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Tag Archives: accusation
Latest Persecution News – 12 March 2012
Posted on March 12, 2012 by particularkev
Doctors Try to Save Remaining Eye of Ugandan Pastor
The following article reports on the recovery of a Ugandan pastor from an acid attack by Islamic extremists.
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/uganda/article_1422178.html
India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution
The following article provides a 'round up' of persecution incidents in recent times in India.
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/india/article_1424992.html
Christian Woman in Pakistan Freed after 'Blasphemy' Accusation
The following article reports on the release of a Christian woman falsely accused of desecrating the Quran in Pakistan.
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/article_1427582.html
The articles linked to above are by Compass Direct News and relate to persecution of Christians around the world. Please keep in mind that the definition of 'Christian' used by Compass Direct News is inclusive of some that would not be included in a definition of Christian that I would use or would be used by other Reformed Christians. The articles do however present an indication of persecution being faced by Christians around the world.
Posted in Christianity, Hinduism, India, Islam, Pakistan, Uganda	| Tagged accusation, accused, acid, article, attack, blasphemy, Christian, Christianity, Christians, desecrating, doctors, extremists, eye, falsely, freed, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, incidents, India, Islam, Islamic, Muslim, muslims, news, Pakistan, Pastor, Persecution, Quran, recent, recovery, release, remaining, save, try, Uganda, Ugandan, woman | Leave a comment
Pakistani Christian Falsely Accused of 'Blasphemy' Illegally Detained
Posted on April 18, 2011 by particularkev
Policeman says Arif Masih, held at an undisclosed location, is innocent.
LAHORE, Pakistan, April 15 (CDN) — Police in Punjab Province, Pakistan have illegally detained a Christian on a "blasphemy" accusation, even though one officer said he was certain an area Muslim falsely accused 40-year-old Arif Masih because of a property dispute.
On April 5 Shahid Yousuf Bajwa, Masih's next-door neighbor, initially filed a First Information Report (FIR) against "an unidentified person" for desecrating the Quran after finding threatening letters and pages with quranic verses on the street outside his home in Village 129 RB-Tibbi, Chak Jhumra, Faisalabad district. Desecrating the Quran under Section 295-B of Pakistan's blasphemy statutes is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
"Some identified person has desecrated the Holy Quran and has tried to incite sentiments of the Muslims," Bajwa wrote in the FIR. Clearly stating that he did not know who had done it, he wrote, "It is my humble submission to the higher authorities that those found guilty must be given exemplary punishment."
Bajwa charges in the FIR that when he went outside his home at 9 p.m. and found the pages, he looked at them by the light of his cell phone and thought they were pages of the Quran. Masih's uncle, Amjad Chaudhry, told Compass the pages look like those of a school textbook containing quranic verses.
Chaudhry said Bajwa and his two brothers are policemen. After Bajwa found the pages and the threatening letters, Chaudhry said, he arranged for an announcement to be made from the loudspeaker of the area mosque.
"The message urged all the Muslims of the village to gather there due to the urgency and sensitivity of the matter," Chaudhry said.
He said initially local Muslims were very angry and suggested that Christian homes be set ablaze, but that others said the Christians should be first given a chance to explain whether they were responsible.
"Then some Muslims began saying that because Arif Masih lived on this street, he would be the person who could have done this crime," he said. "However, most of the people who gathered there said that they knew Arif Masih well and they could not imagine he could do such a vile thing. But others insisted that because Masih was the only Christian who lived on the street, only he could be suspected of the crime."
At about 10 p.m. on April 5, Chaudhry said, Bajwa's brother Abdullah Bajwa called Masih to the Siyanwala police station, where he was arrested; Masih's family members were unaware that he had been arrested.
According to Section 61 of Pakistan's Criminal Procedure Code, an arrested person must be produced within 24 hours before a court; Masih has been detained at an undisclosed location without a court appearance since April 5, with police failing to register his arrest in any legal document, making his detention illegal. Investigating Officer Qaisar Younus denied that Masih was in police custody, but Superintendent of the Police Abdul Qadir told Compass that Masih had been detained for his own safety.
Younus told Compass that he was sure Masih was innocent, but that he had been falsely accused because of a land dispute.
Property Conflict
According to Chaudhry, about two years ago Masih bought a plot next to his house that another villager, Liaquat Ali Bajwa (no relation to Shahid Yousuf Bajwa) wanted to buy – and who despised Masih for it, telling the previous owner, "How come a Christian can buy the plot that I wanted to buy?"
The parcel owner had given Masih preference as he knew him well, and he understood that the homeowner adjacent to the property had the first rights to it anyway.
At the same time, Ali Bajwa was able to seize about five square feet of the house of a Christian named Ghulam Masih after the wall of his home was destroyed in last year's flooding. Feeling he was not in position to challenge Ali Bajwa, Ghulam Masih sold the land to Arif Masih so that he could take charge, Chaudhry said.
Arif Masih subsequently filed a civil suit against Ali Bajwa to evict him from his property. Chaudhry said Arif Masih was about to win that case, and that Ali Bajwa thought he could retain that property and obtain the one Arif Masih had purchased by accusing him of blasphemy with the help of police officer Shahid Yousuf Bajwa.
Ali Bajwa had been threatening Masih, saying, "You will not only give me this plot, but I will even take your house," Chaudhry said.
Chaudhry said he had learned that Shahid Yousuf Bajwa felt badly after villagers criticized him for falsely accusing an innocent man of blasphemy, but that Bajwa feared that if he withdrew the case he himself would be open to blasphemy charges.
Arif Masih's family has remained steadfast throughout the case, refusing to flee the area in spite of the possibility of Muslim villagers being incited to attack them, Chaudhry said.
"It all became possible because of Muslim villagers who sided with us," he said.
Chaudhry said that when police arrived at the scene of the Muslims who had gathered with the pages and the threatening letters, the villagers told officers that they had not seen who threw them on the street. He said that the letters included the threat, "You Muslims have failed in doing any harm to us, and now I order you all to convert to Christianity or else I will shoot you all."
The letters did not bear the name of the person who wrote them, he added.
On Monday (April 11), Chaudhry managed to meet with Masih, though Masih's wife has yet to see him. Chaudhry told Compass that the first thing Masih asked him was whether everyone was safe, as there are only three Christian families in the area of about 150 Muslim homes.
"If the mob had decided to harm our houses, then it would have been very devastating," Chaudhry said.
After Masih was arrested, at midnight police came to his house and began beating on the main gate, Chaudhry said. When Masih's wife, Razia Bibi opened the door, the officers rushed into the house and searched it.
"They were looking for some proof, but thank God they could not find anything that could even be remotely linked with the incident," he said.
Chaudhry added that police have not mistreated Masih, but he said the matter has lingered so long that he feared police may involve him in the case, or that "things may go wrong like in most blasphemy cases."
http://www.compassdirect.org
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Karnataka, India, April 8 (CDN) — Four Christians, including a police constable, were beaten on April 1 in Madikeri district on allegations of "religious conversion abetment," as if conversion were illegal in India. Daijiworld Media Network reported that K. Nidugane villagers were enraged when a Christian constable identified only as Prasanna, along with three others identified only as Diwakar, Lawrence and Dias, went door-to-door distributing pamphlets and books in Nandimotte village. A few enraged Hindu villagers beat them, tore their clothes half-off, and brought them to a police station. Hindu extremist leaders who found out rushed to the village, but before they could manhandle the four, policemen intervened and took the accused Christians into custody. Deputy Superintendent of Police J.D. Prakash said that a recommendation had been sent to the superintendent of police seeking Prasanna's suspension from service, the Daijiworld report stated. Diwakar, along with his wife Telcy Diwakar, had also been arrested and released on bail when they visited Devastoor village on March 26. A police official told Compass that the Christians have been charged with "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."
Karnataka – Police on April 1 arrested Christians after Hindu nationalists registered false complaints of "conversion" against them (religious conversion is legal in India) in Kodihalli, Bangalore. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that citizens identified only as Vincent, Johnson, Satyan and Naveenand Vinod were at a prayer and fellowship meeting in the home of a Christian when area Hindu extremists led by a person identified only Prashanth stormed the house, made the accusation and forced them to the Kodihalli police station. A GCIC coordinator told Compass that the intolerant Hindus shouted anti-Christian rants along the way, and that police were mute spectators as the extremists mocked the Christians at the police station. Police charged the Christians with "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."
Himachal Pradesh – On March 17 at Rekong Peo in Kinnur district, Hindu extremists ostracized the Christian community and warned them under threat of violence to conduct no future worship meetings. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that Hindu nationalist extremists barred Christians from using a public road, collecting drinking water and entering a local forest. A group of 20 Christians filed a complaint at the Bhavannagar police station, but officials failed to protect the victims at the behest of the local Hindu extremists. AICC submitted a detailed report to the National Commission for Minorities, requesting an investigation.
Kerala – On March 31 on Kara Beach Road, Kodungallur, Hindu extremists attacked Pastor N.V. Eliyas and Pastor Milton George of New India Church of God as they were returning home with their families from a house dedication prayer service. The extremists shouted slogans against the Christians as they accused them of "forceful conversions," reported the Global Council of Indian Christians. The Hindu extremists damaged the Christians' vehicles. Pastor Eliyas sustained injuries on his head and ear and was rushed to the Kodungallur Government Hospital. Police arrested 35 Hindu extremists who were involved in the incident.
