1o Jahre nach dem Attentat im Shri Guru Ravidass Tempel in Wien

Posted on May 24, 2019 by

Essay zum Gedenken an den Guru Ramanand Ji, der am 24. Mai 2009 im Wiener Ravidass Tempel von fanatischen Extremisten ermordet wurde

In der Hoffnung auf Versöhnung ruft die Glaubensgemeinschaft Ravidass zum gemeinsamen Friedensmarsch auf.

 

  • Der Anschlag belastet das Verhältnis zwischen der Sikh-Community und den Ravidass Mitgliedern bis heute.

  • Ravidassias haben Angst vor weiteren Attentaten.

  • Auch Sikhs kämpfen mit Vorurteilen im Alltag.

Das Attentat:

Guru Sant Rama Anand (rechts), wurde.von Sikh Extremisten ermordet. Guru Sant Niranjan Dass (links), wurde durch Schusswunden schwer verletzt.

Am 24. Mai 2009 kam es in der vollbesetzten Ravidass-Gebetsstätte in Wien-Fünfhaus gegen 13 Uhr zu einer Schießerei während des Gottesdienstes. Sechs Sikhs mit blau-gelben Turbanen attackierten mit einer Pistole und zwei Messern die Prediger. Die Anwesenden überwältigten die Angreifer, wobei über ein Dutzend Menschen verletzt wurden und einer der Prediger, Guru Sant Rama Anand (57), getötet wurde. Auch ein anderer Guru, Sant Niranjan Dass (68), wurde durch Schusswunden schwer verletzt. Er überlebte die Attacke.

Die sechs Täter wurden als extremistische Sikhs identifiziert und sind scheinbar aus Spanien angereist.

Nach dem Vorfall kam es zu einer grenzübergreifenden Eskalation des Konfliktes zwischen den beiden Gruppen: z. B. gab es im Bundesstaat Punjab, der Heimat der meisten Sikhs und Ravidassias nach dem Vorfall blutige Ausschreitungen und Ausgangssperren.

Hintergrund des Konflikts:

Die Hintergründe des Vorfalls führen in die Grundlagen beider Religionen. Obwohl eine klare Trennung der beiden Gruppierungen erst durch das 2009 stattgefundene Attentat ausgelöst wurde, gibt es zwischen den Sikhs und den Ravidassias schon lange einen schwelenden Konflikt.

Der Sikhismus wurde im 15. Jahrhundert in Indien als Reformbewegung des Hinduismus mit islamischen Elementen gegründet. Der letzte Guru, Gobind (1666 bis 1708) lehnte einen Nachfolger ab, weil die Gefahr einer Spaltung der Gemeinschaft bestand. Er ernannte vielmehr das heilige Buch, in dem die Lehren der zehn Gründerväter stehen, zum nächsten Guru. Seither kommt dem heiligen Buch Sri Guru Granth Sahib die Würde eines zentralen Gurus zu. Continue reading →

Posted in Austria, Buddhists, FoRB Violations, FOREF Europe, Human Rights, India, Islam, Islamism, mosque, Religious Discrimination, Religious Freedom, Religious Intolerance, religious persecution, Sects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CHINA Arrested over 11,000 Church of Almighty God Believers in 2018

Posted on April 24, 2019 by

CHINA:  Over 11,000 Church of Almighty God believers arrested, 20 died from mistreatment in 2018

Annual report documents escalation of oppression by authorities
345 escapees have applied for refugee status in South Korea

SEOUL, March 20, 2019– Over 11,000 members of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) were arrested in China last year and 20 died as a result of mistreatment, seven of them killed in extrajudicial interrogation units as part of a crackdown on unapproved faiths, according to an annual report for 2018 published by the church.

Some 6,757 were held in detention centers and 685 undergone torture orforced indoctrination, the report says.

The report, published in English as “The 2018 Annual Report on the Chinese Communist Government’s Persecution of The Church of Almighty God,” says that at least 400,000 CAG Christians were arrested between 2011 and 2017, and that there are 101 well-documented cases of believers who have died as a result of persecution since the Church’s establishment.

