PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
WORLDWIDE
Y 4. IN 8/16: P 43/2
Persecution of Christians Uorlduide. . .
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
OP THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
FEBRUARY 15, 1996
Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Superintendent of Doeuments
DEPOSITORY
JUL 1 7 1996
Boston Public Library
Government Document.^ Dept.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
24-741 CC WASfflNGTON : 1996
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-052719-8
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
WORLDWIDE
4. IN 8/16: P 43/2
rsecution of Christians Uorlduide. . .
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
FEBRUARY 15, 1996
Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Superintendent of Doeuments
DEPOSITORY
JUL 1 7 1996
Boston Public Library
Government Documents Dept.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
24-741 CC WASHINGTON : 1996
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-052719-8
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York, Chairman
WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
TOBY ROTH, Wisconsin
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
DAN BURTON, Indiana
JAN MEYERS, Kansas
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN. Florida
CASS BALLENGER. North Carolina
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
JAY KIM, California
SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas
DAVID FUNDERBURK, North Carolina
STEVEN J. CHABOT, Ohio
MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South
Carolina
MATT SALMON, Arizona
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
TOM CAMPBELL, California
LEE H. HAMILTON, Indiana
SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut
TOM LANTOS, California
ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
HARRY JOHNSTON, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
Samoa
MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jereey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersq'
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY, Geoi^a
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida
ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN, Maryland
JAMES P. MORAN, Virginia
VICTOR O. FRAZER, Viigin Islands (Ind.)
Richard J. Gabon, Chief of Staff
Michael H. Van Dusen, Democratic Chief of Staff
SUBCOMMnTEE ON INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman
BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York
WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois
PETER T. KING, New York
DAVID FUNDERBURK, North CaroHna
MATT SALMON, Arizona
EDWARD R ROYCE, California
TOM LANTOS, California
CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY, Georgia
JAMES P. MORAN, Vii^nia
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
Grover Joseph Rees, Subcommittee Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Robert R. King, Democratic Professional Staff Member
Stephanie E. Schmidt, Staff Associate
(11)
CONTENTS
WITNESSES
Ms. Nina Shea, Program Director, The Puebla Program on Religious Freedom,
Freedom House 5
Mr. Joseph M.C. Kung, President, The Cardinal Kung Foundation 10
Rev. Tran Qui Thien, Catholic Priest 15
Mr. Tom White, USA Director, The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc 18
Mr. David F. Forte, Professor of Law, Cleveland State University-Marshall
College of Law 30
Rev. Canon Patrick P. Augustine, Associate Rector, Church of the Holy Com-
forter 34
Mr. Pedro C. Moreno, Litemational Coordinator, The Rutherford Institute 38
Mr. Abe GhafFari, President, Iranian Christians International 41
Dr. Richard D. Land, President, Christian Life Commission of Southern Bap-
tist Convention 50
Dr. Morton E. Winston, Chair, Board of Directors, Anmesty International
USA 55
Rev. Dr. Albert M. Pennybacker, Associate General Secretary, National Coun-
cil of the Churches of Christ in the USA 59
Mr. Martin J. Dannenfelser, Jr., Assistant to the President for Government
Relations, Family Research Council 62
APPENDIX
Prepared statements:
Ms. Nina Shea 75
Mr. Joseph M.C. Kung 82
Rev. Tran Qui Thien 92
Mr. Tom White 97
Mr. David F. Forte Ill
Rev. Canon Patrick P. Augustine 117
Mr. Pedro C. Moreno 123
Mr. Abe Ghaffari 132
Dr. Richard D. Land 141
Mr. Morton E. Winston 156
Rev. Dr. Albert M. Pennvbacker 167
Mr. Martin J. Dannenfelser, Jr 170
Statement submitted for the record by Hon. Tom Lantos 175
Statement submitted for the record by Most Reverend Theodore E.
McCarrick, Archbishop of Newark 177
Statement submitted for the record by James B. Jacobson, President,
Christian Solidarity International 184
List of religious leaaers presently detained in Communist "re-education
camps or placed under house arrest, Vietnam Helsinki Commission 187
Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan, by David F. Forte 194
(III)
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS WORLDWIDE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1996
House of Representatives,
Committee on International Relations,
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human
Rights,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1 p.m. in room 2172,
Raybum House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Smith (chairman
of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Smith. The subcommittee will come to order.
Today the subcommittee will hear expert testimony on the rising
tide of persecution of Christians around the world. Our witnesses
today will testify about the systematic and severe mistreatment, in-
cluding but not limited to harassment, discrimination, imprison-
ment, beatings, torture, enslavement, and even violent death,
meted out to believers simply because they are believers.
The subject of religious persecution is a familiar one for the Sub-
committee on International Operations and Human Rights. This
subcommittee and its members have held hearings, passed resolu-
tions, and otherwise helped to focus the attention of Congress and
the Nation on the persecution of Soviet Jews, of Bosnian Muslims,
of Bahai's in Iran, of Buddhists in Tibet and Vietnam, and of oth-
ers who have been oppressed for practicing their faith. This, how-
ever, is the first hearing to focus specifically on persecuted Chris-
tians, and to do so in a way that makes clear that this is not an
isolated or occasional outrage, but one that is perpetrated every
day upon tens of millions of people around the world.
We hope this hearing will advance several important goals. First,
the very act of bearing witness is important in and of itself. Even
if we accomplish nothing else this afi:ernoon, we have an obligation
to shed light on facts that I believe need to be shown, and to give
a forum to voices that need to be heard.
We hope, however, to accomplish much more. In this age when
human rights are always in danger of subordination to other objec-
tives, whether it be the love of money, the fear of immigrants and
refugees, or the desire to get along with governments and dictator-
ships that mistreat their own people, we need to be reminded that
when people are persecuted in distant lands, it is often because
they believe in God and seek to do His will "on earth, as it is in
Heaven." The victims we so often ignore, whether the issue is refu-
gee protection or most-favored-nation status for China, are usually
the very people with whom we share values. We need to see their
(1)
faces, and to be reminded that they are our brothers and our sis-
ters.
Sixteen years ago during my first term in the Congress, I read
a book entitled *Torture(r for Christ" by the Reverend Richard
Wurmbrand, a Romanian evangeHcal minister.
In it, he detailed the horrific, agonizing 14-year ordeal that he
endured for his faith in Christ during Ceausescu's brutal dictator-
ship in Romania.
He said, and I quote, "the underground church is a poor and a
suffering church, but it has no lukewarm members." I have found,
and I know members of our panels have found, that throughout the
world there are no lukewarm members when it comes to the under-
ground churches, be they in China or any other Catholic nation.
In the chapter "How Western Christians Can Help," Reverend
Wurmbrand thundered, and I quote, "And the free Church sleeps
on, oblivious of their struggle and agony, just as Peter, James and
John slept in the moment of their Saviour's agony.
"Willyou also sleep while the Underground Church, your breth-
ren in Qirist, suffer and fight alone for the Gospel?
"The message I bring out of the Underground Church is: 'Don't
abandon us! Don't forget us! Don't write us off!'".
The book, and numerous others like it that I have read over the
years, exposed the torture and degradation routinely employed
against Christians by dictatorships and the lack of response in the
West. These accounts are more tnan just chronicles of heroic faith
in a God they love, but a call to action as well.
Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, and Tony
Hall, a Democrat from Ohio, and I have pressed for religious free-
dom in Romania, the East Bloc, Russia, the PRC, and in many Is-
lamic nations since the early 1980's.
On one human rights trip to Romania in 1984, we demanded the
release of numerous imprisoned pastors and believers, including
Father Gheorghe Calciu. On the Senate side. Senator Bob Dole
mounted a strong push for Father Calciu's release, as well. At a
press conference after his release, Father Calciu humbly told of his
suffering for Christ, and then finished by telling how the dreaded
secret police, known as the Securitate, decided to kill him by put-
ting two common thugs in his cell with instructions to end his life
in exchange for a reduced sentence. Father Calciu, undeterred and
ever the missionary, preached the Gospel of Christ to these hard-
ened men, and both gave their lives to the Lord. When their sen-
tences were extended rather than shortened, they went right on
praising God, having found the truth that set them free.
I have heard similar miraculous stories in Perm Camp 35 in Rus-
sia, in the late 1980's. Mr. Wolf and I, after 2 years of negotiation,
were the first parliamentarians to get into that infamous gulag. We
not only interviewed each prisoner of conscience, but we gave them
Bibles. I will never forget seeing the tears of joy flowing down the
faces of many of these saints as they clutched the Bibles close to
their hearts. I was amazed that these prisoners weren't filled with
malice or hate toward their KGB captors, but with love and for-
gfiveness.
On one of three human rights trips to the People's Republic of
China, I heard breathtaking stories of the Christian House Church
Movement and of oppressed Catholics. One Christian woman, with
tears in her eyes, told me how she had been forcibly aborted by
rough and rude Chinese family-planning cadres, and that she
prayed that her baby was in heaven. Yet, like Christ, she said she
forgave them, for they didn't know what they were doing. Frankly,
I was amazed.
Another told me how the public security policeman beat, har-
assed and robbed Christians. Well, his wife, who was blind, con-
verted and was healed of her blindness, I was told. That police offi-
cer, like the Roman jailer in our Lord's day, converted as well.
Such is the power and the mercy of the Grod that we serve.
It is important that we assess, ladies and gentlemen, the per-
formance of our government, which I believe has been a bitter dis-
appointment, and of international institutions such as the U.N.
Human Rights Commission, and High Commissioner for Refugees,
in responding to the pleas of persecuted Christians. In the past we
have heard that these institutions have been reluctant to acknowl-
edge the plight of persecuted Christians, much less do anything of
substance to help them. Most of us can remember the Pentecostals
who sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow during the early
1980's v^o were finally rescued only after they had been pressured
and cajoled for months to leave because they were cluttering up the
courtyard. I met them in Moscow in 1981, the so-called Siberian
Seven, and was greatly moved by their courage, faith and love. Yet,
to our embassy they were a nuisance.
On the other side of the world, the so-called "Comprehensive
Plan of Action" for Southeast Asian asylum-seekers has returned
thousands of Christians, including priests, nuns, ministers, and
seminarians, to Vietnam after they were callously labeled "eco-
nomic migrants." And applications for asylum or refugee status
from Christians who have managed to escape from Islamic extrem-
ist regimes have typically been rejected, despite the draconian pun-
ishments oft«n administered against them.
Finally, and perhaps more important, today we will afford an op-
portunity for a broad coalition of respected voices, from Amnesty
International to the Southern Baptist Convention and the Family
Research Council, who will bear witness to their own recognition
of the plight of persecuted Christians. This is an issue I believe
that should unite liberals and conservatives. Republicans and
Democrats, even internationalists and isolationists.
Let me conclude by saying that our Lord admonished us to care
for the persecuted, the hungry, those in prison — the so-called least
of our brethren. For me, this has meant being absolutely serious
about human rights and the protection of all who are weak and
vulnerable and disenfranchised. For me, this has meant inclusion
of all people, regardless of race, sex, age or condition of depend-
ency, including unborn babies whose right to life is cruelly denied
by some nations, including our own. Human rights are indivisible.
Today, millions of Christians endure torture and are humiliated
for their faith. They are the "least of our brethren" only in the cir-
cumstances in which they find themselves. For in reality, they are
the moral giants, the unsung heroes whose faith and courage will
be revealed in the life to come.
In the meantime, let us take Reverend Wurmbrand's words to
heart and fight, as never before, for our suffering brethren.
I would like to ask my distinguished colleague from California,
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, if he has any opening comment.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I first want to congratulate Chairman Smith for the leadership
that he is providing, not only on this issue, and this is an impor-
tant issue, and I think we are going to make it, we are going to
make this a signature national and international issue. This is the
first step, and I congratulate him on taking the leadership.
Also, Chris Smith bears the burden of so many of these moral
questions, and those of us who share those convictions, but perhaps
have other priorities. I am very interested in the space program
and very interested in tax policies and things like that. I want all
of you to know how much we admire Chris Smith, how much we
admire him as a person because he keeps us focused on these
moral questions of the day that, if America does not focus on these
questions, who cares about the space program? Who cares about
the tax policy? The fact is, America will not be America if we could
not take stands, moral stands, and lead this world morally as well
as technologically and economically.
So I believe that the leadership Mr. Smith is providing us and
Congress is just invaluable. He is an irreplaceable member, and he
has my gratitude for that.
In terms of this question today, I remember full well during the
cold war that we saw the persecution of the Jews in Russia. I
mean, that was something that was vivid to most Americans. I re-
member as a newsman covering that story on numerous occasions.
I was a newsman out in Los Angeles. It was an important story.
It was something that signified the nature of the Soviet Union it-
self. The world knew about it, and eventually we were able to wade
in and make a difference there.
In fact, the world has also been aware recently of the persecution
and the genocide that has taken place against the Muslim popu-
lations in Bosnia. This too is something that the world has paid at-
tention to recently, just recently. It took far too long for us to take
some type of positive steps to try to counter that.
Well, today, as I say, we are launching the first steps to making
sure that the world pays attention to another group of people who
are persecuted and are being tyrannized for the sake of their own
faith, and that is the Christian communities in various parts of the
world.
Now the world no longer faces this monstrous threat that we
faced; for 70 years there was an atheist force on this planet that
meant to destroy the symbols of faith and the organizational struc-
tures of religious faith of every religious doctrine. This militant
atheism, as represented by communism, was, I believe, a historic,
evil force on this planet. I believe that that force has been defeated.
Now is the time for us to unite and to make sure that all people
who are being persecuted for their faith, whether it be Jews or
Christians or Muslims, that we make this our policy as American
citizens, and our policy as decent people of the world, to try to end
these types of persecutions.
In terms of Christians, Christians perhaps have been more quiet
in the United States about the persecution of fellow Christians
than any of the other groups that have faced persecution overseas.
That needs to change, and that will change with the leadership
that Chris Smith is offering and those of us in Congress that will
be involved in this issue. It is time for all people of faith to stand
together, to see that the persecuted Christians throughout the
world are protected and that we stand with them against those
who would tyrannize them, those who would basically eliminate
their faith through force and violence.
Again, whether we are talking about the Rohingyas in Burma or
whether we are talking about Christians in Muslim countries, or
whether we are talking about Christians in Communist countries,
these people are suffering for their faith; they are the heroes and
the saints of our time, and at the very least, we, the people of the
United States, should send them a message that we are on their
side.
So thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to be stand-
ing with you.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher, for your very kind re-
marks and for your veiy cogent statement. I think it is very well
taken, especially the pomt about the militant atheism. We so mis-
understood what was at the core of the Communist regimes and
still is. As Rev. Wurmbrand pointed out in his books, it is not just
a dislike of God; it was a hatred of God.
I would like to introduce our first panelist, and we have three
panels of experts today, and we welcome you. For all who are here,
including the press, if this goes on for much of the day, the remain-
der of the day, it is important that this information get out. So
while each witness will be asked to keep it within approximately
10 minutes, this will be a long hearing; but I think the information
is of such a nature that this needs to be a long hearing.
Nina Shea has been an international lawyer for 17 years and is
currently the program director of Freedom House's Puebla Program
on Religious Freedom. In her work with the Puebla Program, Ms.
Shea monitors religious persecution throughout Asia. She is also
co-author of Human Rights Report on El Salvador, published by
Random House in 1983. In addition, her writings have appeared in
The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Asian Wall
Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the New Republic. In
1993, the Clinton administration appointed Ms. Shea to the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights.
Ms. Shea, if you would please begin. I will introduce our other
panelists before their respective presentations.
Ms. Shea. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to abbre-
viate my remarks today, so I ask that my entire text appear in the
record.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, it is so ordered.
STATEMENT OF NINA SHEA, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, THE
PUEBLA PROGRAM ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, FREEDOM
HOUSE
Ms. Shea. Mr. Chairman, Freedom House congratulates the sub-
committee for holding these hearings on the persecution of Chris-
6
tians throughout the world. This is an issue which has been the
focus of the Puebla Program for 10 years and was the topic of a
conference we sponsored last month at which over 100 key Chris-
tian leaders and activists discussed strategies for ending the indif-
ference of the West regarding this abomination.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for so consistently raising your own
voice against the torture, enslavement, imprisonment and murder
of Christians throughout the world.
I have been asked to address patterns of persecution against
Christians in those countries that remain under Communist con-
trol; namely, North Korea, Vietnam and China.
Mr. Chairman, each of these governments initially attempted to
eradicate religion by force. While North Korea came the closest,
this tact was ultimately imsuccessful and Christianity survived in
the underground. Today, each of those Communist countries at-
tempts to control and restrict Christian worship and activity using
diverse means. While there was a Communist Bloc isolated behind
the Iron Curtain, the Free World understood as a given that reli-
gious freedoms and other human rights were denied in communist-
controlled countries. Few realize that even now religious persecu-
tion continues in the remnants of the Communist world.
Mr. Rohrabacher said that communism has lost its force, and in-
deed it has. Communist ideological fervor has dissipated to varying
levels in these countries. In China and Vietnam, Marxist economic
policies have been overthrown in favor of capitalist ones. Neverthe-
less, these three governments continue to persecute Christians as
well as other religious groups for simple acts of worship and wit-
ness. And all three rank at the bottom of the 1996 Freedom House
"Freedom in the World" survey among the "18 worst rated coun-
tries" in the world for political rights and civil liberties. The repres-
sion of Christians is part of a political climate in which human
rights and democratic freedoms are routinely abused. "I think inde-
pendently, therefore, I am guilty," remains the prevailing maxim.
Pope John Paul II, in his annual address this year to the diplo-
matic corps for the traditional exchange of New Year's greetings,
decried the oppression of Christians throughout the world and sin-
gled out both China and Vietnam by name.
Why do the Communist governments, which have forsaken ideol-
ogy in so many other respects, still oppress independent worship?
The answer is simple. The churches assert moral values that these
governments do not want to hear.
A fundamental moral teaching that is in conflict with Communist
ideology is Christianity's belief in the inherent dignity of the indi-
vidual. That is, individuals have rights by reason of the fact they
are human persons; rights are not derived from or distributed by
the State or political agents. The Christian view of the human per-
son is informed by the teachings of the Bible. In many Christian
traditions, a philosophy of natural reason has been developed in
the defense of the idea of the inalienability of human rights. Thus,
when Pope John Paul II defended universality of human rights at
the United Nations last fall, he appealed to moral criteria that are
accessible to all persons of intelligence and good will, regardless of
faith.
This tenet of human dignity and rights remains anathema to
Communist authorities, for it threatens their monopoly on absolute
and unchecked political power.
An understanding of this conflict helps explain why the Central
Committee of China's Communist Party, in several recent docu-
ments circulated in Hong Kong, names Christianity in China as a
principal threat to political stability. The mechanism for Beijing's
control of religion is the Religious Affairs Bureau, which is ulti-
mately controlled by the Communist Central Committee. The Reli-
gious Affairs Bureau registers, oversees and controls all churches
within a framework provided by its Catholic Patriotic Association
and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement for Protestants. Those oper-
ating independently, such as the Roman Catholic Church and a
vast underground network of Protestant Evangelical house church-
es, are unlawful and their members liable for arrest and imprison-
ment on charges of "counterrevolutionary acts" or other crimes.
Since July, the Religious Affairs Bureau has been headed by a
Communist hardliner and atheist. Ye Xiao wen, who is now imple-
menting a fierce campaign to stem the growing tide of Christian
belief in China. Following his appointment, at least four prominent
Roman Catholic bishops were arrested and detained, which was the
first time in over a year that members of the hierarchy were de-
tained for more than a few days. One bishop continues to be im-
prisoned at this time. On January 14, authorities renewed their
drive to register all religious meeting places. Evangelicals have
been targeted throughout the country, but with particular intensity
in Shanghai and in Anhui province where authorities have "reso-
lutely recommended" reeducation through labor for principal mem-
bers of independent churches, even for those "whose misdeeds do
not warrant criminal punishment."
The current word on the street among evangelicals is that local
authorities are being pressed hard to round up all evangelicals for
registration or arrest. Police have vowed to "hit and eradicate" five
Christian-based religious groups operating in Anhui, according to
China's Public Security Bureau News newspaper. American Bible
missionaries I spoke to this week were told by Chinese Christians
that they are at this time too afraid to meet with foreigners or hold
Bible meetings and are lying low in their Christian activities. They
reported that this is now the most repressive period for them at
any time since the pre-Deng period in tne late 1970's. An American
Bible missionary who recently returned from China said that an
arrest warrant with the names of 3,000 evangelical preachers is
being circulated by the Public Security Bureau. Many house church
leaders have argfued that to register with the government would
compromise their religious faith oy giving ultimate authority to the
state.
Mr. Chairman, China has the dubious distinction of holding more
Christian prisoners than any other country in the world. We do not
know the actual numbers because its judicial and penal system are
closed. The Puebla Program has in its data base the names of ap-
proximately 200 Christian clergy and leaders, alone, now impris-
oned or under some form of detention or restriction because of wor-
shipping within these independent churches. Roman Catholic
priests are imprisoned for celebrating Mass and administering the
8
sacraments without State authorization. Protestant Evangelical
preachers are arrested and tortured for holding; prayer meetings
and distributing the Bible without State approval.
Take the case of Dai Guillang, a 45-year-old evangelical preacher
who is now serving a 3-year sentence, and he never had a trial, for
propagating the book of Genesis.
Or take the case of Reverend Vincent Qin Guoliang, a 60-year-
old Roman Catholic priest who is now serving a 2-year sentence of
"reeducation through labor" on charges that have been not made
public. He has been forced to do hard labor, mostly at No. 4 brick
factory in Xining, since his initial arrest in 1955 for refusing to re-
pudiate association with the Vatican.
I would like to turn now to Vietnam. Vietnam so restricts inde-
pendent religious association for Buddhists and Christians that
even American tourists routinely find themselves under arrest for
their faith at the very time that the United States is restoring dip-
lomatic and trade ties and Vietnam is seeking most-favored-nation
status. This is underscored with the stunning example that oc-
curred last week.
A week ago, three Americans traveling with the Oregon-based
evangelical group, Youth with a Mission, were arrested and or-
dered under house arrest after they were found talking with eight
young Vietnamese Christians in Ho Chi Minh City. These Ameri-
cans were held without due process for several days before being
made to pay a fine and sent home. This outrageous treatment of
American citizens, the denial of their basic religious rights, shows
Vietnam's utter contempt for human rights law.
How much more severely does Vietnam restrict the rights of its
own citizens? Both Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants,
as well as Buddhists, suffer religious repression.
Since the early 1990's, Vietnam has employed a repression strat-
egy of striking at the Catholic Church's hierarchial structure rather
than imprisoning clergy. The government has moved toward de-
capitating the Roman Catholic Church by barring bishop appoint-
ments and by stanching the flow of seminary entrants and grad-
uates and restricting the number of ordinations. In a petition to
Vietnam's Prime Minister presented on September 29, 1995, the
Vietnam Catholic Bishop's Conference detailed the problems that
have "seriously hindered our pastoral ministry and our faithful's
religious life."
regarding the Roman Catholic Church, the members of the popu-
lar indigenous congpregation of Mother Coredemptrix were harshly
persecuted, and 14 of those priests and monks remain in prison
and have been in prison since 1987.
Evangelicals who work with tribal groups are frequent targets of
arrest and harassment for illegal preaching.
An Evangelist working with prominent house church leader Rev-
erend Tran Mai was tried and convicted of "abusing his freedom as
a citizen to propagate religion." He was sentenced to 3 years in
prison. He revealed at the trial that he had been beaten by security
police. According to his wife, the Evangelist was beaten, bound by
nand and foot and left to lie in the sun for a long period of time
during which he was denied water. He eventually became delirious
and went on a hunger strike until he was untied and given mini-
mal food and water.
In May, a court in Bato District, Quang Ngai Province, sentenced
two Protestant Evangelicals to 2 years in prison, and this is prob-
ably for their itinerant evangelistic work among the Hre tribe.
These are only a few examples.
Finally, turning to North Korea with its Stalinist ideology and a
bizarre personality cult built around its founding leader, the late
Kim II Sun, North Korea is the most repressive country on earth
today. The government relies on relentless propaganda and a com-
prehensive surveillance system that aims to control virtually every
act, thought and desire of its citizens. In this society, freedom of
belief and worship have no place.
Kim's combination of thought control and brutal punishment ap-
parently has devastated North Korea's Christian community.
Pyongyang, nicknamed "Asia's Jerusalem" was one of the con-
tinents most Christian cities. Today, the North Korean Grovern-
ment claims there are only 10,000 Protestants and no more than
a few thousand Catholics in a country whose total population is
over 21 million.
Since 1988, churches have been allowed to be built. There are
now only three church buildings, one Catholic and two Protestant,
and these are government-built and operated and regarded by
many Western observers as propaganda outlets for the government
that are only open when Western visitors are in the country. The
government permits some limited worship in private homes, but its
claim that the majority of the country's Christians worship in
about 500 house-churches is probably exaggerated, since the gov-
ernment restricts travel, forbids unauthorized meetings, and keeps
religious believers under surveillance. Currently there is not a sin-
gle Catholic priest in North Korea, and therefore there are no
masses or sacraments administered.
Reports by some observers would indicate that worshipers in
these churches are actors in the government's charade. A Washing-
ton Post correspondent witnessing services at two of the churches
reported that of the four Protestant congregants he asked to name
the first book of the Bible, none was able to do so, and that only
one of the four knew the numbers of Jesus' apostles. This journalist
reported as well that worshipers seemed listless and hardly
touched the Bibles placed before them. Other journalists visiting
the churches reported back that they were reminded of "a visit to
a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum" or a Potemkin village.
But North Korea has gone farther than China and Vietnam in
another respect. It has imposed on its citizens an alternative reli-
gion centered on Kim and his son. Starting as young children.
North Koreans learn to look on the "Great Leader" Kim II Sung
and his son, the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong II, as infallible, god-like
beings and the progenitors of the Korean race. The media dissemi-
nate legends attributing supernatural origins and powers to the
Kim family. History books ascribe to Kim all the country's achieve-
ments, even those for which he bears no responsibility. Statues and
posters of Kim are displayed throughout the country, and every
adult must wear lapel badges with his picture.
10
In conclusion, in the realm of religious freedom, communism re-
mains distinctively harsh, even in the world of Asian author-
itarianism. China, Vietnam and North Korea all severely restrict
religion, including Christianity, in an attempt to bring it under
government control. Regrettably, even as trade and free markets
burgeon in China and Vietnam, religious freedom continues to de-
teriorate. The Communist parties that control these countries cling
to the political ideology that has been so consistently disastrous for
human rights throughout their rule.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Ms. Shea.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Shea appears in the appendix.]
Mr. Smith. I would like to recognize our next witness, Joseph
Kung, the president of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, a nonprofit
organization named after his uncle, I^atius Cardinal Kung, the
Vatican-appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Shanghai. Joseph
Kung's uncle was arrested in Shanghai in 1955, and later was sen-
tenced to life imprisonment for his refusal to denounce the Holy
Father as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. For three dec-
ades, Mr. Kung lobbied for the release of his uncle, Bishop Kung.
Finally, in 1985, the 85-year-old Bishop Kung, very frail and very
sick, was released on parole after 30 years of imprisonment. After
Pope John Paul II announced the elevation of Bishop Kung to Car-
dinal in 1991, Joseph Kung, at the request of Cardinal Kung and
the encouragement of Bishop Walter Curtis, established the Car-
dinal Kimg Foimdation to directly assist the loyal persecuted
Roman Catholic Church in China.
I would iust interject parenthetically that I traveled with Mr.
Kung to China on a human rights mission a few years ago. We
have met with a number of the official church people and high gov-
ernment officials. He made a very persuasive case on behalf of the
suffering Catholics. I would like to yield the floor to Mr. Kung.
STATEMENT OF JOSEPH M.C. KUNG, PRESIDENT, THE
CARDINAL KUNG FOUNDATION
Mr. Kung. Mr. Chairman, I will abbreviate this text somewhat
in order to keep the time limit, with your permission.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to
testify before you today on the persecution of Roman Catholics in
China.
Mr. Chairman, the Chinese Constitution offers its citizens "free-
dom of religion." In reality, Chinese citizens may only practice their
religion according to the choice of the Communist Government, not
according to their free choice and conscience. In the case of the
Catholic church, the government's choice is 'The Chinese Catholic
Patriotic Association founded by the Communist Government.
Communists are atheists. It was never the mission of a Communist
Government to promote "religion." The primary goal of establishing
the Patriotic Association was therefore to replace the Roman
Catholic Church. The government failed; hence, the continuous per-
secution of the Roman Catholic Church.
Roman Catholics are required by their basic faith to accept the
authority of the Pope. Under no circumstances can a Roman Catho-
lic accept just any other church as a substitute without abandoning
11
his faith and his status as a Roman Catholic. Roman CathoHcs in
China, therefore, cannot concurrently keep their faith and follow
their government's instruction to reject the Pope's authority in the
church, in spite of the risk of persecution.
As Pope John Paul II said on January 14, 1995, in his message
broadcast to China: "A Catholic who wishes to remain such and to
be recognized as such cannot reject the principle of communion
with the successor of Peter." By remaining loyal to the Pope as
mandated by the Catholic faith, the Roman Catholic Church is out-
lawed in China and is known as the unofficial church.
Mr. Chairman, the persecution of the Roman Catholics is not an-
cient history. The persecution continues as we are speaking here
today. It gets worse at a time when China is given much freedom
in business and finance. It gets worse at a time when China is
making significant economic process. It gets worse at a time when
China is working hard to claim its status as an important member
of the international community. Certainly, the policy of the U.S.
