Religious Persecution Today
This index has risen at a mind-numbing rate over the years. To give you an idea of how far this index has risen since we started it almost 11 years ago, consider this; from Feb 2005 to Jan 2006 the Index moved from 300-501. The current reading is 5750. When Israel attacked Lebanon, we stated that the situation was hot, and that was back in 2006. This index has been dead on regarding predicting violence, religious intolerance and the general surge of violent behaviour the world has experienced over the years. If we could have invested money in this index all our subscribers would be millionaires by now, the same applies to the adult index below.
What is it telling us now?
We are in the maximum overdrive zone. Nations have very little tolerance for those that try to stamp on their heads, especially governments they no longer respect. This is a reminder for the U.S, which Russia and China no longer respect it or fear it. In fact, we one of the few voices that went on record to state that Russia would overtly go out of its way to challenge and attack the U.S, especially after the Ukraine incident. We also went on to state that China would follow In Russia’s footsteps and then these two would team up to openly challenge the US. No matter what anyone states, the U.S does not have the firepower to take on both Russia and China.
Religious Persecution Today; Christian Persecutions on the rise
An international Christian organization is warning that the persecution of Christians worldwide is set to rise in 2019 — and it’s calling on the United States to do more to help.
Release International, a U.K.-based charity that helps supports persecuted Christians around the world and a partner organization of Voice of the Martyrs, warns that this year, particularly in China, India, and Nigeria, persecution against Christians is rising.
“These are countries that have long been on the list but we’re seeing an upward curve, an alarming rise in persecution,” Andrew Boyd, Release International spokesman, told Fox News.
“Release has been doing this work for 50 years,” Boyd added. “I have no doubt that persecution is increasing and it is alarming and the contexts are different. You have militant Islam in Nigeria; China, which is communism; India, which is militant Hinduism; North Korea which is a weird blend of communism and Emporer worship. There is an increasing intolerance and it’s being played out in violence and we know it because of the reports that are coming from our partners on the ground.” Full Story
Religious Persecution Today & The Growing Trend of Intolerance
Matthias Basedau: Conflicts that have a religious dimension are becoming more common worldwide and sub-Saharan Africa is no exception. The region is generally vulnerable to conflicts because many states in sub-Saharan Africa are often weak. It also has to do with the fact that religious conflicts spillover from North Africa and the Middle East; either directly from Libya or Algeria or indirectly through the spread of more radical versions of Islam. However, religion is only one aspect of these conflicts – they can also be ethnic conflicts or conflicts overpower or resources. There is no conflict based purely on religion.
You also mentioned in your study that countries with a heterogeneous population and religious communities are particularly susceptible to religious conflicts. Somalia is one of the most unstable countries in Africa; it is also one of the most religiously homogenous countries on the continent. In Nigeria the Boko Haram Islamists also frequently attack Muslims. How do you explain this phenomenon?
Active radical groups have a more direct influence in North Africa, such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), or offshoots of the so-called Islamic State. They have an interest in creating branches in other countries. They have supported rebels in Mali and there are indications that they are also doing it in Nigeria and Somalia. Other Middle Eastern states are more likely to have an indirect influence.
It is about spreading a radical version of Islam. Sub-Saharan Africa traditionally was home to a rather moderate form of Islam, for example, Sufism. Countries like Saudi Arabia or Qatar are spreading Wahhabism, or similar variants, which can indirectly create a radical ideology that leads to violence. But it is not entirely clear how this influence is spreading or how strong it is. Full Story
Religious Persecution Today; Global Trend Indicates No End In Sight
Social hostility such as attacks on minority faiths or pressure to conform to certain norms was strong in one-third of the 198 countries and territories surveyed in 2012, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, it said on Tuesday.
Religious-related terrorism and sectarian violence occurred in one-fifth of those countries in that year, while states imposed legal limits on worship, preaching or religious wear in almost 30 per cent of them, Pew said.
“Religious hostilities increased in every major region of the world except the Americas,” Pew said in its report, the latest such survey in a series based on data back to 2007.
The Washington-based centre, which is non-partisan and takes no policy position in its reports, gave no reason for the rises noted in hostility against Christians, Muslims, Jews and an “other” category including Sikhs, Bah’ais and atheists.
Hindus, Buddhists and folk religions saw lower levels of hostility and little change in the past six years, according to the report’s extensive data. As some restrictive countries such as China, Indonesia, Russia and Egypt also have large populations, Pew estimated that 76 per cent of the total global population faces some sort of official or informal restriction on their faith. A report last week by the Christian group Open Doors said documented cases of Christians killed for their faith last year had doubled to 2,123 around the world, with Syria accounting for more than the entire global total in 2012. Full Story
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