“The suppression of The Church of Almighty God, along with the persecution of members of Falun Gong and the forced indoctrination of Chinese Moslems, represents a disturbing level of contempt for human rights,” said Massimo Introvigne, the founder of the Center for Studies on New Religions(CESNUR) and an expert on new religious movements around the world. “As improving lifestyles and a greater desire for freedom challenge the orthodoxy of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the repression isgetting worse.”

Dr. Introvigne said that while he was not able to independently confirm the figures, he found the report credible. “Given the situation in China, figures are impossible to verify. However, in my considered opinion they are believable. Chinese media report almost weekly that hundreds of members of the Church have been arrested in one province or another. In December 2018, the Chinese financial newspaper Caixin Global Newsreported that “within the past eight months, 1,500 police officers have been deployed in anti-cult projects that target The Church of Almighty God” in Qinghai province only.” Continue reading →

Posted in CESNUR, China, Countries, Human Rights, Peking, Religion, Religious Discrimination, Religious Freedom, Religious Intolerance, religious persecution, Torture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RUSSIAN NEO-INQUISITOR ALEXANDR DVORKIN AGAIN CHARGED WIT DEFAMATION

Posted on April 17, 2019 by

Infamous Russian Anti-Cultist Alexandr Dworkin Again Charged With Defamation

The infamous Alexander Dworkin, head of RATSIRS, the radical Russian Orthodox Christian organization. Dworkin is the same person whose aggressive rhetoric lead to the burning of Bhagavad-Gita in one of the Russian cities eight years ago.

PRESS RELEASE – PRESS RELEASE  – PRESS RELEASE – PRESS RELEASE
New Delhi – India

Spiritual Guru – Shri Prakash Ji Wins Defamation Lawsuit in Russia

New Delhi, Delhi, India – Business Wire India

 Shri Prakash Ji – Spiritual Guru and leader of Hinduism in Russia (http://bit.ly/ShriPrakashJi) has won the defamation lawsuit against a radical Christian organization named RATSIRS headed by the infamous Alexander Dworkin. Dworkin is the same person whose aggressive rhetoric lead to the burning of Bhagavad-Gita in one of the Russian cities eight years ago.

Guru Ji gives a interview. A popular Hindu religious leader, Shri Prakash Ji said his life in Russia drastically worsened during the past three years due to systematic harassment and threats from followers of an Orthodox Christian anti-cult activist.

The verdict of the Odintsovo court came into force on the 24th of January 2019 stating that the Information being given out on Dworkin’s Internet forum iriney.ru be considered as false and harmful for Shri Prakash Ji’s reputation as a prominent spiritual leader in Russia. The case was filed by Shri Prakash Ji’s lawyer Mr. Kaloy Akhilgov who had helped him in successfully repelling the unauthorized raids by government officials in the year 2017. This, in itself, is a unique and historic verdict as by doing this, the court officially went in favor of the Hindu minority that resides in Russia and numbers only about 140,000.

The attacks on Shri Prakash Ji, his family and his disciples started happening in the year 2016 and the whole story was highlighted in the famous American magazine Newsweek (http://bit.ly/NewsWeekStory). A petition was generated the same year on change.org that also caught the attention of the Indian media (http://bit.ly/TOIStory) after a group of radical Christian goons disguised as journalists tried to forcefully enter his Ashram located in Moscow. Again in November 2017, a group of armed policemen conducted an unauthorized raid in Shri Prakash Ji’s family home and Ashram during which his son Prasun Prakash was physically attacked. Shri Prakash Ji and his son were called foreign scum and were threatened to leave Russia.

The reason behind all of this were the hate speeches given out by Dworkin in the Russian media against Shri Prakash Ji. Even now after winning the case Shri Prakash Ji and his family are staying alert as Dworkin is expected to attack them indirectly by concentrating his malicious efforts on Prakash Ji’s cultural centre Shri Prakash Dham. Continue reading →

Posted in Alexander Dvorkin, Anti-Cult Movement, FECRIS, FoRB Violations, Hate Speech, Religious Discrimination, Religious Freedom, religious tolerance, Russia, Russian-Orthodox Church, Sects | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CHINA & UN: What if Nazi Germany’s human rights record had been reviewed by the UN?

Posted on March 28, 2019 by

What if Nazi Germany’s human rights record had been reviewed by the UN?