Government to separate human rights and trade under the policy
of the current Administration must bear some responsibility for
this ongoing religious persecution.
As soon as the Patriotic Association was established, all prop-
erties of the Roman Catholic Church were confiscated. Later, as
China opened up, many of the church buildings and other prop-
erties were transferred to the Patriotic Association, leaving the
loyal Roman Catholics homeless and penniless.
Many foreign visitors have seen these reopened churches. They
appear Catholic. The priests dress like CathoHc priests. Even their
pravers sound Catholic. But they are not Catholic. They all belong
to the Patriotic Association.
Behind the seemingly serene and pious scenes in these churches
are the continuous suppression, often brutal persecution, of the 8
million Roman Catholics loyal to the Pope.
Persecution is much more widespread than merely targeting
those who have been singled out as ringleaders. Many others, ordi-
nary citizens and simple villagers, suffer serious routine harass-
ment for their faith. This includes intimidation, short-term deten-
tion, beatings, physical abuse, lack of medical treatment during
confinement, and heavy fines which I would characterize as ran-
som.
Lacking a place to worship, Roman Catholics, particularly in the
coimtryside, often build their own simple churches on private prop-
erty. A few of these structures survived, but most of them have
been destroyed by the government.
In the last 2 years, we had reports that four churches were de-
stroyed. Many more probably met with the same fate.
In 1994, for instance, the faithful in a remote village in Jilin
Province collected 20,000 Chinese yen; approximately, compared to
U.S. $2,500. They mobilized the whole village, including children,
to build a tiny chapel. They completed the structure quickly, in 5V2
days, hoping to escape the notice of the local authorities. They
hoped that once the chapel was built, the government might just
tolerate it. They were wrong. More than 100 army trucks with sev-
eral himdred soldiers came. They ordered the villagers to tear
down this church. Instead, all the faithful gathered in the newly
12
built chapel and prayed in unison. The soldiers grabbed all praying
villagers and threw them out. Then the soldiers dispersed tnem
with a high-pressure water hose. During the late night of July 22,
1994, the soldiers returned. They tore down the chapel while the
villagers slept. The next morning, the villagers gathered at the de-
bris of the destroyed church. They prayed. They wept.
Sixteen months later, on November 22, 1995, more than 40 vehi-
cles with about 150 public security officers destroyed another newly
built church near Dong Lu in Hebei. In the process, the officers se-
verely beat the Cathofic construction workers, resulting in five in-
jured workers. Seven Catholics were detained. Two days later, a
Holy Mass was offered at the site of the destroyed church. Thou-
sands came.
Mr. Chairman, this is a picture of the debris of the church. Noth-
ing but brick left; everything destroyed.
Between these two incidents during the 16-month period, two
more churches, both located in Baoding, were destroyed.
Mr. Sun Guofu from a small village in Hebei was arrested on
February 23, 1995, for organizing a retreat for the Roman Catholic
laity and for listening to a catechism on audio tape.
Mr. Sun was badly tortured. When he passed out, he was placed
outdoors in the cold. He was told that to secure his release, he
must give a banquet to the security personnel and pay a fine of
Chinese yen $5,000, which is equivalent to almost 2 years of a vil-
lager's income. Mr. Sun does not have this ransom and he remains
in jail.
Reverend Chi Huitian of Hebei Province was arrested on April
17, 1995, for his refusal to obey a security bureau's order to cancel
his Easter Mass. He stayed in jail about 6 months. He suffers from
a brain concussion due to the torture he suffered in jail.
Reverend Liao Haiqing of Jiangxi Province, age 68, was arrested
many times. The latest rearrest was on August 4. He has a heart
condition and high blood pressure. In the beginning of his deten-
tion. Rev. Liao was not allowed to receive medication from his fam-
ily. I can go on and on and on for many other cases. But there are
two new cases.
Reverend Xu Delu of Jiangsu Province was arrested on October
8, 1995, after he had offered a Holy Mass in a private home.
Reverend Guo Baile, also of Jiangsu Province, known as a "fish-
erman's priest," was arrested on November 1, 1995, after he offered
a Holy Mass on a 40-ton cement boat. Arrested with him were two
female Catholics who were beaten with an electric baton.
During the Women's Conference in Beijing, while the U.S.' First
Lady and the world's delegates were in China, many bishops,
priests and faithful were detained in an effort to stop any attempt
of the Underground Church from contacting the foreigners. I know
of a number of young people who are still in hiding now because
they were discovered sneaking out of their village to go to Beijing.
Their intent was to meet witn certain foreigners in an attempt to
reveal their struggles to the world via the international media.
They never succeeded.
In Yu Jiang of Jiangxi Province, the Roman Catholics, who have
no church buildings, would congregate by the thousands on top of
a desolate mountain to pray and to celebrate the Holy Mass on
13
each important Catholic feastday. The Chinese Grovernment tried
its best to suppress these services. We know of two tragedies dur-
ing the prayer service in the last 2 years.
August the 15th is the Feast of Assumption, an important date
on the Catholic calendar. It is a holy day of obligation on which
Catholics must attend Mass.
On August 13 and 14, 1994, about a dozen Catholic leaders in
Yu Jiang and elsewhere were arrested. Many homes suspected to
house out-of-town Catholics were searched. As a result, many faith-
ftil attempted to escape by jumping out of the windows on the
upper floors. Many sustained injuries. Others hid in the bushes all
ni^t.
On August 14, roads leading to the mountain were blocked by
several thousand security personnel. Public transportation, includ-
ing ferries to and from this site, were forbidden for people sus-
pected to be Roman Catholics heading for the mountain.
Several thousand faithful, risking imprisonment, torture and
fines, walked through a chest-deep river and little-known paths to
reach the mountain but were stopped and beaten by government
forces who used electrically charged batons, injured scores and ar-
rested dozens. Despite these atrocities, 2,000 faithful broke through
the police line and reached the top of the mountain. There they
prayed and sang hjonns. There were no bishop and priests to offer
Mass for them, because all of them were arrested.
There was another case where 30 or 40 Catholics were arrested
during the prayer service on top of the mountain, and four of them
were sentenced between 2 to 5 years.
The bishop of this diocese, Most Reverend Zeng Jingmu, was ar-
rested many times. He was rearrested on November 22, 1995, and
is still in jail. We are most concerned, as he has been in bad
health.
These repeated and intermittent arrests, without going through
the proper court procedures, are commonly referred to as adminis-
trative detention. This terrorizing method has become notoriously
prevalent in China as a weapon against the clergy and the lay
Catholic leaders. Not coincidentally, this methodology also makes
it more difficult for international human rights groups to obtain
timely information, or to lobby for their victims.
There is every evidence that the persecution is stepping up.
On December 22, 1995, just about a month ago, the religious bu-
reau in Shanghai announced 63 regulations to step up control of
the so-called illegal religious activities. The effective date of en-
forcement begins on March 1, 1996. We believe that other munici-
palities will follow suit. In essence, every religious group must be
registered. Each religious activity must be preregistered and ap-
proved. No mission activities from foreign countries is allowed. For
an unregistered religious group like the Roman Catholic Church,
no assembly of religious activities is allowed, no church is allowed
to be built, and no stipends or donations are allowed. These new
regulations appear to be a rigorous enforcement of Decrees 144 and
145 signed by Premier Li Pang on January 31, 1994.
Many faithful know that they cannot follow the Patriotic Associa-
tion without abandoning their faith. They feel helpless, except to
prepare for the worst eventualities. They are now under close
14
watch by the local authorities. Just as in the 1950's, they have
packed their small bags and are ready to be arrested en masse
once again.
Bishop Joseph Fan of Shanghai, the auxiliary Bishop of Cardinal
Kung, is taking charge of the diocese. He has been watched very
closely by the Shanghai authorities for the past few years. At
present, Bishop Fan's every movement is monitored by security of-
ficers.
Bishop Fan and another loyal priest of Shanghai have announced
that no longer can they offer Holy Mass in their houses to loyal
Roman Catholics pursuant to the oppressive regulations eflFective
March 1, 1996. They were given to understand that if the priests
were to be caught offering Mass in their houses with Catholics in
attendance, they would be fined Chinese yen of 1,000 each and the
member of the faithful JMP for 500 each. The fine will be doubled
if they are caught a second or third time. In the event they are
caught for the fourth time, they would be expelled to the country-
side with reduced living quarters. It appears that something very,
very awful and dreadful will happen soon to the loyal Roman
Catholic Church in China.
Recently, Bishop Su Chimin, Bishop of Boading, and his auxil-
iary Bishop, Bishop An Shuxin, have also been under very strict
surveillance. A security person watches them day and night at all
times. Mr. Chairman, Bishop Su is a bishop who met with us 2
years ago. He is in house arrest, in other words.
Last night I received some new cases. I am going over a couple
of minutes. We learned of an 80-year-old parish priest who was in-
vestigated by local authorities, ostensibly on the property rights of
his church and a seminary. The authority also investigated every
resident status, dispersed all religious in the seminarians and con-
vents. Several nuns were arrested. Catholic doctrine is not allowed
to be taught in the church. In order to prevent the Roman Catholic
students from attending Mass on Sundays, the school system de-
clared Sunday a school day and Friday a free day. If a student or
teacher were discovered to be Catholics, they were ordered to join
the Patriotic Association. They were not allowed to wear holy med-
als. If they refused, they would be dismissed from the school sys-
tem, and several persons were subsequently dismissed. Concur-
rently, the authorities promised that teachers who renounced their
Catholic faith would be promoted from private school teacher to
that of national status.
More than 400 security personnel from the local authorities are
now stationed in Boading and its neighboring towns to control the
so-called illegal religious activities. Boading is the place where
Bishop Su is. They even started a branch of a security office in
Dong Lu, which is the site of the annual pilgrimage in May with
total attendance well over 100,000 from all over China. To add in-
sult to injury, the villagers must provide room and board to all gov-
ernment security personnel. Can you imagine if this happened in
the United States?
Mr. Smith. Mr. Kung, if we may, we will make the rest of your
very persuasive testimony a part of the record. When you men-
tioned Bishop Su, I vividly remembered our meeting with him. We
15
will make that a part of the record if you don't mind. I thank you
for your excellent testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Kung appears in the appendix.]
Mr. Smith. I would like to proceed with our next witness. Rev-
erend Tran Quy Thien, who was born in Vietnam. Ordained as a
Catholic Priest in 1960, he served as a chaplain in the armed forces
of the Republic of Vietnam. In 1975, he was sentenced to 13 years
in prison along with many other religious leaders. After his release
in 1988, he was prohibited from conducting religious services. Rev-
erend Thien arrived in the United States in 1991 under the HO
program. Since then, he has been active in promoting religious
freedom in Vietnam. He recently met with President Vaclav Havel
in the Czech Republic to discuss issues of human rights and reli-
gion in Vietnam. Reverend Thien.
STATEMENT OF TRAN QUI THIEN, CATHOLIC PRIEST
Rev. Thien. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Members of the Sub-
committee on International Operations and Human Rights, ladies
and gentlemen, it is a great honor for me to be here today in this
august assembly, which is a part of the legislative branch of the
United States and represents the highest authority in this land.
When I received the invitation to speak in front of you today, I re-
alized that it was not simply due to the fact that as a Catholic
chaplain I have spent some 13 years in a number of Vietnamese
Communist reeducation camps. Rather, I am called here to speak
on behalf of the whole question of religious freedom in Vietnam, of
which I am only a living witness.
I would like therefore to start out by saying that the Communist
authorities in Vietnam did not single out my church, the Catholic
Church of Vietnam, as a target for their repressive policy. In fact,
following Karl Marx and considering all five major religions of Viet-
nam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Caodaism, Hoa Hao, and Protestant-
ism, to be "the opiate of the people" that needs to be eradicated,
they have gone systematically after their extermination, suppres-
sion and/or co-optation. This is a policy that they have imple-
mented and perfected in North Vietnam since their rise to power
in 1945. When they came into full control of South Vietnam in
April 1975, they only elaborated on that policy, improvising adapta-
tions at first but eventually summing them up in two governmental
measures. Decision No. 297 dated 11 November 1977 and Ministe-
rial Decree No. 69/HDBT dated 21 March 1991, according to which
all religions in Vietnam are under the control of the State Commit-
tee for Religious Affairs and all religious activities are strictly cir-
cumscribed. This includes not only such things as religious restric-
tions and prohibitions, church services, the selection of seminar-
ians, the training, appointment and movement of religion leaders
within the church, but even such things as the regulation of gifts
or aid received from abroad, the importation of religious literature,
international exchanges with churches and religious organizations
outside of Vietnam.
In the words of a famous Redemptorist father currently residing
in Saigon, Father Chan Tin, the current situation of the Catholic
Church of Vietnam is as follows: "The State intervenes blatantly in
the internal affairs of the Church and opposes the Vatican's ap-
16
pointments of bishops to vacant sees. To take the case of the Sai-
gon archdiocese, the Vatican had appointed Monsignor Nguyen Van
Thuan to be the deputy to Archbishop Nguyen Van Binn even be-
fore 30 April 1975. Claiming, however, that he owed the people a
"blood debt", the State held him in prison for 13 years and even
after he came out of jail, he was expelled from Vietnam, When the
late Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh was seriously ill and about to
die, the Vatican appointed Monsignor Huynh Van Nghi to replace
him as the prelate of Saigon, but the State repeatedly opposed that
move and, even after Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh passed away,
the State still made everything possible to prevent Monsignor Nghi
from coming to Saigon to assume his post. It had him under con-
stant surveillance, had him followed and prevented in every way
from reaching Saigon. These are some of the latest developments.
As for other areas of religious freedom, the State continues to limit
the number of seminaries and seminarians, check on the back-
ground of teachers at those seminaries, prevent the appointment of
local parish priests, raise all kinds of obstacles when the bishops
try to move the priests from one parish to another, all these and
others should suffice to prove that the State continues to blatantly
violate the human and civil rights of the Vietnamese people."
From the above it is clear that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
has been engaged in a vicious plan to do away with organized reli-
gions in Vietnam despite the fact that the Vietnamese people are
among the most religious people on earth. This plan is a systematic
one, divided into various stages, and it is fully controlled by the
Communist Party of Vietnam at every stage. As demonstrated by
a detailed document written in 1994 by Do Trung Hieu, the Party
member put in charge but who eventually came to be ashamed of
the role he played in the destruction of the Unified Buddhist
Church of Vietnam, the CPV does not stop before any scheme, no
matter how insidious, in order to destroy what it considers to be
its main competitors as far as the allegfiance of people is concerned.
Thus, no pen will ever be adequate to describe all of the acts of
terrorism, repression, suppression, murder and imprisonment
aimed at the religious leaders and their followers, purely on reli-
gious grounds, in Vietnam. Among the means used toward those
ends as well as to sow division among the various faiths in Viet-
nam, one must not fail to mention the so-called political protection
public security force, which is one of the main instruments of vio-
lence of the regime, and the state-sponsored churches that are con-
coctions meant to destroy the various churches of Vietnam from the
inside. For instance, to destroy the UBC they created an official
Buddhist Church of Vietnam — only the word "Unified" is left out —
to buy some ambitious leaders and draw them to the side of the
government in an attempt to confuse the ignorant outside world,
but this church is all shadow, no substance.
In the case of the Catholic Church, they created since 1976 a Li-
aison Committee of Patriotic Catholics that is allowed its own pub-
lication to contravene any and every attempt by the mother church
to organize the Catholics of Vietnam, who number between six and
seven million, into an independent social force for good within an
independent Vietnam.
17
Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the subcommittee, la-
dies and gentlemen, in view of the above, it is absolutely necessary
for the world to speak up and to get the support of the Congress
of the United States, in demanding:
First, that the SRV Government restores to the churches of Viet-
nam their legality so that they can operate normally, as in any civ-
ilized country, without the interference of such superfluous bodies
as the State Committee for Religious Affairs or the state-sponsored
pseudo-churches that go by the various names of patriotic this and
patriotic that.
Second, that the SRV Government releases at once all religious
leaders belonging to every faith, not only nuns and priests, but also
lay persons imprisoned for their religious activities. Once released,
these people should not be on probation either, which is only a eu-
phemism for house arrest.
Third, that the SRV Government return all the church properties
to the various churches so that they could make their positive con-
tributions to healing society, in terms of cultural, educational, so-
cial and religious contributions.
Fourth, that the SRV CSrovemment onlv needs to follow the letter
and spirit of its own Constitution, which in Article 70 guarantees
the freedom to worship, freedom of religion, and freedom to prac-
tice or not to practice a religion. The SRV is also bound by the com-
mitment it gave in joining the United Nations that various free-
doms be respected, including the freedom of religion, as defined in
the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In closing, I would like to present to you, Mr. Chairman and dis-
tinguished members of the Subcommittee on International Oper-
ations and Human Rights, my humble and most sincere thanks for
giving me this precious opportunity to speak on behalf of my co-
religionists and sister faiths in Vietnam. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Rev. Thien appears in the appendix.]
Mr. Smith. Thank you. Reverend. And you have spoken well.
Yours was an excellent statement, and I think it will be very help-
ful for this subcommittee and for other Members of Congress to
have heard your testimony. When the record is widely dissemi-
nated, as it will be, it will be very helpful in chronicling what has
happened in your country.
We do have one final panelist, Tom White, who has worked with
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand and The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc., for
nearly 20 years. He has visited over 90 countries, sharing the voice
and burden for the persecuted church. While teaching English in
the Cayman Islands in the 1970's, Mr. White made repeated trips
to Cuba, dropping thousands of gospels and Bible portions into the
ocean currents. This was in response to the destruction of 100,000
Bibles in Cuba's sugar mills. In 1979, Mr. White's private plane
crashed on a Cuban highway and he was then sentenced to 24
years imprisonment. During his imprisonment, Mr. White experi-
enced firsthand the plight of the suffering church. After many
prayers, letters, and appeals from Mother Teresa and Members of
Congress, he was released.
Mr. Smith. I would like to ask Mr. White if he would offer his
testimony now.
18
STATEMENT OF TOM WHITE, USA DIRECTOR, THE VOICE OF
THE MARTYRS, INC.
Mr. White. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will summarize my notes. It is an honor for me to appear before
this committee. Members of this committee met my flight in 1980
when I was released from prison, and met us at Tamiami Airport
in Florida. It is an honor to see this tremendous work.
I will briefly summarize Cuba and then I would like to spend the
bulk of my time on Vietnam, confirming some of what our dear
friend here just mentioned.
Castro did destroy 100,000 Bibles in sugar mills and burned an
extra 27,000 Bibles. This is confirmed by the Bible Society during
his first 3 years in power. I would like to point out as of today,
Fidel Castro, who appears as the religious and spiritual guru of
Cuba, has yet to replace the 120,000 or 130,000 Bibles that he has
destroyed.
Time has passed. Chris Yales led a group of Jamaicans to Cuba
in 1994. They were all arrested and thrown out of the country for
carrying Bibles. Cuba today has drawn up a blacklist of Christian
organizations, such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Youth With a
Mission and many others, forbidding them to come to the island.
Pastor Orson Vila is now still imprisoned in Cuba. He is the head
of the Pentecostal Assembly of God in the central region of Cuba.
He was arrested for having house church services.
The Cuban Government in 1989 gave permission to have house
churches but they were rather surprised, as Mao was when he
opened his society for a period, when the Cuban Government saw
800 house churches spring up across Cuba just in these last few
years. As a result, the police have cracked down and arrested Pas-
tor Vila, who is still in prison at this time.
With that, I would like to conclude that brief statement on Cuba
and move into Vietnam. I do have photographs available in those
packets for members of the press and others present. There are two
photos of Pastor Vila. One was taken in prison when his wife was
visiting him, and the other is when he was pastoring his congrega-
tion of over 2,000 people. This church still remains closed as of this
date.
I just returned from Saigon 2 weeks ago. Our organization works
in countries where it is forbidden to propagate Christian faith or
to own Christian literature. The Vietnamese Grovernment has only
allowed one printing of the Bible since 1975, the Communist take-
over. I would like to mention that many of the Vietnamese I men-
tion in my article here today are people that I know personally, are
my close friends in the last 4 or 5 years.
In the summer of 1994, the Vietnamese police raided a print
shop in Saigon and confiscated 400 New Testaments that were
being printed for the K'Ho tribe. This is a New Testament printed
in Saigon secretly. This is in Vietnamese.
But the police still raid print shops around Vietnam, confiscating
and destroying Bibles. This shows how farcical the Vietnamese
Government is when they announced recently that they were hav-
ing an official printing of Bibles, yet at the same time they go
around and destroy Bibles that are unofficially printed.
19
One week before the United States signed economic agreements
with Vietnam in July 1995, Vietnamese officials seized over 600
Christian books from believers. These are the books. This is a chil-
dren's Bible story book printed in Vietnamese. I know this hap-
pened because I was there when that event occurred.
Vietnamese today travel from Hanoi to Saigon on hard wooden
train seats, just like the Siberians used to travel to Moscow looking
for Bibles, thev travel to Saigon looking for a Bible, There is an av-
erage of 1 Bible for every 3,750 Vietnamese today.
The Vietnamese Government uses exile, imprisonment and beat-
ings today. The head of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, most
people don't even know his name, has been in exile for 13 years on
a rice paddy with his children. His name is Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma.
The Communist Government confiscated his church when they took
power in the south. He refused to give them the entire church, and
so they sent him in exile with his family on April 21, 1982. He is
still in exile. He has never been tried. He has never sat in a court-
room, but has been beaten by police on numerous occasions.
We have documents showing how his son is forbidden to go to
school as an eighth grade student. This is a photocopy of the police
document persecuting his 13-year-old son showing that he is
"under house arrest because of religion." One of his daughters is
married but is allowed to see her husband only occasionally, once
every few weeks, because she is also in exile with the family. She
is 28 years old.
Central Vietnam, where many tribal groups are persecuted
today, the Vietnamese Government in the last 2 years has con-
structed hundreds of wooden poles with loudspeakers on them fac-
ing all four directions. Government propaganda now begins in the
morning at 3 a.m. in Dong Ho in Quang Tri Province and other
areas of Vietnam, from 3 a.m. in the morning until 11 p.m. at night
for all villagers. It is felt by some that this is being done to coun-
teract the growth of the Christian house churches in Vietnam.
On July 10, 1995, the police in Dae Lac Province interrogated
eight Christians, taking a tribal Christian named Brother ICBe,
placing him on television every week for 3 minutes with an expla-
nation of his crime. I met him personally. He told me that the po-
lice do not want the church to grow. He has been caught three
times. He says, "If they catch me one more time, they will put me
in prison. I asked the police why our city of Di Linh has no
church."
We also took photos in a labor camp in Vietnam in the 1990's of
Pastor Kon-Sa-Ha-Hak, whose hands were tied behind his back
and lit cigarettes were put in his nose, making fun of him. We pub-
lished the photo of these two men in a labor camp, two pastors
with him, and they were released only after the Vietnamese Gov-
ernment was embarrassed about their existence. That is another
reason I am happy for committees of this type because this is, I be-
lieve, one of our purposes, to bring these cases to the world.
The Vietnamese Government arrests men, women, elderly grand-
mothers. I have visited three times with Mrs. Vo Thi Manh, who
has 15 grandchildren. Her crime was holding house services. She
was transported from Thu Due prison — ^we have photographs of
20
that prison — to a labor camp in the back of a U.S. Army truck, an
old truck, with chains on her legs. She is 62 years old.
We have a photograph in the file you can see there of a Brother
ICManh. He also speaks English. The police raided his village in
January 1995, took all eight Bibles in the village where 35 families
meet, Christian families meet. We also have his address for your
consideration.
There is a Christian named Ho Van Loc. I was in Vietnam a year
ago. The police had shot his water buffalo and cooked it in his front
yard because he had a Christian service in his home. Most of these
poor rice farmers who have a $14-a-month income, the most valu-
able possession and only possession they have is a water buffalo,
and the police killed his buffalo and ate it in the front yard, laugh-
ing. Now Brother Loc is in prison, and we have his prison address
for your record. He is serving a 1-year prison sentence at this time.
Also a Christian, To Dinh Trung, when Mrs. Shea mentioned, of
the ICHo tribe has been beaten, videotaped, and has slept in prison
latrines. We have a picture of him in the file for you today, as well.
I interviewed Mr. Trung some 6 months ago before he went to
prison. His young wife, when Mr. Trimg was in prison recently,
had a third child only 13 days of age. The government accuses him
(and we have some of his court documents) of "taking advantage
of citizens' freedom to violate the interests of the government." I
mean, it is a very convoluted type statement, and they accuse him
of evangelizing, bringing the good news to the people. I am sure
they use "good news" in the technical sense, not that they endorse
this as the good news.
Mr. Trung was given, just a few months ago, a 3-year prison sen-
tence, and is now in the prison in Quang Ngai, Vietnam.
I would like to point out in all of these tribal areas, no official
church exists. There are now tens of thousands of new Christians
in Vietnam, and the government says they must attend the official
church. There is no official church. There is no building. There is
nowhere they can go, unless they want to walk 50 to 100 miles
every Sunday morning to church. There is no alternative.
Mr. Trung^s wife wrote a letter — we have the entire text of that
letter which is in the record — concerning all of the laws that the
Vietnamese Government has broken. An excellent letter for a
woman who has no shoes and lives in a house with a dirt floor. It
is an incredible letter. You will have to read this.
She states her husband never did try to put down the govern-
ment. He encouraged people not to gamble or be involved in super-
stitious practices. And she asks, why was he arrested? She states
that Bibles have been printed in Vietnam, so whv did the police
burn her husband's Bible? It is an excellent report from her.
I just received in the last few days a report in the handwriting
of the villagers from the village of Tra Nham. This is their letter,
where they talk about several years of persecution.
In the early 1990's they came and killed the pigs and they fined
them. They had to pay in pigs for worshipping Christ. In 1993 they
came and shot to death several oxen, and tied up Christians, fined
them. The police use many Christians in Vietnam today just as
forced labor, and they economically rape their villages of rice.
21
The third time here in 1995 they went back to this same village
and fined them all bags of rice. They beat them until their faces
were black. I am reading this from the letter of the villagers them-
selves. They killed the pig. They killed the chickens. To us this
sounds funny, but a chicken is about a week's wages in Vietnam.
They fined them 80,000 VN Dong.
In North Vietnam today there are only 9 to 12 official church
buildings, which may be Protestant churches, but in the entire area
of North Vietnam. But there are tens of thousands of new Hmong
tribesmen that are listening to Christian shortwave radio.
In this issue of the North Vietnamese newspaper which was pub-
lished in 1991, it ridicules the tribesmen for listening to the gospel
on radio. Although this is an old paper, we have new documents
of Christians who were arrested and fined for listening to the radio.
That paper is called the Nhan Dan, N-H-A-N D-A-N. That was
April 21, 1991. In that paper they accused the Vietnamese of wor-
shipping a King (K-I-N-G with a capital K) stopping their work,
going to buy radios.
Radio Hanoi in August 1994 attacked Christian radio broadcasts,
stating that they are here to spread incendiary propaganda and de-
stabilize Vietnam. This is the type of radio. We buy thousands of
these and try to circulate them in North Vietnam. They cost $8.
Ironically, they are sold in Hanoi and Saigon, and then the police
take them from the Christians and smash them to pieces. So that
is their Achilles* heel, I guess, but it is interesting.
The government refuses the South Vietnamese church to visit
the North Vietnamese church. There are still two Vietnams, South
and North. No South Vietnamese Christian official has been al-
lowed to visit any North Vietnamese Christian official. They keep
the two nations separate.
We have lists of confiscation reports of Bibles here in original
court documents, lists of arrests. The latest report I received just
yesterday, which I will add later to this, is of an attack on five
Hmong villages in North Vietnam, tribesmen who were listening to
these broadcasts. Ribs were broken. A former policeman who be-
came a Christian was killed by policemen by forcing alcohol down
his throat until he died. The other villagers fled into the jungle.
I ask all at this hearing today to place the Vietnamese Govern-
ment on notice of its continued arrests, beatings, fines, harassment
of their less than 10 percent Christian minority by recalling our
American ambassador from Vietnam and by bringing the names
and cases of these persecuted before Vietnamese Government offi-
cials.
In conclusion, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Phan
Van KDiai, stated at the United Nations: The government of Viet-
nam respects democracy and human rights. It allows different po-
litical viewpoints." If this is correct, the Vietnamese Government
should stop the hypocritical practice of using a 1991 local security
law and other laws to forbid the freedom of worship and religious
assembly for its people.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. White appears in the appendix.]
22
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. White. I would ask, without objec-
tion, that your full statement and that of the other witnesses be
made a part of the record.
Mr, Rohrabacher.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to ask the witnesses their reaction to what we are
confronted with when we bring up these human rights abuses.
What we are confronted with is businessmen who are doing busi-
ness in Vietnam or in China, and we are told that all we really
need to do to bring about a better society in these countries, more
respect for human rights, is to invest more money. In fact, the
more businesses that seem to go over there, every time there is a
complaint about human rights, there seem to be more businessmen
at our door defending that proposition.
Is there any evidence that economic progress and greater eco-
nomic ties with the United States will bring about greater respect
for human rights by Vietnam and China? Maybe we can just have
a very short answer from each of you, starting with this side.
Ms. Shea. That is a good question. No, there is no evidence. In
fact, religious freedoms have deteriorated in both countries since
trade has been renewed, and what we are seeing is that unfortu-
nately a number of American companies are incorporating the local
practices.
In one case, in China, an American firm fired one of its employ-
ees after he was arrested for praying without authorization. It was
only after an international human rights campaign was waged was
he rehired. And we are hearing disturbing reports now of
Mr. Rohrabacher, Could you give us tne name o^ that company?
