% / Protestants 65.9% / Anglicans 13.1%
Ethnoreligionists 4.5%
Others 2%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---

AREA
912,050 Km²
VENEZUELA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
29,277,736
REFUGEES
2,022
Christians 94.3%
Catholics 85.1% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 9.1%
Agnostics / Atheists 2.6%
Others 3.1%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
VENEZUELA

feet and head chopped off. Archbishop Baltazar Porras of Mérida stated
at the time that the recent attacks against sacred images were the product of a
violent “blindness”. In his view they were not simply acts of vandalism.
VENEZUELAhands, 3
On June 3 of the same year, the Bishops’ Conference issued a communiqué
about the attacks against sacred images.
In it, the bishop stressed that “These attacks come on top of similar incidents that
have occurred in the past few years against Catholic people, places and symbols
as well as against other Christian denominations. Such actions hurt the Catholic
feelings of a majority of the Venezuelan people, go against the spirit of respect,
tolerance and attachment towards religion that is traditionally found among our
people, and threaten peaceful coexistence. They also have a negative impact on
citizens’ sense of security and are a danger to the fundamental right to religious
freedom and freedom of conscience that is consecrated by our Constitution”.
Hence, the statement continues, “We call on all competent authorities to pursue
the various investigations underway in a diligent manner in order to find and punish
the guilty parties and thus demonstrate their opposition to impunity and their
commitment to the effective rule of law in this country” 4 .
On February 22, 2012 the Bishops’ Conference and Caritas Venezuela began a
campaign to raise awarness among Venezuelans of the problems that afflict their
society and the ways to solve them.
In light of the widespread insecurity that touches the population and constitutes
a threat to all families, the Catholic Church decided that throughout 2012, Caritas
delegates would work for peace, tolerance and the peaceful resolution of conflicts
at the national level through various channels of communications, including local
radio stations, neighbourhood meetings, school training programmes, as well as
sports and cultural activities across the country 5 .
Other religious confessions
On September 20, 2011 the government issued a statement through the National
Assembly of Venezuela following the publication by the US State Department of
its annual report on religious freedom. In it, the Venezuelan authorities claimed
that the US Evangelical missionaries who had been expelled from the country
3 www.eltiempo.com.ve/venezuela/religion/decapitaron-en-yaracuy-imagen-de-jose-gregorio-
hernandez/22647
4 www.cev.org.ve/noticias_det.php?id=3726
5 www.cev.org.ve/noticias_det.php?id=3754

were members of a group that had taken advantage of indigenous people to export
natural resources and garner political-strategic information 6 .
Although the authorities are also still looking for the people who attacked a synagogue
in May 2011 7 , they are also promoting books with a Judeophobic content
on state-owned radio 8 .
6 www.iblnews.com/story.php?id=5411
7 www.marthacolmenares.com/2011/05/30/invaden-sinagoga-en-caracas-video
8 http://itongadol.com/noticias/val/61667/antisemitismo-venezuela-la-daia-tambien-se-sumo-a-las-quejas-
por-los-actos-de-antisemitismo-en-venezuela.html
VENEZUELA

VIETNAM
AREA
331,689 Km²
VIETNAM
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
86,927,700
Legal and institutional aspects
REFUGEES
990
Buddhists 49.2%
Agnostics / Atheists 19.3%
Neoreligionists 11.1%
Ethnoreligionists 10.4%
Christians 8.5%
Catholics 7% / Protestants 1.3% / Other Chr. 0.2%
Others 1.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
The laws and the Constitution of the State in theory guarantee religious freedom.
However, Vietnam’s one-party Communist government interferes and cracks
down on activities that are not under its control. As in China, the authorities
tolerate and respect only religious groups that are registered and that accept
government restrictions. The 2004 law on religion allows people to practise their
religion freely but punishes any activity deemed harmful to the country’s harmony,
traditions and culture.
In 2011, the authorities began to revise Government Decree 22/2005, which
regulates the activities of religious organisations. On May 20, 2011 Cardinal Jean
Baptise Pham Minh Man, of the Archdiocese of Saigon, made public a letter he
wrote to the prime minister of Vietnam, expressing doubts about the proposed
changes, which would reintroduce compulsory registration and thus in practice
undo the improvements it contained 1 .
Despite limitations, there have been some positive signs in the period under
consideration. The government has authorised the construction of hundreds of
new places of worship and has allowed the expansion of charitable activities as
well as permitting religious celebrations with more than 100,000 participants 2 .
After more than 30 years, the Holy See and Vietnam re-established diplomatic
contacts in 2011. On January 10, 2011 the Pope appointed Mgr Leopoldo Girelli,
apostolic nuncio to Singapore and apostolic delegate to Malaysia and Brunei,
as non-residential papal representative for Vietnam. During the year, Mgr Girelli
visited all of the country’s dioceses. His appointment coincided with the end on
January 6, 2011 of the Jubilee of the Vietnamese Catholic Church, marked by a
1 AsiaNews, May 23 rd 2011
2 US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2011, Vietnam