Uttar Pradesh – On March 20 in Lonianpurawa, Balrampur district, an irate mob of 60 Hindu extremists barged into the worship meeting of The Healing Church and beat those present. An earlier incident had taken place the previous Sunday (March 13), when Hindu extremists threatened the worship led by convert Gudgi Verma and his wife Saroja Verma, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). Opposing their thriving ministry in the area, local Member of the Legislative Assembly Gorakhnath Baba allegedly had sent about 25 Hindu extremists to the church to deliver the warning to discontinue church services. The Christians continued, and on March 16 Baba and 50 Hindu extremists went to the site, urged the couple to stop all Christian worship meetings and restore Hindu idols to the house, give offerings to the temple and observe all Hindu festivals, according to EFI. Evangelists Abhay Kumar and Keshov Parsad went to Lonianpurawa on March 20 to lead worship, and the Hindu extremists suddenly barged in, verbally abused the Christians for their faith and beat them. The situation in the area is reported as tense, and local Christians are praying to be able to resume regular Sunday worship meetings.
Posted in Christianity, Hinduism, India	| Tagged abetment, Abhay Kumar, abused, accusation, accused, Acts, against, AICC, All India Christian Council, allegations, allegedly, anti-Christian, arrested, attacked, bail, Balrampur, Bangalore, barged, barred, beat, beaten, behest, beliefs, Bhanannagar, Books, briefs, charged, Christian, Christianity, Christians, citizens, class, clothes, collecting, complaint, complaints, conduct, constable, conversion, conversions, convert, coordinator, couple, custody, damaged, dedication, deliberate, deliver, deputy superintendent of police, Devastoor, dias, discontinue, distributing, district, Diwakar, door-to-door, drinking, ear, EFI, enraged, entering, Evangelical Fellowship of India, evangelists, extremist, failed, faith, false, families, feelings, fellowship, festivals, filed, forced, forceful, forest, future, GCIC, give, Global Council of Indian Councils, Gorakhnath Baba, group, Gudgi Verma, head, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, home, house, identified, idols, illegal, incident, incidents, India, injuries, insulting, intended, intervened, intolerant, involved, irate, J. D. Prakash, Johnson, K. Nidugane, Kara Beach Road, Karnataka, Kerala, Keshov Parsad, Kinnur, Kodihalli, Kodungallur, Kodungallur Government Hospital, Lawrence, lead, leaders, led, local, Lonianpurawa, Madikeri, malicious, manhandle, meeting, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Milton George, ministry, MLA, mob, mocked, mute, N. V. Eliyas, Nandimotte, National Commission for Minorities, nationalists, Naveenand Vinod, New India Church of God, observe, offerings, officials, ostracized, outrage, pamphlets, Pastor, Persecution, person, police, police station, policemen, Prasanna, Prashanth, prayer, praying, present, protect, public, rants, recent, recommendation, registered, Rekong Peo, released, religion, religious, restore, resume, returning, road, rushed, Saroja Verma, Satyan, service, shouted, site, situation, slogans, spectatorts, stop, stormed, superintendent, suspension, sustained, Telcy Diwakar, temple, tense, The Healing Church, threat, threatened, thriving, tore, under, urged, using, Uttar Pradesh, vehicles, verbally, victims, village, villagers, Vincent, violence, visited, warned, water, wife, worship | Leave a comment
Christian in Bangladesh Goes to Prison for Evangelism
DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 23 (CDN) — A Christian has been sentenced to one year in prison for "creating chaos" by selling and distributing Christian books and other literature near a major Muslim gathering north of this capital city.
A magistrate court in Gazipur district handed down the sentence to Biplob Marandi, a 25-year-old tribal Christian, on Feb. 28 after he was arrested near the massive Bishwa Ijtema (World Muslim Congregation) on the banks of the Turag River near Tongi town on Jan. 21.
A copy of the verdict says that he was sentenced according to Section 296 of Bangladeshi law 1860 for "creating chaos at a religious gathering."
"Duty police found Marandi creating chaos as he was propagating his religion, Christianity, by distributing the tracts as a mobile court on Jan. 21 was patrolling near the field of the Bishwa Ijtema," the verdict reads. "The accusation – creating chaos at a Muslim gathering by distributing Christian booklets and tracts – against him was read out in the court before him, and he admitted it. He also told the court that he had mainly wanted to propagate his religion, Christianity."
The Rev. Sailence Marandi, pastor at Church of Nazarene International in northern Thakurgaon district and older brother of Biplob Marandi, told Compass that there was no altercation when his brother was distributing Christian tracts; likewise, the verdict makes no mention of any confrontation.
"I guess some fanatic Muslims found my brother's works un-Islamic," he said. "They created chaos and handed over my brother to the police and the mobile court."
Pastor Marandi said he could not understand how a court could determine that one man could disturb a gathering of hundreds of thousands of Muslims.
"Fanatic Muslims might say this impossible thing, but how can the honorable court can say it?" he said. "In the verdict copy it is written that my brother admitted his offense in the court. This case being very religiously sensitive, I suspect that his confession statement might have been taken under duress."
Pastor Marandi said his brother was selling Christian books to supplement his livelihood as an evangelist on a street near the event, and there were many curious pedestrians of all faiths among Muslims from around the world.
"Where there were more people, he would go there for selling books and distributing Christian tracts," he said.
The pastor said he was surprised that Marandi was convicted and sentenced so quickly.
"My brother did not get the chance for self-defense in court," he said. "Without opportunity for self-defense, sentencing him for one year for evangelical activities was a travesty of justice. It cannot be accepted in a democratic country."
He added that the family hired a Muslim lawyer for Marandi who did little for him.
"If he had worked, then there would have been cross-examination regarding the confession statement," Pastor Marandi said. "I think that some Muslim fanatics could not tolerate his evangelical activities near the religious gathering place and handed him over."
The family has since hired a Christian attorney, Lensen Swapon Gomes, who told Compass that he filed an appeal on Monday (March 21) as Marandi's religious activities were protected by the religious freedom provisions of the country's constitution.
"I appealed to the court for his bail and also appealed for his release from the one-year punishment," said Gomes. "I hope that the honorable court will consider his case, because he is an innocent man and a victim of circumstances. The offense for which he is convicted is bailable."
The Bangladeshi constitution provides the right for anyone to propagate their religion subject to law, but authorities and communities often objected to efforts to convert people from Islam, according to the U.S. Department of State's 2010 International Religious Freedom report.
Every year several million male Muslims – women are not allowed – attend the event to pray and listen to Islamic scholars from around the world. Some 9,000 foreigners from 108 countries reportedly attended the event, but most of the worshippers are rural Bangladeshis. About 15,000 security personnel were deployed to maintain order.
Bangladeshi Muslims equate the annual event with the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This year the Bangladesh event was held in two phases, Jan 21-23 and Jan. 28-30.
Jagadish Edward, academic dean of Gloria Theological Seminary in Dhaka, told Compass that Marandi had engaged in evangelical work after completing three years at the seminary in 2005. Marandi had come to Dhaka from northern Thakurgaon district some 400 kilometers (249 miles) away.
"He was very polite and gentle," said Edward. "As an evangelist, he knew how to respect other religions. I was really surprised when I heard he was arrested and sentenced for one year."
At the same event in 2009, Muslim pilgrims beat and threatened to kill another Bible school student as he distributed Christian literature. A patrolling Rapid Action Battalion elite force rescued Rajen Murmo, then 20, a student at Believers' Church Bible College, on Feb. 1, 2009.
Bangladesh is the world's third-largest Muslim-majority nation, with Muslims making up 89 percent of its population of 164.4 million, according to Operation World. Christians are less than 1 percent of the total, and Hindus 9 percent.
Posted in Bangladesh, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Saudi Arabia, USA	| Tagged 1860, 2005, 2009, 2010, Academic, accusation, activities, allowed, altercation, annual, appealed, arrested, attended, attorney, authorities, bail, bailable, Bangladesh, Bangladeshi, banks, beat, Believer's Church Bible College, Bible, Biplob Marandi, Bishwa Ijtema, Books, brother, capital, chaos, Christian, Christianity, Christians, Church of Nazarene International, circumstances, city, communities, completing, confession, confrontation, constitution, convert, countries, country, court, creating, cross examination, curious, dean, Democratic, Department os State, deployed, Dhaka, distributing, district, duress, efforts, elite, engaged, equate, Evangelical, evangelism, evangelist, event, faiths, fanatic, force, foreigners, gathering, Gazipur, gentle, Gloria Theological Seminary, hajj, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, honorable, impossible, innocent, International Religious Freedom report, Islam, Islamic, Jagadish Edwatd, justice, kill, law, lawyer, Lensen Swapon Gomes, listen, literature, livelihood, magistrate, maintain, major, man, massive, Mecca, mobile, Muslim, Muslim-majority, muslims, nation, near, north, northern, objected, offense, older, Operation World, order, Pastor, patrolling, pedestrians, people, Persecution, personnel, pilgrimage, pilgrims, police, polite, pray, prison, propagating, protected, provisions, punishment, Rajen Murmo, Rapid Action Battalion, release, religion, religions, religious, religious freedom, religiously, respect, Rev, rural, Sailence Marandi, Saudi Arabia, scetion 296, school, security, self-defense, selling, seminary, sensitive, sentenced, soldiers, statement, street, student, subject, supplement, suspect, Thakurgaon, third-largest, threatened, tolerate, Tongi, town, tracts, travesty, tribal, Turag River, under, USA, victim, women, worked, world, World Muslim Congregation, worshippers | Leave a comment
India's Christians Suffer Spike in Assaults in Past Decade
Posted on February 4, 2011 by particularkev
Hindu nationalists were often politically motivated in their attacks.
NEW DELHI, December 30 (CDN) — Christians in India faced a spike in attacks in the past decade, suffering more than 130 assaults a year since 2001, with figures far surpassing that in 2007 and 2008.
This year Christians suffered at least 149 violent attacks, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). Most of the incidents took place in just four states: two adjacent states in south India, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and two neighboring states in north-central India, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, noted EFI in its report, "Religion, Politics and Violence: A Report of the Hostility and Intimidation Faced by Christians in India in 2010."
Of India's 23 million Christians, 2.7 million live in the four states seen as the hub of Christian persecution. While north-central parts of the country have been tense for a decade, the escalation of attacks in southern India began last year.
This year Karnataka recorded at least 56 attacks – most of them initially reported by the Global Council of Indian Christians, which is based in the state capital, Bengaluru. Chhattisgarh witnessed 18 attacks, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with 15 and 13 attacks respectively.
Christians are not stray incidents but are part of a systematic campaign by influential [Hindu nationalist] organizations capable of flouting law and enjoying impunity," the EFI report said.
In 2009 there were more than 152 attacks across India, and the same four states topped the list of violent incidents, according to the EFI: 48 in Karnataka, 29 in Andhra Pradesh, 15 in Madhya Pradesh and 14 in Chhattisgarh.