Ms. Shea. It was Chrysler Corporation.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Chrysler Corporation?
Ms. Shea. Yes. Gao Feng.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Fired one of its employees where?
Ms. Shea. In China.
Mr. Rohrabacher. In China?
Ms. Shea. Yes.
Mr. Rohrabacher. For praying?
Ms. Shea, And that particular man is back in prison now at this
very moment. He was rounded up as a suspect person, a suspect
Christian, during the period immediately prior to the U.N, Fourth
World Conference on Women. There was a roundup at that time of
dissidents and Christians. He is one of the rounded up and is still
in prison.
Mr. Rohrabacher, Do you have his name?
Ms. Shea. Yes, I do.
Mr. Rohrabacher. What is his name?
Ms. Shea. His name is in my testimony on page 3, second case,
Gao, G-A-0, first name, F-E-N-G,
Mr. Rohrabacher. And when did that happen?
Ms. Shea. That was in 1994 that he was initially fired aft;er his
arrest. He was absent from work for a couple of weeks. The com-
pany has an ironclad policy. Anyone who comes back to work after
an absence without an official Excuse is fired.
In that case, Chrysler did not take Chinese repression seriously
enough. They went to the police and said, "OK, he said he was
23
under arrest. Where is the record?" Of course, there is no record.
There is no due process. So he was fired automatically.
Mr. RoHRABACHER. OK. So let's get this straight, so that the peo-
ple out there understand what we are talking about. These Amer-
ican companies that are claiming to us that American investment
will eventually bring about a greater respect for human rights, at
least this particular company, Chrysler Corporation, fired a man
who had been arrested for participating in a religious activity, and
he had been arrested basically for participating in this religious ac-
tivity and thus he could not get to work.
Ms. Shea. Yes.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. And because he couldn't get to work, Chrys-
ler Corporation fired him?
Ms. Shea. That is correct. Because he was arrested that one
time, he was under suspicion and he was one of the people that
they — and because there was an international human rights cam-
paign waged on his behalf, the government then went after him
right before the U.N.'s World Conference on Women.
Mr. Rohrabacher. So this must be a tremendous bit of leverage
that the authorities have, to know that not only when they arrest
someone are they incarcerating that person and putting them
through hardship at the moment, but the authorities know, as well
as the victim knows, that this could create an economic catastrophe
for the person's family because the American corporation will let
that person go for not coming back to work on time.
Ms. Shea. Yes.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Frankly, I think that is a very disturbing
piece of information, and I think that we will be questioning Amer-
ican corporations that come before our committees as to whether or
not employees who are arrested for religious activities, whether or
not they automatically lose their job because they are absent from
work, whether or not this is the t>'pe of hand-in-glove cooperation
that we expect from our American companies.
Ms. Shea. I would also encourage you to question them, as well,
about whether or not they are enforcing the one-child policy in
their companies. That is what we are hearing now, is that the
American companies are being asked and are enforcing the one-
child policy.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Do you have the name of any company in
particular?
Ms. Shea. We are doing an investigation on that right now, and
I don't want to reveal it until the investigation is over.
Mr. Rohrabacher. OK Because it always helps when we name
a company, because now we have Chrysler Corporation who will
feel compelled, I am sure, to come and tell us whether or not their
administrator on the scene was aware of this or not, and we will
expect them to tell us that.
Mr. Smith. If my friend would yield, we would very happilv set
up a meeting with leaders of the corporate world, including Chrys-
ler, to come in and give a full explanation.
This morning, parenthetically, I was on CNBC with Ambassador
Lilley, our former U.S. ambassador to China. The Business Coali-
tion for U.S. -China Trade, a large consortium of business interests,
was supposed to be there to debate, and it was a no-show.
24
As a matter of fact, they had even faxed, and CNBC sent me a
copy of, their position paper on stabilizing and improving U.S.-
China trade relations. In it, they had the audacity to assert that
human rights have improved dramatically and that the United
States must move beyond the divisive annual debates over MFN;
that the yearly struggles over MFN renewal have undermined any
long-term U.l^ strategy toward China and have set back progress
on trade and, get thisTnuman rights.
So by linking human rights to trade, we, according to this busi-
ness coalition, have set it back. And now, as your testimony clearly
indicates, in the case of population issues, they are actual enforcers
of the coercive one-child-per-couple rule, and in the case of religious
persecution, the issue at hand today, they are helping to implement
this very terrible strategy of breaking up religion.
Mr. RoHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman, it must be terriblv demoraliz-
ing for people in the world who know that people of the United
States and our love of freedom and liberty is the only real power
in the world that they can count on to side with what is right, and
especially when they themselves are persecuted and under this
threat, it must be terribly demoralizing to see American citizens ac-
quiescing on the scene to this type of thing.
Mr. White, do you have some comment on whether or not
Mr. White. Yes. I appreciate your questions.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. They are questions of basic philosophy. This
is what we are given. I mean, every day American businessmen
come to us, and they are treating us as if we don't believe in free
enterprise if we are not going to let them go over there because,
after all, if you invest over there things are going to get better. I
mean, this is the basic argument we get.
Do you want to comment on that?
Mr. White. Yes. I think we need to remember that in America
it is more or less homogenized, but in totalitarian governments you
have a city or a zone or a district or province that may have more
spiritual freedom or a better economic situation than otners.
For instance, Saigon, where many American companies go and
say this is wonderful, look what is happening here. Very few Chris-
tians are harassed right now in Saigon, because Saigon accounts
for 34 percent of the Vietnamese economy, but they are only 5 mil-
lion out of 73 million people. So the same thing is reflected in the
spiritual life of Vietnamese Christians who earn maybe $14 on the
rice paddy and are beaten up by the policemen.
So I don't think we can generalize, since some people say, "Well,
look, we now have trade relations and it's getting better." No, it is
not getting better. It is not getting better for most of the Vietnam-
ese economically, neither is it spiritually, just because it is in one
city or one province or certain zones.
Mr. Rohrabacher. In China, has there been any evidence in the
last few years — we already heard that Freedom House suggests
that maybe this has not happened. Has American business nad a
positive role toward freedom of religion in China?
Mr. KuNG. I am not too familiar with American business doing
in China as far as violations of the human rights.
And Nina mentioned about the Chrysler case, which I am very
impressed. But, however, looking at the Chinese side of it, it is nu-
25
merous, numerous, numerous. When they discovered a person who
because of his religious background, he will be quoted as illegal ac-
tivities, therefore he will be sentenced for some sort of a detention.
As a result of that, he is absent from the work and he is fired. Be-
fore, £my student who is a Catholic or who has a political back-
ground with reli^ous affiliation, he is automatically not allowed to
go to the university.
One of the casualties is my own family. I have a family of four
brothers and four sisters, including myself. We are four boys and
four girls, and I am the only one wno was fortunate enough to get
out of China early enough without getting suppressed by the re-
gime. But all my younger brothers and sisters in China, they were
not allowed to go to the university, and one of my sisters were in
lail for 20 some years. So it is not uncommon in China for a case
like Chrysler, which appears to be very unique but as far as China
concerns, there must be many cases like it right now.
Mr. RoHRABACHER. And in Vietnam — now this has only been
about a year since American businessmen have actually been per-
mitted to go in there in a legal way — have we seen any evidence
that they are having a positive impact on religious liberty?
Mr. White. We haven't really seen any connection between the
two. Saigon City itself, due to the fact that it has been more Euro-
pean for decades and so on, there is less harassment of house
churches, although there are still arrests. But, no, we have seen no
improvement with the other 95 percent of Vietnam. Or perhaps you
were asking him.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Yes.
Rev. Thien. In our opinion, religious freedom in Vietnam and
trade are interrelated.
Even though the economic life of a person might improve, that
person, that numan being, still feels tne need for faith, religious
faith. Even though the government has started its policy of liberal-
izing the economy 8 years ago, there is still the need for freedom
of religion in Vietnam.
Sadly enough, the situation related to the religions in Vietnam
becomes more difficult now, especially after the normalization of re-
lationship between the United States and Vietnam. The most con-
crete illustration is the fact that in Vietnamese prisons at this mo-
ment there is still a very large number of religious leaders of all
religions who are being detained arbitrarily.
I nave here with me a list of religious leaders who are still in
prison, and with your permission I would like to submit it for the
record at this hearing.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, the list will be part of the record.
Mr. RoHRABACHER. How many people are on that list?
Rev. Thien. There are 68 names on this list and it is not com-
plete.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Sixty-eight names of religious leaders?
Rev. Thien. That is right.
Mr. Rohrabacher, This is not including just the religious people
who have been arrested for religious reasons; these are just the re-
ligious leaders?
Rev. Thien. Religious leaders.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right, I am going to thank you very much.
26
Before I 3aeld back to the chairman, let me just say that we as
Americans do play a veiy special role. People all over the world
look to us. I will never forget when I met Natan Shcharansky. I
had been a speech writer for Ronald Reagan, and Natan
Shcharansky was a hero of human freedom in the Soviet Union
back in the dark days.
He was a Jewish dissident who had been put into prison, into the
gulag, and he could have been released at any time if he just
signed a document that he was wrong about the Soviet Union being
a dictatorship and oppressing human freedom. He refused to sign,
and word got around, not just in the Jewish community but to all
of us, that there was a heroic individual that languished in this
horrible torture of the gulag rather than giving up his honor and
signing a false document.
Eventually he was traded. He was traded for a spy. The United
States gave a spy to the Russians and they gave us Shcharansky.
I thought it was a great deal. You know, they got a scum bag and
we got a heroic saint. What happened was that he ended up at the
White House within a week, and he was there meeting President
Reagan to thank him for getting him out of the gulag.
Being one of Ronald Reagan's speech writers, it was really an im-
portant day to me because when he met the President, you know,
and he had a discussion with him, he later met with the press and
they said, "What did you tell President Reagan?"
He said, **I just told President Reagan not to tone down his
speeches," he says, "because even in the gulag someone smuggled
to me a small little slip of paper, and on it, it said the President
of the United States has called the Soviet Union an evil empire."
And he says, "When I knew that we had a President of the United
States who was speaking up with such a strong voice, I knew there
was hope, and that's what gave me the courage to struggle on."
Well, the next day I happened to be at the Israeli Embassy at
a function honoring Shcharansky, and I turned around and
Shcharansky, he was the hero of the day, was heading in my direc-
tion and he walked right up to me. Somebody had pointed me out.
And he said, "They tell me that you are one of the speech writers
for President Reagan."
And I said, "Yes, I am."
And he said, "I have often wondered who you are."
It was incredible, because here was a man who was suffering in
the gulag, and he understood that the President was making these
strong statements, but he knew there was somebody like myself in
the background on the staff some place who was struggling to get
these pro-freedom statements into the President's speeches.
Now, today we don't have Ronald Reagan, but I can tell you that
the world looks to the United States of America and hears our
voice. It hears the voice of this hearing today, and when people
hear today that the Americans are meeting in Washington, DC and
discussing the suppression of human liberty, the suppression of
Christians and their rights to pray, it will give them the courage
to resist and to move on and the courage of knowing they are not
standing alone. They may not know who we are individually, but
they know that good people like us exist.
27
So I want to thank the panelists and thank the chairman and
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher.
I have a number of questions, some of which I will submit be-
cause it is getting late and we need to go to our next panel, but
just let me ask one or two very brief questions.
I think Mr. Rohrabacher hit the nail on the head when he was
talking about the linkages to trade and issues related to that.
Many of us were shocked and dismayed by President Clinton's ac-
tions, after he had made so much fanfare about linking trade and
most-favored-nation status with improvements in human rights. He
had a very, very fine executive order linking them. Religious free-
dom was right there, as was a requirement of significant progress
in human rights. All of us. Democrats and Republicans, who be-
lieved that he was sincere hailed him and said so publicly.
One of the trips to China with Mr. Cohen was midway through
that review period, during the MFN period of time when they were
supposed to be making significant progress. Regrettably, they were
regressing in each and every category of human rights, including
religious freedom. Li Pang's 144 and 145 were really part of a blan-
ket attempt to crack down on the house church movement and on
the Catholics and others who were not part of the officialdom of the
Chinese co-opted church. The crackdown was massive and it con-
tinues, as you have all testified today.
The President has options now. I think he — and hopefully the
business community — ^is beginning to see that these people, this
dictatorship, does not keep its word. Whether it be nuclear pro-
liferation issues vis-a-vis Pakistan and Iran or the issues we are
discussing todav, they haven't kept their word. If they look at the
spirit and the letter of the law relating to those issues, sanctions
have to be meted out. They have not kept up with their agreement
on intellectual property rights with Mickey Kantor and the U.S.
trade. They are not trustworthy.
When it comes to the laogai and the use of prison labor, Harry
Wu has sat right where you sit and has testified, both before his
more recent imprisonment and then after again, that the so-called
memorandum of understanding with regard to the use of prison
labor isn't worth the paper it is printed on. We do not have access
to those prison camps to verify or to debunk whether these mate-
rials are being made by inmates, political prisoners or otherwise.
It looks good on paper but it really isn't worth the paper that it
is printed on.
In forced abortion and every area of human rights, they have got-
ten demonstrably worse; the same is true regarding intellectual
property, as I said a moment ago. Regarding MFN, the business
community is telling us in papers like this they want to make it
permanent. Somehow, you know, the lights will go on and human
rights will be breaking out all over the place.
We know that dictatorships, when tney become further empow-
ered, don't necessarily improve human rights. It is not a given. The
Nazis made the trains run on time and they became very, very
powerful. The People's Liberation Army, in a parallel way, is be-
coming much more powerful by the day. We are part of its
empowerment, and I think we need to wake up. And, of course, we
28
should not forget China's saber-rattHng towards Taiwan. That is a
very dangerous situation.
I think the President has an opportunity now to say, "Wait a
minute, I threw in the towel on human rights." It is time to reclaim
that and to say that we are going to relink MFN, that we are going
to be very serious about human rights, because we have not been.
We have been like church mice, barely speaking up with regard to
these issues. I think it is outrageous, frankly, and we have sold out
the dissidents and the brave souls in China that have risked all.
Biit having said that, if you want to respond to that, please do.
The State Department right now is planning on ending the or-
derly departure program, which has afforded thousands of Viet-
namese nationals the opportunity to come to the United States di-
rectly from Vietnam. They plan on doing that, we hear, within the
next couple of months. I need to know, if you can tell us, whether
or not this program has benefited victims of religious persecution.
We had Secretary Brown here before our full committee not so long
ago, and I asked him whether or not this whole normalization proc-
ess has been linked to the U.S. POW-MIA issue or human rights,
and he said no.
It seems to me that we have leverage. These people want access
to credit. They want access to our markets. Again, talking about
the business commimity, where are they going to find markets,
when you have a trade deficit of some $35 billion, to vmload all of
those products? It seems to me that we should say wait a minute,
treat your people with respect and dignity, and then we will know
that when you sign a contract it will be honored. It doesn't take
a rocket scientist to figure that out.
But if you could, please respond to the ODP and address any
other issues that you might want to conclude on.
Rev. Thien. According to my opinion, sir, there is a definite rela-
tion between the ODP program and the political prisoners situation
in Vietnam. But it doesn't relate too much to the situation of the
religious leaders and lay persons who are right now in jail in Viet-
nam, because that is part of a different policy, which is the policy
of eliminations of the religions in Vietnam by the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam Government.
Sir, the reason why the government of Vietnam has let out the
political prisoners is because the^ see in every single one of them
potential adversaries, one potential discontent that is going to cre-
ate security problems for them.
Well, the government of Vietnam is trying to kill two birds with
one stone by letting the political prisoners out of Vietnam. First,
they eliminate a potential threat. Second is that they know that be-
cause of their family feelings, every Vietnamese who is out of Viet-
nam will try to help their own families financially, and so in a way
that is a way of bringing in some more finances into the economy
of Vietnam.
As far as I know, the 2 million Vietnamese who are now overseas
send home at least $600 million a year to help their families.
Mr. Smith. Would anybody else like to respond?
Ms. Shea. No.
Mr. KUNG. Can I echo your statement, sir, by reading two more
paragraphs of my presentation?
29
The U.S. Government has used its influences to secure freedom
for citizens of many other lands, such as South Africa, Haiti and
Bosnia. We find it anomalous, indeed, to observe that the United
States was willing to impose a trade embargo on South Africa as
long as the situation of Apartheid continued, and for a long time
it has been imposing trade sanctions against the repressive regime
in Communist Cuba, but the United States has accorded to the
People's Republic of China most-favored-nation trade status.
The question remains: Is the United States truly prepared to sac-
rifice some possible monetary loss to its business interests in order
to send a very strong message to a nation which has no regard for
basic human rights and is violating them on a daily basis? It is im-
portant to keep in mind that a country which violates the basic
rights of its citizens is most unlikely to honor its promises to other
nations.
The United States of America was founded because our fore-
fathers suffered, fought and worked hard to gain this Grod-given
right of freedom. On behalf of the faithful in the loyal Roman
Catholic Church in China, I urge the U.S. Government to help the
Chinese citizens to regain their rights of religious freedom. The
U.S. Government and all freedom-loving countries must press
Beijing to stop these assaults on religious freedom and challenge
the Beijing Government to demonstrate that it can be a responsible
member of the international community.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Kung.
I want to thank our witnesses for their expert testimony — ^Rev-
erend Thien.
Interpreter. Father Thien here would like to submit to the com-
mittee a list of 56 religious leaders of all five denominations in the
refugee camps now in Southeast Asia. In particular, there is a case
of one Buddhist nun who is about to be repatriated back to Viet-
nam right away.
[Materials submitted for the record appear in the appendix.]
Then we also want to bring to your attention the situation of the
Hoa Hao, which unfortunately is not known well enough outside of
Vietnam. And yet, because they do not have any international af-
filiations, their story is hardly understood at all and yet they are
also being very violently repressed.
Mr. Snhth. Thank vou very much. That will be made a part of
the record and I look forward to looking at it as soon as the hearing
concludes.
Thank you again to this panel.
I would like to ask our next panelists if they would make their
way to the witness table. As they are doing that, I will introduce
them.
David Forte is professor of law at Cleveland State University. He
holds academic degrees from Harvard University, Manchester Uni-
versity in England, University of Toronto and Columbia School of
Law. Mr. Forte was Counselor for Legal Affairs to the U.S. Delega-
tion to the United Nations, serving under Ambassador Jeane Kirk-
patrick and Vernon Walters. Among the professor's fields of inter-
est is Islamic law, which he teaches and has written on extensively.
24-741 96-2
30
His most recent work is "Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan,**
published by the Connecticut Journal of International Law.
The Reverend Canon Patrick Augustine is the Associate Rector
for the Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna, Virginia. Reverend
Augustine's journey in faith began in Pakistan as a third genera-
tion Anglican cleric in a primarily Muslim society. He currently
serves as the Honorary Canon of St. John's Cathedral in Peshawar,
Pakistan. Reverend Augustine also chairs the Committee on Over-
seas Mission and works closely with the Muslim community.
Next will be Abe GhaflFari. He is a native of Iran and a citizen
of the United States. In 1981 he founded the Iranian Christians
International, Incorporated, and currently serves as its executive
director. Mr. Ghaffari was born and raised in Iran as a Muslim,
and converted from Islam to Christianity in 1967 while attending
college in the United States. During the past 15 years, Mr.
Ghaffari has assisted more than 450 Iranian Christian refugees in
the long immigration process. Mr. Ghaffari has prepared reports on
human rights violations of Christian minorities in the Islamic Re-
public of Iran and other Muslim countries.
And, finally, Pedro Moreno currently serves as the international
coordinator of the Rutherford Institute, an international legal and
educational organization devoted to the defense of religious free-
dom, human life and family autonomy. Mr. Moreno has worked ex-
tensively in the field of reli^ous liberty, having delivered a keynote
address on the topic of religious freedom at tne first Presidential
prayer breakfast organized in La Paz, Bolivia in January 1990. Mr.
Moreno was coauthor, along with John W. Whitehead, the founder
and president of the Rutnerford Institute, of a book entitled
"Church and State in the Americas." He has also written over 90
editorial articles in both English and Spanish and has been pub-
lished in more than 20 magazines and national newspapers.
I would like to ask Mr. Forte if he would begin his testimony at
this time.
STATEMENT OF DAVID F. FORTE, PROFESSOR OF LAW,
CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY-MARSHALL COLLEGE OF LAW
Mr. Forte. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me start with a brief
statement about our foreign policy and then go on and talk about
how it applies to Islamic countries.
Right now our State Department seems to be more exercised over
pirated CD's than priests who remain loyal to Rome in China or
house Christians whose worship is a crime. In Pakistan, we seem
to be more concerned with the transfer of advanced weapons but
not with the unleashing of primitive violence against Christians.
Why do we make agreements with Castro for the limited accept-
ance of refugees but send back believing Christians to tyrannies?
Something is desperately awry here.
It used to be that liberal democratic critics of American foreign
policy said that we didn't spend enough time on human rights and
that we spent too much time worrying about a Communist menace.
Well, they were wrong. The Communist menace was the worse out-
rage of human rights, but now they are in charge. This is their
chance. Yet we see American foreign policy for many of these coun-
tries seemingly made more in the board rooms of the Chamber of
31
Commerce than in the State Department's Department of Human
Rights.
What is going on here? In regard to Islam, to the extent that we
do not vigorously and consistently criticize the tyrannies of radical
Muslims against believing minorities, these are the messages we
send to the world regarding Islam:
One, we don't believe in protecting those religious adherents of
the West. We must, therefore, be the materialist bankrupt culture
the Islamic radicals claim we are.
Two, radical Islam is a legitimate force in the world, and it is all
right with us if for reasons of State Islamic Governments give in
to the radicals' tyrannical agenda.
Three, we treat our Islamic friends with patronizing indifference.
After all, we in effect sav, this isn't a human rights problem, this
is a Muslim problem, and we know how these people behave.
Well, Mr. Chairman, my fields of interest are international af-
fairs and Islamic law, and let me give you 2 minutes of ancient his-
tory to tell vou what I think is occurring and recurring today.
During the first century of Islam, barely two or three decades
after the death of Muhammad, a terrible rebellion broke out in the
new Islamic empire. The empire was, at that time, wracked by a
civil war fought between the followers of Uthman, who was the
third Caliph to succeed Muhammad and whose followers eventually
became the Sunni Muslims, and on the other side, Ali, the fourth
Caliph, whose followers eventually became the Shi'as.
But those who rebelled against both wings were called the
Kharijites, and their battles and theology were terrible indeed. The
Kharijites held that any Muslim who committed a sin was an apos-
tate, an unbeliever who could never reenter the fold of Islam and
must be killed. Any Caliph who did not follow the strict practice
of Islam must be overthrown. The Kharijites fought brutally
against both the followers of Ali and of Uthman, seeking to become
the one and only version of Islam. They were finally suppressed,
but not until more than a century later.
Today, a modern version of the Kharijite heresy stalks Islam. It
has gained the reins of power in Iran and the Sudan. It threatens
Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, even Saudi Arabia. It cows a timid
government in Pakistan to accede to its program. It persecutes mi-
norities, particularly Christians, but its real objective is to steal the
soul of Islam, to change that great religion's tradition of art, cul-
ture, learning and tolerance into its own image of rigid and tyran-
nical power.
Its weapon and symbol is the Shari'a, the sacred law of Islam,
and the radicals seek especially to enforce its criminal provisions
against adultery, alcohol, theft and apostasy. But little do these
modern day radicals realize that the criminal portions of the
Shari'a — the most notorious being that of stoning for adultery, am-
putation for theft, and death for apostasy — ^were the least devel-
oped part of the classical law of the Shari'a because the Islamic
state, repeat from ancient times, always kept to itself nearly the
entire range of criminal jurisdiction.
The Caliphs intentionally excluded those qadis who formed the
Shari'a from deciding criminal cases. There never was a time in the
history of Islam when the portions of the Shari'a dealing with
32
criminal offenses were enforced in the literalness their adherents
now claim for it. But today the ancient rules of the Shari'a, hardly
observed even in the days when they were formulated, are used in
a program more nearly akin to fascism than to religion.
In Pakistan, for example, the law against blasphemy is being
used to unleash a regime of terror against Christians, Christians
who are among the poorest and most socially rejected of Pakistan's
peoples. The law against blasphemy has two effects. First, it di-
rectly attacks religious minorities who are supposedly guaranteed
their rights by Pakistan's Constitution and the International Law
of Human Rights.
Second, the law against blasphemy legitimates private acts of
terror against Christians by unlettered Muslims who believe, and
have been told by radical mullahs, that they have a right to attack
blasphemers ana apostates directly with legal impunity. All too
oflen the authorities in Pakistan have confirmed that doleful fact.
According to the State Department's Human Rights Report of
1992, "Christian groups rarely press charges against the perpetra-
tors of such incidents and believe the authorities are unlikely to
pursue such cases."
Let me give you one example. Naemat Ahmar, a Christian and
teacher in the State school in the village of Dasuha, was shocked
one day in December 1991 to find anonymous posters around the
village accusing him of blaspheming the Prophet of God. A later in-
vestigation by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found no
witness among his students, colleagues, or even Muslims in the vil-
lage who had ever heard him make any such insults.
Ahmar believed that a rival candidate for his teaching position,
a Muslim, had put up the posters. Fearful, Ahmar consulted with
the Bishop of nearbv Faisalabad, took leave from his post and took
a job in Faisalabad. On January 6th, 1992, Farooq Ahmad, who
had seen the posters in Dasuha, traveled to Faisalabad, found
Ahmar at his place of work, and stabbed him to death, inflicting
17 wounds. After the first strike, Ahmad asked Ahmar why Ahmar
had blasphemed. Ahmar denied it, but Ahmad continued the at-
tack.
At the police station, Ahmad "was kissed by some of the police-
men for his remarkable courage and commitment to Islam." Villag-
ers came to give him cookies and flowers. Many clerics from the
area visited him to offer their congratulations, while some engaged
lawyers to defend him.
In addition, the president of the local bar association offered his
services to Ahmad, while no prominent lawyer would accept rep-
resenting the family of the murdered Ahmar. Beyond taking the
names of witnesses, the police took no steps to develop the inves-
tigation. The Bishop of Faisalabad gauged that among Christians,
a 'sense of helplessness, insecurity and anguish had crept in."
Recently, a case in which a boy and his two uncles were charged
with blasphemy, one of the uncles having been murdered in the
street when tne defendants emerged from court, gained inter-
national notoriety. Allegedly, the boy, who is illiterate, and his rel-
atives threw pieces of paper on which were written insults to the
Prophet into a mosque. No neutral observer, including the Pakistan
33
Human Rights Commission, believed that the evidence was credi-
ble. Yet the surviving defendants were sentenced to death.
Asma Jahangir, a courageous lawyer with the Pakistan Human
Rights Commission, undertook a defense of the Christians when no
other lawyer would step forward to represent them. For her advo-
cacy, religious extremists have attacked her and her family five
times. Nonetheless, she prevailed in an appeals court which re-
versed the sentence, and the two Christians left court, fled, and
have taken asylum in Germany. Their families, incidentally, have
had to leave the village, a village in which they have lived tor cen-
turies, because posters were put up threatening them with blas-
phemy as well.
You see, the blasphemy law works like this. If a person charges
another with blasphemy, the charged person is arrested where he
waits in jail 6 months to a year while an investigation goes for-
ward. In jail, he is often set upon by Muslim prisoners for nis sup-
posed act. It is a way to destroy the reputation and the livelihood
of a person simply because he is a rival to you.
When international outrage this last year reached the govern-
ment of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, she promised to modify
the law against blasphemy. However, a general strike called by
radical Muslims faced down the government. Recently, Prime Min-
ister Bhutto has promised that the blasphemy will remain a capital
crime; there will be no major reform.
Our inaction helps create regimes and forces whose ultimate aim
is to destroy the West and the great tradition of Islam as well.
Imagine, Mr. Chairman, if the U.S. State Department took a neu-
tral or disinterested view of the radicals who murdered Prime Min-
ister Rabin. In fact, we accept and champion the view of the world-
wide Jewry that those who commit acts of violence supposedly in
the name of Jewish law are not part of genuine Judaism at all.
We have the same moral obligation, and indeed the same enlight-
ened self-interest, to treat the religion of Islam in the same way.
We should show our support and respect for the vast majority of
Muslims who reject those who practice violence as being unlslamic.
Let us raise our horizon and take a look at what is happening
in the world today. The destruction of the great Communist tyr-
anny by the West did not automatically usher in an era of democ-
racy and capitalism. What has risen to threaten the West is a dif-
ferent t3nranny, the second-worst kind. It is not Communism, it is
Fascism. China, I believe, now has a Fascist regime. Although I
spent 5 years studying international affairs in order to get a Ph.D.,
if you want to know tne difference between Communism and Fas-
cism, it is this: in a Fascist country you can buy a Gucci handbag.
The rest is the same.
Iran is a Fascist regime. Sudan has a Fascist regime. We should
call these movements for what they are. They are not religious. Let
us never legitimize them with that name and insult hundreds of
thousands of Muslims. These are a new form of Fascist tyranny.
When I came in from Washington International Airport — this
will conclude my remarks, Mr. Chairman — I threw my briefcase in
the back seat of a taxi and slid in behind the driver and looked
over his shoulder. He was from the Middle East and there was Ar-
abic writing on the dashboard. I thought to myself, what is his
34
Islam going to be? Because what we legitimize in our foreign policy,
we legitimize at home. You can tell a person by his fruits, and the
fruits of Fascism is and always has been a frontal attack on reli-
fious minorities. It is happening today. The longer we allow it to
appen, the worse it will be for millions of Christians, for millions
of Muslims, and for America.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Forte appears in the appendix.]