United Nations – Geneva

NOTE by Aaron Rhodes:
The United Nations completed its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China’s human rights record on 15 March 2019.  Witnessing China’s defense of internment camps in Xinjiang, where the government has confined about 1 million Muslims, as “boarding schools,” and the near absence of meaningful criticism of China’s massive human rights violations by governments during the event, I found myself wondering: “What if Nazi Germany’s human rights record  had been likewise reviewed by the UN?”

A hypothetical news report follows:

 Third Reich Triumphs in UN Human Rights Review

“Human Rights with Nazi Characteristics”

(Geneva, 15 March 2019) Hailing social and economic progress, Nazi Germany defended its network of concentration camps as “residential resettlement centers” as the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council completed the Third Reich’s Universal Period Review (UPR) of its human rights record in Geneva on 15 March.

In remarks opening the exercise, Joseph Goebbels, head of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, affirmed that the Greater German Reich was a leader in protecting Economic and Social Rights.  “In less than a decade, we have brought German GDP to unprecedented levels, eradicating poverty and unemployment, and we have dramatically increased public health and infant care, strengthened public education, and provided public housing,” Goebbels said.  “We have introduced human rights with Nazi characteristics,” he added.

He cited Germany’s Nature Protection Act as in the “vanguard” of environmentalist “Third Generation Rights,” and also said Germany respected basic freedoms. “I can assure our colleagues in the international community that freedom of expression, religion, and association are fully protected in ways consistent with our national legislation,” he said, adding that the Rule of Law had been reestablished as a central principle of the government and society.  He noted that Germany had accepted 80 percent of recommendations to safeguard human rights made by other states.

Continue reading →

Posted in Aaron Rhodes, China, Europe, Germany, Human Rights, Peking, UN, UNHRC, United Nations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CHINA – CCP Cracks Down on Another Heretical Group: Winnie the Pooh and His Friends

Posted on December 6, 2018 by

Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) ban on Winnie the Pooh, in force since the character has been compared to President Xi Jinping in 2013, reaches new extremes.

Published by Bitter Winter

In China Xi-Jingping was often referred to as Winnie the Pooh (and vice-versa). The president is not amused…

By Massimo Introvigne

Bitter Winter readers may not be familiar with Theme Park University, a publication devoted to Disney and other theme parks around the world. Yet, the issue of November 24, 2018, was well worth reading. It reported rumors that Shanghai Disneyland may be compelled to eliminate all references and attractions featuring Winnie the Pooh, the beloved teddy bear character created by British author Alan Alexander Milne (1882–1956) in 1925 (for a Christmas short story; the first book appeared in 1926) and made famous by Disney’s animated versions that started in 1966.

“That’s right, Theme Park University commented, no more character meet and greets, no more merchandise and the attractions could get rethemed.” This refers to two popular Shanghai Disneyland attractions, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the teacup ride Pooh’s Hunny Pot Spin. The popular news site Inquisitr commented that this may be very expensive for Disney: “the re-theming of the two attractions would be very costly”—“but there may be no choice.”

No, we are not in April and this is not an April Fool’s joke. In fact, the CCP is cracking down on Winnie the Pooh and his friends as if they were a xie jiao, a banned heterodox movement. As CNN had already reported in 2017, in the tightly controlled Chinese Internet, those who search for “Winnie the Pooh” may receive a message telling them that distributing information about Milne’s teddy bear is actually illegal, and references to the Pooh are also banned from popular Chinese platforms such as WeChat and Sina Weibo.


SERIOUS CENSORSHIP: The trailer of Kingdom Hearts 3, with a white spot replacing the censored Pooh

Continue reading →

Posted in blasphemy laws, CESNUR, China, Court Decisions, Hate Speech, Peking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RUSSIA : NGOs express serious concerns about rights of defense violations in Russian Scientology case

Posted on November 20, 2018 by

RUSSIA : NGOs express serious concerns about rights of defense violations in Russian Scientology case

Recently Russian courts target religious minority groups with arbitrary prosecution methods that reminds us of the Soviet era

Scientologists are in jail in Saint Petersburg for the sole fact of practicing their faith, which Russian authorities regard as “extremist,” a charge also used against other groups. We have followed with great concern news published in the Russian media about serious irregularities in the case of Scientologist Ivan Matsitsky, who has been in jail in the last seventeen months. The FSB is being accused of fabricating evidence, and the prosecuting judge of having violated the rights of the defense by not providing Matsitsky and his attorneys with the materials of the case within the date required by the law, and by extending Matsitsky’s pre-trial detention beyond any reasonable limit.