Three of the four states – Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh – are ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the EFI noted that the high number of attacks on Christians in those states was no coincidence.
"While it cannot be said that the ruling party had a direct role in the attacks on Christians, its complicity cannot be ruled out either," the report stated.
In Andhra Pradesh, ruled by centrist Indian National Congress (commonly known as the Congress Party), most attacks are believed to be led by Hindu nationalist groups.
EFI remarked that "although in 2007 and 2008 two major incidents of violence occurred in eastern Orissa state's Kandhamal district and hit headlines in the national as well as international media, little efforts have been taken by authorities in India to tackle the root causes of communal tensions, namely divisive propaganda and activities by powerful right-wing Hindu groups, who do not represent the tolerant Hindu community."
The violence in Kandhamal district during Christmas week of 2007 killed at least four Christians and burned 730 houses and 95 churches, according to the All India Christian Council (AICC). These attacks were preceded by around 200 incidents of anti-Christian attacks in other parts of the country.
Violence re-erupted in Kandhamal district in August 2008, killing more than 100 people and resulting in the incineration of 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions, according to the AICC.
Soon the violence spread to other states. In Karnataka, at least 28 attacks were recorded in August and September 2008, according to a report by People's Union of Civil Liberties, "The Ugly Face of Sangh Parivar," released in March 2009.
Before the two most violent years of 2007 and 2008, incidents of persecution of Christians had dipped to the lowest in the decade. In 2006 there were at least 130 incidents – more than two a week on average – according to the Christian Legal Association of India.
At least 165 anti-Christian attacks were reported in 2005. But from 2001 to 2004, at least 200 incidents were reported each year, according to John Dayal, secretary general of the AICC.
In 1998, Christians were targeted by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS –India's chief Hindu nationalist conglomerate and the BJP's ideological mentor – when Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, Catholic by descent, became the president of India's Congress Party. Gandhi, the wife of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, was seen as a major threat to the BJP, which had come to power for the first time at the federal level the same year. The Gandhi family has been popular since the Independence of India in 1947.
But Christian persecution – murder, beating, rape, false accusation, ostracism, and destruction of property – had begun spreading across the country in 2001, especially in tribal-inhabited states in central India. The attacks on Christians were apparently aimed at coaxing Sonia Gandhi to speak on behalf of Christians so that she could be branded as a leader of the Christian minority, as opposed to the BJP's claimed leadership of the Hindu majority. Observers say it is therefore not surprising that Gandhi has never spoken directly against Christian persecution in India.
Change in Political Atmosphere
After Hindu nationalist groups were linked with bombings in late 2008, the RSS and the BJP distanced themselves from those charged with the terrorist violence. The BJP also adopted a relatively moderate ideological stand in campaigns during state and federal elections.
The BJP, mainly the national leadership, has become more moderate also because it has faced embarrassing defeats in the last two consecutive general elections, in 2004 and 2009, which it fought on a mixed plank of Hindu nationalism and development. The voters in the two elections clearly indicated that they were more interested in development than divisive issues related to identity – thanks to the process of economic liberalization which began in India in 1991.
The incidence of Christian persecution, however, remains high because not all in the BJP and the RSS leadership seem willing to "dilute" their commitment to Hindu nationalism. Especially some in the lower rungs and in the regional leadership remain hardliners.
How this ideological rift within the Hindu nationalist family will play out next year and in the coming decade is yet to be seen. There is speculation, however, that more individuals and outfits formerly connected with the RSS will part ways and form their own splinter groups.
Although politicians are increasingly realizing that religion-related conflicts are no longer politically beneficial, it is perhaps too early to expect a change on the ground. This is why none of the "anti-conversion" laws has been repealed.
Four Indian states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh – had introduced legislation to regulate religious conversion, known as "anti-conversion" laws, before 2001, and since then three more states – Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh – brought in such laws, while two states sought to make existing laws stricter.
Anti-conversion laws are yet to be implemented, however, in Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The anti-conversion amendment bills in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have also faced political hurdles.
Although the anti-conversion laws claim to ban conversions undertaken by force or allurement – terms that have not been defined adequately – they are commonly used to jail or otherwise harass Christians who are simply following Christ's mandate to help the poor and make disciples. The laws also require all conversions to be reported to the authorities, failing which both convert and relevant clergy can be fined and imprisoned.
Some of these laws also require a prospective convert to obtain prior permission before conversion.
Concerns in 2011
Hard-line Hindu nationalists are seeking to create more fodder for communal conflicts and violence.
In April 2010, Hindu nationalists declared their plan to hold a rally of 2 million Hindus in Madhya Pradesh state's Mandla district in February 2011, with the aim of converting Christians back to Hinduism and driving away pastors, evangelists and foreign aid workers from the district.
Several spates of violence have been linked to past rallies. India's first large-scale, indiscriminate attack on Christians took place in Dangs district of Gujarat state in December 1998 after local Hindu nationalist groups organized such a rally. The violence led to mass destruction of property belonging to local Christians and Christian organizations.
Law and order is generally a responsibility of the states, but how the federal government and other agencies respond to the call for the rally in Madhya Pradesh may indicate what to expect in the coming months and years in India.
Posted in Christianity, Hinduism, India, Roman Catholicism	| Tagged 1947, 1991, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, accusation, AICC, All India Christian, allurement, Andhra Pradesh, anti-Christian, anti-conversion, Arunachal Pradesh, assaults, atmosphere, attacks, ban, beating, Bengaluru, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, bombings, burned, capital, change, Chhattisgarh, Christian, Christian Legal Association of India, Christianity, Christians, Christmas, churches, Congress Party, conversions, council, Dangs, decade, destruction, eastern, educational, EFI, escalation, Evangelical Fellowship of India, faced, false, force, former, Global Council of Indian Christians, Gujarat, harass, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, hostility, houses, Independence, India, Indian National Congress, institutions, intimidation, John Dayal, Kandhamal, Karnataka, laws, Madhya Pradesh, Mandla, motivated, murder, nationalists, New Delhi, north-central, Orissa, ostracism, past, People's Union of Civil Liberties, Persecution, political, politically, Politics, President, Prime Minister, property, Rajasthan, Rajiv Gandhi, rape, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, religion, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics, RSS, Sangh Parivar, Secretary General, Sonia Gandhi, south, southern, spike, states, suffer, suffering, terrorist, violence, violent, wife | Leave a comment
Pakistani Muslim Tortures, Accuses Christian Who Refused Slavery
Posted on November 1, 2010 by particularkev
Land owner falsely charges young man with illicit sex, calls villagers to beat, burn him.
SARGODHA, Pakistan, October 29 (CDN) — A Muslim land owner in Pakistan this month subjected a 25-year-old Christian to burns and a series of humiliations, including falsely charging him with having sex with his own niece, because the Christian refused to work for him without pay.
Fayaz Masih is in jail with burns on his body after No. 115 Chitraan Wala village head Zafar Iqbal Ghuman and other villagers punished Masih for refusing to work as a slave in his fields, said the Rev. Yaqub Masih, a Pentecostal evangelist. The village is located in Nankana Sahib district, Punjab Province.
Sources said neither Fayaz Masih nor his family had taken any loans from Ghuman, and that they had no obligations to work off any debt for Ghuman as bonded laborers.
Yaqub Masih said the young man's refusal to work in Ghuman's fields infuriated the Muslim, who was accustomed to forcing Christians into slavery. He said Ghuman considered Masih's refusal an act of disobedience by a "choohra," the pejorative word for Christians in Pakistan.
On Oct. 3 Ghuman and 11 of his men abducted Masih from his home at gun-point and brought him to Ghuman's farmhouse, according to Yaqub Masih and Yousaf Gill, both of nearby village No. 118 Chour Muslim. Gill is a former councilor of Union Council No. 30, and Yaqub Masih is an ordained pastor waiting for his denomination to assign him a church.
Fayaz Masih's family members told Yaqub Masih that Ghuman was carrying a pistol, and that the 11 other men were brandishing rifles or carrying clubs, axes and bamboo sticks. They began beating Masih as they carried him away, calling him a choohra, Yaqub Masih said.
Gill said that Ghuman's farmhands tied Fayaz Masih's hands and legs and asked him once more if he would work in Ghuman's fields. When he again refused, Gill said, Ghuman summoned four barbers; three ran away, but he forced one, Muhammad Pervaiz, to shave Masih's head, eyebrows, half of his mustache and half of his beard.
After they had rubbed charcoal on Masih's face, Ghuman then announced that Masih had had relations with Masih's 18-year-old niece, Sumeera, and called for everyone in the village to punish him. He and his men placed Masih on a frail, one-eyed donkey, Yaqub Masih and Gill said, and a mob of Muslim men and children surrounded him – beating tins, dancing and singing door-to-door while shouting anti-Christian slogans, yelling obscenities at him and other Christians, and encouraging villagers to beat him with their shoes and fill his mouth with human waste, Yaqub Masih said.
Some threw kerosene on Masih and alternately set him on fire and extinguished the flames, Gill said. He added that Muslims made a garland of old shoes from a pile of garbage and put it around Masih's neck.
Yaqub Masih said the abuse became unbearable for the young man, and he collapsed and fell off the donkey.
Police Ignore Court
Masih's sister, Seema Bibi, told Compass that the accusation that Masih had had sex with her daughter Sumeera was utterly false. She said Ghuman made the allegation only to vent his fury at Masih for refusing to work for him.
Seema Bibi said that Ghuman told her daughter at gun-point to testify against Masih in court on Oct. 4. Sumeera surprised the Muslim land owner, however, saying under oath that Masih was innocent and that Ghuman had tried to force her to testify against her uncle. A judge ruled that Sumeera had not had illicit relations with Masih, and that therefore she was free to go home.
Her mother told Compass, however, that since then Ghuman has been issuing daily death threats to her family.