Mr. Smith. Mr. Forte, thank you very much for that very incisive
and insightful testimony. It is very helpful, I think, for all of us.
I think we do need to differentiate between the fact that Islam
is not a religion that is given to violence, it is the extremists that
are responsible for that. I think your point is well taken about our
alleged or purported neutrality in dealing with this. The State De-
partment and this Congress, I think, need to very quickly reevalu-
ate that, or it will come home. We have one particular person trav-
eling right now. Reverend Farrakhan, who seems to be embracing
wherever he goes, including in Iran, the hardest line imaginable.
So I thank you for that very strong statement.
Mr. Smith. I would like to ask Keverend Augustine to make his
presentation.
Rev. Augustine. Mr. Chairman, I am going to present a sum-
mary of my testimony. I ask that the whole of my document be in-
cluded.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, it is so ordered.
STATEMENT OF REVEREND CANON PATRICK P. AUGUSTINE,
ASSOCIATE RECTOR, CHURCH OF THE HOLY COMFORTER
Rev. Augustine. Mr. Chairman, I want to say thank you to the
House Committee on International Operations and Human Rights
for inviting me to testify about the violation of human rights and
persecution of Christians in the Islamic world with particular em-
phasis on Pakistan. I consider it a special privilege to testify before
this august House on behalf of hundreds and thousands of suffer-
ing members of our human family.
Before I say any more, I want to make it absolutely clear that
the purpose of my testimony is not to demonize Islam. I have been
working for many years in my church in Rawalpindi, Islamabad,
Pakistan, Chicago, Illinois, and here in Vienna, Virginia, to hold
Christian -Muslim dialogs which have been reported well in the
local and national newspapers.
I serve on the advisory committee of the Christian-Muslim rela-
tions of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in U.S.A. Mv
letter published in The Washington Times, which is available with
me this afternoon, on March 6, 1995, made a plea for people of both
faiths to unite against injustice.
Mr. Chairman, I stand here as a sincere friend of the Islamic
community who has participated in marches of support for the free-
dom of Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Bosnia. I pray to God
Almighty for the spirit of tolerance to hear the truth. The purpose
of this testimony is to testify about the present difficulties and per-
secution being faced by Christians in Muslim majority situations.
For example, central Asia, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Niger,
Nigeria, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. I would like to focus my testi-
mony on the country of my birth: Pakistan.
35
Pakistan is a Muslim majority country, with a number of reli-
gious minorities, including Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis. The
national flag depicts this by a narrow white stripe to represent the
minorities beside the green background of the rest of the flag. The
official government figures from the last census give the Christian
population as 1.3 million, however, I believe this figure is grossly
underestimated and would suggest 3.5 million, nearly 3 percent of
the total population.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, emphasized in
his speech to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, that
all members of a newly formed nation had equal rights of citizen-
ship. I quote: "You are free; you are free to go to your temples; vou
are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship
in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste
or creed — that has nothing to do with the state."
The 1985 amendment to the 1973 Constitution, Presidential
Order No. 14 of 1985, had an important change of emphasis as far
as non-Muslim minorities were concerned. All previous constitu-
tions had included in the preamble the following clause, taken from
the Objectives Resolution of 1949: adequate provisions shall be
made for the minorities freely to profess and practice their religion
and develop their cultures. In the 1985 annex to the Constitution,
the word "freely" was omitted, and there have been many protests
from Christians about implications of this one word change.
There has been very grave concern among Pakistani Christians
concerning a Shariat bill, the version of which was presented to the
Pakistan Senate on May 13, 1990. The bill stated that it was based
on the Objectives Resolution and aimed to make Shari'ah the su-
preme law in Pakistan, which is Clause 3.
There were many critics of the bill, including constitutional ex-
perts, lawyers, human rights groups, women's groups, and the Shi-
ite Muslims. The bill contradicted the constitutional guarantee that
all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal pro-
tection under the law. Christians feared that the Shariat bill would
open the way to non-Muslims sinking to the status of dhimmi, non-
Muslims under the protection of an Islamic Government but with
no rights as citizens, that is. Christians and other minorities would
become little more than resident aliens in their own country.
Blasphemy law under the Shariat bill has proved to be an easy
tool for unscrupulous Muslims to make trouble for Christians and
Ahmadiyya agEiinst whom they have a personal grievance. Accusa-
tions made against individuals have had the extra effect of fueling
general anti-Christian sentiment. A progressive Muslim newspaper
examining various cases of Christians accused of blasphemy sums
up as follows: In all cases an ulterior motive for the charge appears
a distinct possibility. And religious fanaticism has been whipped up
to such an extent that the accused may not be safe even if he is
acquitted. It is very possible that local people and maulvis will re-
main determined to carry out their death sentence. Indeed, several
Christians accused of blasphemy have been killed.
I have in my testimony quoted four different stories. I will men-
tion two of those stories.
Basihir Masih and Gul Pervaiz Masih. On December 10, 1991,
two brothers, Basihir Masih and Gul Masih were involved in a
36
heated argument over the repair of a common water tap. Three
days later the neighbor reported to the poHce that the brothers had
broken the blasphemy law. Both were arrested and imprisoned. A
month later Basihir was released after the deputy commissioner of
the area had made inquiries and found that he had not even been
present there when the reported blasphemy was supposed to have
taken place.
The next day the Islamists demonstrated in the street demand-
ing that both brothers be killed for their blasphemy. Mullahs is-
sued a fatwa, or legal pronouncement, that they deserved death
and posted large notices around the city demanding that the broth-
ers be killed. They also appointed a death squad of young college
students to carry this out, but with Gul in prison and Basihir in
hiding, moving from one village to another, the death squad was
not able to achieve their aim.
Gul was chained and in solitary confinement, with no blanket
against the cold, and was harassed and beaten by the Muslim pris-
on Mullah. He was found guilty at his trial before the district judge
in November 1992 on the basis of the lone witness of Sajjad
Hussain, a member of a Sunni Muslim militant g^oup. He was
given the death sentence and was the first case under blasphemy
law in which death was prescribed. Many international human
rights organizations, including my own Episcopal Church, appealed
for the release of Gul Masih. On November 27, 1994, the Lahore
High Court acquitted and released Gul Masih, but as his life re-
mained in danger from Islamic extremists, he fled the country.
I would like to mention another story of Tahir Iqbal, a Christian
who was partially paralyzed and had been in prison in Lahore
since December 1990. He was charged under section 295B of the
Penal Code, that is with desecrating the Qur 'an Sharif. However,
he was the object of much animosity because of his apostasy from
Islam and the free lessons he gave to Muslim children. He was de-
tained in prison for his own safety, but was beaten and ill-treated
there. He died there in mysterious circumstances on January 20,
1992. This is a stoiy of a handicapped individual.
Other forms of discrimination against Christians. The hudood, or
restrictions ordinance, part of criminal procedure, and the law of
evidence introduced by the British in India before partition, have
been Islamized, so that a non-Muslim giving evidence in a court of
law counts as only half a witness and may only testify against a
non-Muslim. Women are also admitted as half witnesses only, val-
ued at a quarter of a Muslim man. Under the qisas, or retaliation,
and diyat, or blood money, ordinance, compensation is awarded on
the same sliding scale. A Muslim woman or a non-Muslim man get
half of what a Muslim man would get, and a Christian woman gets
a quarter.
There is general mistrust of Pakistani Christians, who are sus-
pected of siding with the Christian West against their own country.
They are often accused of espionage for Britain, the United States
and even Israel and India. During the Gulf War of 1991, Christians
suffered extra persecutions, for example, being beaten up or killed,
churches burned down and cemeteries desecrated. On October 30,
1993, the Christian village of Sikandarabad, Sindh, was bulldozed
37
and the debris set on fire. The 35 Christian families who lived in
the village took refuge in Karimabad, three miles away.
In a development linked to the Salamat Masih blasphemy case
mentioned previously, a village called Ratta Dhotran, near Lahore,
had an adjoining settlement known as Isaiyan-di-Thatti, where
until recently there lived some 32 Christian families, including
Salamat masih, comprising about 250 people who were forced
under severe persecution and death threats to leave their land and
houses. The young Muslim militants said, there is no way that we
will let people from Masih faith, meaning Christian faith, pollute
our village. We won't let them stay here and we don't care about
the police or anyone else.
The walls of the buildings on the road to Ratta Dhotran were
painted with anti-Christian slogans. The Christians reported that
they received daily death threats from the boys. Interestingly, two
religious communities lived together harmoniously in Ratta
Dhotran for many decades. The Roman Catholic Church helped the
entire village to settle in Francisabad, a new Christian locality on
the outskirts of the city of Gujranwala.
According to Pakistani law, if either spouse of a non-Muslim
marriage converts to Islam, then the marriage is automatically dis-
solved. In recent years, there have been a number of cases of Mus-
lim men abducting Christian women and forcing them, sometimes
at gunpoint, to recite the Muslim creed, which is all that is needed
to become a Muslim. After that, their abductor promptly marries
them on the basis that their former marriage is now dissolved.
Christian women are being converted to Islam by force.
At the end, I would like to present two recommendations. It is
my humble plea, sir, before the Honorable Members of this House,
which is the very icon of freedom, to remember the sufferings of the
persecuted communities and never hesitate to raise their persistent
voice for justice and fairness for Christian minorities living within
the Islamic countries.
The U.S. Government should assist and grant visas and provide
asylum to those whose lives are found under danger by the Islamic
militants. We recognize, sir, that there are other minorities besides
Christians who are suffering within the Islam world. Equally there
are Islamic groups who are being oppressed in the West and else-
where. We plead for compassion and action for all suffering peoples
whatever their race or religion.
We affirm that all human beings have been created in the image
of God and as such reflect His glory. They are to be treated with
dignity and with respect. Thereiore, it is the task of us, all of us,
to stand on the side of those who are oppressed of whatever com-
munity, of whatever group.
Sir, thank you for fistening. Respectfully submitted.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much. Reverend Augustine. That
was a very detailed statement, and I think it complemented Mr.
Forte's statement regarding the use of the blasphemy law to terror-
ize. I think it is something that we have paid scant attention to.
Congress has raised the issue on a few occasions, but hasn't high-
lighted it as something that truly undermines religious freedom
and hurts people, and as you said so well in your testimony. So I
want to thank you for that.
38
[The prepared statement of Rev. Augustine appears in the appen-
dix.]
Mr. Smith. I would like to ask Pedro Moreno if you would
present your testimony at this time.
STATEMENT OF PEDRO C. MORENO, INTERNATIONAL
COORDINATOR, THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Mr. Moreno. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will summarize my
statement and I would ask that the whole statement be submitted
to the registiT. Also, some of the statements that I will make that
are not included in this written statement.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, that will be made part of the
record.
Mr. Moreno. In the last 30 years, the State of Chiapas in Mexico
has witnessed some 30,000 Protestants forced into exile. Many of
these exiles live in permanent refugee communities in and around
San Cristobal de las Casas. Their only crime is adherence to a form
of Christianity other than the traditional religion. People in the
states of Chiapas, as well as in Oaxaca, Hidalgo, and others, have
been victims of senseless violence, which has included stoning,
shootings, evictions, rape, and even murder.
Religious persecution in southern Mexico has many underlying
factors. One of them is socio-political: the existence of an unofficial,
parallel power structure in the region which is intolerant of people
of different beliefs. This is coupled with the fact that the Mexican
Government is either unable or unwilling to control these intoler-
ant elites.
There is a municipal council, Mr. Chairman, which is elected by
the Chamula Indians in this region which acts with total disregard
of regional and national laws in Mexico. And members of this coun-
cil, especially the President until recently, have been charged with
inciting and even encouraging the eviction of the Chamula Indians.
This is one of the problems and why the Chamula Indians are
being persecuted in this region: because they don't belong to the of-
ficial religion, and because the government in this region is con-
trolled bv economic, social, and religious structures that are acting
independently from the Federal Government.
Also in the State of Chiapas, the economy is dependent on the
sale of poch, a locally made hard liquor. Since evangelicals do not
consume poch, merchants of this liquor, tribal leaders and local au-
thorities, resort to persecution.
In Chiapas, which is Mexico's poorest state, most Chamula Indi-
ans live in a state of virtual servitude. They depend on tribal
caciques, or bosses, for economic stability and for acceptance into
the community, which takes place through participation in tradi-
tional religious ceremonies marked by extreme drunkenness. These
traditional religious ceremonies, often a syncretic mix of Catholi-
cism and animistic rites, are at the center of social life in Chiapas'
rural areas.
Despite Article 24 of the Mexican Constitution, which guarantees
freedom of religion for people in Mexico especially, these actions
continue. There are several cases of religious intolerance, some of
them occurring even these days, Mr. Chairman.
39
I spoke again with Mexico just a few minutes before we came to
this meeting. There are meetings taking place at this moment in
Tuxtla Gutierrez, which is close to Chamula, and evangelical lead-
ers are meeting with local authorities to try to solve some of these
problems.
Just on February 11, 3 or 4 days ago in Sinacantan three men
were detained by caciques, or local bosses, which are the municipal
authorities, because they converted to evangelical Christianity 15
days ago. These people were in prison and later, after a few days,
were released, but they are receiving threats.
There have been threats just in the last 2 or 3 days against
evangelicals in El Puerto emd Zequentic, in the State of Chiapas,
as well as Huacatenango where a meeting took place yesterday
concerning evicted people that need to return to their homes.
There are 30,000 of these Chamula Indians that have been evict-
ed and most of them are still displaced and unable to return to
their homes.
On September 29, 1994, a group of Chamula Indians decided to
go back to their own land. This was the first group in 20 years that
was going back to their land. They were attacked by a mob of 300
people. Three evangelicals were killed, and an evangelical girl-
Rosa Diaz, was hospitalized in critical condition after being raped
and shot in the small village of Icalumtic in Chiapas.
More recently, on October 5, 1995, Pastor Aurelio Gromez of the
Interdenominational Christian Church of Ejudal, in Huitiupan was
shot to death during an attack by five masked assailants.
I have many other cases of evangelicals that have been beaten
and stabbed and raped on different occasions'. April 12, 1994, Do-
mingo Lopez was attacked, his wife and daughter beaten and
raped; in November, 1993 there were several other incidents.
May 25, 1993, the body of missing evangelical Vicente Mendez
Velasquez was found after the self-confessed murderers led the po-
lice to the body and admitted that they had shot him four times
and then hacked his body with machetes before disposing of it in
a nearby cave.
One document that I would like to bring to your attention, Mr.
Chairman, is an agreement that was signed, and I have a copy of
the agreement here in Spanish, signed on July 13, 1989, which had
the signatures of representatives of evangelicals, as well as munici-
pal authorities and representatives of the legislative, executive and
judicial branches of the Mexican Government in the region.
According to this agreement, the evangelicals would go back to
their lands after committing themselves to not building any chapel
in their communities; they would not proselytze, they would not
practice their religion in other communities, they would not use
any particular home as a chapel, and they would not listen to reli-
fious music in their own homes. We also have several other inci-
ents of religious persecution in other states of Mexico, such as
Oaxaca and others that I mentioned. So it is clear that there is
widespread discrimination against minority religions in Mexico, es-
pecially Protestants.
The Rutherford Institute, which I represent today, filed a legal
complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
asking the Commission to intervene by asking the Mexican Govern-
40
ment for an explanation as to why this situation has not been dealt
with by Federal authorities. We also visited the region to gather
firsthand information.
After 2 years of corresponding with the Inter-American Commis-
sion, the Mexican Government responded on October 19, 1995, stat-
ing that several efforts have been made to resolve the conflict. One
of the clearest, a recommendation by the National Commission of
Human Rights in Mexico asking the governor of Chiapas to pros-
ecute the perpetrators, asking the Congress of Chiapas to have a
constitutional procedure to investigate the municipal authorities,
and asking the president of the municipal council of Chamula to
abstain from, and I am quoting here, 'Violating the rights of indige-
nous people in those municipalities and to respect the diversity of
religious creeds."
These recommendations, according to the same Mexican Commis-
sion of Human Rights, was fulfilled only partially by the Governor
who did not really bring anybody to trial. The State Congress ar-
gued that they could not do anything against the municipal au-
thorities because they had already resigned, even though they were
charged with murder, and that the municipal president, Domingo
Lopez Ruiz, had rejected the recommendation. Not only that, but
the municipal president challenged the Commission to come to the
region, insisting that the evictions were legitimate, and that he
would continue carrying them out or encouraging them or allowing
them.
The government of Mexico argues that the Chamula Indians
have not resorted to Federal courts and other Federal procedures.
But in a situation where 30,000 people have been evicted, when the
whole world knows about their problem, for 30 years, we believe
that the Federal Government should not be waiting for them to go
to the Federal Government or court. These Chamula Indians are il-
literate, do not have lawyers or resources, they are intimidated,
killed, raped, evicted. They do not have a place even to live, much
less to have a Federal procedure on their behalf
We believe that — and the Mexican Government argues also — ^that
these cases could be brought to a Federal instance where a general
prosecutor or attorney should investigate the situation. But we be-
lieve that it will require the immediate attention of the Mexican
authorities.
We believe, Mr. Chairman, that the situation is very serious,
that the response of the Mexican Grovernment is inadequate to the
demands of the Chamula Indians, and we hope that your efforts to
Erotect religious freedom and human rights around the world will
ring about a renewed focus and commitment on the part of na-
tional authorities in Mexico as well as the international community
to find a lasting solution to the long-suffering of the Chamula Indi-
ans.
Thank you verv much.
Mr. Smith. Mt. Moreno, thank you very much for your testi-
monv.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Moreno appears in the appen-
dix.]
Mr. Smith. I would like to ask Mr. GhafFari if he would present
his case now.
41
STATEMENT OF ABE GHAFFARI, PRESmENT, IRANIAN
CHRISTIANS INTERNATIONAL
Mr. Ghaffari. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me this op-
portunity to speak about religious Hberty for specifically Iranian
evangelical Christians. I wall summarize my statement.
The persecution of Christian minorities in the Islamic Republic
of Iran first gained attention from the public and some human
rights organizations in the early 1990's. However, the killings of
three evangelical Protestant pastors in Iran during the first half of
1994 gained worldwide attention and brought more focus on the
worsening plight of persecuted Christians, particularly that of Mus-
lim converts to Christianity and other evangelical Protestant Chris-
tians.
A little brief history. The recent history of religious liberty for
Christians in Iran can be divided into three periods: the late
1970's, and early 1980's; the mid and late 1980's; and finally, the
1990's. I will only discuss the 1990's.
During the 1990's, persecution drastically increased with some
notable occurrences. First, the Iran Bible Society was closed in Feb-
ruary 1990. Second, Reverend Hossein Soodmand, a Muslim con-
vert pastor, was condemned to death by the Islamic court in the
city of Mashad in December 1990 and the sentence was carried out
shortly thereafter. The charges against him were conversion from
Islam, evangelizing Muslims, and pastoring a Muslim convert
church.
Third, Reverend Dibaj was condemned to death by the Islamic
court in the city of San in December 1993. The court verdict la-
beled his charges as apostasy from Islam.
Fourth, Bishop Hovsepian-Mehr led an international campaign
which culminated in the release of Reverend Dibaj in January
1994. An Islamic Government official denied that there was a
death sentence against Dibaj, even as copies of the court order for
death sentence were being distributed worldwide. The official stat-
ed the death penalty was too severe; however, he did not say what
would constitute just penalty for conversion from Islam in the Is-
lamic Republic.
Fifth, Bishop Hovsepian-Mehr disappeared in mid-January 1994
from Tehran. His body was found in late January buried in a Mus-
lim cemetery under suspicious circumstances.
Sixth, Reverend Tateos Michaelian, another Iranian evangelical
Christian pastor, and Reverend Dibaj disappeared in late June
1994 from Tehran. Their bodies were found in early July 1994.
In January 1994, Bishop Hovsepian-Mehr released a list of
human rights violations against members of his church that in-
cluded the beating of Muslim converts, closing of Persian-speaking
churches and arrest, detention, interrogations, and torture of
Christian pastors and evangelical Christians, acts that only esca-
lated during 1994 and 1995. Because of the church closings, the
number of Persian-speaking churches, Persian being the language
of 99 percent of Iranian Muslims, was reduced from over 20 in
1990 to only 3 churches in 1995.
The negative publicity following the court sentences of Reverend
Soodmand and Reverend Dibaj in Iran led the authorities to aban-
don the use of such formal cnannels of persecution. As a result.
42
Muslim converts to Christianity, other evangelical Protestant
Christians, pastors and church leaders continued to be arrested,
imprisoned and tortured, simply because of their religion. Some are
kept under heavy surveillance, with their phones tapped and their
letters routinely opened, while others receive written and oral
death threats. Some have also escaped assassination attempts.
Others have lost their jobs or have been refused gainful employ-
ment, housing, and education.
Since Bishop Hovsepian-Mehr's death in January 1994, govern-
ment agents are concentrating their persecution more on individ-
uals who are Muslim converts and/or those who encourage Muslims
to convert to Christianity. Ethnic Christians such as Armenians
and Assyrians also continue to face officially sanctioned discrimina-
tion, particularly in the areas of employment, education, housing,
the court system, and public accommodations.
Because of the structure of the underground church, only the
most severe incidents of persecution are reported to Iranian pastors
and church leaders or to the outside world, and some are reported
months or years after the incidents occur, often by refugees after
they flee Irgm. For example, the killing of Mr. Manuchehr Afghani,
an Iranian Muslim convert to Christianity in Tehran in 1988, was
not reported until 1995.
The consequences of persecution of Christians in Iran: While some
Iranian Christians have lost their lives, others have found no
choice but to worship in small underground house churches. A
small percentage, about 1 percent per year, find ways to flee Iran.
Persecution of Iranian Christians fleeing to foreign countries: The
persecution of evangelical Christians does not end, however, with
their flight from Iran. The persecution continues in their country
of first asylum as they await immigration to a country where they
can freely practice their faith. In both Turkey and India, Iranian
evangelical Christians are persecuted by Iranian Muslim fanatics.
And strangely enough, much of the refugee's persecution is related
to the UNHCR and U.S. INS procedures and the treatment that
they receive at the hands of these officials.
Persecution in Turkey specifically: Iranian evangelical Christians
who have fled to Turkey have faced persecution by their host gov-
ernment and fanatic Iranian Muslims. Converts have been threat-
ened. The only two Iranian Christian churches in Ankara and Is-
tanbul are now closed. The Ankara Iranian church disbanded aft^r
the Turkish police raided a worship meeting and arrested two Mus-
lim converts for not having updated their residence permits. Both
Iranian Christians were deported to Iran in June 1994 where they
reportedly were questioned at the border and received 110 lashes
each. There are reports that one or both were executed in Iran.
The Iranian Church in Istanbul was pastored by an American
citizen. He was informed by the U.S. Consulate of an Iranian plot
to harm him and was advised to leave Turkey. He left in November
1995. Yet another sign of the gprowing anti-Iranian Christian senti-
ment festering in Turkey, a leader in the Iranian mosque in Istan-
bul recently protested the existence of an Iranian Christian church
in Istanbul.
Now the case of persecution in India — in India, Iranian Chris-
tians, particularly Muslim converts to Christianity, are also per-
43
secuted. Iranian Christians have been verbally insulted and threat-
ened with death. Assassination attempts have been made on one
Iranian Muslim convert's life. Another has had to remove his chil-
dren from school because fanatics questioned school officials about
his children. Others have had to move to unknown locations.
Now I would like to focus on the persecution by the UNHCR and
U.S. INS. In Turkey, the UNHCR nas denied upwards of a dozen
Iranian Christian refugee family cases and has refused to reopen
their cases, even when new and pertinent information has been
submitted. Because most refugees do not have form completion or
interview skills and adequate counsel and do not know how to
present their cases, their cases are denied.
In July 1994, the U.S. INS adopted a policy requiring all refugee
applicants be recognized as refugees by the UNHCR before being
interviewed by the U.S. INS. Prior to that time, applicants had
been allowed to apply directly to the U.S. Consulate.
At the same time, the UNHCR turned over all of its refugee proc-
essing and decisionmaking authority to the Turkish Government.
Therefore, as of July 1994, an Iranian Christian refugee in Turkev
who is oflen a Muslim convert must be interviewed by the Turkish
security police who are most often fanatic Muslims. The resulting
attitude and behavior of the Turkish police toward the Muslim con-
verts who are apostates is often hostile and abusive. The net effect
of the above changes in procedure is that not a single Iranian
Christian has immigrated to the United States from Turkey in the
last 18 months.
Now the case of India, Germany, and Austria. Written and oral
reports of persecution by Muslim fanatics have gone unheeded by
UNHCR officials in India. The U.S. INS in New Delhi has also
failed to accept as fact the persecution of Iranian Christians in
India.
U.S. INS offices have been very slow to accept Iranian Christian
refugees, even when they are already officially recognized by the
UNHCR as refugees. In Frankfurt, one Iranian Christian was not
given an interview until 8 months after his application was filed.
Some refugees in New Delhi have still not been interviewed 6
months after submitting their applications. The second ranking
U.S. INS officer in New Delhi has shown abusive behavior toward
the refugees, making statements such as, don't waste my time with
your story, as well as screaming and telling them they have no
chance of being accepted into the United States.
The report to Congress on Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fis-
cal Year 1996, page 20, states that the U.S. INS interview with the
refugee applicant is nonadversarial. This has not always been the
case with the U.S. INS offices in places such as New Delhi, Frank-
furt, and Vienna. An American immigration attorney in Washing-
ton, DC, Ms. Jan Pederson states in a December 1995 letter re-
garding one refugee applicant, and I quote, "I would forewarn you
that some examiners in Frankfurt exhibited hostility toward Is-
lamic converts to Christianity."
There is also marked inconsistency between U.S. INS processing
posts in decisions to accept or deny applicants. For example, an o^
ficer in Madrid accepted one particularly weak case while officers
in Vienna and Frankfurt denied very strong cases.
44
The adversarial attitude of the U.S. INS officials and inconsist-
ent refugee processing has led to refugees finding themselves be-
tween a rock and a hard place. They cannot go Sack to Iran, yet
the governments of the coimtries in which they have found tem-
porary residence threaten them with deportation, and in some
cases actually deport them back to Iran. Many of the refugees are
also financially destitute and cannot survive unnecessarily drawn-
out appeals.
Some tangible recommendations for assisting persecuted Iranian
evangelical Christians: Change in the human rights situation in
Iran may not take place in the near future, but much can be done
to help the fleeing Iranian Christians. They have clear needs which
can and must be met.
For example, independently investigate the refugee processing
procedures; designate all persecuted Iranian Christians and Chris-
tian minorities in Muslim countries and enclaves as priority one;
bring about changes in the U.S. Department of State policies and
U.S. INS procedures so that the same standards for acceptance are
used by U.S. INS officers at refugee processing posts which are
used in the U.S. asylum offices; an appeal process outside the U.S.
INS refugee processing post must be established for bona fide refu-
gees; establisn a monitoring of the refugee application process; Ira-
nian refugees and Christian refugees from other Muslim countries
and Muslim enclaves should be able to apply directly to the U.S.
INS in those countries, rather than going through the UNHCR, vol-
untary or joint voluntary agencies, which are NGO's; U.S. INS ref-
ugee processing posts should be established in all neighboring Mus-
lim countries; the U.S. Gk)vernment must apply international pres-
sure to influence Iran and Turkey to stop returning one another's
refugees and asylum-seekers.
Finally, a concluding proposal. We at Iranian Christians Inter-
national believe no more than 1 percent of the Iranian evangelical
Christians are able to flee Iran annually. This is due not only to
the foreign travel restrictions in Iran, but also due to the terrible
price associated with abandoning one's homeland and the uncer-
tainty and suffering that await them when they reach another
country. If these problems are resolved, then the persecution of a
much larger number of evangelical Christians can be avoided.
If the Islamic Republic of Iran would provide a window of oppor-
timity, say 2 years, for any evangelical Christian to leave Iran
without harm or retaliation against them or their family, we be-
lieve 10,000 persons would leave. However, for this to take place,
there must be new policies and procedures for the direct processing
of refugees, meaning bypassing UNHCR and joint voluntary agen-
cies by interested democratic ^governments in countries bordering
Iran such as Turkey. If there is such a guarantee of efficient ana
fair processing, then the suffering of many Iranian Christians can
be relieved.
Thank you.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Ghaffari, thank you for your testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Ghaffari appears in the appen-
dix.]
Mr. Smith. I think, as you know, part of the portfolio of issues
that this subcommittee has under its jurisdiction is refugee policy,
45
and for the last year-and-a-half I have been Veiy much dismayed
and chagrined by Uie Administration and the UNHCR's reluctance
to treat Dona fiae refugees all over the world, including Iran, the
wav they want to be treated. Granted, we are awash in refugees
right now because of wars and a whole host of other reasons, but
to close off one's borders and to just insist on repatriation as op-
posed to properly abjudicating a request and determining whether
or not there is a well-founded fear of persecution really is a very
sad chapter in refugee policv on the part of the UNHCR and the
U.S. Immigration Service. So I thank you for vour recommenda-
tions. They will be taken very seriously to heart by this subcommit-
tee and. hopefully, we can do something tangible to assist.
Just briefly on that question of refugee policy, why is it do you
think that the UNHCR and the U.S. Immigration people take such
a jaundiced view toward the Iranian Christians? Is it that thev
don't believe that the persecution is real, or is it just a closed-mind.-
edness on their part?