closing ceremony at the National Marian Shrine in La Vang that drew more than
500,000 faithful 3 .
Religious presence in the country
Catholicism is alive and growing. New places of worship have been built in recent
years and more and more people are entering seminaries and convents. Official
figures from the Holy See indicate that in the last five years, more than 1,500
young people entered seminaries and formation centres for the consecrated life,
a rise of 50%.
The country has one cardinal, two archbishops, 23 diocesan bishops, two
coadjutor bishops, four auxiliary bishops, 12 bishops emeriti and about 4,000
priests, in 26 dioceses. There are more than 10,000 places of worship, seven
seminaries and several clergy training centres.
The two main Protestant groups recognised by the government are the Southern
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) and the Evangelical Church of Vietnam
(ECVN). Also tolerated are the Vietnam Baptist Convention, the United World
Mission Church, the Vietnam Presbyterian Church, the Vietnam Baptist Society,
the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Vietnam Christian Fellowship. The
Assemblies of God Fellowship is also present, but is registered only at the local,
not the national level.
The government also recognises the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who number about
3,000 in 55 congregations in 18 provinces.
A synagogue exists in Ho Chi Minh City with about 150 Jews, almost all of whom
are foreign nationals.
Cases of violence and restrictions on religious freedom
As broadly-based groups engaged in important cultural and social work in society,
Catholics and Protestants are the groups most persecuted by the Communist
government. The violations of religious freedom include interrupting Masses, jailing
priests, destroying religious buildings, seizing Church-owned land, attacking the
faithful and forcing seminarians and priests to take part in study sessions.
The year 2010 began with the destruction of the crucifix of the cemetery in Dong
Chiem Parish (70 km south of Hanoi) and ended with a series of attacks against
Christians celebrating Christmas.
On December 19, about 2,000 Protestants planned to celebrate at the National
Convention Centre, Tu Liem District (Hanoi), which they had rented for the
occasion. However, at the last moment, local authorities denied them the location.
3 Eglises d’Asie, January 7 th 2011; AsiaNews, January 10, 2011
VIETNAM

people began praying and singing in the square opposite the building, police
began beating them, using stun batons. Six people, including Rev Nguyen Huu
Bao, who was supposed to lead the meeting, were arrested
VIETNAMWhen 4 . Similar incidents
were reported in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Da Nang.
Catholics have experienced the same kind of hostility. In Ho Chi Minh City, the
authorities on several occasions burst into Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, a
parish run by the Redemptorist Fathers.
In the village of Son Lang, K’Bang County (diocese of Kontum, central Vietnam),
police prevented Bishop Michael Hoang Duc Oanh from celebrating Christmas
Mass with the Montagnards, despite having the permission of the authorities, who
had authorised him to hold Mass in a neighbouring village on 21 December5 .
Violent acts, arrests and discrimination continued throughout 2011. The most
frequent cases involved assets owned by the Catholic Church, often claimed
by the state to quench the government’s thirst for money and fuel the country’s
unfettered development.
The government destroys churches and convents to seize the land
Based on the Communist principle that “all the land belongs to the people and
is managed by the state for the welfare of the people”, local authorities regularly
seize the assets of religious groups to turn them into hotels, restaurants and
nightclubs, with the victims unable to react. All the ethnic and religious minorities
that have tried to become self-reliant through land ownership have experienced
this method.
After their cemetery and homes were seized to make way for a luxury tourist
resort, Catholics in Con Dau parish, Da Nang City, were subject to more acts of
violence in 2011.
On January 26, the Da Nang People’s Court upheld the imprisonment of six
Catholics, victims of expropriation who had been convicted for taking part in
clashes between ordinary citizens and police in May 2010 during the attempt to
seize the parish land.
According to local sources, the trial was a farce, since the court rejected a demand
by the lawyer representing the six accused to submit evidence already rejected by
a lower court. In the days that preceded the appeal, Vietnamese Catholics held
prayer vigils, especially in Thai Ha Parish, Hanoi, which had also been the victim
of government confiscations 6 .
On June 26, Con Dau parishioners sent a letter to the Vietnam Conference of
4 Eglises d’Asie, December 22 nd 2010
5 AsiaNews, December 27 th 2010
6 AsiaNews, January 27 th 2011

Catholic Bishops asking them to inform fellow Catholics of their situation. In
addition to their cemetery, which had already been seized, the government upheld
the decision to demolish all the homes within the vicinity of the 19th century parish
church, which is slated for demolition to allow the construction of a luxury resort.
Thai Ha Parish came under attack again in October 2011. Previously, it had
been at the centre of a dispute with the municipal authorities that ended with the
expropriation of land the Church had owned since 1928 and a phoney trial that
saw eight Catholics convicted.
On October 8, 2011 Fr Joseph Nguyễn Văn Phượng, parish priest in Thai Ha,
was summoned by the Dong Da Neighbourhood People’s Committee. He was
informed that a plant would be built on land owned by the Redemptorist order to
treat waste water from the local hospital.
In the following days, some 50 local Catholics organised a protest against
the expropriation of the land in question. The parish priest wrote to Dong Da
Neighbourhood People’s Committee, asking them to drop the project and return
the land seized from the Church. More demonstrations and appeals followed
during the month of October.
On November 3, 2011 hundreds of police and soldiers with dogs and a gang of
thugs, followed by a state TV crew, burst into Thai Ha Monastery, after smashing
the front door. Fr John Luu Ngoc Quynh, Br Vincent Vu Van Bang and Br Nguyen
Van Tang tried to stop the onslaught but were beaten and insulted by police.
The attack came to a halt only when thousands of Catholics from neighbouring
parishes intervened.
Even though the Archdiocese of Hanoi condemned the violence7 and appealed
several times for calm, police on November 16 blocked the roads leading to the
monastery.
The night before, the local authorities and hospital officials had invited
representatives of the Thai Ha community to a meeting to resolve the dispute.
In a few hours, some 600 police agents and government officials came to the
Redemptorist parish and occupied its land. To prevent demonstrations, the police
threatened and drove away anyone attempting to approach the church. Yet,
hundreds of faithful kept coming to Thai Ha to pray and venerate Our Lady of
Perpetual Help. In order to intimidate the Catholic community, local Communist
party officials stormed the monastery again. They broke the crucifix of Đồng
Chiêm, threw garbage on the statue of the Virgin and desecrated the Eucharist
brought from Hanoi cathedral8 .
On November 18 in Hanoi, thousands of people protested in front of the People’s
Committee building. They demanded justice for Thai Ha parish and the nearby
7 Eglises d’Asie, November 7 th 2011
8 AsiaNews, November 24 th 2011
VIETNAM

monastery and denounced the defamation campaign launched by
state TV against the Catholic Church
VIETNAMRedemptorist 9 .
On December 2, Thai Ha’s Fr Joseph Nguyễn Văn Phượng and hundreds of
parishioners went to the Hanoi People’s Committee to present a formal complaint
against acts of vandalism and illegal seizures. The authorities received them and
heard their request. However, once outside the building, they were surrounded by
police who arrested Fr Joseph Nguyễn Văn Phượng, Fr Lương Văn Long and Br
Vũ văn Bằng as well as some 30 parishioners. The latter were forced into a bus
and taken to the Đông Anh Humanity Rehabilitation Centre. Another group of lay
people were arrested near Lake Hoàn Kiếm.
The abuse of power against the Redemptorist Fathers and Thai Ha parishioners
produced a wave of solidarity towards them both in Vietnam and abroad. Mgr
Peter Nguyen Van Nhon, archbishop of Hanoi, wrote a letter in which he defended
the rights of the monks. Mgr Michael Hoang Duc Oanh, bishop of Kontum, did the
same. Mgr Francis Nguyen Van Sang, bishop emeritus of Thai Binh, personally
went to Thai Ha church. Prayer vigils were held in various locations in Vietnam,
the United States and Australia.
Cau Ram Parish, diocese of Vinh (northern Vietnam), is another case in which
religious freedom was violated in connection to the confiscation of land owned by
the Catholic Church. In 2009, the authorities seized land to build a park that would
include a monument dedicated to soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Army. During
the Vietnam War, Cau Ram church had been turned into a military base, which
made it a target for the US Air Force. At the end of the conflict, the Vietnamese
government declared the area a “place of memory” to “preserve and protect for
future generations, in memory of American war crimes”.
The government has always ignored Catholic requests for the land’s return.
Instead, it has divided it up in sections to build a road linking Hanoi to Ho Chi
Minh’s birthplace, some 330 km north of the capital. In time, local authorities gave
the go ahead for the construction of a housing complex that included private flats
worth millions of dollars to house government officials.
Two years of Catholic protests did bring the project to a halt10 , but after years of
appeals and demonstrations, Nghe An provincial government on 27 July 2011
decided to build a public park with a soldiers’ monument.
As was the case in Con Dau and Thai Ha, the government’s attitude spurred
Catholics to rally in favour of religious freedom and human rights. On August 8,
more than 5,000 Catholics from Cau Ram, Yen Dai and Ke Gai parishes organised
a big demonstration in Hanoi to stop further confiscations and demand the return
of Church assets. At the same time, they denounced the secret police operations
9 Eglises d’Asie, November 9 th 2011
10 AsiaNews, May 25 th 2010

aimed at arresting young activists without a warrant11 .
The Congregation of the Sisters of St Paul have also been affected by expropriations
and demolitions. Their convent, which is in central Hanoi, was seized by the
Communist government in 1954. A few years ago, the authorities granted the
nuns the use of a small section of the structure. Here, the latter opened up a
dispensary for the poor, an orphanage and shelter for young women.
However, since May 2011, the government has been threatening to demolish the
whole complex and replace it with a four-storey hospital. In the past few years, the
nuns have petitioned the authorities to have the structure returned but have never
received an answer12 .
Ordinary citizens are especially affected by expropriations, often powerless vis-àvis
the arrogance of the authorities.
The only positive event in 2011, against this background of expropriations, was
the construction of a new Catholic church in Tam Toa. The old historic church
had been left half ruined at the end of the war, and later declared a “memorial in
remembrance of American crimes”. In 2009, it saw repeated attacks against the
faithful, with a number of people injured and others arrested. In February 2011,
the Provincial People’s Committee decided to grant the diocese a piece of land in
the central part of the city.
Conflict between ‘Patriotic Catholics’ and Catholics loyal to the Pope
In order to fight the Catholic Church and discourage its work on behalf of religious
freedom and human rights, the Vietnamese government has adopted China’s
strategy, and set up a Patriotic Church independent of the Church of Rome.
For Vietnamese Catholics, the existence of “state priests” is a distressing problem.
Priests and Church authorities have done their utmost to counter it in order to
preserve Catholic unity and loyalty to the pope.
These ‘State priests’ use and abuse Church assets and take advantage of their
role to support the Communist Party, which in exchange provides them with all
sorts of benefits. The net result of their behaviour has been the alienation of many
believers.
Out of 2,800 and more priests in Vietnam, a few hundred have joined the Vietnam
Committee for Catholic Solidarity (VCCS), a pro-regime organisation that seeks
to set up a ‘Church’ separate from Rome, along Chinese lines.
The most obvious evidence of the situation was the decision by several priests
to run for a seat in the National Assembly in the May 2011 elections. In March,
three priests said they would seek office. They are Fr Tran Manh Cuong, from the
11 Eglises d’Asie; AsiaNews, August 8 th 2011
12 AsiaNews, May 18th 2011
VIETNAM

of Ban Me Thuot; Fr Le Ngoc Hoan, from Bui Chu, who was already a
member of the National Assembly; and Fr Phan Khac Tu, from the archdiocese of
Saigon, who is seeking election for the first time
VIETNAMDiocese 13 .
It is his candidacy that has drawn the most attention, because Fr Tu is the editor
of Catholics and People, a government-backed magazine founded in 1975 at the
time of reunification and since notorious for its frequent criticisms of John Paul II
and the Vatican.
His electoral campaign campaign makes much of his wartime experience,
claiming that he ran a small factory that made hand grenades for use against the
Americans. In an interview with Vietnam Net, a pro-government newspaper, he
boasted that his factory was located inside a Saigon church and that it escaped
detection from South Vietnamese government officials and even the CIA.
The priest, who is also a member of the Communist Party, has been in charge of
the Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Vuon Xoai, one of Ho Chi Minh City’s biggest
churches. Apparently, he is also the father of two children, whose mother has
publicly acknowledged their relationship.
After pressure mounted for disciplinary action against the priest, the archdiocese
relieved him of all his parish duties in April14 .
Despite appeals by the bishops and protests by the faithful, who have often
deserted the Masses conducted by these “state priests”, more priests have come
out to back these priests running for the National Assembly. One of them, Fr
Vincent Pham Van Tuyen, from the diocese of Thai Binh (northern Vietnam),
suspended the recitation of the Rosary in order to urge his parishioners to attend
an election rally. The priest is a prominent member of the provincial People’s
Front. In a previous posting, he was parish priest in Pho Hien, Hung Yen province,
until all his parishioners deserted the church.
“From the moment Fr Tuyen worked for the government”, one of his former
parishioners told AsiaNews, “nobody wanted to go to him for confession, for
fear that he would be reported to the police. We wondered if the sacraments
he administered were valid or not. Being left for years without confession and
communion little by little led us to go elsewhere”.
Seven priests were elected to the National Assembly and to provincial councils in
the elections of May 22, 2011. They include Fr Do Quang Chi in Chi Minh City and
Fr Phan Dinh Son in Can Tho, elected in the south; and Fr Nguyen Van Vinh, Fr
Nguyen Van Hau and Fr Hoang Thai Lan, respectively from the dioceses of Nha
Trang, Ba Ria and Vinh, re-elected in Khanh Hoa, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Quang
Binh. Another 20 priests were elected to lower-level offices.
However, not all the priests who ran for office made it to parliament or the local
13 AsiaNews, April 28 th 2011
14 AsiaNews, May 3 rd 2011

councils. In addition to Fr Phan Khac Tu, Fr Tran Van Qui lost in Hue because of
the intense campaign by local Catholics opposed to priests as candidates.
In its attempt to drive a wedge between young priests and the Church loyal to the
pope, the government has not only dangled the carrot of money and power. Its
strategy also includes study sessions on the Communist Party, national security,
patriotism and the role of citizens in society. On April 6, the newspaper Dai Doan
Ket (Great Unity), voice of the Vietnamese Patriotic Front, announced that “more
than 191 seminarians in St Quy, Can Tho province have started a pilot programme
on national security, which will run until May 8”.
The government’s aim is to counter the increase in young people entering
seminaries after it took a softer line against such institutions. Since 2005, Hanoi’s
St Joseph Major Seminary has been able to admit students every year, rather than
only every two or three years, as previously allowed. Likewise, the St Joseph’s
Major Seminary in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), which reopened in 1986 after being
closed for 11 years, was granted the same “privilege” in 2007. According to the
latest figures (2009), the number of young students attending the country’s six
major seminaries rose from 1,580 in 2002 to 2,186 in 2009.
Arbitrary arrests of priests, Catholic laity and human rights activists
In 2011, the repression continued against every form of dissent and peaceful
request for democratic reform and respect for human rights. Arrests, searches
and raids intensified in connection with the 11th congress of the Communist Party
on January 12-17.
During this period, police took into custody dozens of human rights activists,
bloggers and journalists, including Cu Huy has Vu, a lawyer and human rights
advocate who was accused of anti-state propaganda and for having published
articles and interviews with foreign newspapers with the intention of “defaming
the authority of the people’s government, waging a psychological war aimed at
overthrowing the regime, and calling for a multiparty system”.
The lawyer and his wife are famous among Vietnamese Catholics because in
2010 they offered to represent parishioners arrested during clashes in Con Dau.
In the end, they were refused permission to do so by the government.
During his phoney trial, prayer vigils and peaceful demonstrations were held
across Vietnam. Ca Huy Ha Vu was sentenced to seven years of prison on April
4, after a hearing behind closed doors lasting just four hours.
Outside the courthouse, thousands of people, including many Catholics, protested
against the sentence. To avoid “disorder”, the police attacked the demonstrators
and arrested 29 Catholic activists who had travelled to the region to follow the
trial. Among those taken into custody was Le Quoc Quan, a well-known lawyer,
who had only recently applied to be a Catholic candidate at the party congress.
VIETNAM

were eventually released on April 13, 201115. During their stay in prison, the
Redemptorist Fathers held Masses and prayer vigils across the country, calling
for justice for Ca Huy Ha Vu and the young activists arrested and beaten only
because they wanted to attend his trail.
On the 26th, the authorities arrested Fr Nguyen Van Ly for a second time. He is
a founder member of ‘Bloc 8406,’ a movement that calls for the end of Vietnam’s
one-party system.
Sentenced to eight years in prison in 2007, Father Ly was released in March 2010
because of poor health and placed under house arrest for a year at the Bishop’s
Residence. From here, he continued to write letters criticising the Communist
VIETNAMThey
Party and the Vietnamese government for serious human rights violations. At
the end of the one-year period, the police took him to Ha Nam prison, Kim Bảng
District, Ha Nam province16 .
On December 24, 2011 Pierre Nguyên Dinh Cuong, a young member of a parish
in Vinh Diocese, was abducted on his way to a doctor friend’s house. Three men
in plainclothes handcuffed him, put him in a taxi and drove off.
According to friends, the young man’s abduction has to be the work of the security
police, who use kidnapping as one of their methods. His arrest was done without
a warrant. Pierre’s family was also not told of his whereabouts. The young man
had been involved in charitable and social activities with the John Paul II Centre
for the Defence of Life. Pierre Cuong’s case is similar to that of 15 other kidnap
victims, nine of whom also hail from Vinh Diocese. Some of them had voiced their
support for Cu Huy Ha Vu17 .
In addition to Christians and other religious groups, the State also persecutes
Buddhists, Vietnam’s majority religion, as well as members of religious sects
deemed subversive by the authorities, like the Falun Gong. This spiritual movement
blends elements of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism and has a few hundred
followers in the country. The Vietnamese government does not recognise the group.
Under pressure from the Chinese government, Vietnamese police have unleashed
a campaign of severe repression against its followers for some years now.
On November 12, 2011 a court in Hanoi sentenced two Falun Gong activists to two
and three years in prison respectively. They were convicted for collaborating in a
radio programme that broadcast information in China. Vu Duc Trung, 31, and his
brother-in-law, Le Van Thanh, 36, had been arrested in June. A few days before
they were convicted, police had arrested 40 Falun Gong members protesting in
front of the courthouse18 .
15 Eglises d’Asie, April 8 th 2011
16 AsiaNews, July 26 th 2011
17 Eglises d’Asie, December 28 th 2011
18 AsiaNews, November 12 th 2011