After Masih collapsed from the abuse, Yaqub Masih and Gill called local police. Police did not arrive until three hours later, at 3:30 p.m., they said, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Shoiab Ahmed Kamboh and Inspector Muhammad Yaqub.
"They rebuked the Muslim villagers that they could have killed this Christian youth, and they told them to give him a bath at once and change his clothes, in order to reduce the evidence against them," Gill said.
Family members of Masih said Kamboh and Inspector Yaqub arrested some of the leading figures within the mob, but soon thereafter they received a call to release every Muslim.
"Instead of taking the Muslim men into custody, they detained my brother, and he was taken to the police station," Seema Bibi said.
On Oct. 4 police sent Masih to District Headquarters Hospital Nankana Sahib for examination, where Dr. Naseer Ahmed directed Dr. Muhammad Shakeel to mention in the medical report how severely Ghuman and his farmhands had beaten him, Gill said. He said the medical report also stated that Masih had sustained burns and that his head, mustache, eyebrows and beard were shaved.
In spite of the court ruling that Masih had not had sex with his niece, police were coerced into registering a false charge of adultery under Article 376 of the Islamic statutes of the Pakistan Penal Code, First Information Report No. 361/10, at the Sangla Hill police station.
At press time Masih remained in Shiekhupura District Jail, said Gill. Gill also has received death threats from Ghuman, he said.
The 11 men who along with Ghuman abducted Masih and brought him to Ghuman's farmhouse, according to Masih's family, were Mehdi Hussain Shah and Maqsood Shah, armed with rifles; Muhammad Amin, Rana Saeed, Muhammad Osama and four others unidentified, all of them brandishing clubs; Muhammad Waqas, with an axe; and Ali Raza, bearing a bamboo stick and a club.
Posted in Christianity, Islam, Pakistan	| Tagged abducted, abuse, accusation, accuses, accustomed, act, adultery, against, Ali Raza, allegation, alternately, announced, anti-Christian, armed, arrested, arrive, Article 376, assign, axe, axes, bamboo, barbers, bath, beard, bearing, beat, beating, became, began, body, bonded, brandishing, brother, burn, burns, call, called, calls, carried, carrying, change, charcoal, charges, charging, children, choohra, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, clothes, clubs, coerced, collapsed, consdiered, councilor, daily, dancing, daughter, death, debt, denomination, deputy superintendent of police, detained, directed, disobedience, District Headquarters Hospital Nankana Sahib, donkey, door-to-door, Dr, encouraging, evangelist, everyone, evidence, examination, extinguish, eyebrows, face, false, falsely, family, farmhands, farmhouse, Fayaz Masih, fell, fields, figures, fill, fire, First Information Report, flames, forced, forcing, former, frail, free, fury, garbage, garland, gun-point, half, hands, having, head, home, human, humiliations, ignore, illicit, including, infuriated, innocent, inspector, Islam, Islamic, issuing, jail, judge, kerosene, killed, laborers, land, leading, legs, loans, local, located, man, Maqsood Shah, medical, Mehdi Hussain Shah, members, men, mention, mob, mouth, Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Osama, Muhammad Pervaiz, Muhammad Shakeel, Muhammad Waqas, Muhammad Yaqub, Muslim, muslims, mustache, Nankana Sahib, Naseer Ahmed, neck, niece, No. 115 Chitraan Wala, No. 118 Chour Muslim, No. 361/10, oath, obligations, obscenities, old, one-eyed, ordained, own, owner, Pakistan, Pakistan Penal Code, Pakistani, Pastor, pay, pejorative, Pentecostal, Persecution, pile, pistol, placed, police, police station, press, punished, Punjab Province, Rana Saeed, rebuked, received, reduce, refusal, refused, refusing, registering, relations, remained, report, Rev, rifles, rubbed, ruled, Sangla Hill, Sargodha, Seema Bibi, series, severely, sex, shave, Shiekhupura District Jail, shoes, Shoiab Ahmed Kamboh, shouting, singing, Sister, slave, slavery, slogans, statutes, stick, sticks, subjected, Sumeera, summoned, surprised, surrounded, sustained, taken, testify, threats, threw, tied, time, tins, tortures, unbearable, unidentified, Union Council No. 30, utterly, vent, village, villagers, waiting, waste, within, without, Word, work, Yaqub Masih, yelling, young, Yousaf Gill, youth, Zafar Iqbal Ghuman | Leave a comment
Christians in Turkey Acquitted of 'Insulting Turkishness'
But court heavily fines them for dubious conviction of collecting personal data.
ISTANBUL, October 19 (CDN) — After four years of legal battle in a Turkish court, a judge acquitted two Christians of insulting Turkey and its people by spreading Christianity, but not without slapping them with a hefty fine for a spurious charge.
Four years ago this month, Turan Topal, 50, and Hakan Tastan, 41, started a legal battle after gendarmerie officers produced false witnesses to accuse them of spreading their faith and allegedly "insulting Turkishness, the military and Islam."
At the Silivri court an hour west of Istanbul, Judge Hayrettin Sevim on Thursday (Oct. 14) acquitted the defendants of two charges that they had insulted the Turkish state (Article 301) and that they had insulted its people (Article 216) by spreading Christianity. Sevim cited lack of evidence.
He found them guilty, however, of collecting information on citizens without permission (Article 135) and sentenced them to seven months of imprisonment each. The court ruled that the two men could each pay a 4,500 lira (US$3,170) fine instead of serving time, said their lawyer Haydar Polat.
Tastan expressed mixed feelings about the verdicts.
"For both Turan and I, being found innocent from the accusation that we insulted the Turkish people was the most important thing for us, because we've always said we're proud to be Turks," Tastan said by telephone. "But it is unjust that they are sentencing us for collecting people's information."
At the time of their arrests, Topal and Tastan were volunteers with The Bible Research Center, which has since acquired official association status and is now called The Association for Propagating Knowledge of the Bible. The two men had used contact information that individuals interested in Christianity had volunteered to provide on the association's website.
Administrators of the association stated openly to local authorities that their goal was to disseminate information about Christianity.
The two men and their lawyer said they will be ready to appeal the unjust decision of the court when they have seen the official statement, which the court should issue within a month. Polat said the appeal process will take over a year.
"Why should we have to continue the legal battle and appeal this?" asked Tastan. "We are not responsible for the information that was collected. So why are they fining us for this? So, we continue our legal adventure."
Still, he expressed qualified happiness.
"We are free from the charges that we have insulted the Turkish state and the people of Turkey and we're glad for that, but we are sorry about the court's sentence," Tastan said. "We're happy on one hand, and sorry on the other."
The court hearing lasted just a few minutes, said Polat.
"The judges came to the court hearing ready with their decision," Polat said. "Their file was complete, and there was neither other evidence nor witnesses."
Polat was hesitant to comment on whether the decision to convict the men of collecting private data without permission was because they are Christians. He did underline, however, that the court's decision to fine the men was unjust, and that they plan to appeal it after the court issues an official written verdict.
"This was the court's decision," said Polat, "but we believe this is not fair. This decision is inconsistent with the law."
Christianity on Trial
The initial charges in 2006 against Tastan and Topal were based on "a warning telephone call to the gendarme" claiming that some Christian missionaries were trying to form illegal groups in local schools and making insults against Turkishness, the military and Islam.
In March 2009 the Turkish Ministry of Justice issued a statement claiming that approval to try the two men's case under the controversial Article 301came in response to the "original" statement by three young men that Topal and Tastan were conducting missionary activities in an effort to show that Islam was a primitive and fictitious religion that results in terrorism, and to portray Turks as a "cursed people."
Two of the three witnesses, however, stated in court that they didn't even know Topal and Tastan. The third witness never appeared in court. Prosecutors were unable to produce any evidence indicating the defendants described Islam in these terms. At the same time, they questioned their right to speak openly about Christianity with others.
Polat and his legal partners had based their defense on the premise that Turkey's constitution grants all citizens freedom to choose, be educated in and communicate their religion, making missionary activities legal.
"This is the point that really needs to be understood," Polat told Compass last year. "In Turkey, constitutionally speaking, it is not a crime to be a Christian or to disseminate the Christian faith. However, in reality there have been problems."
The lawyer and the defendants said that prosecuting lawyers gave political dimensions to the case by rendering baseless accusations in a nationalistic light, claiming that missionary activities were carried out by imperialistic countries intending to harm Turkey.
Tastan and Topal became Christians more than 15 years ago and changed their religious identity from Muslim to Christian on their official ID cards.
Initially accompanied by heavy media hype, the case had been led by ultranationalist attorney Kemal Kerincsiz and a team of six other lawyers. Kerincsiz had filed or inspired dozens of Article 301 court cases against writers and intellectuals he accused of insulting the Turkish nation and Islam.
Because of Kerincsiz's high-level national profile, the first few hearings drew several hundred young nationalist protestors surrounding the Silivri courthouse, under the eye of dozens of armed police. But the case has attracted almost no press attention since Kerincsiz was jailed in January 2008 as a suspect in the overarching conspiracy trials over Ergenekon, a "deep state" operation to destabilize the government led by a cabal of retired generals, politicians and other key figures. The lawyer is accused of an active role in the alleged Ergenekon plot to discredit and overthrow Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party government.
Ergenekon has been implicated in the cases of murdered priest Andreas Santoro, Armenian editor Hrant Dink, and the three Christians in Malatya: Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel and Tilmann Geske.
In a separate case, in March of 2009 Tastan and Topal were charged with "illegal collection of funds." Each paid a fine of 600 Turkish lira (US$360) to a civil court in Istanbul. The verdict could not be appealed in the Turkish legal courts. This ruling referred to the men receiving church offerings without official permission from local authorities.
Posted in Armenia, Christianity, Germany, Islam, Turkey	| Tagged 2006, 2009, accusation, accusations, accuse, acquired, acquitted, active, activities, administrators, adventure, against, alleged, allegedly, Andreas Santoro, appeal, approval, armed, Armenian, arrests, Article 135, Article 216, article 301, association, attention, attorney, attracted, authorities, based, baseless, battle, believe, cabal, call, called, cards, cases, changed, charge, charges, choose, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, cited, citizens, civil, collecting, collection, comment, communicate, complete, conducting, conspiracy, constitution, contact, continue, controversial, convict, conviction, countries, court, courthouse, crime, cursed, data, decision, deep, defendants, defense, described, destablize, dimensions, discredit, disseminate, dubious, editor, educated, effort, Ergenekon, evidence, expressed, fair, faith, false, feelings, fictitious, figures, filed, fines, fining, form, found, free, freedom, funds, gendarme, gendarmerie, generals, glad, goal, government, grants, groups, guilty, Hakan Tastan, happiness, happy, harm, Haydar Polat, Hayrettin Sevim, hearing, heavily, hefty, hesitant, high-level, Hrant Dink, hype, ID, identity, illegal, imperialistic, implicated, important, imprisonment, inconsistent, indicating, individuals, initial, innocent, inspired, insulting, insults, intellectuals, intending, interested, Islam, issue, Istanbul, jailed, judge, Justice and Development Party, Kemal Kerincsiz, key, lack, law, lawyer, led, legal, light, local, making, Malatya, media, men, mfile, military, Ministry of Justice, missionaries, missionary, mixed, murdered, Muslim, muslims, nation, national, nationalistic, Necati Aydin, offerings, officers, official, openly, operation, original, overarching, overthrow, paid, partners, pay, people, permission, Persecution, personal, plot, police, political, politicians, portray, premise, press, priest, primitive, problems, process, produce, produced, profile, prosecutors, proud, provide, qualified, questioned, ready, reality, receiving, referred, religion, religious, response, responsible, results, retired, right, role, ruled, ruling, schools, sentenced, sentencing, serving, show, Silivri, slapping, sorry, speak, spreading, spurious, started, state, stated, statement, status, surrounding, suspect, team, telephone, terms, terrorism, The Association for Propagating Knowledge of the Bible, The Bible Research Center, Tilmann Geske, time, trial, trials, try, trying, Turan Topal, Turkey, Turkish, Turkishness, Turks, Ugar Yuksel, ultrnationalist, unable, understood, unjust, used, verdict, verdicts, volunteered, volunteers, warning, Website, West, without, witnesses, writers, written, young | Leave a comment
Christian in India Suffers Miscarriage in Hindu Extremist Attack
Four pastors also injured in Karnataka, hub of anti-Christian persecution.
NEW DELHI, October 13 (CDN) — Police in a south Indian state known for turning hostile to minority Christians in recent years have arrested two suspected Hindu nationalists for beating four pastors and striking the wife of one of them in the stomach, killing her unborn child.
The attack took place at a Christian gathering in a private Christian school to celebrate the birth of Mahatma Gandhi on Oct. 2 in Chintamani, in Karnataka state's Kolar district, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).
About 40 people barged into New Public School during the concluding prayer that morning and began selectively beating the pastors and Kejiya Fernandes, wife of one identified only as Pastor Fernandes. Chintamani police arrived but the attack went on, and when it ended at noon officers took the Christians to the station instead of arresting the attackers.
Denied medical attention, the injured Christians were released at 7:30 p.m. only after Kejiya Fernandes began to bleed profusely, GCIC reported. She and her husband later received hospital treatment, where she lost the baby she had been carrying for four months, according to GCIC.
Pastor Fernandes received an injury to his ear. The three other victims, identified only as pastors Robert, Muthu and Kenny, all ministered in a local independent church.
Of the 12 suspects named in the police complaint, two were arrested the same day, and the rest are absconding, said attorney Jeeva Prakash, who is associated with the Evangelical Fellowship of India's (EFI) advocacy department.
The police complaint against the 12 includes "causing death of quick unborn child by act amounting to culpable homicide" (Section 316 of the Indian Penal Code), and "intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace" (Section 504). No charges related to defiling a religious place or gathering or creating communal conflict were included.
All the accused are residents of Chintamani city and suspected to be associated with Hindu nationalist groups.
The attack was reportedly carried out to avenge an alleged insult to Hindu gods during the Christian gathering, with the accused also having filed a police complaint, added Prakash, who visited the area and the Christian victims this week.
The complaint against the Christians was for "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs" (Section 295-a), and, strangely, Section 324 for "voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means," among other charges.
The Christians were not arrested, as a court granted them anticipatory bail.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose birthday the Christians were celebrating, was friends with Christian missionaries during British rule and taught religious tolerance. The acclaimed Hindu, India's greatest political and spiritual leader, was killed in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, who was allegedly influenced by the ideology of the Hindu extremist conglomerate Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
For the last three years, Karnataka has been seen as the hub of Christian persecution in India. Of the more than 152 attacks on Christians in 2009, 86 were reported in Karnataka, according to the EFI.
This year, too, Karnataka is likely to top anti-Christian attacks. According to the GCIC, at least 47 attacks on Christians in the state had been reported as of Sept. 26. Persecution of Christians in Karnataka increased particularly after the August 2008 anti-Christian mayhem in eastern Orissa state, where Maoists killed a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader but Hindu extremists wrongly blamed it on local Christians.
The attacks in Orissa's Kandhamal district killed more than 100 people and burned 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions.
While Hindu nationalists had targeted and were working in Karnataka for close to two decades, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to sole power in the state for the first time in the history of independent India in May 2008. Prior to that, the BJP ruled in coalition with a local party, the Janata Dal-Secular, for 20 months.
It is believed that the victory of the BJP – and later the violence in Orissa, which was also ruled by a coalition that included the BJP – emboldened Hindu extremists, who now enjoy greater impunity due to the party's incumbency.
Despite the high incidence of persecution of minorities in Karnataka, BJP leaders deny it, alleging complaint are the result of a political conspiracy of opposition parties.
There are a little more than 1 million Christians in Karnataka, where the total population is more than 52 million, mostly Hindus.
Karnataka, India, October 13 (Compass Direct News) – Hindu extremists belonging to the Bajrang Dal on Oct. 3 stormed into a Christian worship service, beat those attending and confiscated Bibles in Emarakuntte village, Kolar district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that nearly 25 extremists barged into the house of a Christian identified only as Manjunath, where Pastor Daniel Shankar was leading Sunday worship. Verbally abusing those present and falsely accusing them of forcible conversion, the extremists dragged them out and photographed them. Pastor Shankar managed to escape. Police arrived – after the extremists called them – and confiscated the Bibles and a vehicle belonging to the pastor. A GCIC coordinator told Compass that Shankar, accompanied by area pastors, went to the police station the next day, and officers made him give a written statement that he would stop Christian activities in the village. Only then were the Bibles and vehicle returned. No worship was held on Sunday (Oct. 10).
Karnataka – Police on Sept. 5 detained a pastor after Hindu nationalist extremists registered a false complaint of forcible conversion in Doni village, Gadag district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at 8:30 p.m. nearly 100 extremists belonging to the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh stormed the worship of an Indian Pentecostal Church at the home of a Christian identified only as Nagaraj. A GCIC coordinator told Compass that the extremists repeatedly slapped Pastor Mallikarjuna Sangalad, dragged him outside and tore his shirt. They also tore up a few Bibles of those in the congregation. The extremists called Mundargi police, who arrived at the spot and took Pastor Sangalad to the police station as the slogan-shouting extremists followed. Police questioned the pastor for over two hours and warned him against leading services. With GCIC intervention Sangalad was released at around 11 p.m. without being charged, but he was forced to sign a statement that he would not conduct services at Nagaraj's home.
Karnataka – Police on Sept. 3 stopped worship and falsely accused a pastor of forcible conversion, threatening to jail Christians if they continued religious activities in Ganeshgudi village. A Global Council of Indian Christians coordinator told Compass that Ramnagar police Sub-Inspector Babu Madhar, acting on an anonymous accusation of forcible conversion, disrupted worship and threatened Calvary Fellowship Prayer Centre Pastor P.R. Jose as nearly 40 congregants of the house church looked on. The sub-inspector warned the Christians against worshipping there and told Pastor Jose to shut down the church or be arrested. On Sept. 4, however, Madhar returned to the house and informed Pastor Jose that they could continue worship services.
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Christian Jailed in Ethiopia Accused of Desecrating Quran
Posted on October 9, 2010 by particularkev
Constitution flouted as he is jailed for two months in Muslim area without court appearance.
NAIROBI, Kenya, October 7 (CDN) — A Christian in Ethiopia's southern town of Moyale has been languishing in jail for two months after his Muslim business partner accused him of writing "Jesus is Lord" in a copy of the Quran, local church leaders said.
Tamirat Woldegorgis, a member of the Full Gospel Church in his early 30s, was arrested in early August after the Muslim co-worker in the clothes-making business the two operated out of a rented home discovered Woldegorgis had inscribed "Jesus is Lord" on some cloth, area Christians said.
Woldegorgis returned from a break one morning to find that the inscribed words had been cut out of the piece of cloth, the sources said. He then had the words set in the machinery of their tailoring business for inscription on clothing material, only to find later that the inscribed plates were removed from the machinery as well, they said.
The Muslim associate, whose name has not been established, then went to a nearby mosque with the accusation that Woldegorgis had written "Jesus is Lord" in the Quran itself, sources said. Angry sheikhs at the mosque subsequently had Woldegorgis arrested for desecrating the book sacred to Islam, they said.
Other sources said, however, that Muslims accused Woldegorgis of writing "Jesus is Lord" on a piece of wood, on a minibus and then on the wall of a house. As he has not been brought to court, the exact charges against him are not yet known. Woldegorgis denies all accusations, and area Christians insisted he is innocent.
A church leader who requested anonymity told Compass that Christians in Moyale are concerned that Woldegorgis, a married father of two from Hagarmariam village, has not been granted a trial after two months in jail. He said that two days after Woldegorgis was arrested, two friends inquired about him at the Moyale police station; authorities responded by jailing them for two weeks.
"The Ethiopian constitution allows for religious tolerance," said the church leader, "but to date Woldegorgis has not been taken to court. He is still in a police cell, which is quite unusual for an Ethiopian national, and given constitutional provisions."
Jijiga, capital of Ethiopia's Somali Region, has the largest court in eastern Ethiopia, and Christians fear that Islamic principles govern it. In Ethiopia's federal state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are Muslims.