Mr. Ghaffari. Only partly. But also because the refugee cases
are not prepared properly; the refugees don't know how to do it and
they don't have interview skills, for example, and they don't have
adequate counsel and help with the preparation of their cases. That
is part of the reason.
Also, there are blatant statements, for example, by UNHCR in
New Delhi that we have hundreds of thousands of refugee appli-
cants and we can accept only a very, very small percentage. So it
is these kinds of things.
Mr. Smith. So the caseload overwhelms them as well?
Mr. Ghaffari. Right. There is no opportunity for the refugees.
There are no countries which would accept them. There are very
few opportunities for these refugees to immigrate anywhere. That
is one thing that they state. And then also, this attitude of, well,
we really don't believe you. Don't waste our time. Sometimes just
a clear mistreatment of these refugee applicants.
Mr. Smith. I appreciate that. We will look into that.
You know, my concern about refugee policy grows by the day.
There is an immigration bill making its way through Congress that
would cap the number of refugees; a very, very severe cap, approxi-
mately 50,000 is one number that is being bandied about, and cur-
rently we allow 110,000 in. The Administration is pushing to
downsize that from anywhere to 80,000 to 90,000 or maybe even
acquiesce to the 50,000. Some of us believe that refugee policy is
a completely different issue than illegal immigration, and it needs
to be recognized as such. Some people like to blur tnat line of de-
marcation and treat everyone as if they are an economic migfrant.
We had a situation, I won't go on with this too much longer, with
women who have actually been found by INS personnel to have
been victimized by forced abortion in China whom this Administra-
tion wants to send back to China. They have targets on their back;
they will go right to the gulag as sure as I am sitting here. And
yet this cTosed-mindedness on the part of the Administration is
seeking to send them back. It took us 4 months to get those wit-
nesses before our subcommittee. So there is, I think, a very poor
attitude with this Administration, and there are Republicans who
feel like-minded, that refugees are better off sent back rather than
46
being given safe haven here or anywhere else, any other country
of asylum.
Let me just ask our three distinguished witnesses who spoke to
the issue of Islamic extremism, what should Congress do now?
Mr, Ghaffari, you gave some very specific recommendations. Is
the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva an appropriate
forum to really address the use of blasphemy laws, and to address
it now? Because it seems like such a denunciation, which can take
place so easily as a way of getting even with somebody, or even if
someone happens to be a Christian or is converted, is a way of, as
you pointed out, Mr. Forte, perpetrating private acts of terrorism;
it encourages vigilantes, if you will. What can we do to really try
to chill that? Because it seems to me that is a very menacing, ris-
ing tide of abuse.
Mr. Forte. The two methods are, as you well know, publicity
and spending. Those are Congress' greatest weapons. In spending,
for example — is the third panel going to be dealing with Egypt and
Sudan? I am not sure.
Mr. Smith. We have will some people who will speak to that, but
this isn't the last hearing on this as well.
Mr. Forte. In Egypt, for example, which receives, what, $1 bil-
lion a year in aid, the Coptic minority has been definitely
margfinalized. They no longer hold posts of political responsibility.
They are being discriminated against in economic advancement.
There have been reports of forced conversion of women.
Anecdotally, colleagues of mine who visited Egypt would be ap-
proached by Coptic girls and would ask, "Are you Christian?" and
they would secretly pull aside their blouse to show a hanging cross,
because if they displayed it, they would be attacked. Egypt, in
order to try to mollify the Muslim Brotherhood's influence, is treat-
ing Christians as victims.
That is a general pattern, that so-called friendly government, in
order to mollify the extremists, will allow Christians to become
scapegoats, and that is on the sign of fascism. That is exactly what
happened in Nazi Germany. You use the minority as scapegoats in
order to gain more and more power against the intolerant, even
your own intolerant wing of your own party. That is what hap-
pened in Germany.
So if you tie your foreign aid appropriations to specific findings
and demarches regarding numan rights, much better results would
occur.
Second, with publicity, there are reports out of the Sudan and
out of Mauritania that international slavery is rife, particularly at
the expense of blacks and Christians. It seems to me that we have
universal jurisdiction under international law to arrest, under our
own domestic law, to arrest anybody anywhere who exercises — who
tries to enslave or tries to commit acts of piracy.
Those are the two great crimes. It seems to me Congress could
demand that such enforcement take place through publicity.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Forte, you will be happy to know we do have a
hearing scheduled with the Subcommittee on Africa that Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen chairs on Mauritania and the slavery issue. I thank you
for your comments.
Rev. Augustine.
47
Rev. Augustine. I would like to add that the word "persistent"
would be used when you asked what the Congress can do, not one
time, but raise again and again this issue with the Islamic regimes,
and when an issue like Kashmir is raised by the Pakistan Govern-
ment which is about the violation of the human rights, in that re-
fion, ConCTess should also raise the issue of the violation of hun-
reds of thousands of Christians whose rights are violated every
day and they are oppressed and killed, and they receive threats
constantly.
I would also like to raise this issue, that our Congress should ask
the government of Saudi Arabia, which does not allow any religious
gfroup— not only Christian, but any religious group — to even say a
prayer in their thoughts, in their mind, in their dreams, and if the
(Metwah) mullahs, the religious police, comes to know about it that
even in their heart they said a Lord's prayer, they will be arrested,
they will be rotting in those Sandis jails forever.
In our country here, Sandis are sending hundreds of thousands,
millions of petro dollars to build Islamic mosques and are fully sup-
ported, ana if I have to contribute, I will contribute toward the
building of a worship place and they are opening many religious
centers; they are sending their missionaries in the United States.
But they would not allow any religious freedom for any religious
community back in most of the Islamic countries.
A recent example, the State Department wanted permission to
acquire a place for a Christian worship. The Saudi Government
gave no permission for religious worship to be allowed in that part
of the country. I would ask that our government, which has a very
good relationship, to be persistent in asking the Saudi Government
and to grant religious freedom to other religious communities in
that part of the world.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Forte.
Mr. Forte. One thing we can guarantee, and it is shameful that
we don't, is the freedom of Americans to worship. It seems to me
entirely appropriate for Congress to place into the defense appro-
priations bill a requirement that no American who serves under
the armed forces will ever be ordered not to worship appropriately,
in the manner in which he sees fit, because of the country he hap-
pens to be assigned to. And I think it would be appropriate if you
put that into the State Department appropriations bill as well.
Mr. Smith. Thank you for that recommendation.
You may find this of interest. The priest that married my wife
and me. Father Engeltera, was the lead chaplain in Saudia Arabia
during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. When he came back,
we spent considerable time talking to him about — and I had raised
this earlier with the ambassador to Saudia Arabia — the fact that
although the Americans were there literally to save Saudia Arabia
from Saddam Hussein's aggn'ession, which many of us thought after
Kuwait would continue right into Saudi Arabia, Father Engeltera
could not even display the cross on his uniform. Americans who
wanted to worship, whether Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, or
Jewish, were precluded from doing so by the Saudi Arabian Gov-
ernment. On a Sunday, for example, instead of advertising mass,
they would have to advertise bingo — ^not even bingo but some other
kind of recreation activity — because otherwise it would be an af-
48
front to the Nation of Saudi Arabia. So your point is very well
taken that tolerance cuts both ways. We should extend complete
tolerance to the Muslims, but the extremist element ought not to
be aided and abetted in their intolerance.
Rev. Augustine. You know, I fully agree with Dr. Forte. And in
our own country, if you can tell the Saudi ambassador to speak to
persons like me to hear the story how we have helped the Muslims
in the United States. The Afghan refugees in Springfield came to
me in Vienna, and there were about 300 of them who said, "We
have no place of worship."
I said, "Would you like us to give you a parish hall at St. Chris-
topher Episcopal Church in Springfield, Virginia?" I provided for 4
weeks teaching of Islamic faith, their history, their tradition, and
then brought both the communities together. For the last 4 years
they are worshipping free of charge in mis Christian church.
During the Gulf War, I had a Christian-Muslim dialog and a
prayer vigil in my own church, the Church of the Holy Comforter
in Vienna, Virginia, and through our church, through our discre-
tionary funds, we have supported so many Afghan refiigees and
other Muslims with food, with rent money. I \yish the ambassador
of Saudi Arabia and other Islamic ambassadors could hear our sto-
ries, that we are keeping our churches open and we welcome them
when they are in need.
Mr. Smith. Yes.
Mr. Moreno. Mr. Chairman, you mentioned Saudi Arabia. I
haven't testified on Islamic countries today but I am aware of the
situation there, and I have visited Egypt and interviewed the Min-
ister of Religious Affairs there.
I was reading about Saudia Arabia. The U.S. State Department,
in its Report on Human Rights for 1994-1995, states that freedom
of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia and that all citizens in
Saudia Arabia must be Muslim. We see that kind of reality, where
people are bom into a religion and they have never chosen their
religion. As Muslims, not even Christians, but as Muslims they
never chose their religion and they don't have the freedom to
choose their religion. If they choose a different religion, then they
are persecuted and the law requires even capital punishment to be
applied under Islamic law, the Shari'a.
So I believe that we should think about this situation and ques-
tion if even Muslims have liberty of conscience in Muslim coun-
tries. A religion that is imposed by law, by economic pressure, so-
cial pressure, family pressure, cannot be considered a sincerely
held Delief if it is not something that can be changed, that can be
exercised on an individual basis.
We are dealing with the innermost part of the human being, and
we believe that anyone's religion should not be imposed. Everybody
should have the freedom to change their religion, and that is, of
course, stated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and other documents.
Mr. Smith. Thank you for that comment. I have additional ques-
tions I would like to submit to you for the record if you wouldn't
mind responding.
Just very briefly, Mr. Moreno, on Mexico and the situation in
Chiapas, which is obviously much different than the extremist Is-
49
lamic repression and the Communist hatred of Christianity as well,
what does it count for? You know, you mentioned that somebody
who converted found themselves being harassed 15 days later. Is
this something that is being brought to bear by people of religion?
Who is actually persecuting the evangelicals in Chiapas?
Mr. Moreno. There is a situation with the caciques, who are the
local bosses, and they have control over the community. They, of
course, claim to be Catholics, as most people in Latin America, But,
of course, Catholicism is very different in Latin America in many
regions, especially in rural areas, than Catholicism here in the
United States or in Europe.
So these people encourage a system of festivities where there is
heavy drinking, and many Evangelicals and some Catholics have
refiised to join in these festivities, and so they are persecuted. It
is clearlv because of religious beliefs as the agreement I quoted
states. Just 3 days ago there was a group of people sitting in the
plaza in Huacatenango shouting "We don't want Evangelicals in
this town."
So it is a religious problem, and the Catholic church is divided
on the issue. On the one hand there are many people that support
the evicted Evangelicals and they are working for their protection
and for their right to return to their homes. But there are other
groups, other sectors of the Catholic church, that are not as sympa-
thetic to their plight. In any case, we believe that they are per-
secuted because of religious reasons and also because oi economic
reasons.
Mr. Smith. I want to thank this very distinguished panel. You
have made a number of good recommendations that this sub-
committee and this particular member will follow up on, £Uid I
want to thank you. There will be additional hearings, so this is
part of a process, and I want to thank you for your very valuable
contributions.
Mr. Smith. I would like to welcome our third and final panel to
the witness table. One of the most exciting developments that is oc-
curring is that many of the churches are getting more involved in
spegJdng out and demanding action by our own government, the
United States, and by groups like the United Nations.
I would like to first welcome Richard Land, who is the president/
treasurer of the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist
Convention's agency for applied Christianity. Prior to becoming the
Christian Life Commission's president. Dr. Land served as The
Criswell College's vice president for academic affairs from 1980 to
1988. Dr. Land has contributed articles to both learned journals
and popular periodicals, and has served as a contributing editor to
the Criswell Study Bible. He is an ordained Southern Baptist min-
ister and has been a member of the Southern Baptist church since
1953. The date of my birth, by the way.
Morton Winston, a professor of philosophy at Trenton State Col-
lege, currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Am-
nesty International, USA. He joined the board of Amnesty Inter-
national in 1991 and has served on the Executive, International
and Administration Committees. As a long-time human rights ac-
tivist and scholar. Dr. Winston brings both experience and vision
to Amnesty's board of directors.
50
Reverend Dr. Albert Pennybacker served as president of the ecu-
menical development initiative and associate general secretary for
income development and interpretation, National Coimcil of
Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Additionally,
on an interim basis he is serving as associate general secretary for
public policy, and is director of the NCC Washington office. His
major vocational commitment for 35 years has been in pastoral
ministry.
And, finally, Martin J. Dannenfelser, Jr., director of government
relations for the Family Research Council, joined this pro-family
policy group in 1995. His responsibilities include tracking and initi-
ating legislation relating to family policy. Mr. Dannenfelser re-
ceived a bachelor of science degree specializing in business and
public administration from Trenton State College in New Jersey.
Just let me say that it is good to see my good friend and colleague,
Marty, who served as my administrative assistant for a number of
years, for some 15 years, and it is truly a pleasure to have you on
this side of the witness table.
I would like to begin with Dr. Land.
STATEMENT OF DR. RICHARD D. LAND, PRESmENT, CHRIS-
TL^ LIFE COMMISSION OF SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVEN-
TION
Dr. Land. Thank you, Congn^essman. I want to begin by express-
ing my appreciation to you and tell you that I will be summarizing
my remarks, and I ask that my written remarks be written into the
record in their entirety.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. Land. The persecution of Christians in various parts of the
world has not been a high profile item on America's agenda. I am
delighted and grateful to be able to say that due to your efforts and
the efforts of many others, that tragic neglect is rapidly coming to
an end.
I want to thank the Puebla Program on Religious Freedom for
their assistance in making this issue known. There was virtual
unanimity of support at a recent conference sponsored by them
here in Washington for the statement of conscience of the National
Association of Evangelicals concerning worldwide religious persecu-
tion. I have copies of these available and they are attached to my
statement.
The National Association of Evangelicals, which represents tens
of millions of evangelical Christians in America, has produced this
statement of conscience which outlines the facts of such persecution
of Christians, states the principles of opposition against such perse-
cution, and issues a call for actions which would directly address
such persecution. As a member of the executive committee of NAE,
I am delighted that the National Association of Evangelicals has,
taken this leadership role.
I also want to specifically thank Stephen Rosenfeld of the Wash-
ington Post for lending his influential forum and powerful voice to
this issue. Also, the Executive Council of the General Convention
of the Episcopal Church has joined in support of the National Asso-
ciation of Evangelicals statement.
51
The 15.6-million member Southern Baptist Convention, reflecting
a gprowing concern on this issue, passed a resolution overwhelm-
ingly at its convention in June 1995. The resolution expresses sup-
port for all people suffering denial of religious liberty in the world.
In addition. Pope John Paul II, as has been mentioned earlier
today, has reiterated his strong and longstanding stand for reli-
gious freedom in his remarks to the Vatican diplomatic corps on
January the 13th, 1996. In that speech the Pope raised the issue
of religious persecution in some Islamic countries, as well as China
and Vietnam, and noted that such abuses were "an intolerable and
unjustifiable violation not only of all the norms of current inter-
national law, but of the most fundamental human freedom, that of
practicing one's faith openly, which for human beings is their rea-
son for living."
When Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Southern Baptists and Roman
Catholics are all voicing grave concerns over the persecution of
Christians in other countries, I believe we can say that critical
mass has been reached. I believe we are witnessing the beginnings
of a broad-based movement which will insist with increasing inten-
sity that the government of the United States of America take seri-
ous and important steps to use its influence to insist that the of-
fending foreign governments stop these atrocities.
Let me be clear that we are not insisting that the U.S. Govern-
ment seek to hold the entire world to the pristine standard of the
U.S. Constitution's First Amendment religious liberty rights and
guarantees, as desirable and as beneficial to humankind as we be-
lieve that would be. We are insisting that basic human rights be
recognized.
These persecutions of Christians are clear and unacceptable vio-
lations of the U.N.'s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
particularly, but not exclusively, Articles 2 and 18. The inter-
national family of nations has ajp^eed that all human beings have
the inherent right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
As we have heard today, the persecutions are real and they are
widespread. A focused campaign against these persecutions sup-
ported by a committed domestic constituency, such as sensitized
and informed American Christians, can and we believe will have
tremendous and far-reaching results.
The inspiring paradig^n of the plight of Soviet Jewry, and the
tremendous impact that the American Jewish community was able
to achieve by galvanizing the will and determination of the Amer-
ican people, is the best argument both for the ability to make a life-
changing difference and for the fact that the efforts achieved can
be far-reaching.
The American campaign on behalf of Soviet Jews helped to seal
the fate of Soviet repression and its far-flung empire. We believe
a campaign to use American governmental influence to stop the
persecution of Christians may have similarly dramatic results.
Evangelicals and Catholics are being persecuted in many of these
countries by those who are seeking to hold back the 21st century
by using the 20th century's repressive methods. Christians are
threats to the anti-democratic forces which oppose modernity, and
if the Western secular elites do not understand this, make no mis-
52
take, the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cuban commissars and the Is-
lamic ayatollahs do.
Further, if the U.S. Government makes the price for persecuting
Christians, usually the most vulnerable people in these societies,
unacceptable, it strengthens the moderate Islamic elements in
these societies in their attempts to resist the thuggery and persecu-
tion perpetrated by Islamic radicals in their midst.
Clearly, the U.S. Government has been woefully negligent in
dealing with the issue of persecution of Christians around the
world. This issue has not occupied a significant place in American
foreigfn policy. It has often not even been on the State Department's
radar screen, and that must change.
There are several steps the Clinton administration can and
should take to rectify this situation. First, the President should de-
liver a strong, hara-hitting major policy address making it clear
that governments seeking to be on favorable and friendly terms
with me United States must not persecute Christian minorities.
Second, the president should appoint a high level Special Advisor
to the President for Religious Liberty who would have broad-based
authority to investigate, monitor and report to the President perse-
cutions which occur and what the various agencies of the U.S. Gov-
ernment, such as the State Department and the Justice Depart-
ment, are or are not doing about it. Such an advisor should be
someone who has the full confidence of and rapport with the Amer-
ican religious community.
In addition, we would fully commend to your committee and to
the full Congress, as well as to the President, the entirety of the
call to action on pages 3 to 5 of the National Association of
Evangelicals' statement of conscience. I would urge the Congress to
take a hard look at the NAE's call to action and to see what parts,
such as immigration service indifference, special trade status, for-
eign aid. State Department reporting on religious persecution, et
cetera, could be embodied in legislation.
There are some examples of the State Department's woeful and
callous indifference to the plight of persecuted Christians which I
believe need to be mentioned specifically. They are illustrative and
not exhaustive.
First, the current U.S. ambassador to China, Jim Sasser, at a
meeting with NGrO's in Washington, DC on January the 24th,
1996, indicated that he was not aware of the Protestant Evan-
gelical house church movement in China, perhaps the largest evan-
gelical movement in the world, much less of the torture and impris-
onment of its members.
It is right and helpful for the Ambassador to be briefed on the
persecution of Buddhists in Tibet and the massive violations of
women's rights in the People's Republic of China, but it is unforgfiv-
able that in the many months of briefings given him by the State,
Department, that they did not brief him on the persecutions of a
movement that may number 80 million people in China. We believe
Ambassador Sasser should be recalled until such time as he can be
fully briefed on the extent of the persecution of Christians in
China, and there should be an investigation as to who was respon-
sible for the Ambassador's background preparation and why they
53
could be so shockingly insensitive to the persecution of millions of
people.
Second, the Vietnamese CSrovemment continues, as we have heard
here this afternoon, to this present moment, to persecute Chris-
tians. Yet when our government was negotiating with Vietnam
over our government's recognition of that country, this issue was
not even on the table. In fact, at the very moment the United
States granted much-coveted full diplomatic recognition to Viet-
nam, that country embarked on a campaign to intimidate and sup-
press Christian worship.
Third, the U.S. Attorney General should issue immediately a bul-
letin to INS hearing officers acknowledging mounting anti-Chris-
tian persecution in many parts of the world, and direct such offi-
cers to process the claims of escapees from such persecutions with
priority and diligence. What amounts to an anti-Christian bias in
U.S. Government circles in this area prevents Christians from es-
caping torture by fleeing to the United States. Just as an example,
an Ethiopian pastor arrested and tortured 25 times was told by his
lawyer that he had little chance of gaining asylum in the United
States because Christian claims of persecution were not taken seri-
ously.
Fourth, the head of the U.S. delegation to the Human Rights
Commission of the United Nations should give a major address at
the commission's annual meeting in March on Christian persecu-
tion and other examples of religious intolerance under the agenda
item "Religious Intolerance." The U.S. head of delegation has failed
to address religious intolerance at the commission for the past 2
years of her tenure.
Fifth, there should be a full investigation and report to deter-
mine who at the State Department was responsible for advising
participants not to carry Bibles or religious literature with them to
the UN's Conference for Women in Bey'ing last fall. It is shameful
that the United States capitulated to China's demand that partici-
pants limit their own religious freedoms. This should never occur
again at any future international conference, especially one on
human rights, that the United States helps fund and attends. The
United States should have insisted that another forum site be
found if China could not tolerate the religious rights of the U.N.
participants.
Sixth, there should be a full report and investigation into reports
that the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has bowed to
Saudi Government demands to end Christian worship services for
U.S personnel and their dependents on consulate grounds. It had
long been the practice that such services were held, and they
ceased sometime after March 1994. Here we seem to have a case
of American citizens' First Amendment rights being abrogated on
American property in foreign countries in acquiescence to the de-
mands of a repressive Saudi regime.
Traditionally, the role of our embassies in foreign lands has been
not only to represent the American Government but to symbolize
American values. It seems that, at least in regard to persecution
of Christians, often the State Department has been in the posture
of abject surrender to the most repressive of regfimes which have
54
denied fundamental American values of freedom from religious per-
secution.
The question of whether to grant most-favored-nation privileges
for Vietnam will be certain to come up later this year for the first
time, and most-favored-nation status for China will be up for re-
newal in May. We urge the U.S. Government to take a hard look
at U.S. policy with regard to these and other nations in the context
of these countries' persecution of Christians. Also of relevance in
this regard will be China's efforts to gain entry into the World
Trade Organization.
We are told that the 21st century will be the pacific century.
What kind of century will it be? America has great power and in-
fluence. Such power contains responsibilities as well as privilege.
We must do all we can to influence the Asian powers of the future
to recognize the basic human rights of their citizens, including
Christians.
Experience tells us that governments, like children, often do not
what you expect but what you are prepared to inspect. We expect
our government to insist that nations who want to be in good rela-
tion with us cease and desist from persecuting Christians. We will
be inspecting whether they do so.
A foreign^ policy that denies our basic values and seeks only to
meet the requirements of commerce and business is and always
will remain totally unacceptable.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that as I have listened to
these testimonies, very moving testimonies this afternoon, I am re-
minded of a similarly moving experience that occurred in the early
1960's as I was attending a movie theater in soiuiheast Houston.
I saw the movie "Judgment at Nuremberg," and in the movie
"Judgment at Nuremberg" — which I would encourage everyone in
this room to see again if they have seen it, and if they have not
seen it to go out and rent it — the American justice, the chief justice
of the American tribunal, is under tremendous pressure, the pres-
sure of realpolitik, to give light sentences to Nazi judges because,
after all, we need the German support in the cold war against Rus-
sia. And the American chief justice, played by Spencer Tracy, said,
"A coimtry is not a rock. A country is what it stands for when
standing for something costs. Let the whole world know that this
is what we stand for: Justice, truth and the value of a single
human being."
I believe that should be and must be the guiding star of the pol-
icy of the government of the United States.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Land appears in the appendix.]
Mr. Smith. Dr. Land, thank you very much for that moving testi-
mony. I had read your call to action printed on January 23rd,
which you spoke of and about this afternoon, and was greatly
moved by its comprehensiveness and the fact that it is very serious
about getting, whether it be Democrat or Republican administra-
tions, to take seriously the plight of Christians.
During the 1980's, I worked with Frank Wolf and Tony Hall, a
Democrat and a Republican, trying to remove MFN for Romania
because of its egregious human rights abuses, which were particu-
larly focused against Christians. It took 3 years to get a hearing
in the Ways and Means Committee because we were told that, oh.
55
they came to the Olympics, they have a separate foreign policy vis-
a-vis the then Soviet Union than the other east bloc countries; ar-
guments which had a surface appeal, but rang hollow. The
Securitate was one of the most despicable of the intelligence serv-
ices, and now everyone agrees that Ceacescu was a thug and no-
body wants to be identified with him. But during those years of the
1980's, nobody took seriously the persecution of Christians by this
government.
I want to thank you. This is a comprehensive statement and I
appreciate it. It is going to have major impact on and many impli-
cations for U.S. foreign policy.
Mr. Smith. I would like to invite Dr. Winston for his testimony
at this point.
STATEMENT OF MORTON E. WINSTON, CHAIR, BOARD OF
DIRECTORS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, USA
Dr. Winston. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon.
I would like to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling these hear-
ings and for inviting Amnesty International to testify. I am, as you
know, chairman of the board, of Amnesty International USA. I am
also a professor of law at Trenton State College, a college of which
you were one of the most distinguished alumni. So I am very
pleased indeed to be here.
I have a report, ten pages, that I would request be fully submit-
ted into the record.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. Winston. I would then like to make some brief remarks, ex-
cerpting parts of the written testimony and trying to highlight cer-
tain concerns that have not been addressed by other speakers ear-
lier this afternoon.
Amnesty International USA welcomes this opportunity to submit
testimony on specific instances of intolerance and persecution on
grounds of religious belief where these issues fall within the man-
date of the organization.
The causes for religious intolerance are complex and have very
often a political dimension. It is, therefore, not always possible to
make a sharp distinction between intolerance based strictly on reli-
gious grounds and intolerance based on political grounds, as the
following testimony will indicate.
Governments seek to curtail or ban the practice of religious
groups for a variety of reasons. Some countries seek to reduce the
influence of one or more religious groups because of their perceived
links with opposition groups or with separatist movements. Other
governments suppress religious communities because they dis-
approve of their connections with branches or headquarters abroad.
A third category of governments have clamped down on religious
freedom following a reform of the national legal system in accord-
ance with their own religious convictions.
State control of religious activity may take different forms. A few
countries allow only the practice of a single state-recognized reli-
gion. A larger group of countries has followed a policy of giving offi-
cial recognition to only a Hmited number of religions and of putting
their institutions under close supervision.
56
Officially prohibited activities may include preaching and evan-
gelizing, teaching religion to children, distributing or copying reli-
l^ous materials, and attending religious services. People have been
in prison for converting from one religion to another and for dis-
plaving religious symbols such as verses or crucifixes.
Sanctions inflicted on religious believers for the infringement of
these prohibitions range from various forms of harassment to im-
prisonment, torture, even the imposition of the death penalty. In
some instances, religious believers have been subjected to confine-
ment in labor camps for decades for exercising their right to free-
dom of religion.
While the following testimony does not constitute an exhaustive
survey of instances of religious intolerance which fall under Am-
nesty International's mandate, it is intended to illustrate patterns
of concern and abuse and to make several recommendations that
governments can take to end this kind of human rights violation.
At the request of the committee, the testimony focuses primarily on
the persecution of Christians.
The report has parts that deal with a number of cases that you
have already heard of today. In Cuba, we discussed a case of Rev-
erend Vila, who has been in prison for house worship in Cuba. We
also discussed the problem in Pakistan having to do with the blas-
phemy laws, and particularly the Masih case that you heard of ear-
lier.
In the section dealing with China, we also focus on the arrest
and harassment of people in the house evangelical movement and
particularly on the plight of Bishop Zeng, who you heard of earlier,
who is one of Amnesty International's POCs. We are quite con-
cerned about his health. He apparently has pneumonia, a 76-year-
old man. We are calling for his immediate and imconditional re-
lease by the Chinese authorities.
Rather than going over these cases again which have been elabo-
rated in greater detail by some other speakers, I want to focus on
parts of the testimony that deal with concerns Amnesty has in
Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, where there is less overlap.
Sudan remains a country that has experienced flagrant manipu-
lation of religious issues, and has fostered a climate of intolerance
where widespread human rights violations based on religious affili-
ations have been perpetuated. The country, as you know, has been
mired in a civil war between the government in Khartoum and the
armed opposition, Sudan People's Liberation Army, SPLA, since
1983, when the government sought to impose its interpretation of
the Shari'a or Islamic law on the whole country.
The current military government led by President Omar al-
Bashir, backed primarily by the National Islamic Front, and the
main armed opposition factions, the Sudan People's Liberation
Armv led by John Garang de Mabior, and the South Sudan Inde-
pendence Army, SSIA, led by Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, are
responsible on all sides for committing human rights abuses.
Upon independence Sudan was, for all practical purposes, two
countries: a northern region, predominantly Arab, Muslim, well-
educated and in control of the government apparatus, and a much
poorer south with an African population divided into Christians
and worshippers of traditional religion. In September 1983 the
57
Khartoum Government tried to consolidate its power and "arabize"
the country through the enforcement of a radical version of the
Shari'a law.
In the north this included the imposition of severe restrictions on
the rights of women: a dress code, the prohibition to women of trav-
el unless accompanied by males, and a steady retrenchment on
educational opportunities for women. In the south, this has re-
sulted in a scorched-earth campaign-style war that has created mil-
lions of refugees and has taken the lives of thousands of innocent
Sudanese.
The government has sought to suppress all forms of politicallv
independent activity and to destroy the institutions of an independ-
ent civil society throughout the country. After legal changes in mid-
1993, the media are technically no longer the monopoly of the
state, but they remain entirely controlled by government loyalists.
