Religous Persecution

Malaysian authorities have confiscated more than 15,000 Bibles in recent months because they referred to "God" as "Allah," a translation that has been banned in this Muslim-majority country, Christian church officials said Thursday.

The alleged seizure of the Bibles, imported from neighboring Indonesia, is certain to reignite complaints by religious minorities that their right to practice their faiths freely has come under threat as the government panders to the Muslim majority.

A growing sense of discrimination among the minorities is chipping away at Malaysia's reputation as a harmonious multiethnic nation that practices a moderate brand of Islam.

The Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, said authorities seized a consignment of 10,000 copies sent from Jakarta to Kuching in Sarawak state on Sept. 11 because the Indonesian-language Bibles contained the word "Allah."

Indonesian language is similar to Malaysian language, both of which use "Allah" as translation for God in both Islamic and Christian traditions.



The leader of a polygamous community in western Canada said Thursday that authorities are engaging in religious persecution by charging him with practicing polygamy.

Winston Blackmore, who was arrested Wednesday, claimed there are tens of thousands of polygamists across Canada but said his religious sect is being singled out, disregarding his right to religious freedom.

"This is not about polygamy," Blackmore told reporters in the community of Bountiful. "To us this is about religious persecution."

When a modern Western country whose economy is based on science and technology adopts an absurdly medieval law, one would think that this would be a news story of at least moderate size.

A new law in Ireland makes blasphemy illegal.
(ABC News Photo Illustration)Oddly though, almost no attention has been paid in the United Stares to the passing last month of a bill establishing a crime of blasphemy in Ireland.

Approved by the Irish parliament, it states: "A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding 25,000 euro."


A senior US State Department offiicial is making a rare visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the sensitive issue of religious freedom.
The US special representative for religious freedom, Robert Seiple and the Saudi Islamic Minister of Religious Affairs, Abdullah al Turki, have held talks in the Saudi capital. Mr Seiple is the head of a newly formed commission to monitor the treatment of religious minorities.

A report by the State Department on religious discrimination last month criticised Saudi Arabia where non-Muslims are not allowed to practice their


However, those who believe and practise minority faiths are routinely persecuted, according to human rights groups.

Two years ago the Eritrean government introduced a registration system for religions which forced groups to submit information about themselves in order to be allowed to worship.

Apart from the four mentioned, other faiths have not been recognised.

And human rights groups have regularly complained that people practising minority religions have faced harassment