On December 14, 2011, in An Giang province (southern Vietnam), two Buddhist
activists were sentenced to five and three years in prison respectively for
advocating religious freedom.
Arrested in April during a police raid, Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An are
members of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, a religious group recognised by the
Vietnamese state and authorised to practice its form of worship. However, in
recent years, some of its members have decided to leave the official movement to
protest against government control of religion. According to Radio Free Asia, the
two activists handed out material in which they accused Communist authorities of
persecuting all forms of religion that attempt to escape their control19 .
But the Communist system of repression is not limited to arbitrary arrests, phoney
trials and forced expropriations. People who are prosecuted or jailed are also
frequently deprived of their most basic human rights such as the right to medical
care and the right to meet with family members. One such example involves the
case of three Christians from the Agape Baptist Church (ABC) in the village of
Lai Tao (My Duc, Hanoi). After being wounded in an attack by a bunch of thugs,
they were not allowed to go to a hospital. One of the three is a woman by the
name of Nguyen Thi Lan, who suffered a broken pelvis and internal injuries. She
is a former Communist Party official who converted to Christianity in 2010. Upon
hearing her story, some 50 people asked to be baptised.
However, her work and dedication to proclaiming the word of God also drew
the attention of a village leader named Khoan, acting in collusion with criminal
elements and party members.
Accompanied by his son, Khoan led a punitive raid against a Christian prayer
house, where they severely beat the occupants: a woman, Pastor Nguyen Danh
Chau, and a third person. All three suffered major injuries and the house was
ransacked. Three Hanoi hospitals refused to admit the three Christians, forcing
them to make a long trip to Ho Chi Minh City.
The campaign of repression against the Hmong Christians
Vietnam’s 790,000 Hmong are one of the country’s 53 ethnic groups. They are
concentrated in northwestern Vietnam and Laos.
During the Vietnam War, they cooperated with the US military and many of them
integrated to the United States at the end of the war. Those who stayed behind
live below the poverty line.
Like other ethnic minorities, the Hmong were educated by Catholic and Protestant
missionaries, and many have converted.
For years, the government has persecuted them, accusing them of being
19 Radio Free Asia, December 13 th 2011; AsiaNews, December 14 th 2011
VIETNAM

instigated by “reactionaries who take advantage of people’s naivety
by spreading rumours about the presence of a supernatural power and calling for
a separate Hmong empire”.
Throughout 2011 the authorities pursued a campaign of arrests and violence that
peaked in April and May with a crackdown against peaceful demonstrations in
Muong Nhe, Dien Bien province.
On April 30 about 8,500 Protestant and Animist Hmong came together to pray and
demand reforms and religious freedom. Their rally was brought to a violent end
when security forces and soldiers from the Vietnam People’s Army intervened.
Altogether, 49 people were killed and hundreds were arrested.
VIETNAMseparatists,
Many of those detained were taken to unknown locations in Vietnam and
Laos where “they may be tortured or killed, or simply disappear”, according to
Christy Lee, executive director of Hmong Advance Inc. (HAI), which is based in
Washington, DC.
A number of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion serving four local
Catholic communities were among those arrested.
About a thousand Catholics are registered in the area, which is considered a
‘White Zone’, so-called because it has the highest degree of repression of religious
freedom in the country20 .
20 AsiaNews, May 9 th 2011

AREA
527,968 Km²
YEMEN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
24,255,928
REFUGEES
214,740
Muslims 99.1%
Christians 0.2%
Catholics n° 4,000 / Protestants 0.1% / Other Chr. 0.1%
Others 0.7%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
463,500
Order and security in Yemen have broken down completely in the period under
examination. While the rebellion by the Shiite Houthi clan was still continuing
in the northwest of the country, an uprising in the rest of the country broke
out at the beginning of 2011 against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh,
who had been in power for 33 years. Saleh finally agreed to resign in exchange
for immunity.
The new president, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, elected on February 21, 2012
must now work towards unifying a still divided nation, as well as reorganizing the
armed forces and security apparatus, whose key positions are still held by family
and friends of the former president. The radicalization of the Sunni community has
been reported over the past few years, influenced by various Salafite movements
with ties to Al-Qaeda and opposed to the Zaydi Shia community. The tension has
led to armed encounters between the two groups, as well as terrorist attacks.
In January 2012 outbreaks of violence between Salafites and Houthi in the
north-western province of Hajja, left dozens dead. At least 12 people were killed
when a car bomb exploded outside of a school where a group of Zaydi Shiites
had gathered for Friday prayers on May 25 in Hazm, in the province of Al-Jawf.
The Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the murder of an American
teacher, because “he was trying to spread Christianity”.
Joel Shrum, 29, of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, was shot dead with a Kalashnikov on
Sunday, March 25, 2012 in Taiz, the country’s most important city after the capital,
Sanaa, where he lived with his wife and two children. He was studying Arabic and
taught English at the International Training and Development Center, which was
founded in the 1970s and is one of Yemen’s oldest language schools.
A radical web site posted this message on March 29 claiming responsibility for
this murder saying, “It was God’s gift for the mujahedeen to kill the American
YEMEN

Shrum who was actively proselytizing under the cover of teaching in Taiz”.
However, Shrum’s parents, who live in Pennsylvania, said their son went to Yemen
to learn Arabic and not to convert people to Christianity.
Sources consulted
Associated Press YEMENJoel
Christian Freedom International
U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011

AREA
752,618 Km²
ZAMBIA
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
13,046,508
REFUGEES
45,632
Christians 82.1%
Catholics 29.6% / Orthodox 0.1% / Protestants 32.9%
Anglicans 2% / Other Chr. 17.5%
Ethnoreligionists 14.6%
Others 3.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
---
Article 19 of the Constitution establishes freedom of conscience and
religion, as well as the right to change religion and publicly express and promote
one’s faith. An amendment to the 1996 Constitution establishes Christianity as
Zambia’s official religion, although this does not interfere with the freedom to profess
and practise other faiths.
Religious organizations must register and activities by unregistered groups can
result in fines and prison sentences. However, there is no indication that the government
has turned down requests for registration.
Christianity is taught in government schools and Islam and other faiths are not,
but can be taught in private schools.
The Catholic Church was affected by tensions linked to the presidential elections
of September 20, 2011, as reported in a letter from the bishops, which was read
out in all parishes on June 5, 2011. The Catholic Church was accused of expressing
political opinions and supporting its presidential candidate in opposition to the
current president, Ruphia Banda 1 .
In spite of these tensions, the presidential elections were carried out
peacefully and relations between the Catholic Church and the government
returned to normal, as the bishops pointed out in their pastoral letter
published in January 2012 2 .
1 www.radiovaticana.org/en3/articolo.asp?c=490330
2 Agenzia Fides, January 30 th 2012
ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE
AREA
390,757 Km²
Legislation
ZIMBABWE
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
12,644,041
REFUGEES
4,561
Christians 71.5%
Catholics 10.9% / Protestants 57.6% / Anglicans 3%
Ethnoreligionists 26%
Others 2.5%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
880,000 - 960,000
The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, but the 2002 law on Public Order
and Security is still in force, posing serious restrictions to the freedom to gather,
to express opinions and to form associations. This Law is often used by the
government to also interfere in the activities of religious organisations.
Religious groups are not required to register, except for those running schools
and providing health care services. Christian schools are about one third of the
country’s schools but there are also Islamic, Hindu and Jewish schools, especially
in large cities.
Many State secondary schools provide religious instruction. Missionary activities
are looked upon with suspicion due to fears they may have political objectives.
In these cases the police intervene to prevent all activities, including the distribution
of food and clothes or other forms of humanitarian aid.
Controversy with President Robert Mugabe
Christian groups are extremely critical of President Mugabe’s government, which
is accused of continuous human rights abuses and a disastrous economic policy
that has literally led the country to experience hunger. The government does
not accept this criticism and attacks these religious groups with defamation,
intimidation, abuse and violence.
A statement issued in January 2009 by the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of
Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland, stated that, “Ten months after the March
2008 elections, considered by everyone as the expression of the wishes of the
people of Zimbabwe, President Mugabe and his entourage are illegally hanging
on to power”. “We, the Catholic bishops of southern Africa, invite Mugabe to
resign immediately. We appeal for a coalition government to be formed to lead a
national revival and to prepare as quickly as possible presidential elections to be
held under international supervision”.

In February 2009 the leaders of the Southern African Development Community,
SADC, which includes various states in the region, met in Pretoria, and after
lengthy negotiations agreed on a government of national unity in which Robert
Mugabe maintained the role of president and the leader of the main opposition
party, the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, became
prime minister. This was an attempt to resolve a long political conflict that often
resulted in clashes and violence between President Mugabe and Tsvangirai,
who had challenged Mugabe’s victory in the first ballot of the March 2008
presidential elections.
Catholics
A Catholic priest, Father Mark Mkandla, was arrested in April 2011 in Lupane
immediately after holding a moment of prayer for peace and reconciliation
in the country1 .
Zimbabwe’s serious political and social situation was also the subject of a
statement from the bishops of IMBISA, the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops
of Southern Africa, which includes the Bishops of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho,
Namibia, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
At the end of their 9 th Plenary Session, IMBISA members called on the South
African Development Community to intervene “in a critical moment in the life of
the nation of Zimbabwe”. The message also recalled “the important role played
by the SADC in facilitating the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which resulted
in a government of national unity”. The national unity government is formed by
President Robert Mugabe’s party and the movement led by Premier Morgan
Tsvangirai. The prime minister is Mugabe’s main opponent and the serious
political clashes between the two had led to a serious crisis which resulted in the
negotiation of the GPA and the formation of a national unity government.
“However, two years after the signing of this agreement, we are worried about
the lack of significant progress”, wrote the IMBISA bishops, “not all aspects of
the GPA have been respected within the timeframe agreed on. In spite of some
improvements, we observe that the citizens of Zimbabwe continue to suffer
extreme poverty, high levels of unemployment, inadequate health and education
services, a lack of investments and confidence in the country’s economy.
This is a serious form of injustice, considering the wealth of the country and its
human and material resources” 2 .
1 Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch : Issue 27, May 25 th 2011
2 Agenzia Fides, February 22 nd 2011
ZIMBABWE