The judiciary, the prison system, and the police and the armv have
been purgea of anyone suspected of opposition to the official State
ideology. In May 1993 the government even expropriated the holy
centers of the three main Sudanese traditional Islamic groups: the
Ansar, the Khatmiya, and the Ansar Sunna.
As a standard practice, the Khartoum Government detains and
tortures suspected opponents in so-called ghost houses, the security
force's secret detention centers. Targets have been non-Muslim and
moderate Muslim critics of official policies and the radical Islamic
agenda. Political activity remains forbidden, and any form of oppo-
sition leads to detention without charge or trial, often to torture.
Hundreds of people convicted of criminal offenses have been
flogged. An unknown number have suffered judicial amputation of
hands and feet.
Massive human rights violations have also been committed by
various SPLA factions, claiming to be building a new Sudan,
against the Khartoum Government and each other. There has been
a lack of accountability and a complete disregard for humanitarian
principles in the conduct of war. Prominent internal dissidents
have been detained and some have been killed. Ethnic violence
against civilians has been mirrored by killings within the ranks of
each warring faction. Captured government soldiers of rival fac-
tions are usually extrajudicially executed on the battlefield or after
interrogation and torture. Male villagers caught during an offen-
sive are forced into becoming porters and are killed after being
deemed no longer useful.
We have a recommendation. The tragedy of Sudan should not be
allowed to continue. The Sudanese authorities and the SPLA fac-
tions must end human rights violations. The international commu-
nity in the United States has a critical role to play, and must, if
Sudan is ever to know peace.
Amnesty International calls for the creation by an appropriate
intergovernmental organization of a team of international civilian
human rights monitors to work with the authorities and the Suda-
nese public in all parts of Sudan to build respect for human rights.
Amnesty International also calls on the Sudanese Government and
each faction of the SPLA to demonstrate their commitment to
human rights by inviting and extending full cooperation to a mon-
58
itoring team to be established in the areas under the control of the
belligerent parties.
In Saudi Arabia persecution of religious minorities, particularly
that of Christians and Shi'a Muslims, has increased dramatically
in Saudia Arabia during the years following the Gulf War. Hun-
dreds of men, women and children have been summarily arrested
and ill-treated by the religious police, mostly without formal
charges or trials, for the nonviolent expression of their religious be-
liefs.
The judicial punishments embodied in the Hanbali interpretation
of the Shari'a, the most conservative interpretation of the Islamic
law, are strictly adhered to in Saudia Arabia. Public and private
non-Muslim worship is banned and there are no places of worship
for non-Muslims in the coimtry. Punishments prescribed and im-
plemented by the Saudi Arabian authorities include public flogging,
amputation and beheading. These rulings are applicable to both
Muslim and non-Muslim residents, and also include arrest and de-
tention without charge or trial, torture and flogging and, in the
case of foreign nationals, deportation.
The Christian commimity, predominantly expatriate workers on
short-term resident permits, has been targeted by the religious po-
lice due to its activities, such as the formation of clandestine wor-
ship groups. Of those Christians arrested, the majority come from
developing countries. For example, in 1994 eight Filipino Christian
worshipers were arrested during a religious service in Riyadh. Oth-
ers have been reportedly arrested solely for the possession of reli-
gious materials such as cassette tapes or Bibles.
Amnesty International recommends that the Saudi Government
enact new laws to combat religious persecution and to demonstrate
a commitment to international human rights standards, guarantee-
ing people's rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The government is urged to release all persons being detained for
the nonviolent expression of their religious beliefs. Amnesty Inter-
national also stresses the importance of safeguards to protect de-
tainees from torture and ill treatment, which should all be prohib-
ited explicitly by law.
In Mexico, Amnesty has documented the increase in the number
of threats against human rights advocates during 1995. Prominent
among those targeted for advocating human rights are those work-
ing on behalf of the rights of the indigenous populations, including
members of the Catholic church. Many of these threats and inci-
dents of harassment have occurred in the State of Chiapas. How-
ever, they are not exclusive to Chiapas.
The Catholic Bishop Samuel Ruiz has advocated human rights
on behalf of the indigenous populations for decades, and has played
a prominent role in the peace negotiations between the government
of Mexico and the EZLN. He has received dozens of threats over
the years. On February 19, 1995, scores of supporters of the ruling
party, the PRI, demonstrated outside the cathedral where Bishop
Ruiz officiates, hurling abuse, making death threats, and throwing
rocks, chairs and eggs against the doors. Although the cathedral is
centrally located in San Cristobal de las Casas, the police did not
intervene for 2 hours while such harassment went on.
59
In the neighboring State of Oaxaca, another CathoHc Bishop,
Arturo Lona Reyes, was shot at by two masked men as he was
traveHng by car on June 29, 1995.
In June the Mexican Government took even more serious meas-
ures. On June 23, 1995, Fathers Rodolfo Izal Erioz, Loren Riebe,
and Joree Baron Gutlein, all foreign nationals and Catholic priests
in parishes in the State of Chiapas, were arbitrarily arrested and
expelled from Mexico. All three had helped promote the welfare of
local indigenous peasants in their respective parishes.
According to reports, the decision to deport the priests was based
solely on unfounded accusations from local landowners alleging
that the priests had engaged in political activities. Due to the
priests' work in human rights. Amnesty is alarmed that the expul-
sions may indicate the Mexican Government's intolerance against
those perceived as exposing abuse.
Let me conclude with our primary recommendation, Mr. Chair-
man, We believe that it is important for the U.S. Government to
urge, at the next meeting of the U.N. Committee on Human Rights,
that the Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance be tasked
with investigating situations of widespread and systematic abuse
based on religious affiliation in all the countries of the world where
that occurs. In particular, we ask that access be granted to those
countries for human rights monitors, so that the monitors can visit
persons in detention and to better document abuses. As you know,
it is sometimes difficult to document abuses in many countries
where the most egregious violations occur.
Thank you for the time, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Dr. Winston. I guess I will
wait until I get to the questions, but I have some questions I would
like to pose to you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Winston appears in the appen-
dix.]
Mr. Smith. Rev. Pennybacker.
STATEMENT OF REVEREND ALBERT M. PENNYBACKER, ASSO-
CIATE GENERAL SECRETARY, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN THE USA
Rev. Pennybacker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is with genu-
ine appreciation to the committee and its Chair that I speak on be-
half of the National Council of Churches of Christ of the United
States, the principal ecumenical organization through which 33
Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican communions, church bodies
with a combined membership of 51 million adherents — though I
certainly make no pretense to speak for all 51 million — ^but through
the National Council these church bodies make common witness.
I have presented my testimony in writing to the committee and
would request its inclusion.
Mr. Smith. Without objection, it will be ordered.
Rev. I^NNYBACKER. Then I will make comment and summarize
that testimony.
The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA once
again voices its strenuous opposition to religious persecution any-
where in the world, the punitive attack on religious liberty and
60
freedom for which we have been a longstanding and vigorous advo-
cate.
Much of the very moving testimony that has been presented
today has long been a part of the conversation in church life. The
problem was tnat no one was listening. If the work of this commit-
tee and these hearings gain the attention of people to that issue,
then you can count vigorously on the support of the National Coun-
cil of Churches. We are pleased to be in the company of other reli-
gious voices now addressing this fundamental human rights issue.
We are and have been deeply committed to the religious freedom
of people of every faith, and even the freedom of conscience of peo-
ple of no faith, and especially of those who share our Christian
faith. During the difficult years of Soviet domination of eastern Eu-
rope, we maintained strong affirmative and cooperative ties with
the Christian communities of long and faithful histories who main-
tained their faith under conditions of painful, almost unimaginable
religious persecution, even martvrdom. We rej6ice today in the new
freedom they know to rebuild their churches and serve their com-
munities and publicly affirm both their faith and their compassion,
and we support their new life.
In settings today where there is genuine religious persecution,
often directed at the diminishing of resident Christian communities
as well as other religious communities, we seek to maintain ties of
support, encouragement, advocacy and even direct aid. This is cur-
rently the status of our ties with Christians in Cuba, China, North
Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan and other nations. We have not hesi-
tated to address governments in such settings in seeking genuine
redress, typically with the counsel of the resident Christian com-
munity.
Our first concern, then, is that in addressing religious persecu-
tion, the integrity of the resident religious communities be re-
spected and the transnational ties of all religious faiths be allowed
to offer companionship, support, advocacy and aid to religious com-
munities in difficult, even hostile, settings.
As a second concern, in any increased commitment to oppose all
forms of religious persecution, we urge a careful assessment of the
claims of religious persecution, listening not only to voices of those
who enter new settings from outside but the witness from indige-
nous religious voices, as we have heard today, where such religious
persecution appears to be occurring.
There is no question that religious persecution, as described to
this committee by others with whom we ioin, is occurring in nu-
merous places in the world. We would addf that the evidence is all
too clear that group classifications of people become the basis for
f)rejudicial and hostile actions, violating the rights of both particu-
ar communities and the rights of individuals to belong to them.
Women, for instance, are the ones who often suffer the most as
members of religious groups under attack. Further, religious
groups may be caught in intra- or inter-commvmal strife, religious
fanaticism, and ethnic cleansing. Civil wars and genocide can
threaten religious gn*oups. Such realities insist on being confronted
in the context of a commitment to a pluralistic civil society. Both
the U.S. Government and religious bodies here, we believe, are
called to share that sort of commitment.
61
However, there are also the claims of the persecution of Chris-
tians in our own country, sometimes along lines that appear to us
excessive, aligned with domestic political concerns and an inappro-
f>riate use of so strong a term as persecution. I think we could not
isten to what we have heard today and in any way claim that per-
secution fits the experience of Christians here.
We urge great forbearance in linking the authentic concern for
those of our religious tradition experiencing persecution ifor their
beliefs beyond our borders and excessive claims of religious perse-
cution here. We believe that our historic preservation and defense
of religious freedom and the separation of church and State have
protected us from the horrors of religious persecution experienced
elsewhere. We are grateful for every voice and action that defends
and maintains this fruitful, longstanding American commitment.
As to actions, we support the appointment, perhaps, of a commis-
sion, knowledgeable, representative and compassionate, to inves-
tigate and report to the President the conditions of religious perse-
cution and to recommend appropriate courses of action to address
such conditions. We believe the focus should be the task of address-
ing all religious persecutions that a broad perception of religious
persecution needs to inform our actions, and that it is premature
to move quickly to the appointment of a Special Advisor to the
President on these matters. Ours is not opposition. It is a concern
for timing.
We beueve that the actions of the Immigration and Naturaliza-
tion Service regarding any instances of religious persecution, not
simply anti-Christian persecution, of course, needs to be included
within that investigation. We urge a further continuing and strong
commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and to the U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms
of Intolerance Based on Religion or Beliefs. There is an integral re-
lationship between religious freedom and freedoms of expression,
communication and assembly.
We concur with the National Association of Evangelicals that re-
ligious liberty is not a privilege granted by governments but is
God-given. To use a word familiar in our American vocabulary, an
"unalienable", God-given human right.
Our Council has a long history of standing firmly for religious
liberty, dating from our first policy statement in 1955, renewed in
1963, and revised and updated as recently as 1995. Such policy
statements become informative for study throughout the churches.
I quote an early phrase that describes religious liberty as basic,
both historically and philosophically, to all our liberties. Recall the
conditions of the world when that was issued in 1955.
We are pleased to voice again, in concert with others, our vigor-
ous opposition to all forms of religious persecution. We affirm again
and urge you to affirm a commitment to religious freedom and the
relieving of any religious persecution experienced not only by
Christians but by those of any and even no faith. We commend the
sensitivity and caring of those who have been alert to raise the
issue and newly put it before us at this time. We stand ready to
cooperate with the recommended actions that may issue from tnese
hearings.
Thank you.
24-741 96-3
62
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Rev. Pennybacker.
[The prepared statement of Rev. Pennybacker appears in the ap-
pendix.]
Mr. Sncth. I would like to ask our final witness, Mr.
Dannenfelser, if he would present his testimony at this time.
STATEMENT OF MARTm J. DANNENFELSER, JR^ ASSISTANT
TO THE PRESroENT FOR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, FAMILY
RESEARCH COUNCIL
Mr. Dannenfelser. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First, I would like to express the apology of our president, Gary
Bauer, for not being able to be here today. He did intend to be here
but he has had a oronchial infection over the last few days. He
wanted to thank you for your leadership on this issue and to ex-
press that apology.
Mr. Chairman, it is truly ironic that some of the world's biggest
problems fail to attract the notice thev deserve. That is the mes-
sage we get on the global problem of anti-Christian persecution.
That persecution is growing, both in frequency and in cruelty. We
are appalled at the lack of concern and public attention being paid
to the hidden horror of anti-Christian persecution.
This persecution takes many forms. Under predominantly Is-
lamic and former Communist Grovernments, Bibles and religious
services are being banned. Missionaries and converts are being im-
prisoned, and in Ethiopia believers are actually being crucified.
One of our staff members, Rosanne Dupras, was a volunteer
worker overseas for 7 years and has traveled extensively through-
out Asia. She has witnessed the persecution of individuals because
of their religious faith.
For example, India is hailed as the world's largest democracy,
with a population of almost 1 billion people. Eighty-five percent are
Hindu, 12 percent Muslim, and 1 to 2 percent are Christian. Al-
though the national government describes itself as a secular de-
mocracy with freedom of religion for all, the government has taken
a less tnan tangible approach to the outcries of persecution.
Miss Dupras recalls Sunil, a native of India and a Christian,
jailed, harassed, stripped naked and interrogated for an endless
number of hours. The compound where he lived was vandalized. He
was slandered and vilified in the local press by persecutors who in-
cluded police officials and government intelligence agents as well
as radical Hindu fundamentalists. The State Government partici-
pated in and initiated many of the attacks. The Federal Govern-
ment simply turned a blind eye. Atrocities like this occur fre-
quently in nation states that give lip service to fi^eedom of religion
while persecuting any deviance from their own ideology of religion.
Allow me to clarify that this persecution extends beyond Chris-
tianity to include otner faiths, although persecution of Christians
seems to be the most widespread. In Ayodhya, Ms. Dupras reports
that Hindu groups slaughtered Muslims as the police watched, and
in Bombay the police themselves were the ones who massacred
Muslims. A young Muslim Bengali woman in Bangladesh had to
flee for her life after writing a book which was sympathetic to Hin-
dus rather than to Muslims. She is still hiding somewhere in the
West.
63
So far, the U.S. Government has largely turned a deaf ear to this
rising tide of terrorism and these human rights violations. Saudi
Arabia, our recent ally in the Gulf War, has pressured the United
States on two fronts. The first was to close a U.S. -sponsored night
club frequented by American servicemen in Saudia Arabia. Our
government said "no way" to closing it. The Saudis also demanded
that we stop Sunday worship services at our embassy. To this we
buckled.
In Turkey, the United States has turned a blind eye as Turkish
officials forcibly return Christian refugees to the clutches of Iran.
On January 15th, 1996, the Wall Street Journal reported, "Chi-
na's religious authorities ordered all places of worship to register
with the government in what may be the beginning of a new crack-
down on religion."
A column by syndicated columnist Mona Charen which appeared
in the December 14th, 1995 edition of the Detroit News elaborated,
and I quote, "Persecution is commonplace in China, where only a
fraction of the estimated 30 million to 70 million Christians belong
to government-approved sects. Amnesty International reports cases
of Christian women hung by their thumbs from wires and beaten
with heavy rods, denied food and water, and shocked with electric
probes."
Miss Charen's Detroit News column described the following
abuses under Sudan's Islamic Government: "Many of the black Su-
danese in the southern part of the country — the north is Arab —
have resisted conversion, in many cases because of adherence to
Christianity. As punishment, the Sudanese Government has denied
food and medicine to Christians in famine areas and has sold thou-
sands of Christian children, some as young as 6, into slavery."
Tolerating episodes such as these conflicts not only with the in-
alienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in our
own Declaration of Independence, but even those basic human
rights universally accepted. These rights include, under the Univer-
sal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to life, liberty and secu-
rity of person. Article 3; freedom from slavery or servitude in all
their forms. Article 4; freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. Article 5; equal protection of
the law without any discrimination, Article 7; the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion, freedom to change his religion
or belief and to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance. Article 18; freedom of opinion and expres-
sion, y^icle 19; and the freedom of peaceful assembly and associa-
tion without compulsion to belong to a particular association, Arti-
cle 20.
Christian persecution is a gn^oss violation of human rights. In the
United States, an historical example for our defense of religious mi-
nority rights abroad is the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which
made Jewish immigration a condition for aid to the Soviet union.
Title 22 of the U.S. Code contains the following passage: 'The
Congress declares that the individual liberties, economic prosper-
ity, and security of the people of the United States are best sus-
tained and enhanced in the community of nations which respect in-
dividual and economic rights and freedoms."
64
Furthermore, the Congress reaffirms the traditional humani-
tarian ideals of the American people.
The U.S. development cooperation policy emphasizes the encour-
agement of development processes in wnich individual civil and
economic rights are respected and enhanced as one of its four prin-
cipal goals. It states that "pursuit of these goals requires that de-
velopment concerns be fully reflected in U.S. foreign policy." Our
policy toward humanitarian violations is quite clear, and tne real
tragedy here is the appalling lack of concern here at home and the
lacK of action by the Administration.
It is time to end the silence of our President and his Administra-
tion. President Clinton must waste no time in addressinp^ the
American people, issuing demarches to offending nations, initiating
letters to heads of state> and working with the State Department
desk officers in the offending nations. The President's focus should
begin with some of the most egregious violations, such as China,
Ethiopia and the Sudan. Hopefully, other coimtries will begin to
change their policies when they see the tangible consequences of
their inhumane actions.
As others have noted here earlier today, as a candidate for Presi-
dent in 1992 Mr. Clinton criticized former President George Bush
for coddling dictators in his policy toward China. Ironically, the Ad-
ministration has now totally decoupled the issues of human rights
and most-favored-nation trade status for China. This action sends
a signal that the U.S. Government is prepared to do nothing more
than pay lip service to China's human rights abuses, which include
persecution of Christians, forced abortion, and slave labor. We call
on President Clinton to heed his own advice and stop coddling per-
secutors of Christians. The time has come for rhetoric to be joined
with actions and results.
Mr. Chairman, there are many things that Congress can do. We
know that some of these things are already taking place, but we
call for a more concerted, expanded coalition of Members of Con-
gress to track the abuses that are taking place and to set up check-
lists that can then be followed. We pledge that the Family Re-
search Council will call upon other citizens and churches to get
more involved in educating the American people about these
abuses and speaking out, calling for further action.
I would like to quote a State Department Bulletin that I think
speaks to the values of the United States from December 1984,
which said succinctly, 'The moral basis of democracy — the prin-
ciples of individual rights, freedom of thought and expression, free-
dom of religion — are powerful barriers against those who seek to
impose their will, their ideologies, or other religious beliefs by
force."
If we fail to speak out forthrightly in defense of these freedoms
endowed by our Creator, we will undermine our Nation and the
principles upon which it is built. Failure to do all within our power
will also sear our collective consciences as we hear the anguished
voices of our brothers and sisters overseas who cry out, "Why have
you forsaken us?"
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Dannenfelser, for your ex-
cellent statements.
65
[The prepared statement of Mr. Dannenfelser appears in the ap-
pendix.]
Mr. Smith. I want to thank all of our witnesses for their testi-
monies. I do have a few questions I would like to ask.
First, Dr. Winston, eacn year on frequent occasions, but certainly
when tlie Country Reports and Human Rights Practices are pre-
sented by the Assistant Secretary of Human Rights, Jim
Shattuck
Dr. Winston. John Shattuck.
Mr. Smith. John Shattuck — ^he will be here before our sub-
committee very shortly, will get an overview of what is going on
around the world, and then we hear from the major human rights
organizations. Last year, James O'Dea, your Washington represent-
ative, and others from Freedom House and some of the other orga-
nizations were very pointed in saying that this Administration
talks but does not act. As a matter of fact, the way he put it was
that — ^this is Amnesty — that human rights and the country reports
in particular are an island; that there is a total disconnect when
it comes to linkage to policy, be it trade or any other policy within
the Administration.
So the testimony sounds good, and I respect Mr. Shattuck, Sec-
retary Shattuck, very, very much — we work on many things to-
gether, particularly right now with Bosnia and war crimes and the
like, and he does a good job there. But when you go up the chain
of command and it gets to Under Secretary Tim Wirth it goes no-
where. It does not get to the Secretary, and again, there are no
linkages to try to combat that.
We have tried in this committee — and I offered the amendment
to do it, which passed the House — ^to set up a special line right to
the Secretary for refugees and for human rights, because we are
not getting through and there is a major league disconnect with
human rights and other policies.
How would you rate the performance of the Clinton administra-
tion with regard to religious persecution against Christians and
others? Because, you know, the focus today is on Christians. They
have been neglected. How would you rate the Administration on
this?
Dr. Winston. Well, you know, Amnesty shies away from making
political judgments of that kind, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Smith. I am looking for a substantive judgment.
Dr. Winston. Well, let me agree with you that I think there is
a lack of linkage or connection between the reporting that is now
being done by the U.S. Government on human rights and the for-
eign policy of the U.S. Government. I think as a general statement
that is quite accurate.
As you know, these reports were mandated by Congress, and I
have been looking at these reports for many years in my role as
an Amnesty person, and looking at the quality of the information
contained in the reports versus those in our own reports and those
of other independent human rights organizations. I must say my
judgment, in those countries where I am most expert, is that the
qumiW of the State Department reports has improved significantly
over tne years. I believe that last year's report set a new standard
66
for U.S. human rights reports in terms of the thoroughness and ac-
curacy in information.
However, there has been a reluctance on the part of Congress
and Administrations to link the information contained in our own
reports with substantive decisions on foreign policy. That includes
questions of aid and trade, as well as other questions of bilateral
relations between the United States and other countries. We have
laws in this country that, for instance, forbid the sale of weapons
and military aid to countries that have gross and systematic pat-
terns of human rights violations. That has never been adequately
enforced, as you know, Mr. Chairman.
I would say that until these hearings, to answer your question,
until these hearings, I, myself have not seen £my evidence of inter-
est in Washington on the issue specifically of religious persecution,
and specifically that of Christians. So again, I thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for raising this issue and holding these hearings.
We people in the numan rights field often feel we are kind of
crawling in the dark and no one is listening to try to bring atten-
tion to these forms of abuse which many people think no longer
exist in the world, and therefore, don't regard as problems. So
when a Member of Congress organizes hearings like this to bring
these facts to attention, we are very grateful. So thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Smith. I appreciate you saying that. Just let me point out
that we have had a number of hearings, so I know what it is like
to have that sense of being a winter soldier in battle, when very
few people from the press have shown up, and that goes for re-
gional hearings that we have held.
We have six laogai survivors, including a Buddhist priest and a
Catholic nun, who collectively have spent over 130 years in the
gulag svstem in China. Harry Wu was among them, and nothing
about tnat appeared in the papers. So, I think one of the reasons
why we should have renewed hope is because organizations like
some of the evangelical organizations are getting involved. I think
that brings a new earnestness and urgency to the matter, because
they certainly have produced results in some other areas. So I do
think there is reason for hope and the Research Council certainly
has a very extensive grass-roots network among Americans to get
this information out.
Dr. Winston. Could I just add, Mr. Chairman, I think this is an
issue that really represents common gfround. It is not a partisan
issue, it is not a Jewish or a Christian issue or a Muslim issue, it
is an issue that all thinking people of conscience can agree upon.
That is why it is so good that you are having these hearings and
bringing these abuses and violations to light.
Mr. Smith. I appreciate that.
You mentioned earlier, Dr. Land, that Ambassador Sasser was
unaware of the house church movement. For the record, I would
think that most know that when he was Senator Sasser, he was
in favor of linking most-favored-nation status to human rights. For
a while after Tiananmen, it was very much in vogue to be seen ca-
vorting with and speaking to and having lunch with and doing all
kinds of neat things witn human rights activists, including the
Dalai Lama. Now it seems that the petals are off the rose; it is not
67
as trendy any more to be for human rights, because now it means
real dollars and real bucks, and interests in your own district will
come forward, as they have in mine, to say, wait a minute, this
might mean some jobs. But it seems to me that we need to put peo-
ple above profits. That is what all of you are doing so well with re-
gard to this.
When I was in Beijing, I had a 2-hour breakfast meeting with
members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that I will never for-
get. The meeting was very cordial, very polite, and veiy candid, but
the members there were unaware of the coercive population control
program. They thought it was a figment of my imagination when
I spoke about it, notwithstanding the fact that our own U.S. Cen-
sus Bureau has volumes of evidence about how egregious that pol-
icy is and how some companies are actually now implementing it,
as Ms. Shea mentioned earlier. It is an area that we need to look
into even further.
But one member at that table from one of the corporations said,
religious freedom flourishes here; my secretary goes to church
every Sunday; why don't you go with her. And I said, that is the
official church, and there are only a few of them, and they are, as
they are throughout the Communist world, co-opted churches.
There are some real believers in there. I can't say who is who. But
the churches certainly are run by the government and by a depart-
ment of cults or a department of religfious affairs, whatever one
might want to call it. I have met with them here, and in China,
and in Romania, and in other East Bloc countries and there is al-
ways an atheist, somebody who is there to make sure that very,
very strict parameters are adhered to. They are paid for by the gov-
ernment as well. So you know where their allegiance lies.
There is an incredible naivete on the part of some of our business
community. The business coalition for U.S.-China trade has a
moral obligation, since they are aiding and abetting this dictator-
ship, to at least know the facts, to meet with Wei Jing Sheng at
least when he was out of prison and back in again to meet with
others in these countries. I have heard it over and over again, from
otherwise very sincere CEO's and others who turn to me and say
religious freedom abounds in China. Not. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
So I just raise that because of my experience. Senator Sasser
should know better and he ought to be brought back and made
aware of this, or at least, in his post, he should become a quick
study on the house church movement and on the beleaguered
Catholic church in that country — ^because there are tens of thou-
sands per year who convert who are then beaten, tortured, har-
assed and thrown into the laogai, simply because they are not part
of the "official church".
Dr. Land. Congressman, in this particular instance as a former
constituent of Senator Sasser's, I am placing the blame on the
State Department. For him not to know about the house church is
the State Department's fault for not briefing him, and I think is
indicative of an attitude at the State Department of extreme insen-
sitivity to this issue as part of the normal course of events.
I sometimes get the impression in my own conversations with
that department and people who represent that department that
68
when people get into trouble for exercising their Christian belief,
that they are just getting what they deserve; they ought to know
better. And that is an intolerable attitude.
I think that, you know, to criticize a Republican now, Calvin Coo-
lidge is reported to have once said, the business of America is busi-
ness. I do not believe that. I have never believed that. I don't be-
lieve most of my constituency believes that. I don't believe that
most Americans believe that. Most Americans believe that the busi-
ness of the United States of America is the propagation of our val-
ues, and that the most fundamental value of this republic is free-
dom of conscience and as part of that, freedom of religious belief.
Mr. Smith. Rev. Pennybacker.
Rev. Pennybacker. I would just like to put in as a kind of foot-
note on the conversation, because I agree with most of what has
been said, that I was recently one of two participants in the senior
executive seminar at the Foreign Affairs Academy dealing with the
question of the churches and of what was the religious situation in
countries aroimd the world. That is the first time that such an in-
vitation has come to me or to the National Council. I hope that is
an indication of a growing interest that can be encouraged and ad-
dressed through these hearings and through the work of the Con-
gress and this committee. I felt like there was at least a beginning
receptivity to those sorts of concerns on behalf of those who ar-
ranged that seminar and those who were a part of it.
Mr. Smith. Let me ask you. Rev. Pennybacker, about the issue
of the official churches. I know from my contacts, because I have
met with many of them over the years, that again, there are some
good people among them; there are also a number of people who
are part of the secret police, part of the government-paid bureauc-
racy that is in place to make sure that the church stays, again,
within very strict bounds, and its informers.
I know that the NCC did sponsor a meeting of church leaders
with Fidel Castro in New York last October, and I was wondering
if you could tell us, again, since you or your associates were in on
that meeting, what kind of demands were made on Fidel Castro?
I remember reading "Against All Hope" by Armando Valladares,
with whom I worked m Cxeneva, which is like so many other books
I have read by people who have suffered in the gulags because of
their faith or their human rights advocacy. He and others look at
those who have been co-opted by the government with extreme
anger, as people who put on a nice face to the West — or in this case
the North — while unspeakable tortures are visited upon those in
these gulags.
Rev. Pennybacker. Yes. Thank you for the question. The Na-
tional Council's relationship in Cuba has been at the invitation of
the Evangelical Church Council of Cuba, which is a group made up
of Pentecostal and other Christian groups in Cuba that have con-
tinued under difficult conditions across the years, and in response
to that invitation, we have had relationships with them and with
the government in that context.
One of the consequences of this was that the State Department
issued a license to the National Council for medical and humani-
tarian supplies to be delivered, especially for the needs of children,
the first I think that were delivered there; some other church bod-
69
ies, the Presbyterian church and others, are now able to do that,
and that Hcense was allowed.
You would be interested to know that those supplies were not de-
livered to the government but were delivered to the Evangelical
Church Council in Cuba and were distributed under those auspices
where volunteers, for instance, came to the tarmac and unpacked
the plane and took the things away to hospitals, to places where
there was care for children, so that some of that relationship that
is sort of quasi-official has allowed the kind of humanitarian con-
cern for people that is appropriate to church ties that are
transnational.