We understand that Matsitsky’s attorney has filed complaints against both Judge Evgeny Isakov and the FSB. We urge the Russian authorities to seriously investigate the complaints, to restore Matsitsky’s right of defense, and to abandon their faulty interpretation of the notion of extremism, which is used as a tool to ban unpopular religious minorities.
November 2o, 2018
  • CAP-LC Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience 
  • CESNUR – Center for Studies on New Religions 
  • EIFRF European Inter-Religious Forum for Religious Freedom 
  • FOB – European Federation for Freedom of Belief 
  • FOREF – Forum for Religious Freedom Europe 
  • HRWF – Human Rights Without Frontiers 
  • Soteria International

Related Article:

Scientologist’s attorney complains about the judge and asks for disciplinary action against him

The defense attorney of the spiritual leader of St Pete Scientologists Ivan Matsitsky filed a complaint with the Judiciary Qualifications Board of St Petersburg against St Petersburg City Court judge Evgeny Isakov, who, back in October this year, extended pretrial detention of the Hubbard’s follower who is being charged with organizing of an extremist conspiracy, incitement of hatred or enmity, and illegal entrepreneurship. The attorney believes that the judge neglected his duties, and thus the defense attorney asks the Board to take disciplinary action against Isakov.

Continue reading →

Posted in Alexander Dvorkin, CESNUR, FECRIS, FoRB Violations, FOREF Europe, HRWF, Human Rights, OSCE, Putin, Religious Discrimination, Religious Freedom, Russia, Russian-Orthodox Church | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THE HOAX：False Demonstrations Against Chinese Refugees in Seoul South Korea

Posted on November 15, 2018 by

THE HOAX
False Demonstrations Against Chinese Refugees in Seoul South Korea

DOCUMENTARY:

“The Hoax”  is a great new video documentary about the false demonstrations against Chinese christian refugees in South Korea. The video shows clearly how the long arm of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) reaches into another sovereign country to continue its persecution of Christians who tried to escape surveillance & torture. The producer, a renown Italian  scholar Dr. Massimo Introvigne  brilliantly explains the historical background of state sanctioned religious persecution in China.

On August 31, 2018, agents assigned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organized some relatives of Christians from The Church of Almighty God (CAG) who had fled to South Korea from China, to hold a press conference at the Jeju Parliament under the pretext of “seeking for relatives.” They strongly requested the Korean authorities to deport the displaced Christians back to China. Between September 1 and September 4, Ms. O (吴某, Ms. Wu), a pro-Chinese Korean activist, recruited professional demonstrators along with some relatives of CAG Christians to stage false “spontaneous” demonstrations respectively at the CAG communities in Seoul and Chungcheongbuk-do, and before the Blue House, the executive office of the President of South Korea.

During the demonstrations, Mr. Peter Zoehrer, an Austrian reporter and the executive director of the Forum for Religious Freedom Europe (FOREF Europe), was one of the witnesses on site. He witnessed the hateful representations of the self-styled demonstrators, and had interviews with some CAG Christians who are in South Korea. He stated that the CAG has been subjected to persecution in China, and that CAG members had fled to South Korea and sought asylum there for religious freedom. He also pointed out that it is the Chinese Communist Party that had disrupted their families, while The Church of Almighty God had not been responsible for family disruption. Please join us for the footage of his interviews.

Follow us on:
FOREF Europe Twitter https://twitter.com/FOREF_EU
FOREF Europe Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/foref/
The video is from the new YouTube Channel “Bitter Winter”, the online magazine that reports on religious persecution in China:
Links:
“Bitter Winter” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEy7…
“Bitter Winter” Online Magazine: https://bitterwinter.org

 

Posted in CESNUR, China, Christians, Falun Gong, FoRB Violations, FOREF Europe, HRWF, Human Rights, Interviews, Kidnapping, Peking, Religious Discrimination, Religious Freedom, religious persecution, Torture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment