Articles – Page 47

Armenia: crackdown on Jehovah’s Witnesses strains ties with Europe

By Emil Danielyan, 25 September 2002

Armenia’s harsh treatment of a tiny religious minority is causing new strains in its relations with a key pan-European structure. The Council of Europe is expected tomorrow to issue a strong warning to Yerevan over its failure to legalize Jehovah’s Witnesses and its continuing prosecution of young members of the denomination who refuse military service. […]

This article was first published on 25 September 2002 by RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty). Posted on RELIGIOSCOPE with permission. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a private, international communications service to Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, funded by the United States Congress. RELIGIOSCOPE highly recommends the RFE/RL website, with its informative daily newsline and various other reports: http://www.rferl.org

Tajikistan: crackdown on imams

By Nargiz Zakirova, 18 September 2002

The closure of a number of mosques has led to speculation of an imminent government campaign against the Islamic opposition. IWPR – 18 September 2002 – The Tajik authorities have closed eight mosques close to the Uzbek and Kyrgyz borders in an unprecedented crackdown on Islamic clerics and teachers who practice without state approval. Fifteen imam-khatibs […]

Nargiz Zakirova is a reporter for Vecherny Dushanbe in Tajikistan.

This article was first published on 18 September 2002 (RCA No. 147) by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), London. Posted on Religioscope with permission.

Articles published by the IWPR on Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus as well as other topics can be accessed on its website:
http://www.iwpr.net
IWPR supports recovery and development in crisis zones by providing professional training, financial assistance and an international platform to independent media, human rights activists and other local democratic voices. IWPR’s primary beneficiaries are local journalists who participate in its reporting, research and training programmes.

Kyrgyzstan: government hints at crackdown on Islamic extremists

By Zamira Eshanova, 14 September 2002

The Kyrgyz government has intensified its criticism of Islamic fundamentalist extremists, which Bishkek describes as the main threat to the country’s stability. High-ranking government officials allege that Islamic extremists, such as Hezb ut-Tahrir, are behind the recent assassination attempt on Security Council Secretary Misir Ashirkulov, as well as ongoing protest marches in the southern region […]

This report was published on 12 September 2002 by RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty). Posted on Religioscope with permission.

Russia: census and religious statistics

By RFE / RL, 4 September 2002

Orthodox Church lobbies to include confessional preference in census data. But the Russian government disagrees. Meanwhile two-thirds of Russians profess faith in God. RFE/RL- 4 September 2002 – Antonii Ilin, spokesman for the Foreign Relations Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, has said that the Russian Orthodox Church has a “direct interest” in including a question about […]

This news item was originally published by RFE/RL, (Un)Civil Societies, Vol. 3, No. 36, 4 September 2002. Copyright © 2002. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.www.rferl.org

Lutheran Church membership exceeds 65 million worldwide

By Lutheran World Information, 2 September 2002

According to the most recent statistics published by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Lutheran Church membership worldwide has grown by more than 1.4 million, to reach a total of 65.4 million (65,387,677) in 2001, representing an increase of some 2.2 percent. In 2000, global membership fell just short of 64 million, and in 1999 there […]

Source: Lutheran World Federation. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF now has 133 member churches in 73 countries, representing 61.7 million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide.

Kyrgyzstan: Hizb ut-Tahrir bolstered by female recruits

By Ulugbek Babakulov, 2 September 2002

A banned Islamic group is growing in strength in southern Kyrgyzstan as a result of the increasing recruitment of women into its ranks. IWPR – 30 August 2002 – Observers say women now make up around 10 per cent of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s membership, which is thought to number several thousand. “In the Jalal-Abad region alone there […]

Ulugbek Babakulov is a human rights activist in Kyrgyzstan

This article was first published on 30 August 2002 (RCA No. 142) by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), London. Posted on Religioscope with permission.

China: Christians neglected in Inner Mongolia

By Compass Direct, 30 August 2002

The Protestant church in Inner Mongolia is still quite small but growing rapidly. Inner Mongolia is also a stronghold of Catholicism. Catholics number at least 200,000. There are four bishops appointed by the CPA, but there are also three “underground” bishops loyal to the Vatican. Compass Direct – August 2002 – Inner Mongolia is a huge […]

Compass Direct (Santa Ana, California) is a Christian news service dedicated to providing news on situations and events facing Christians persecuted for their faith. Compass Direct maintains an extensive network of news bureaus and correspondents around the world.

[Compass Direct has now been replaced by www.worldwatchmonitor.org – 20.08.2016]

Azerbaijan: religious education sparks controversy

By Gulnara Ismailova, 30 August 2002

Lately, debates at government level regarding the introduction of a special discipline on religious issues in secondary schools’ curriculum have become noticeable in Azerbaijan. Discussions on this theme gained salience with the new educational year approaching. Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst – 28 August 2002 – The teaching of basic religious matters in the secondary schools of the […]

This article was first published in the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, a journal published by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI). The Institute is an independent research and policy institution, affiliated to the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. It was inaugurated in 1996 as the first institute in Washington, DC, devoted to the study and analysis of the Central Asian, the Caspian Basin and the Caucasus.

Estonia: government proposes compensating Orthodox Church

By RFE / RL, 30 August 2002

The Estonian Interior Ministry has reached a provisional agreement with both the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church under the Constantinople Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Estonia to share the use of existing church property after a nearly decade-long dispute, BNS reported on 29 August. RFE/RL – 30 August 2002 – Under the […]

This news items was originally published in RFE/RL Newsline, 30 August 2002. Copyright © 2002. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

Indonesia: Christian villages burn again

By Compass Direct, 26 August 2002

The villages of Sepe and Silanca, some 10 miles from the city of Poso, have been burned to the ground. Reports from several sources confirm that attacks on the Christian villages started on the evening of Monday, August 12, after units of the armed forces which had been guarding the villages were unexpectedly withdrawn. Compass […]