Let me illustrate again what I am concerned about when I say
that the continuing access to church bodies beyond national borders
is so important. I think for instance that Arcnbishop Tu Tu would
not be alive today were he not embraced by the religious commu-
nity throughout the world as a figure who represented hope and
promise during the days of apartheid in South Africa. Those kinds
of ties go back even to Germany when Pastor Niemoeller, opposed
to Hitler in the Nazi era, became an international figure in the re-
ligious community. Such ties across the years have been very help-
ful, and whatever happens with regard to reli^ous freedom, the ca-
pacity to maintain those ties, it seems to me, is something that the
government can assist in providing.
Every church body has a mixture of folk who are saints and sin-
ners. I have been in meetings with representatives of churches
fi*om around the world, some of whom I thought were people of au-
thentic Christian faith, very profoundly so. Others were people who
perhaps were there at government instigation.
I am not convinced at all that the claim of government control,
for instance, of Orthodox churches in Soviet countries is a story
that can be justified. There clearly were relationships, but let me
illustrate in our own country. I remember being interviewed by a
person from the FBI about a member of my congregation, and I co-
operated with those requests. No doubt there is a file that if it were
released would say I cooperated with our government.
What is the role of a pastor and a church leader in dealing with
the real situation where people are and the persecutions and dif-
ficulties under which they live? It seems to me that we do have a
wonderful record of the integrity of established churches in main-
taining the religious faith of people, emd that faith has blossomed
once tnere was the opportunity for these churches to find new free-
dom, to teach, to care, to engage in acts of mercy, and that is the
pattern across many of the countries where established churches
have taken on new vitality.
Mr. Smith. If I could ask about Cuba again, just because I think
it is very important. It is my understanding that the NCC General
Secretary Joan Brown Campbell asserted at that meeting that the
Cuban churches are free to carry out all of their basic ministries.
Do you think that is an accurate statement?
Rev. Pennybacker. I think it is an accurate description of our
relationship with those churches and our ability to deal with them
in helpful and continuing and supportive ways, and I think in that
context we and they have had the freedom to go about our min-
istries.
70
Mr. Smith. Has there been an attempt by the NCC to get into
the Cuban jails to meet with the many human rights and religious
activists there?
Rev. Pennybacker. We have had contact with jailed pastors and
with jailed parishioners of congregations there. Many of the en-
deavors covered in the press are carried out not by a group that
is related to the NCC, but a group called Pastors for Peace, which
has been aggressive in their relationship to Cuba and that has no
connection with the National Council of the Churches of Christ in
the United States at all.
Mr. Smith. Let me just ask anyone who would want to touch on
this: how will the anti-immigrant climate that is out there, which
is being fueled by a number of people in Presidential politics and
otherwise, affect persecuted Christians and other believers if it is
allowed to take hold?
Are there concerns that any of you have, especially with the im-
migration bill making its way through the Judiciary Committee?
There is an anti-immign*ation fervor to just close up our borders.
While I would agree that illegals are one thing, refugees are com-
pletely different.
Dr. Land. Well, I think, first of all, that we have to have control
of our own borders and have some way of making decisions about
those things, but we must always in my opinion give first priority
to refugees of conscience who want to come to the United States.
When we look at the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor,
many of those poor and huddled masses that have come to America
were not victims of economic persecution, but were victims of reli-
gious persecution, and we in the United States had a long history
of being sympathetic to victims of such persecution, and in fact I
received a letter in preparation for appearing here before your com-
mittee today that informed me of something I did not know about
one of my favorite Americans, Abraham Lincoln, and that is that
it is a remarkable occurrence that we are having these meetings
during the week in which we celebrate his birthday, because Abra-
ham Lincoln, before he was President, was very much involved in
Springfield in helping a group of religious immigrants who had
been persecuted in Europe who relocated to Springfield.
Lincoln was one of the leaders in the Springfield community in
making a welcome for these people, in providing assistance for
these people. He donated furniture from his own home and pro-
vided employment for several of these people in his household prior
to his departure for Washington. So I think we have a long-stand-
ing tradition in this country of recognizing prisoners of conscience
and in giving them refuge in this Nation and we have benefited
greatly from it. So I would acknowledge that any country has to
have control of its borders, that we should give priority to prisoners
of conscience and that would include certainly victims of religious
persecution.
Mr. Smith. I am not sure if any of you saw it, but No. 3, on the
recommendations from the Statement of Conscience of the National
Association of Evangelicals calls upon the Administration to issue
an Attorney GeneraFs bulletin to INS hearing officers acknowledg-
ing mounting anti-Christian persecutions in many parts of the
71
world and directing such officers to process the claims of the
escapees from such persecution with priority and diligence.
Would you all agree that that is something that should be done?
Rev. Pennybacker. I would only say that it should be expanded
to religious persecution, including all religions, and not focus im-
plicitly as that might be read to imply only on Christian persecu-
tion, I think there is religious persecution of a very profound sort
in lots of places that does not involve the Christian community.
Dr. Winston. I would just like to add that Amnesty has been
concerned over the years with the failure of the U.S. Government
to provide adequate hearings for people who come to this country
and apply for political asylum, whether on religious grounds or
other grounds or well-founded fear of persecution.
We have raised these concerns on several occasions with the Con-
gress and with the Administration. I believe there are still prob-
lems in this respect with the way refugee asylum claims are being
handled by the INS. So we would be pleasea to support an initia-
tive from the Congress to make it easier for people to apply for po-
litical asylum and to receive a respectful and thorough hearing of
their claim, rather than just being summarily denied.
Mr. Dannenfelser. We would ag^ee with that and have seen
some other areas where we feel that people have been returned too
quickly. There does seem to be a desire to just turn people back
over to hostile governments, and we feel that they do deserve a
more careful hearing.
Mr. Smith. We have had a number of hearings previous to this
on the comprehensive plan of action on the refugees in Bosnia, and
one of the recommendations the evangelicals make in this point
paper — Dr. Land, that you make — is the cessation of INS's delega-
tion of refugee processing functions to foreign and U.N. agencies.
We have found in our investigations this despicable pattern of re-
turning refugees rather than finding countries of safe haven as a
front, so they never get to us.
Would you all tend to agree that that is something that we need
to change? Rev. Pennybacker?
Rev. Pennybacker. Well, clearly, that kind of thing you are de-
scribing is poor indeed. I recall that some of the immigration oppor-
tunities with which the National Council's program of refugee re-
settlement in this country has been involved, when the U.S. quotas
have been reached, we have turned to churches in Canada and
other places whose national quotas could become applicable in
helping people relocate. Provisions that oppose such partnerships
that are now a piece of the resettlement operations need to be re-
viewed again.
Exploring whether those cooperative relationships address the
needs of refugees, when quotas are exceeded, but people need to be
relocated, whether those cooperative relationships can, through
church ties, still become operative would be very, very helpful.
Mr. Smith. Can I also encourage all of you— before Dr. Winston
answers — to make your voices known as quickly as possible, given
that the immigration bill is right around the corner and maybe on
a fast track. I fault the people on my own side of the aisle, and on
the other side of the aisle as well, for putting an artificial cap on
72
refugees at 50,000. 110,000 is adequate, and I think, you know, we
ou^t to err on the side of being generous rather than stingy.
Rev. Pennybacker. We have taken a public position on just ex-
actly that side.
Mr. Smith. Dr. Winston.
Dr. Winston. Yes. I believe that we are going to be taking a po-
sition on that issue.
Mr. Smith. One additional question for you, Dr. Winston. You
have a specific recommendation regarding the U.S. Special
Rapporteur?
Dr. Winston. That is right, yes. We feel that there is an oppor-
tunity here to take this issue to the world. Using the influence of
the United States at the upcoming meetings in Switzerland of the
U.N. Human Rights Commission to urge that U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance be tasked with specifically in-
vestigating situations of abuse and persecution that are widespread
and pervasive in many countries of the world, and for gaining ac-
cess to those countries by independent human rights monitors and
defenders to document those abuses, and specifically, to interview
persons in detention.
Let me just explain. One of the reasons that is allied with perse-
cution is when religious people speak from conscience to defend the
human rights of others. Very often, human rights workers come
from churches that believe strongly in human dignity and human
rights. Those people, then, when they expose aouses, are them-
selves often put at risk, £md part of the persecution or repression
that gets directed at them is due to their religious convictions, but
also in terms of their defense of the human rignts of others.
This makes it very difficult in some cases for us on the outside
as it were to document abuses, because the people who are on the
ground reporting abuses themselves are repressed or harassed or
are in prison. So we regard it as a matter of priority for the inter-
national community to find ways of gaining access to these closed
and repressive countries by independent human rights monitors,
and other groups, who are able to document abuses, to interview
people in detention, and to, one hopes, therefore, relieve this sort
of blocking of investigation. So we believe that the appropriate way
to pursue that is that the U.N. Commission recommend that the
Special Rapporteur undertake this kind of task.
Mr. Smith. I appreciate that. It certainly is in need of reform.
I will never forget when I was in Geneva in 1989, as Mr. Bush's
delegate to the United Nations, to present the U.S. position on in-
tolerance. We have a copy if anyone wants to see it. I met with the
Special Rapporteur, a fine gentleman, very upstanding; he had no
power. He exchanged letters with the Chinese Government saying
we understand this is the case, and they would write back and say,
no, you are severely mistaken. I mean, it was an exchange of let-
ters is all it was. So I think your point about the need for access
couldn't be more important at this particular time.
I just want to remind everyone of something we need to be rais-
ing with an MFN fight looming, regardless of whether we lose it
or win it. No one knows how that is going to go. When the Chinese
thought for a while that Mr. Clinton was serious about linking
human rights with MFN, all of a sudden there was talk of allowing
73
the Red Cross into prisons. As soon as they saw that that was a
hollow threat on his part, that talk dissipated overnight. So we
really need to pick up access.
Let me also say you make your point well about indigenous mon-
itors being at risk. In Cuba, when Armando Valladares succeeded
in getting a U.N. delegation to go in and to have people come for-
ward, seemingly in an unfettered way to say what has happened
there, they then became victims of repression, and were themselves
thrown into prison. It was outrageous. Hopefully we will get into
that more, later.
I want to thank this panel for their expert testimony again. We
will be making your testimony part of the official record and will
get individual copies out to key Members of Congjress on the Appro-
priations Committee, to Ben Oilman and others who are very con-
cerned about this, such as Jesse Helms, to make sure that everyone
knows that a major effort is being made. Your testimony is very
important to that. So I want to thank you very much.
Rev. Pennyb ACKER. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 6:25 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned, to
reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]
APPENDIX
tHAIIIFMI-'Rm
Max M. Kjunprlmui
Lev Chtmc
H\AIID tIF TV I >S rV£S
NeJ W Bamllcr
Vut Chairman
Krnncrt) L AJrImin
MiKhrll t l)anwU,Jr
Pilnru Muiph)r Derian
Will«m C IMtcny. h
David F.Bcnhowrr
Mak\>lm S. Kixhr^. Ji.
llwodore J. FiHSimann
Norman Hill
Samuel P Huntington
John T Joyce
Lane Kiikland
Jcane i. kirkpatrick
EtJwBnl I. Koch
NkwiiMi M. Kundnckc
Ann F. l-cwis
Cames 1-onl
lay NUzor
John Norton Moore
Ourtcs Mocfian. Jr.
Vtfty Nixi«un
Mark Palmrr
Susam Kaufman Purcell
Richard Ra\ itrh
Bums W. Rofirr
Donak) Rum^fek)
Albert Shankri
Ben J Waiirnhers
WemJrll L Willkie II
Jacques D- WimpOicimn
Antlrew Youns
TES riMONY OF NINA SHEA, DIRECTOR
PliEBLA PROt.RAM ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
FREEDOM HOUSE
before the
HOUSE COMMI riEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
February 15, 1996
Mr. Chairman. Freedom House congratulates tlie Subcommittee for
holding these hearings on the persecution of Christians tliroughoul Ilie world.
This is an issue which has been part of our focus at the Puebla Program for ten
years and was the topic of a conference we sponsored last month at which over
UX) key Christian leaders and activists discussed strategies for ending the
indifference of the West regarding this abomination. At that conference, the
National Association of Evangelicals issued "A Statement of Conscience and Call
to Action," in which they vowed to break tlieir own silence on the mounting
evidence of global Christian persecution and urged the U.S. government to adopt
14 reforms to ensure that the global persecution of Christians is accorded
appropriate concern in U.S. foreign and immigration policy. On February 9, this
extraordinary document has been adopted by the Executive Council of the
General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Chairman, thank you for so
consistently raising your own voice against the torture, enslavement,
imprisonment and murder of Christians throughout the world.
I have been asked to address patterns of persecution against Christians in
those countries that remain under communist control, namely North Korea,
Vietnam, and China.
Mr. Chairman, each of tliese governments initially attempted to eradicate
religion by force. While North Korea came the closest, this tact was ultimately
unsuccessful and Christianity lived on in the underground. Today, each of these
communist governments attempts to control and restrict Christian worship and
activity using diverse means. While there was a communist bloc isolated behind
the Iron Curtain, the Free World understood as a given that religious freedoms
and other human rights were denied in communist-controlled countries. Few
realize that even now religious persecution continues in the remnants of the
communist world.
Communist ideological fervor has dissipated to varying levels in these
countries, and in China and Vietnam Marxist economic policies have been
overthrown in favor of capitalist ones. Nevertheless, these three governments
continue to persecute Christians, as well as other religious groups, for simple acts
KBKFnnMIHMI^
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FAX 312.314-MaO
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76
1)1" worship iukI widicss. Ami all ihrcc rank a( llic IxMlom of IIm; 1996 rrecdoin House Freedom in the
World survey iiiuong the "18 Worst Rated Countries" for pt)litical rights and civil liberties. The
repression olC'hristians is part of a political climate in which human rights and democratic frcedums
are routinely ahused. "I think independently, thereibre, 1 am guilty," remains tlie prevailing maxim.
l'o|K' John Paul II, in his annual address this year to the diplomatic corps lor the traditional exchange of
New Year's greetings, decried the oppression uf Christians throughout the world and singled out both
China and Vietnam by name.
Why do (lie Coniinunist governments, which have Torsaken ideology in so many other respects,
still repress independent worship? The answer is simple. The churches assert moral values that these
governments do not want to hear.
A lundaiiicntal moral teaching that is in conllict with Communist ideology is Christianity's belief
in the inherent dignity of the individual. That is, individuals have rights by reason of the fact llicy are
human persons; rights are not derived from or distributed by the State or political agents. The
Christian view of the human person is informed by the teachings of the Bible. And in many Christian
traditioits a philosophy of natural reason has been developed in defense of the idea of the inalienability
of human rights. Thus when Pope John Paul II defended universality of human rights at the United
Nations last fall, he appealed to moral criteria that are accessible to all persons of intelligence and good
will, regardless of faith.
This tenet of human dignity and rights remains anathema to Communist authorities for it
threatens their monopoly on absolute and unchecked political power.
CHINA
An understanding of this conflict helps explain why the Central Committee of China's
communist party, in several recent documents circulated in Hong Kong, names Christianity in China as
a principal threat to political stability. The mechanism for Beijing's control of religion is the Religious
Affairs Bureau, controlled by the Department for a United Front, which in turn is controlled by the
Communist Central Committee. The Religious Affairs Bureau registers, oversees and controls all
churches within a framework provided by its Catholic Patriotic Association and the Three-Self Patriotic
Movement for Protestants. Those operating independently ~ such as the Roman Catholic Church and a
vast underground network of Protestant Evangelical house churches ~ are unlawful and their members
liable for arrest and imprisonment on charges of "counterrevolutionary acts" or other crimes. In classic
Orwellian newspeak, Beijing described its position on independent worship in a White Paper on Human
Rights it issued on December 27, 1995, as follows: "In order to ensure that citizens really enjoy the
freedom of religious belief, religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign
domination."
Since July, the Religious Affairs Bureau has been headed by communist hard liner and atheist
Ye Xiaowen, who is now implementing a fierce campaign to stem the growing tide of Christian belief
in China. Following Ye's appointment, at least four prominent Roman Catholic bishops were arrested
and detained, which was tlie first time in over a year that members of the hierarchy were detained for
more than a few days, one bishop continues to be imprisoned at this time. On January 14, authorities
renewed their drive to register all religious meeting places. Evangelicals have been targeted throughout
77
the country, but with particular intensity in Shanghai and in Anhui province where authorities have
"resolutely reconunended" reeducation through labor for principal members of independent churches
"whose misdeeds do not warrant criminal punishment."
The current word on the street among Evangelicals is that local authorities are being pressed
hard to round up all Evangelicals for registration or arrest. Police have vowed to "hit and eradicate"
five Christian-based religious groups operating in Anhui, according to China's Public Security Bureau
News newspaper. American Bible missionaries I spoke to this week were told by Chinese Christians
that they are at this time too afraid to meet with foreigners or hold Bible meetings and are lying low in
their Christian activities. They reported that this is now the most repressive period for them than at any
time since the pre-Deng period in the late 1970s. An American Bible missionary who recently returned
from China said that an arrest warrant with the names of 3,000 Evangelical preachers is being
circulated by the Public Security Bureau. Many house church leaders have argued that to register with
the government would compromise their religious faith by giving ultimate authority to the state.
China has the dubious distinction of holding more Christian prisoners than any other country in
the world. We do not know the actual numbers because its judicial and penal system are closed. The
Puebia Program has in its database the names of approximately 200 Christian clergy and leaders, alone,
now imprisoned or under some form of detention or restriction because of worshiping within these
independent churches. Roman Catholic priests are imprisoned for celebrating Mass, and administering
the sacraments without state authorization. Protestant Evangelical preachers are arrested and tortured
for holding prayer meetings and distributing the Bible without state approval.
A few examples of prisoners in China's Christian gulag follow:
• Dai Guillang, a 4S-year-old Evangelical preacher was sentenced to (and is now serving) three
years without a trial for propagating the book of Genesis.
• Gao Feng, a 27-year-old Christian employee of Chrysler's Beijing Jeep Corp., was rounded-up
with dissidents prior to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and sentenced in
December to "reeducation through labor" in connection with "praying without authorization."
• Zheng Yunsu, the leader of the popular Jesus Family religious community, is serving a 12
prison term at the Motorcycle Factory Labor Camp near Jinan city for "leading a collective life"
and holding "illegal" religious meetings. His four sons are also serving hard time after they
made inquiries into his case with authorities in Beijing.
• Bishop Zeng Jingmu, the 76-year-old Roman Catholic Bishop of Yu Jiang, is in jail after being
arrested from his home in late November, and suffering from a serious case of pneumonia he
contracted on another imprisonment earlier in the year.
• Rev. Vincent Qin Guoliang, a 60-year-old Roman Catholic priest, is serving a two-year sentence
of "reeducation through labor" on charges that have not been made public. He has been forced
to do hard labor, mostly at the No. 4 brick factory in Xining, since his initial arrest in 1955 for
refusing to repudiate association with the Vatican.
78
Rev. Liao Haiqing, a 68-year-old Roman Catholic priest in Jiangxi province, was arrested in
August 1995 and is being denied medication for his heart condition and high blood pressure. He
has previously served a ten-year prison term.
VIETNAM
Vietnam so restricts independent religious association for Buddhists and Christians that even
American tourists routinely find themselves under arrest for their faith at the very time that the United
States is restoring diplomatic and trade ties and Vietnam is seeking Most Favored Nation Status. This is
underscored with a stunning example that occurred last week. A week ago, three American young
people traveling with the Oregon-based Evangelical group. Youth with a Mission, were arrested and
ordered under house arrest after they were found talking with eight young Vietnamese Christians from a
church in Ho Chi Minh City. According to our best information these youths were held without due
process for several days before being made to pay a fine and sent home. This outrageous treatment of
American citizens and the denial of their basic religious rights shows Vietnam's utter contempt for
international human rights law. (The freedom to meet with co-religionists is enshrined in the UN
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or
BelieO.
How much more severely does Vietnam restrict the religious freedoms of its own citizens. Both
Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants, as well as Buddhists, suffer religious repression.
Since the early 1990s, Vietnam has employed a repression strategy of striking at the Catholic
Church's hierarchical structure, rather than imprisoning clergy. The government has moved toward
decapitating the Roman Catholic Church by barring bishop appointments and by stanching the flow of
seminary entrants and graduates and restricting the number of ordinations. In a petition to Vietnam's
Prime Minister presented on September 29, 1995, the Vietnam Catholic Bishops' Conference detailed
the problems that have "seriously hindered our pastoral ministry and our faithful's religious life."
The Vietnamese bishops demanded that the bishops "be free to appoint and transfer their priests,
religious men and women within their own diocese," whereas now many local officials make
"subjective and arbitrary decisions" in this area. The church needs coadjutor and auxiliary bishops in
places where the diocesan bishop is aged or sick, the petition stressed. This is particularly true in
Saigon, Vietnam's largest Catholic center where Hanoi continues to block a Vatican episcopal
appointment. The petition asked for more favorable conditions for men and women religious orders;
urged that priesthood candidates, already required to obtain local government approval to enter the
seminary, be ordained upon completing their studies without having to obtain further approvals; and
urged that two more major seminaries be opened. It also demanded that the government drop its
requirement that all religious activities obtain prior governmental approval.
With the Roman Catholic Church, harsh persecution continues to be directed against the
indigenous Congregation of Mother Coredemptrix. This is the only Catholic order founded by
Vietnamese citizens and thus it is highly popular. Fourteen priests, and monks from the Coredemptrix
have been imprisoned since 1987. Seventy-year-old Brother Nguyen Chau Dat for example, is serving a
20-year sentence on counter-revolutionary charges after a trial with 22 other of his co-religionists from
the Coredemptrix order in 1987.
79
Though Evangelical pastors were released from long-tenn detention during the debate about the
lifting of the U.S. trade embargo in 1993, harassment of the Protestant churches that are not registered
with the government takes other forms, such as short-term detention, fines and property confiscations,
which are no less onerous for the Evangelicals.
On September 10, Vietnamese-American pastor, Rev. An Doan Sauveur, was apprehended by
police as he led an open-air service with 70 local Christians on a hillside outside Haiphong. He was
held three days under incommunicado house arrest where he and a Vietnamese-Canadian colleague,
arrested at the same time, were interrogated. The two Christians were released from custody on Sep-
tember 13 after being fined and ordered to leave the country. The Vietnamese Security officials
confiscated all the Bibles and hymnals that the local Christians had in their possession at the time of the
raid.
Evangelicals who work with tribal groups are frequent targets of arrest and harassment for
"illegal preaching." Last year three lay leaders were arrested for the "crime" of evangelizing on their
bicycles, and were denied food for five days for praying while in prison.
In October, To Dinh Trung, an Evangelist working with prominent house church leader Rev.
Tran Mai, was tried and convicted of "abusing his freedom as a citizen to propagate religion." He was
sentenced to three years in prison. He revealed at the trial that he had been beaten by security police
during his six-month pre-trial detention. According to Trung's wife, the Evangelist was beaten, bound
by hand and foot and left to lie in the sun for a long period of time during which he was denied water.
He eventually became delirious and went on a hunger strike until he was untied and given mininTgl food
and water. ^
In May, a court in Bato District, Quang Ngai Province, sentenced two Protestant Evangelicals,
Tran Van Vui and Nguyen Van Loi, to two years' imprisonment. They have been in prison since their
arrest on November 20, 1994, probably for their itinerant evangelistic work among the Hre tribe.
Evangelical Christians do not have access to a new print-run of Bibles - the first legal Bibles
allowed in several decades ~ unless they submit to the control of the government by registering their
churches. Bibles, including personal ones of citizens and tourists alike, are routinely confiscated in
Vietnam. In July, Saigon airport audiorities confiscated 600 Bibles being brought in by American
tourists. In January last year, police raided Village No. 3 of Son Nhat and confiscated all eight Bibles
possessed by of the 35-family Christian community there and prohibited them from holding house
church meetings, according to Voice of the Martyrs.
Raids on independent Evangelical churches are common. On September 17, authorities in Dalat
raided a local church affiliated with Rev. Dinh Thien Tu's house church movement, which is the largest
autonomous Protestant movement in Vietnam. In early August, police had raided and closed a
government-sanctioned Baptist church in Dalat after finding "illegal" Christian literature on the
premises, according to News Network International.
These are merely a few examples of the pervasive harassment and suppression faced
continuously by Christians in Vietnam today.
80
NORTH KOREA
With its Stalinist ideology and a bizarre personality cult built around its founding leader the late
Kim II Sun, North Korea is the most repressive country on earth today. The government relies on
relentless propaganda and a comprehensive surveillance system that aims to control virtually every act,
thought and desire of its citizens. In this society, freedom of belief and worship have no place.
Documenting North Korea's abuses of religious and other human rights is extraordinarily
difficult. Westerns permitted into the country are largely confined within the show-case city of
Pyongyang -- designed and maintained to impress foreigners - where they are vigilantly supervised.
Reports from refugees are also scarce because the government's extremely tight security has made
fleeing the country nearly impossible. Nevertheless Puebia has been able to construct a general picture
of the situation based on interviews with a range of recent visitors to North Korea and have determined
that official Christianity in North Korea is largely a sham and that the regime is responsible for
violating the most basis religious rights.
Kim's combination of thought control and brutal punishment apparently devastated North
Korea's Christian community. Pyongyang, nicknamed "Asia's Jerusalem," was one of the continent's
most Christian cities. Today, the North Korean government claims there are only 10,000 Protestants
and no more than a few thousand Catholics in a country whose total population is over 21 million.
Since 1988, churches have been allowed to be built. There are now only three church buildings,
one Catholic and two Protestant, and these are government-built and operated and regarded by many
Western ob.servers as propaganda outlets for the government that are open only when Western visitors
are in the country. The government permits some limited worship in private homes, but its claim that the
majority of the country's Christians worship in about 500 house-churches is probably exaggerated, since
the government restricts travel, forbids unauthorized meetings and keeps religious believers under
surveillance. Currently there is not a single Catholic priest in North Korea and therefore there are no
masses or sacraments administered.
But North Korea has gone farther that China and Vietnam in another respect: it has imposed on its
citizens an alternative religion, a personality cult centered on Kim and his son. Starting as young
children, North Koreans learn to look on the "Great Leader" Kim II Sung and his son, the "Dear Leader"
Kim Jong II, a.s infallible, god-like beings and the progenitors of the Korean race. The media disseminate
legends attributing supernatural origins and powers to the Kim family, and history books ascribe to Kim
all the country's achievements, even those for which he bears no responsibility. Statues and posters of
Kim arc di.splaycd throughout the country, and every adult must wear lapel badges with his picture.
Children study the cult of Kim for many hours a day, sing songs glorifying his accomplishments and say
"grace" while saluting his photograph and that of his son. Kim's Juche philosophy — who.sc emphasis on
the supremacy of the human will most theologians will find at odds with Christianity — is the national
ideology. Thus North Koreans are not only prevented from practicing their own faith. They arc in cITect
forced to practice another.
The government controls the vestiges of traditional religious practice by means of state religious
associations, including the Korean Christian Federation (for Protestants) and the Korean Catholic
Association. Any religious activity not sponsored by the government is illegal. Home Bible study is
forbidden, as are Sunday schools in which children might be educated. 'Ilierc arc no church marriages, no
81
baptisms and no displays of religious symbols. The government prints a small number of religious tracts
for use by official religious organizations. But the "Bibles" it prints are censored to conform with the
regime's religious policies. Those who defy the government's religious policies risk a cut in their rice
rations or exile to the countryside, where life is even harder than in the cities. Religious leaders and some
believers have even been committed to mental institutions because of their faith.
Doubtless, individual Christians remain in North Korea who are sincere in their belief But Puebia
has concluded that official Christianity in North Korea is in large measure a fraud. Members of the
Korean Christian Federation are believed to have been specially trained by the government in Christian
hymns and doctrine. A British Journalist visiting North Korea met with a leader of the Federation who
couldn't name the first tliree books of the Bible, and a scholar studying North Korean religion has heard
several Korean Protestant leaders say that Kim is more important than Jesus. Church leaders accept the
cull of Kim as the country dominant ideology.
Reports by some observers would indicate that worshipers are actors in the government's charade.
A Washington Post correspondent witnessing services two of the churches reported that of the four
Protestant congregants he asked to name the first book of the Bible, none was able to do so, and that only
one of the four knew the number of Jesus' apostles. This journalist reported as well that worshipers
seemed "listless" and hardly touched the Bibles placed before them. Other journalists visiting the
churches were reminded of "a visit to a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum" or a Potemkin village.
CONCLUSION
In the realm of religious freedom. Communism remains distinctively harsh even witliin the world
of Asian authoritarianism. China, Vietnam and North Korea all severely restrict religion, including
Christianity, and attempt to bring it under government control. Regrettably, even as trade and free
markets burgeon in China and Vietnam, religion freedom continues to deteriorate. The Communist
parties that control these countries cling to their political ideology that has been so consistently disastrous
for human rights throughout their rule.
82
The Cardinal Kung Foundation
P O Box 80X6, Ridgcway Center
Stamford, CT ()69()5, USA
2(/V12'A97l2 Im 203-J2'>-H4I5
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iukI tnK Khcphcrd"
TKSTIMONY BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
OK THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
IM>Akl)<>y DIMWrOHS
llu 1:1
((TUiliuM (-'ardinal Kun^ I'm-Mvi
llor»iFury t 'hairman
By
JOSEPH M.C. KUNG
PRESIDENT
CARDINAL KUNG FOUNDATION
FEBRUARY 15. 1996
llnjUia I'aul Ainliiii«c. FMS
Kcv l;iHii> VCh<>w
Very Kcv Nittx.liH V (;««)
Kiehl Kcv Jnhn V llorgin
Agnes Y II Kune
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for the
opportunity to testify before this subcomiDi ttee again on
the issue of the freedom of religion and its ongoing
persecution in China.