Abuse, intimidation and real violence inflicted by the authorities and the police
on Anglicans continued in 2011, with raids during religious functions, priests and
believers arrested and the arbitrary closing of Churches.
The government supports the former Anglican bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga,
who is a member of ZANU-PF, in an attempt to replace the legitimate Anglican
Church of Zimbabwe and who in 2007 created the Church of the Province of
Zimbabwe (CPZ), an organisation that is more political than religious.
In recent years this organisation has continued in its attempts to take over the
assets and buildings owned by the Anglican Church.
Due to his behaviour, Nolbert Kunonga has been formally expelled and
excommunicated by the Anglican Church. However, according to local sources,
ZIMBABWEAnglicans
the police have often helped the CPZ.
Kunonga now controls 40% of all Anglican Churches in Zimbabwe, including
30 Churches in Harare alone. Anglicans suspect that in February 2011 Nolbert
Kunonga was involved in the murder of Jessica Mandeya, a lay leader in her
eighties and living in the rural parish of eastern Mashonaland, who was raped,
mutilated and strangled after refusing to join Kunonga’s movement.
Kunonga denies having had anything to do with this murder, reiterating that if he
had any intention of killing anyone, it would be his nemesis, Bishop Chad Gandiya,
elected by the Anglican Church to replace Kunonga as the bishop of Harare3 .
Other Christian denominations
Other Christian denominations have also been the object of serious intimidation.
In April 2011, for example, the police used violence to interrupt the “Praying for
Peace to Save Zimbabwe Church Service” at the Church of Nazarene, attended by
500 people, including 4 bishops and 36 ministers from Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo
and Gweru. Intervention by police officers using batons and tear gas to disperse
the faithful caused panic among those present and some were injured.
Those arrested and later released included two bishops of the Zimbabwe Christian
Alliance, 73-year-old Bishop Paul Isaya and the Reverend Paul Mukome, 65, who
were severely beaten and suffered serious injuries 4 .
In order to deal with the crisis experienced by State schools, a number of
non-registered schools have been set up and are targeted by the regime.
Many of these schools are hosted in places of worship 5 .
3 Religious Liberty Monitoring, www.elizabethkendal.blogspot.it/2011/05/zimbabwe-Churches-targeted-for.html
4 Press Statement on Police Violence “Crushed But Not Destroyed”, Zimbabwe Christian Alliance;
www.swradioafrica.com/Documents/Press%20Statement%20on%20Police%20Violence%20_2_.pdf
5 NewsDay, May 24 th 2011

ACN IN THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
ACN International – Bischof-Kindermann-Str. 23 – D-61462 Königstein im Taunus
(Germany)
Tel. 0049.6174.2910 – e-mail: kinoph@acn-intl.org
NATIONAL OFFICES
Australia
Aid to the Church in Need – P.O. Box 6245 –Baulkham Hills, NSW. 2153
Tel. 0061.2.9679.1929 – e-mail: info@aidtoChurch.org
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Kirche in Not – Hernalser Hauptstr. 55 – A-1172 Vienna
Tel. 0043.1.405.2553 – e-mail: kin@kircheinnot.at
Belgium
Kerk in Nood – Abdij van Park 5 – B-3001 Leuven
Tel. 0032.1639.50.50 – e-mail: info@kerkinnood.be
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Portugal
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Spain
Ayuda a la Iglesia Necesitada – Ferrer del Rio 14 – E-28028 Madrid
Tel. 0034.91.72.59.212 – e-mail: ain@ain-es.org
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Kirche in Not – Cysatstr. 6 – CH-6004 Lucerne
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Brooklyn, NY 11222 – Tel. 001.718.609.09.39 – e-mail: info@acnusa.org

SOURCES CONSULTED
Research Reports
Human Rights Watch - World Report 2009 / World Report 2010 - www.hrw.orgf
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2012 Annual Report;
Release International.org; HRWF, www.uscirf.gov
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Connecting the dots:
education and religious discrimination in Pakistan, November 9, 2011
U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/
www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/Five-Year_Report_
Intolerance_against_Christians_in_Europe_-_online_version.pdf
www.wahidinstitute.org, Executive summary report on religious freedom and
tolerance 2010
www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/publications/report-2011.html
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ABC - www.abc.es
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Christian Freedom International; www.christianfreedom.org
El-Ahram hebdo, Rue Galaa, Cairo; www.hebdo.ahram.org.eg
El Periódico de Extremadura
Guyana Times; www.guyanatimesgy.com
Netgazeta; www.glospasleka.pl
La Vie
Mindanao Examiner Unit 15, 3F Fair Land Building, Nuñez St., Zamboanga City,
Philippines 7000
Nigrizia - Vicolo del Pozzo 1 - 37129 Verona - Italy - www.nigrizia.it
Tablet - Tower House - Lathkill Street - Market Harborough - LE16 9EF - UK
www.thetablet.co.uk
The Eurasia Lift; www.eurasialift.wordpress.com
South Asia Intelligence Review

Newspapers
Al-Khalij
Asia Times Online; www.atimes.com
Austrian Times; www.austriantimes.at
Avvenire - Piazza Carbonari 3 - 20125 Milan - Italy - www.avvenire.it
Centralasia online; www.centralasiaonline.com
China Daily; www.europe.chinadaily.com.cn
Daily Mail - Northcliffe House - 2 Derry Street - London W8 5T - UK -
www.dailymail.co.uk
De Morgen
East Journal; www.eastjournal.net
El 19 Digital; www.el19digital.com
El Comercio; www.elcomercio.pe; Peru
El Correo; www.elcorreo.com
El Diario; www.eldiario.net; Bolivia
El Mundo; www.elmundo.es
El País; www.elpais.com
El Watan; www.elwatan.com
Haaretz; www.haaretz.com
Il Manifesto; www.ilmanifesto.it
La Croix - rue Bayard 3/5 - 75393 Paris - France - www.la-croix.com
La Razon - C/ Josefa Valcarcel 42, 28027 Madrid - Spain - www.larazon.es
Le Figaro - Magazine
Le Monde - 80, bd Auguste Blanqui - 75707 Paris Cedex 13 - France -
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L’Osservatore Romano - Via del Pellegrino - 00120 Citta del Vaticano -
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New York Times; www.nytimes.com
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Pakistan Christian Post; www.pakistanchristianpost.com
Pakistan Observer; www.pakobserver.net
Phayul; www.phayul.com
Público; www.publico.pt
RPP Noticias; www.rpp.com.pe; Peru
Sociedad Uruguaya; www.sociedaduruguaya.org
South China Morning Post; www.scmp.com
The Christian Telegraph; www.christiantelegraph.com
The Citizen (Juba); www.thecitizen.info
The Daily Telegraph - www.telegraph.co.uk