"We fear that our brother might be taken to Islamic court in Jijiga for trial, which will further threaten his life," the church leader said. "Where is justice for our brother being in prison without been tried?"
Sources also said that authorities are offering to release Woldegorgis if he will convert to Islam. Woldegorgis is physically weak but strong in his faith, the church leader said, adding that he needs food and other material assistance, as well as an attorney.
Sources said Woldegorgis has been jailed in Zone Five of Ethiopia's Somali Region, a predominantly Somali area. Moyale, located on Ethiopia's border with Kenya, is divided between the predominantly Muslim Zone Five and Zone Four, which is populated mainly by ethnic Oromo, with each zone having distinct administrative and judiciary systems. Preaching non-Muslim faiths is not allowed in Zone Five, in spite of provisions for religious freedom in Ethiopia's constitution.
Hostility toward those spreading faiths different from Islam is a common occurrence in predominantly Muslim areas of Ethiopia and neighboring countries, they said. Christians are often subject to harassment and intimidation.
Ethiopia's constitution, laws and policies promote freedom of religion, but occasionally local authorities infringe on this right, according to the U.S. Department of State's 2009 International Religious Freedom Report. According to the 2007 census, 44 percent of Ethiopia's population affiliate with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 19 percent are evangelical and Pentecostal and 34 percent are Sunni Muslim.
Posted in Christianity, Ethiopia, Islam, Kenya, Orthodox, Pentecostalism, Somalia, USA	| Tagged 2007, 2009, accusation, accusations, accused, administration, administrative, affiliate, allowed, allows, angry, anonymity, appearance, area, arrested, assistance, associate, attorney, authorities, autonomous, between, book, border, break, brother, business, capital, cell, census, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, cloth, clothes, clothing, co-worker, common, concerned, constitution, convert, copy, countries, court, cut, denies, Department of State, desecrating, different, discovered, distinct, divided, eastern, Ethiopia, Ethiopian, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, ethnic, Evangelical, exact, faith, faiths, Father, fear, federal, flouted, food, freedom of religion, friends, Full Gospel Church, govern, government, granted, Hagarmariam, harassment, holding, home, hostility, house, infringe, innocent, inquired, inscribed, inscription, insisted, International Religious Freedom report, intimidation, Islam, Islamic, jail, jailed, jailing, Jesus, Jijiga, judiciary, justice, Kenya, known, languishing, largest, laws, leader, leaders, life, local, located, Lord, machinery, mainly, making, married, material, member, minibus, mosque, Moyale, Muslim, muslims, name, national, nearby, needs, neighboring, non-Muslim, not, occurrence, offering, operated, Oromo, partnet, Pentecostal, Persecution, physically, piece, plates, police, police station, policies, positions, preaching, predominantly, principles, prison, promote, provisions, Quran, release, religious, religious freedom, removed, rented, requested, responded, returned, right, sacred, sheikhs, Somali, Somali Region, Somali Region Zone Five, southern, spite, spreading, state, strong, subject, Sunni, system, systems, tailoring, Tamirat Woldegorgis, threaten, tolerance, toward, town, trial, tried, unidentified, unusual, USA, village, wall, weak, without, wood, words, writing, written, zone, Zone Five, Zone Four | Leave a comment
Victim of Orissa, India Violence Rescued from Trafficking Ring
Posted on September 4, 2010 by particularkev
Christians displaced by Kandhamal violence in 2008 sold for coerced labor or sex.
NEW DELHI, August 25 (CDN) — Nearly two years after large-scale anti-Christian violence broke out in India's Kandhamal district, Orissa state, a team working against human trafficking on Aug. 9 rescued a 16-year-old Christian girl – one of at least 60 people sold into slavery after being displaced by the 2008 attacks.
The recovery in Delhi of the girl represented the cracking of a network that has trafficked Christian girls and women from Orissa to the national capital, sources said.
"Human trafficking agents operating in the tribal belt of Orissa have targeted the Christian girls who are displaced by the Kandhamal communal violence – we have been receiving complaints of missing girls from Kandhamal after the violence broke out in 2008," said attorney Lansinglu Rongmei, one of the rescue team members. "Roughly 60 girls are estimated missing and have been trafficked to different states."
The girl, whose name is withheld, is a tribal Christian who was sold into slavery along with her 19-year-old sister and two other girls, all victims of the 2008 violence; they were trafficked from the Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district to the capital in December 2009, according to the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). Her sister and the other two girls remain missing.
The mother of the girl accompanied the rescue team the evening of Aug. 9 in the Rohini area of Delhi, said a source from the HRLN Anti-Human Trafficking department on condition of anonymity.
"It was only the joint efforts of the All India Christian Council [AICC], HRLN Anti-Human Trafficking and the area police that made this rescue possible," the source said.
The rescue team took action after the minor's mother approached the HRLN of Kandhamal for help, which in turn called the Delhi office. Team members said they were disappointed by the reaction of police, who were initially cooperative but later "just unwilling to help," in the words of one member.
The girl was used only for labor, although she was sexually harassed, sources said.
Rongmei told Compass that police refused to file a First Information Report, telling rescue team members, "No rape of the victim took place as per the medical examination, and there was no need for a case registration against anyone."
The rescue team was not given a copy of the report of a medical examination at Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, Pitampura, in Delhi, but they were told it indicated no sign of rape.
"It is confirmed that she was not raped," said Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the AICC and part of the rescue team. "She was physically abused, with teeth bite marks and bruises on her body – her neck, leg and right hand."
The girl stated that a well-known woman from their village in Kandhamal district gave her and her sister a false promise of safe and secure work in Delhi as gardeners.
Instead, operatives brought the sisters and the two other girls to a placement agency in Ratala village in Delhi, Sakhi Maid Bureau, which was run by a man identified only as Montu.
The HRLN source told Compass that the girl was with the placement agency for six days as the owner, Montu, attempted to rape her on several occasions. She was threatened, beaten, drugged with alcohol and sexually molested, the source said.
The girl said her sister and the other two girls were treated the same way.
She was placed in a home in Rohini, Sector 11, as domestic help beginning in January. Until July, she said, she was treated relatively well there, except for a few instances of being slapped by the lady of the house. Then the family's 10-year-old son began to hit her and their 14-year-old son tried to assault her sexually, and she tried to flee earlier this month.
The girl told the rescue team that she informed the lady of the house about the elder son's misbehavior, but that the woman stated that she could do nothing about it.
"She bears marks from being beaten on her right hand by the younger boy," said Chandra.
He told Compass that the owner of the placement agency collected the girl's wages from the family who employed her, promising to send the money to her mother in Kandhamal district, but that he failed to do so.
Compass was unable to meet with the girl as she was still traumatized and undergoing counseling sessions. The girl's mother sobbed for her other daughter, grieved that no one knew what condition she was in.
Montu, the placement agency operator, has absconded, according to police.
Passive Police
Prasant Vihar Police Station House Officer Sudhir Kumar confirmed the rescue team's accusation that he refused to register a complaint in the girl's case.
"The victim is from Kandhamal, let her go back to Kandhamal and register her complaint there," Kumar told Compass. "No rape of the victim took place as per the medical examination, and thus there is no need for registering a case against anyone."
Assistant Commissioner of Police Sukhvir Singh told Compass he had no explanation why the girl's complaint was not registered, but he insisted on having her and the rescue team return.
"We will file their complaint if they come back to us now," he said.
Karuna Dayal, coordinator of Anti-Human Trafficking Initiatives at HRLN, led the rescue team, which also included AICC Legal Secretary Advocate Rongmei, Chandra and Ashis Kumar Subodh of the AICC, and three others from the HRLN – Afsar Ahmed, attorney Diviya Jyoti Jaipuria and one identified only as Sangram.
Dr. John Dayal, secretary general of the AICC, said large-scale human trafficking in Christian tribal and Dalit women of Kandhamal district is one of the worst problems in the aftermath of the Kandhamal violence.
"Police have made arrests in the nearby Andhra Pradesh and other states," he said. "Because of the displacement due to the violence, they lost their future, and it is very easy for strangers to come and lure them. Community and family life has been disrupted; the children do not have the normal security that growing children must have. Trauma, unemployment and desperate measures have resulted in the loss of childhood, forcing many to grow up before their age."
The AICC is calling on the National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to investigate, he added.
Posted in Christianity, crime, Hinduism, India	| Tagged 2008, absconded, abused, accusation, Afsar Ahmed, aftermath, age, agency, agents, AICC, alcohol, All India Christian Council, Andhra Pradesh, anti-Christian, area, arm, arrests, Ashis Kumar Subodh, assault, Assistant Commissioner of Police, attempted, attorney, beaten, belt, Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, bite, Block, body, bruises, capital, childhood, children, Christian, Christianity, Christians, coerced, collected, communal, community, complaint, condition, cooperative, coordinator, counseling, Dalit, Daringbadi, desperate, disappointed, displaced, displacement, disrupted, district, Diviya Jyoti Jaipuria, domestic, Dr, drugged, easy, efforts, elder, employed, examination, explanation, false, family, file, FIR, First Information Report, flee, forcing, future, gardeners, girl, grieved, grow, growing, hand, harassed, help, Hindu, Hinduism, Hindus, hit, home, HRLN, HRLN Anti-Human Trafficking, human, Human Rights Law Network, India, indicated, informed, investigate, John Dayal, joint, Kandhamal, Karuna Dayal, Labor, lady, Lansinglu Rongmei, leg, legal secretary advocate, life, loss, lost, lure, Madhu Chandra, man, marks, measures, medical, members, misbehavior, missing, molested, money, Montu, mother, national, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women, nearby, neck, network, New Delhi, normal, operatives, operator, Orissa, owner, passive, Persecution, physically, Pitampura, placed, placement, police, possible, Prasant Vihar, problems, promise, promising, rape, raped, Ratala, reaction, recovery, refused, register, remain, rescue, rescued, resulted, right, ring, Rohini, Rongmei, safe, Sakhi Maid Bureau, Sangram, Secretary General, sector 11, secure, security, send, sessions, sex, sexually, sign, Sister, slapped, slavery, sobbed, sold, son, spokesperson, state, states, station officer, strangers, Sudhir Kumar, Sukhvir Singh, targeted, team, teeth, trafficking, trauma, traumatized, treated, tribal, tricked, tried, undergoing, unemployment, unwilling, up, victim, village, violence, wages, woman, women, work, worst, younger | Leave a comment