The Express Tribune
The Guardian; www.guardian.co.uk
The Huffington Post; www.huffingtonpost.com
The Tibet Post; www.thetibetpost.com
The Times of India; www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The Prague Post; www.praguepost.com
Tiroler Tageszeitung online
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ACI Prensa - Apartado postal 040062 - Lima 4 - Peru - www.aciprensa.com
ACN News - Aid to the Church in Need Int. - Bischof-Kindermann-Str.23
61462 Konigstein - Germany - www.acn-intl.org
Adnkronos - www.adnkronos.com
African Spotlight
AFP (Agence France-Presse) - 11, 15 place de la Bourse - 75002 Paris - France
www.afp.com
Agenzia AINA
Agenzia Nova
Alshahid Network
AsiaNews - Via Guerrazzi 11 - 00152 Rome - Italy - www.asianews.it
Assist News Service
Associated Press - 50 Rockefeller Plaza - New York, N.Y. 10020 - USA -
www.ap.org
Baha’i World News Service
Belgium - www.hrwf.org
Catholic Herald
Catholic News Service - 3211 Fourth Street, NE - Washington, DC 20017 - USA
www.catholicnews.com
China - www.xinhuanet.com
CNL-News
Compass Direct News - P.O. Box 27250 - Santa Ana - CA 92799 - USA
www.compassdirect.org
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Eglises d’Asie; 128 rue de Bac, 75007 Paris
Eni News
Europa Press - www.europapress.es
Fides - Palazzo “de Propaganda Fide” - 00120 Citta del Vaticano - www.fides.org
Forum 18 News Service - Postboks 6663 – Rodelokka - 0502 Oslo - Norway
www.forum18.org

Human Rights Without Frontiers - Av. Winston Churchill 11/33 - 1180 Brussels
Kaieteur News
Mizzima News - www.mizzima.com
Qiu Shi
Reuters - 85 Fleet Street - London EC4P 4AJ - UK - www.reuters.com
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Ukrinform
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Aida-Associazione Interamericana per la Difesa dell’Ambiente
All Indian Christian Council
Associazione per la Libertà Religiosa dell’Ucraina (UARS)
Barnabas Fund; 9 Priory Row Coventry, Great Britain
BBC - www.bbc.co.uk
Becket Fund
China Aid
Christian Solidarity Worldwide - www.csw.org.uk
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Forum Libertas
Hazte Oír
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Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Perils of Faith
Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom, HRWLRF
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Yearbook Supplement Number 20 (2010)
Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch¸ www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch

A
Afghanistan - Albania - Algeria
Andorra - Angola
Antigua and Barbuda - Argentina
Armenia - Australia - Austria
Azerbaijan
B
Bahamas - Bahrain - Bangladesh
Barbados - Belarus - Belgium
Belize - Benin - Bhutan
Bolivia - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana - Brazil
Brunei Darussalam - Bulgaria
Burkina Faso - Burundi
C
Cambodia - Cameroon - Canada
Cape Verde - Central African Republic
Chad - Chile - China - Colombia
Comoros - Congo, (Republic of)
Congo, (DRC)
Costa Rica - Croatia - Cuba
Cyprus - Czech Republic
D
COUNTRY INDEX
E
Denmark - Djibouti - Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador - Egypt - El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Eritrea - Estonia
Ethiopia
F
Fiji Islands - Finland - France
G
Gabon - Gambia - Georgia - Germany
Ghana - Greece Grenada
Guatemala - Guinea Bissau - Guinea
Conakry Guinea Equitorial- Guyana
H
Haiti - Honduras - Hungary
I
Iceland - India - Indonesia
Iran - Iraq - Ireland - Israel
Italy - Ivory Coast
J
Jamaica - Japan - Jordan

K
Kazakhstan - Kenya - Kiribati
Korea, North - Korea, South - Kosovo
Kuwait - Kyrgyzstan
L
Laos People’s Dem. Rep. - Latvia
Lebanon - Lesotho - Liberia
Libya - Liechtenstein
Lithuania - Luxembourg
M
Macedonia - Madagascar - Malawi
Malaysia - Maldives - Mali - Malta
Marshall Islands - Mauritania
Mauritius - Mexico - Micronesia
Moldova, Republic of - Monaco
Mongolia - Montenegro - Morocco
Mozambique - Myanmar
N
Namibia - Nauru - Nepal - Netherlands
New Zealand - Nicaragua - Niger
Nigeria - Norway
O
Oman
P
Pakistan - Palau
Palestinian Territories and Gaza
Panama - Papua New Guinea
Paraguay - Peru - Philippines
Poland - Portugal
Q
Qatar
R
Romania - Russian Federation
Rwanda
S
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia - Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines - Samoa - San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe - Saudi Arabia
Senegal - Serbia and Kosovo
Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Singapore
Slovakia - Slovenia - Solomon Islands
Somalia - South Africa - South Sudan
Spain - Sri Lanka - Sudan - Suriname
Swaziland - Sweden - Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic

T
Taiwan - Tajikistan - Tanzania
Thailand - Timor Leste - Togo - Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago - Tunisia
Turkey - Turkmenistan - Tuvalu
U
Uganda - Ukraine
United Arab Emirates - United Kingdom
United States of America - Uruguay
Uzbekistan
V
Vanuatu - Venezuela - Vietnam
Y
Yemen
Z
Zambia
Zimbabwe