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text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <meta name="robots" content="noindex">

        <title>File classes/Steel/Settings.php | Steel Beta 2</title>

        <link rel="stylesheet" href="resources/bootstrap.min.css?973e37a8502921d56bc02bb55321f45b072b6f71">
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="resources/style.css?49f43d3208c5d7e33fa16d36107a345bf11cc00d">

                    Steel Beta 2

                    <form id="search" class="navbar-form navbar-left" role="search">
                        <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="">
                        <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="UTF-8">

                            <input type="text" name="q" class="search-query form-control" placeholder="Search">

                    </form>

                            Namespace

                            Class

Namespaces

                                None

                                Steel

                                        Database

                                        MVC

Classes

ErrorController

ErrorModel

ErrorView

ExampleController

ExampleModel

ExampleView

IndexController

IndexModel

IndexView

Steel\ArrayMethods

Steel\Database\Connection

Steel\MVC\MVCBundle

Steel\MVC\MVCIdentifier

Steel\Settings

Steel\Steel

Interfaces

IController

IErrorController

IErrorModel

IModel

IView

Steel\Database\IConnection

 1 <?php
 2
 3 /*
 4  * Settings API
 5  *
 6  * Settings uses multi-dimensional arrays; this is for settings structure and organization.
 7  * An example of this is as follows
 8  *
 9  * Category: General
10  * Setting: Host
11  * Variable: $config['general']['host']
12  *
13  * Category: General
14  * Sub-Category: JS Links
15  * Setting: Local
16  * Variable: $config['general']['js_links']['local']
17  *
18  * Naming conventions are all lower case, alpha-numeric, and underscores for spaces.
19  *
20  * Testing Testing 123 would become testing_testing_123
21  */
22
23 namespace Steel;
24
25 class Settings {
26
27     private $config = [];
28
29     public function setup() {
30         $this->config['steel'] = [];
31         $this->config['steel']['version'] = "v1.0-beta2";
32         $this->config['steel']['type'] = "canary";
33         /*
34          * Enabled by default
35          * Automatically include files in the 'include' directory. If disabled, make sure you inject
36          * code to require your files.
37          */
38         $this->config['steel']['autoinclude'] = true;
39
40         $this->config['general'] = [];
41         $this->config['general']['host'] = 'http://localhost';
42
43         $this->config['database'] = [];
44         //Set to false if you want to use your own database connection methods
45         $this->config['database']['enabled'] = true;
46         $this->config['database']['username'] = 'steel';
47         $this->config['database']['password'] = 'steel';
48         $this->config['database']['ip'] = '127.0.0.1';
49         $this->config['database']['port'] = '3306';
50         $this->config['database']['dbname'] = 'steel';
51     }
52
53     public function getConfig() {
54         return $this->config;
55     }
56
57 }
58

                Steel Beta 2 API documentation generated by ApiGen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Without a doubt, the most significant event of the whole AIA National convention in Atlanta was Equity by Design (EQxD) Hackathon ½ day event. Unique to the convention we were going to do something, on the spot, to improve the profession. The whole afternoon was a microcosm of what I have experienced since I attended my first EQxD meeting a year ago. What I got out of it was a real sense of what it will take to move the profession forward and an even stronger sense of optimism that we will get there.
First stop: a selfie at the front door.
Like all EQxD events and meetings I've been to, the Hackathon was about awareness and action. Action is the key to causes. Architecture is keen to action when it comes to external things like the 2030 Challenge for sustainability, but we're ironically inactive about our own internal challenges.
At the Hackathon, we set out to focus internally, not on our desires about design as architects are regularly accused of doing, but on our self-worth and conduct. Frankly, it is still a significant thing for the profession to stand up out of our sandbox of beautiful designs, to grapple with real human issues. I believe doing so helps us realize our true value and prepare for a Post-Green world, when being sustainable will be as much of a concern to the public and the profession as being accessible and ADA compliant. When we get there, we'll be left with our one common denominator: our fellow humans for whom we design. After all, Architecture can't sustainably focus on sustainability because we'll get there, and when we do, we'll be left with our one common denominator: our fellow humans for whom we design.
I also wanted to be there to be one of the men in the room. Everyone has potential for implicit bias, groupthink, and ignorance. Research shows us that diverse groups make more intelligent and equitable decision through a reduction in assumptions and increase in experiences and awareness. So, by participating help mitigate these factors in myself and others.
It was hard. Not in the typical architecture-is-hard because the problems are complex and take a long time to develop solutions. It was hard because we didn't have a long time to figure things out, and we couldn't use our typical problem solving methods. We were actively figuring out what our methods could be while using them to solve our group's chosen equity issue, and then presenting in a way that we were totally unaccustomed. And that's the essence of a hackathon.
In the end, this was the most focused, participatory, and fruitful four hours of the whole convention. Don't get me wrong; other convention activities had the same high qualities, but none produced original work on the spot and drew upon their participants to act in the present and future in quite the same way. We all left with a feeling of community, ownership, and responsibility.
Equity in Architecture and improving the value proposition/understanding of architecture is going to be a lot harder and more complicated than I thought. It isn't just a matter of sharing information, straightening up, rallying others to action, and changing what others do or think. There is a lot of hard work in figuring out how and what we are doing to change ourselves as a profession and how others perceive us.
Personally, I will make it a point to draw on others more. (It won't be just to spread the good word of equity, but it will also help shape the bricks that we will use to build a better profession. It is my hope that AIA National does the same.
There is a real value in every single person's time and energy, because they can shape the course of events and the profession that shapes humanity's built environment.
And who wouldn't want a part of that?
Read more of Matthew's thoughts on the importance of equity in architecture from an excerpt of his EQxD Hackathon scholarship essay below.


text:
Q: Create object from class by string value Is it possible to create an object from a class with a dynamic name? I have the name of the class in a string, but I want to create an instance of that class.

A: Yes you can:
var classRef:Class = getDefinitionByName("YourClassIncludingPackage") as Class;
var newMc:YourClass = new classRef() as YourClass;
addChild(newMc);

A: var cl:Class = getDefinitionByName ("my.class.name") as Class;
var instance:Object = new cl();

Make sure you've used the class at some time, though, otherwise its byte code won't be compiled into your program.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Stony Brook University is part of the State University of New York School System. Originally founded as the State University College on Long Island, it operated as a junior college that provided students with strong foundations that helped them transfer into one of the larger schools in that system. After moving to the Stony Brook neighborhood, the college adopted its current name. Though it initially had fewer than 800 students, the college had more than 8,000 students enrolled by the end of the 1960s. That growth continued over the years to reach more than 25,000 students total.
Though most know SBU for its main campus in Stony Brook, the university also operates a separate east, west and south campus. There are also smaller campuses located in Manhattan and Southampton. In 2011, the university announced that it would develop a campus in South Korea as well. Students can spend a semester or more studying abroad, but the university also caters to international students living in that country too.
U.S. News and World Report placed SBU on two of its lists. The university ranked at number 89 on the list of best colleges in the United States and at number 37 on the list of top public colleges in the nation. Washington Monthly listed the university at number 88 on its list of best American colleges, and it found itself on lists of the best colleges in the world created by ARWU, QS and Times.
Stony Brook University Accreditation Details
Stony Brook University always looked for ways to meet the needs of its student body, which included obtaining accreditation for the university itself and for its unique programs. Primary, also known as institutional or general accreditation, comes from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The MSCHE requires that all colleges applying for accreditation meet or exceed its standards in 14 different areas. SBU applies for and receives a renewal of this accreditation every decade. Depending on the program you enter, you may find that it has program accreditation as well. Program accreditation at SBU comes from organizations like:
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Liaison Committee on Medical Education
Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education
Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.
Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Council on Education for Public Health
Stony Brook University Application Requirements
Applying for one of the graduate programs offered by SBU is different than applying for a spot in one of its undergraduate programs. All students hoping to enter the graduate school must create an online account and fill out the application online. SBU lets you select a password you can remember and use your current email address as your user name. The application asks you about your background, including where you earned your degree(s), the name and location of those school(s) and the type of classes you took. Once you submit your application, you can use the simple checklist to ensure you submit all additional documents.
Graduate students must submit at least two official transcripts from every college or university they attended that include an official stamp or seal and a signature. You will also need at least three letters of recommendation. Those you select to write the letters can do so online or via the form available online. Each individual must place the letter in a stamped and sealed envelope and sign his or her name across the flap. SBU also requires your official score from the GRE. You can request that the testing board automatically mail your score directly to the university before taking the test.
As a state school, Stony Brook University offers lower tuition rates for students who live in New York. New York residents pay around $5,400 in tuition costs, which rises to a little over $6,000 when you factor in the costs of fees. Residents from other states pay around $12,000, which includes the cost of any miscellaneous fees. Students can take up to 12 credit hours and still pay the same amount. Those who take fewer than nine credit hours of courses will see their tuition rates drop significantly. The university also requires that students have healthy insurance or purchase insurance through the school. Online students must pay graduation, technology, academic excellence and college fees.
Whether you take classes online or enroll in classes on campus, you can still apply for financial aid. The FAFSA uses your own income or the income of your parents to determine how much assistance you will receive based on how much help you need. SBU offers a payment plan that lets you make equal payments over the course of the year or several months to pay off your tuition. You can also borrow money in the form of subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, obtain grants from the government and apply for SBU scholarships.
Once you have a graduate degree in psychology, you can apply for one of the psychology PhD programs available at SBU. The university offers four majors or concentrations in this field: integrative neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognitive science and social and health psychology. Each of these programs requires that students take four introductory classes on statistics and research and five or more courses in their topic of choice. Social and health psychology students may take classes on personality development, close relationships, addictions and emotions. Students must also attend seminars that meet on campus.
During your second year, the university expects you to do research and write an extensive paper that you present to your professors and peers. Only those who successfully complete this step can remain in the program. You must also write a grant proposal or a separate paper in your later years that serves as the dissertation component of the program. Stony Brook University offers some off-campus opportunities for students as well that let you do fieldwork and complete the experience necessary to obtain a license to practice psychology in your state.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Avalon Hill just released the first preview of Axis & Allies Miniatures: D-Day! The first preview piece has actually already been previewed so they have also included the stats card for this new piece.
Knowledge Arcana is an online community based magazine that is published quarterly by Wizards of the Coast. It covers various games by Wizards and Avalon Hill. The Spring 2006 issue came out recently and features a few articles about Axis & Allies Miniatures.
Since the lastest news update here, Avalon Hill has release a series of new scenarios, announced a winner for their scenario contest, and published a breifing about infantry units. Avalon Hill also took a cue from this site and more likely suggestions of players to list out the scenerios and maps separately from the massive articles list.
If you opened up your game of D-Day, read the rules, sat down at the table, and have only known Diet Soda, Pretzels, and IPC's for the last 20 years, then it might be a good idea to understand how to manage the new structures. If you need a review to get a well rounded understanding of some of the most important changes then read my D-Day review posted here at axisandallies.org.


text:
Reagan's Path to Victory
The Shaping of Ronald Reagan's Vision: Selected Writings
Kiron K. Skinner
In the last years of Ronald Reagan's life, his voluminous writings on politics, policy, and people finally emerged and offered a Rosetta stone by which to understand him. From 1975 to 1979, in particular, he delivered more than 1,000 radio addresses, of which he wrote at least 680 himself. When drafts of his addresses were first discovered, and a selection was published in 2001 as Reagan, In His Own Hand by the editors of this book, they caused a sensation by revealing Reagan as a prolific and thoughtful writer, who covered a wide variety of topics and worked out the agenda that would drive his presidency. What was missed in that thematic collection, however, was the development of his ideas over time. Now, in Reagan's Path to Victory, a chronological selection of more than 300 addresses with historical context supplied by the editors, readers can see how Reagan reacted to the events that defined the Carter years and how he honed his message in the crucial years before his campaign officially began.
The late 1970s were tumultuous times. In the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, America's foreign and domestic policies were up for grabs. Reagan argued against the Panama Canal treaties, in vain; against the prevailing view that the Vietnam War was an ignoble enterprise from the start; against détente with the Soviet Union; against the growth of regulation; and against the tax burden. Yet he was fundamentally an optimist, who presented positive, values-based prescriptions for the economy and for Soviet relations. He told many inspiring stories; he applauded charities and small businesses that worked to overcome challenges.
As Reagan's Path to Victory unfolds, Reagan's essays reveal a presidential candidate who knew himself and knew his positions, who presented a stark alternative to an incumbent administration, and who knew how to reach out and touch voters directly. Reagan's Path to Victory is nothing less than a president's campaign playbook, in his own words.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 23 AUG 2004
One popular impression of Ronald Reagan is that he was an intellectual lightweight: a dilettante who often dumbed down complex political realities into na ve simplicities. This new collection of 450 policy essays written and recorded by Reagan for his syndicated radio broadcasts between 1975 and 1979 shows otherwise. Edited by Reagan scholars Skinner, Anderson and Anderson (who have also given us the bestsellers Reagan: A Life in Letters and Reagan, in His Own Hand), this anthology comes with an audio CD of original recordings for 20 of the essays. Through excellent introductions and carefully structured annotations, the Andersons use the chronologically presented essays to demonstrate the evolution of Reagan's thinking as he honed his message to the American people and crafted the platform on which he would win the presidency in 1980. Of more than 1,027 commentaries in total, this book presents only those known categorically to have been written by Reagan himself, on such hot topics as the environment, crime, Social Security, Medicare, drug abuse, energy, education and religion. Thus, the essays provide unique insights not just into Reagan's thinking on policy, but also into his craft as a communicator. And these are insights that both fans and critics will find intriguing.
More Books by Kiron K. Skinner
Turning Points in Ending the Cold War
Reagan, In His Own Hand