My testimony is limited to the Roman Catholic
Church. I know that other religious communities also
suffered greatly under the Chinese Communist
Government. Their situations, I understand, will be
covered by other guests.
OKM.'KSK l» BRIIX;KH>K'r
Mnsl Kcv Ivdward M Kgui
II.S.A.
Rev, Jiihn llcvms
Kcv Paul Chan
Very Rev Andrew I Cusa*J(
Kev Raymond V Dunn. S J . J l>
Very Rev William A (icnuano
Richard V lluran
William A Marra. Ph I)
Sister Uanicl Marie McCabe. CSJ
KIcanor Schlaly
Kcv Irancis Xavier I sai, S J
Very Kcv Jerome Vereb. C P
Mr. Chairman, the
to the free choice and
China; rather, it must
Government's choice. I
Church, the government'
Patriotic Association",
basic doctrine of the C
as Catholic. The real
illegal by the Chinese
million Roman Catholics
this universally recogn
admission by the Chines
"freedom of religion" i
"freedom of religion" is not open
conscience of an individual in
be submitted according to the
n the case of the Catholic
s choice is "The Chinese Catholic
which, in accordance with the
atholic faith, cannot be regarded
Roman Catholic Church is declared
government. There are 965
worldwide. Refusing to legalize
ized religion is tantamount to an
e Government that there is no
n China.
TAIWAN
Most Kcv St^slaus 1^ Kuang
Marli TY Nich
The persecution of the Catholic Church is limited
only to the loyal Roman Catholic Church, not to the
Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. To understand
such compulsion, we need to review their background,
some of which will be reintroduced fron ay testimony two
years ago on March 9, 199A.
The current persecution of the Roman Catholic
Church in China started 46 years ago when the communist
government came to power. Its aim was to stamp out the
Roman Catholic faith. Failing to do so, the Chinese
government created in 1957 the Chinese Catholic
'With what pr(iy€rfut longing and low do I follow the lift of the loyal Chinese Catholic communities " Pope John Paul II. July t. 1 991
83
Testimony by Joseph Kung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 2 of 9
Patriotic Association so that this organization can be entirely
controlled by the government and be independent from any foreign
influence or control. Communists are atheists. It was never the
mission of a cooununist government to promote religion. The primary
goal of establishing the Patriotic Association was therefore to
replace the Roman Catholic Church. They failed again. Hence the
continuous persecution.
To better understand the impetus behind these activities, I will
briefly review the basic differences between the two organizations.
*** The Patriotic Association takes instruction from the
National Congress of the so-called Catholic Representatives
while the Roman Catholic church is governed by the Pope.
*** The Patriotic Association rejects the authority of the Pope.
Roman Catholics recognize the authority of the Pope.
*** The Patriotic Association appoints its own bishops and
ordains them without the permission from the Pope. All the
Roman Catholic bishops are appointed by the Pope and
ordained accordingly.
*** The Patriotic Association is legal in China and has official
status recognized by the government while the Roman Catholic
Church is illegal and is unofficial.
Since the Patriotic Association is both legal and official, its
members suffer no persecution. They also receive political and
financial support from the Chinese government.
In accordance with the Roman Catholic's basic faith, a Roman
Catholii' must accept the authority of the Pope who, we believe, is
Christ's representative on earth and the successor of St. Peter,
llndor no circumstance can a Roman Catholic accept just any other
church as a substitute without abandoning his faith and status as a
Roman Catholic. Roman Catholics in China, therefore, cannot
concurrently keep their faith and follow their government's
instruction to reject the Pope's supreme legislative, executive, and
judicial authority in the Church in spite of the risk of persecution.
Mis Rmincnce Cardinal Kung Pinmei, the bishop of Shanghai, said on the
eve of his trial in 1960: "I am a Roman Catholic Bishop. If I
dcn()un<;o the Holy Fath«r, not only would I not be a Bishop, I would
not even be a Catholic." As the Pope said on January 14, 1995 in his
message broadc^ast to China: "A Catholic who wishes to remain such and
to be recogni/ed as such cannot reje<;t the principle of communion with
t h(< suci-essor of Peter." By remaining loyal to the Pope as mandated
by the Catholic faith, the Roman Catholic Church is outlawed in China
and is known as the unofficial Church.
There is no religious freedom when a person cannot worship
according to his conscience. For choosing their conscience and faith,
tens of thousands of Catholics including many from the Legion of Nary,
a lay Catholic organization, were incarcerated nationwide. Thousands
gave their lives for their religious faith. Many of them were
executed in public. Cardinal Kung was Imprisoned for thirty years.
His Excellency the late Archbishop Dominic Tang, S.J., Archbishop of
84
Testimony by Joseph Kung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 3 of 9
Canton, for 22 years. His Excellency the late Bishop Peter Joseph
Fan, bishop of Baoding, for 34 years. The list goes on and on.
In his address on August 19, 1995, the Pope said: "the great
majority of Chinese Catholics, precisely in order to live this
fidelity in fullness, have chosen the path of suffering and silence.
With deep affection our hearts turn to these brothers and sisters of
ours who suffer great hardship, thankful for their generous and heroic
example." '
Hr. Chairman, the persecution of Roman Catholics is not ancient
history. That is why we are all here today. The persecution
continues and gets worse at a time when China is given much freedom in
business and finance, at a time when China is making significant
economic progress, at a time when China is working hard to claim its
status as an important member of the international community.
Certainly, the policy of the United States Government to separate
human rights and trade under the policy of the current administration
must bear some responsibility for this ongoing religious persecution.
As soon as the Patriotic Association was established, all
properties of the Roman Catholic Church were confiscated. Later, as
China opened up, many of the church buildings and other properties
were transferred to the Patriotic Association, leaving the loyal Roman
Catholic homeless and penniless.
Many foreign visitors have seen these reopened churches. They
appear Catholic. The priests dress like Catholic priests. Even their
prayers sound Catholic. But, they are not Catholic. They all belong
to the Patriotic Association.
Behind the seemingly serene and pious scenes in these churches
are the continuous suppression, often brutal persecution, of the eight
million Roman Catholics loyal to the Pope.
Persecution is much more widespread than merely targeting those
who have been singled-out as "ringleaders". Many others, ordinary
citizens and simple villagers, suffer serious routine harassment for
their faith in the hands of the public security bureau. This includes
intimidation, short-term detention, beatings, physical abuse, lack of
medical treatment during confinement and heavy fines which I would
characterize as ransom.
Lacking a place to worship, Roman Catholics, particularly in the
countryside, often build their own simple houses of worship on private
property. A few of these structures survived, but most of them have
been destroyed by the government.
In the last two years, we had reports that four churches were
destroyed. Many more probably met with the same fate.
In 1994, for instance, the faithful in a remote village in Jilin
Province collected 20,000 JMP (US $ 2,500). They mobilized the whole
village including children to build a tiny chapel. They completed the
structure quickly, only in five and a half days, hoping to escape the
notice of the local authorities. They hoped that once the chapel was
built, the Government might just tolerate it. They were wrong.
85
Testimony by Joseph Kung Before Subconunittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 4 of 9
The Security Bureau of the government had the intelligence. More
than one hundred army vehicles with several hundred soldiers came.
They ordered the villagers to tear down the building themselves.
Instead, the faithful gathered in their newly built chapel and prayed
in unison. The soldiers grabbed all praying villagers and threw them
out of the chapel. Using a high pressure water hose, the soldiers
dispersed all the villagers. During the late night of July 22, 1994
the soldiers returned. While the villagers slept, the chapel was torn
down. Next morning, the villagers gathered at the debris of the
destroyed church. They prayed. They wept.
Exactly sixteen months later on November 22, 1995, more than 40
police vehicles with about 150 public security officers destroyed
another newly-built church near Dong Lu in the diocese of Baoding in
Hebei. The officers severely beat the Catholic construction workers,
resulting in five injured workers. Seven Catholics were detained.
Two days later, a Holy Mass was offered at the site of the destroyed
church. Thousands came.
Between these two incidents during the 16 month period, two more
churches, both located in Baoding, were destroyed.
Mr. Sun Guofu from a small village in Hebei was arrested on
February 23, 1995 for organizing a retreat for the Roman Catholic
laity and for listening to a catechism audio tape.
Mr. Sun was badly tortured. When he passed out, he was placed
outdoor in the cold. The family of Mr. Sun was notified by the local
government that in order to secure his release, he must give a banquet
to the security personnel, and pay a fine of Chinese yen $ 5,000 which
is equivalent to almost 2 years of a villager's income. As there was
no way for Mr. Sun to raise the fine, or ransom, he remains in jail.
Rev Chi Huitian of Hebei Province was arrested on April 17, 1995
for his refusal to obey the order from the Security Bureau to cancel
his Easter Mass. He stayed in jail about 6 months. He now suffers
from a brain concussion which resulted from severe torture while in
jail .
Rev. Liao Haiqing of Jiangxi Province, age 68, was arrested many
times. The latest rearrest was on August 4, 1995. He has a heart
condition and high blood pressure. In the beginning of this
detention. Rev. Liao was not allowed to receive medication from his
family. We do not know what his current condition is.
Rev. Vincent Qin, a Jesuit priest of Qinghai Province, was also
repeatedly arrested. His latest rearrest was on November 3, 1994
while he was working in a brick factory. He was sentenced to three
years for performing his apostolic work.
Rev. Xu Delu of Jiangsu Province was arrested on October 8, 1995
after he had offered a Holy Mass in a private home. There is no
further news regarding bis condition.
Rev. Guo Baile of Jiangsu Province, known as a "fisherman's
priest", was arrested on November 1, 1995 after he offered a Holy Mass
on a 40-ton cement boat. Arrested with him were two female Catholics
86
Testimony by Joseph Kung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 5 of 9
who were beaten with an electric baton. Again, there is no further
news of their fate and condition.
During the women's conference in Beijing, while the United
States' first lady and the world's delegates were in China, many
bishops, priests and faithful were detained in an effort to stop any
attempts of the underground church from contacting the foreigners. I
know of a number of young people who are still in hiding because they
were discovered sneaking out of their village to go to Beijing. Their
intent was to meet with certain foreigners in an attempt to reveal
their struggles to the world via the international media. They never
succeeded.
On each major Catholic feastday, many foreign visitors in China
would be impressed with the attendance, music and prayers in the
reopened cathedrals of the Patriotic Association. But, behind these
peaceful and prayerful scenes, the underground Roman Catholics would
attend Holy Masses and prayer service, secretly, in private homes and
in desolated fields, even in the inclement weather.
As an example, in Yu Jiang of Jiangxi Province, the Roman
Catholics, who have no church buildings, would congregate by the
thousands on top of a desolate mountain to pray and to celebrate the
Holy Mass on each important Catholic feastday. The Chinese Government
tried its best to suppress these services. We know of two tragedies
during the prayer service in the last two years.
August 15 is the Feast of Assumption, an important date on the
Catholic calendar. It is a Holy Day of Obligation on which Catholics
must attend Mass. In 1994, there was a preemptive action by the
Chinese Government to prevent the prayer service on the mountain.
On August 13 & 1A, 1994, about a dozen Catholic leaders in Yu
Jiang and elsewhere were arrested. Many homes suspected to house out
of town Catholics were searched. As a result, many faithful attempted
to escape by jumping out of the windows on the upper floors. Many
sustained injuries. Others hid in the bushes all night.
On August 14, roads leading to the mountain were blocked, and
public transportation including ferries to and from this site were
forbidden for people suspected to be Roman Catholics heading for the
mountain.
Several thousand security personnel - many of them were hired
temporarily - and soldiers lined the routes leading to the mountain.
They tried to prevent those who filtered through the blockade from
reaching the mountain.
Several thousand faithful, risking imprisonment, torture and
fines, walked through chest-deep river and little known paths to reach
the mountain, but were stopped by the government forces who used
batons (some electrically charged) to beat the faithful, injuring
scores and arresting dozens.
Despite these atrocities, two thousand faithful broke through the
police line and reached the top of the mountain. There, they prayed
and sang hymns. There were no bishop and priests to pray and sing
87
Testimony by Joseph Rung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 6 of 9
with them, because the clergy was all arrested.
Subsequent to the above incidents, many Catholic families were
searched. Holy pictures and bibles were destroyed. They were warned
that if they kept practicing Roman Catholicism, they would be fined up
to JMP $ 500. If they harbored out of town Catholics, they would be
fined JMP $ 2,000. Moreover, they were told that if they wanted to
practice the Catholic faith, they must join the Patriotic Association
which is schismatic and is not recognized by the Pope.
A similar incident occurred during the 1995 Easter season.
Approximately 30-40 Catholics were arrested separately before and
after the Easter Sunday, again in Yu Jiang. Among them was a 60 year
old blind person. Fourteen of them were fined JMP 900 each,
equivalent to their three months income and released. Four persons
were sentenced to 2 to 5 years imprisonment. They are Pan Kunming (5
years), Rao Yanping (4 years), Yu Shuishen (3 years), Yu Qixiang (2
years). Others were let go after a short detention.
The Bishop of this diocese. Most Rev. Zeng Jingmu was arrested
many times. He was rearrested on November 22, 1995 and is still in
jail. We are most concerned as he has been in bad health.
These repeated and intermittent arrests without going through the
proper court procedures are commonly referred to as "administrative
detention". This terrorizing method has become notoriously prevalent
in China as a weapon against the clergy and lay Catholic leaders. Not
coincidentally , this methodology also makes it more difficult for
international human rights groups to obtain timely information, or to
lobby for their victims.
There is every evidence that the persecution is stepping up.
On December 22, 1995, the "religious bureau" in Shanghai
announced 63 rules and regulations to further control the religious
activities. The effective date of enforcement begins on March 1,
1996. We believe that other municipalities will follow suit. In
essence, every religious group must be registered. Each religious
activities must be preregistered and approved. No missionary activity
from foreign countries is allowed. For unregistered religious groups
like the Roman Catholic Church, no assembly of religious activities is
allowed, no church is allowed to be built, and no stipends or
donations are allowed. These new regulations appear to be a rigorous
enforcement of decrees # 144 and 145 signed by Premier Li Pang on
January 31, 1994. Failure to observe the above will result in various
punishments.
The loyal Roman Catholic Church is not legal and has never
registered with the Government. Registering with the Chinese
government under the current law would identify the Roman Catholic
Church's memberships, activities, finances and locations of worship.
They are all regarded by the Chinese government as illegal
activities. The Roman Catholic community in China is already feeling
the pressure from this new announcement.
Many faithful know that they cannot follow the Patriotic
88
Testimony by Joseph Rung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 7 of 9
Association without abandoning their faith. They feel helpless except
to prepare for the worst eventualities. They are now under close
watch by the local authorities. Just as in the 1950's, they have
packed their small bags and are ready to be arrested en masse once
again.
Bishop Joseph Fan, S.J. of Shanghai, the auxiliary Bishop of
Cardinal Rung, is taking charge of the diocese. He has been watched
very closely by the Shanghai authorities for the past few years. His
Eminence Cardinal Kung, appointed by the Holy Father, is the
recognized true Bishop of Shanghai and the Apostolic Administrator of
Soochow and Nanking. At present. Bishop Fan's every movement is
monitored by security officers.
Bishop Joseph Fan and another loyal priest of Shanghai have
announced that no longer can they offer Holy Mass in their houses to
loyal Roman Catholics pursuant to the oppressive regulations effective
March 1, 1996. They were given to understand that if the priests were
to be caught offering Mass in their house with Catholics in
attendance, they would be fined JMP 1,000 each and the member of the
faithful JMP 500 each. The fine will be doubled if they are caught a
second or third time. In the event they are caught the fourth time,
they would be expelled to the countryside with reduced living
quarters. It appears that something very awful and dreadful will
happen soon to the loyal Roman Catholic church in China.
Recently, Bishop Su Chimin, Bishop of Boading, and his auxiliary
Bishop, Bishop An Shuxin have also been under very strict
surveillance. A security person watches them at all times. Two years
ago. Bishop Su met with the U.S. delegation led by you, Mr. Chairman.
The arrests I reported above are just a cross section of our
findings, representing the tip of an iceberg. The persecution covers
a far wider area. Because of the close and constant surveillance and
the dire consequences of being caught communicating with overseas
parties on the persecution in China, receiving the latest news from
China is most difficult. Only a small number of these atrocities
reach the free world. We must have missed hundreds of such blatant
human rights violations.
The communist Chinese government hopes that these repeated
violations of freedom will intimidate the underground Roman Catholic
bishops and faithful, thereby suppressing this loyal Roman Catholic
church. The Chinese government hopes to accomplish this strategy
without the awareness of the free world. Instead, increasing
vocations and an increased Roman Catholic population from three
million in 1950's to eight million now, characterized by their strong
faith and persistence, have countered the strategy of the Chinese
government to suppress the underground Roman Catholic Church. True
faith and conscience cannot be smothered by persecution. The 46 years
of continuous persecution have proven that fact. Timely reporting of
these atrocities in the West will not only reduce these unjust
sufferings, but also put the Chinese Government on notice that they
cannot be taken as a serious partner in international politics and
trade if human rights violations continue.
89
Testimony by Joseph Kung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 1996 Page 8 of 9
Even more alarming is the fact that these arrests are not
isolated incidences. They show a pattern of organized assault on the
loyal but "illegal" Roman Catholic Church. They happen both in large
cities and in small villages. They cannot happen without the direct
endorsement of the central government. They are not isolated abuses
of some junior local officials who happened to abuse their power.
We hope that the U.S. Government would appeal to the Chinese
Government to release all these prisoners of conscience immediately
and to grant Roman Catholics equal rights to practice their faith. As
Pope John Paul II once said that there is no conflict between being a
good citizen and being a good Catholic.
As a member of the United Nations, China must abide by and uphold
the United Nations' Charter to guarantee freedom of religion for all
citizens, not just for those members who belong to the government
established Patriotic Association. The United States government and
other freedom loving countries must not ignore such repeated and
blatant violations of human rights.
The U. S. Government has used its influences to secure freedom
for citizens of many other land such as South Africa, Haiti, and
Bosnia. We find it anomalous indeed to observe that the United States
was willing to impose a trade embargo on South Africa so long as the
situation of apartheid continued, that for a long time it has been
imposing trade sanctions against the repressive regime in Communist
Cuba, but the United States has accorded to the Peoples' Republic of
China most favored nation trade status. The question remains: Is the
United States truly prepared to sacrifice some possible monetary loss
to its business interests in order to send a strong message to a
nation which has no regard for basic human rights and is violating
them on a daily basis? It is important to keep in mind that a country
which violates this basic right of its citizen is most unlikely to
honor its promises to other nations.
United States of America was founded because our forefathers
suffered, fought, and worked hard to gain this God given rights of
freedom. On behalf of the faithful in the loyal Roman Catholic Church
in China, I urge the United States government to help the Chinese
citizens to regain their rights of religious freedom. The United
States government and all freedom loving countries must press Beijing
to stop these assaults on religious freedom and to challenge the
Beijing government to demonstrate that it can be a responsible member
of the international community.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. _
90
Testimony by Joseph Kung Before Subcommittee on Human Rights
February 15, 199^ Page 9 of 9
Translation of Chinese Names and places
An, Shu Xin
^m^
Baoding
^^
Beijing
Ayl
Canton
#,-H
Chi, Huitian
ieAi^s
Dong Lu
m
Fan, Joseph
Ji^^l
Fan, Joseph Pet
er -^# vh
Guo, Bailo
it<^^
Hebei
i€>li
Jiangxi
i^-*
Jiangsu
il-^
Jilin
4-^
Kung, Pinmei
^.:^^
Liao, Haiquing
^n^i
Nanking
^ A
Pan Kunming
7$r^4
Qin, Vincent
^1^-1
Qinghai
■k vt
Rao, Yanping
Ah^^
Shanghai
j-.^
Soochow
^^■*A
Su, Chimin
AA'M
Sun, Guofu
^i(i]H
Tang, Dominic
ii^ ►■A 4,
Xu, Delu
^t^^
Yu Jiang
^'■»>-
Yu, Qixiang
-iA^
Yu, Shuishen
4\'^i~
Zeng Jingmu
it.tt
91
Addendum to Joseph Kung's Testinony on February 15, 1996 Before the
Subcoaifflittee on International Operations and Human Rights. Page 1 of 1
In Baoding and its neighboring towns in Hebei Province:
1) An almost 80 year old Roman Catholic pastor. Rev. Zhao Tingbin,
was visited by local authorities daily ostensibly to investigate
the property rights of his church and seminary. The villagers
are afraid that this disturbance could be the prelude of the
government's decision to destroy Rev. Zhao's church.
In the meantime, the authority proceeded to investigate every
resident's status, dispersed all religious in the seminaries and
convents. Several nuns were arrested. In the meantime.
Catholic doctrine is not allowed to be taught in the church.
In the local schools, every student and teacher's background
were investigated. When Catholics were identified, they were
ordered to join the Patriotic Association and were not allowed
to wear the Holy Medals. If refused, they would be dismissed
from the school system. Several persons were subsequently
dismissed. Concurrently, the authority promised that teachers
who renounced their Catholic faith would be promoted from
private school teacher to that of national status.
In order to prevent Roman Catholic students from attending Mass
on Sundays, the school system declared Sunday a school day and
Friday a free day.
2) December 21, 1995 was the first anniversary of the death of
Bishop Zheng Jianzhang, the late Bishop of Baoding. In order to
prevent the estimated 10,000 Catholics mourners to pray at
Bishop Zheng's grave site, the government sealed off the area
and prohibited the bishops and priests to offer Mass there.
Residences were searched. Out of town Catholics were arrested.
Rev. Liu Fumin, Rev. Hu Fun, Rev. Huang Quanlu, two nuns and
seven Catholic lay persons were arrested. More than 150 police
vehicles were used. Those who succeeded in getting through the
police blockade were arrested on their return and transferred to
their local authorities.
3) More than four hundred security personnel from the local
authorities are now stationed in Baoding and its neighboring
towns to enforce the laws regarding "illegal" religious
activities. They even started a branch of a public security
office in Dong Lu which is the site of the annual Marian
pilgrimage in May with total attendance well over 100,000 from
all over the country. To add insult to injury, the villagers
must provide room and board to all the government's security
personnel !
Hu Fun ■^^ /^^ Huang Quanlu J^-^%.
Liu Fumin ^/j ^ X Zhao Tingbin ^>f< ^t -fjti
Zheng Jianzhang [^■ij'^
92
TESTIMONY OF REVEREND TRAN QUY THffiN
BEFORE
THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
Thursday, February 15, 1996
Mr. Chairman,
Honorable Members of the Subcommittee on International Operations
and Human Rights,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honor for me to be here today in this august assembly, which is part of
the legislative branch of the United States and represents the highest authority in this land.
When I received the invitation to speak in front of you today, I realized that it was not
simply due to the fact that as a Catholic chaplain, I have spent some thirteen years in a
number of Vietnamese conmiuaist "re-education" camps. Rather, I am called here to speak
on behalf of the whole question of religious freedom in Vietnam, of which I am only a living
witness.
I would like therefore to start out by saying that the conununist authorities in Vietnam
did not single out my church, the Catholic Church of Vietnam, as a target for their
repressive policy. In fact, following Karl Marx and considering all five major religions of
Vietnam (Buddhism, Catholicism, Caodaism, Hoa Hao, and Protestanism) to be "the opiate
of the people" that needs to be eradicated, they have gone systematically after their
extermination, suppression and/or co-optation. This is a policy that they have implemented
and perfected in North Vietnam since their rise to power in 1945. When they came into full
control of South Vietnam in April 1975, they only elaborated on that policy —improvising
adaptations at first but eventually stunming them up in two governmental measures, Decision
No. 297 dated 11 November 1977 and Ministerial Decree No. 89/HDBT dated 21 March
93 .
2
1991, acxording to which all religions in Vietnam are under the control of the State
Committee for Religious Affairs and all religious activities are strictly circumscribed. This
includes not only such things as religious restrictions and prohibitions, church services, the
selection of seminarians, the training, appointment and movement of religious leaders within
the church, but even such things as the regulation of gifts or aid received from abroad, the
importation of religious literature, international exchanges with churches and religious
organizations outside of Vietnam. In the words of a famous Redemptorist father currently
residing in Saigon, Father Chan Tin, the current situation of the Catholic Church of Vietnam
is as follows: "The state intervenes blatantly in the internal aifairs of the Church and
opposes the Vatican's appointments of bishops to vacant sees. To take the case of the Saigon
archdiocese, the Vatican had appointed Monsignor Nguyen Van Thuan to be the deputy to
Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh even before 30 April 1975. Claiming, however, that he owed
the people a 'blood debt,' the state held him in prison for thirteen years and even after he
came out of jail, he was expelled from Vietnam. When the late Archbishop Nguyen Van
Binh was seriously ill and about to die, the Vatican appointed Monsignor Huynh Van Nghi to
replace him as the prelate of Saigon but the state repeatedly opposed that move and, even
after Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh passed away, the state still made everything possible to
prevent Monsignor Nghi from coming to Saigon [to assume his post]. It had him under
constant surveillance, had him followed and prevented in every way from reaching Safi^.
These are some of the latest developments. As for other areas of religious freedom, [the
state continues to] linoit the number of seminaries and seminarians, check on the background
of teachers at those seminaries, prevent the q)pointment of local parish priests, raise all kinds
24-741 96-4
94
3
of obstacles when the bishops try to move the priests from one parish to another, all these
and others should suffice to prove that the state continues to blatantly violate the human and
civil rights of the Vietnamese people." (Phone interview granted to VNCR, Vietnam
California Radio, on January 27, 1996)
From the above it is clear that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) has been
engaged in a vicious plan to do away witb' organized religions in Vietnam despite the fact
that the Vietnamese people are among the most religious people on earth. This plan is a
systematic one, divided into various stages, and it is fully controlled by the Communist Party
of Vietnam (CPV) at every stage. As demonstrated by a detailed document written in 1994
by Do Trung Hieu, the Party member put in charge but who eventually came to be ashamed
of the role he played in the destriiction of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBC),
the CPV does not stop before any scheme, no matter how insidious, in order to destroy what
it considers to be its main competitors as far as the allegiance of people is concerned.
Thus, no pen will ever be adequate to describe all the acts of terrorism, repression,
suppression, murder and in^>risonment aimed at the religious leaders and their followers—
purely on religious grounds— in Vietnam. And among the means used towards those ends as
well as to sow division among the various faiths in Vietnam, one must not fail to mention the
so-called "political protection public security" force which is one of the main "instruments of
violence" of the regime and the state-sponsored churches that are concoctions meant to
destroy the various churches of Vietnam from the inside. For instance, to destroy the UBC
they created an official Buddhist Church of Vietnam (only the word "Unified" is left out) to
buy some ambitious leaders and draw them to the side of the government in an atten^)t to
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4
confuse the (ignorant) outside world-but this church is all shadow, no substance. In the case
of the Catholic Church, they created since 1976 a Liaison Committee of Patriotic Catholics
that is allowed its own publication to contravene any and every attempt by the mother church
to organize the Catholics of Vietnam, who number between six and seven millions, into an
independent social force for good within an independent Vietnam.
Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Members of the Subcommittee,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In view of the above it is absolutely necessary for the world to speak up, and to get
the support of the Congress of the United States, in demanding-
1 . That the SRV Government restores to the churches of Vietnam their legality so
that they can operate normally, as in any other civilized country, without the interference of
such superfluous bodies as the State Conmiittee for Religious Affairs or the state-sponsored
pseudo-churches that go by the various names of "patriotic this" and "patriotic that."
2. That the SRV Government releases at once all religious leaders belonging to every
faith, not only mrns and priests but also laypersons imprisoned for their religious activities.
Once released, these people should not be in probation either, which is only an euphemism
for house arrest.
3. That the SRV Government returns all the church properties to the various
churches so that they could make their positive contributions to healing society~in terms of
cultural, educational, social and religious contributions.
4. That the SRV Government only needs to follow the letter and spirit of its own
Constimtion, which in Article 70 guarantees the "freedom to worship, freedom of religion.
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5
and the freedom to practice or not to practice a religion. " The SRV is also bound by the
commitment it gave in joining the United Nations that various freedoms be respected,
including the freedom of religion, as defined in the UN Charter and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
In closing, I would like to present to you, Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Members
of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, my humble and most
sincere thanks for giving me this precious opportunity to speak on behalf of my co-
religionists and sister faiths in Vietnam.
97
Mr. Tom White
USA Director of The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc.
Date of Hearing: February 15, 1996
House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
Cuba
Introduction
Throughout Fidel Castro's time in office, there have been many reports of Bible
confiscation and the imprisonment of pastors and prominent church leaders. On one
occasion, reported by Dr. Herbert Caudill living in Cuba, a few decades ago, 100,000
Bibles were thrown into the huge steel grinder of a sugar mill. Police kept the leather
covers to make purses. In another incident, reported by Cuban pastor Noble Alexander,
27,000 Bibles were "accidentally" burned in a Havana warehouse after 3,000 of them
were distributed and pictures were taken to "show" that Christianity is welcome in Cuba
As of today's date, Cuba has not yet replaced this number of Bibles.
Time has passed and religious liberty in Cuba is present on paper but still not
totally in practice. Large open-air assemblies are forbidden. Two years ago, Chris Yales
led a groups of forty Jamaicans with Bibles to Cuba. They were all arrested at their hotel.
The police robbed many of them. They were escorted back to the plane with all of the
Bibles.
In the summer of 1 994 soon after Mr. Yales' abrupt "deportation" from Cuba, the
Havana government drew up a list of agencies it will not admit to the island including
Campus Crusade for Christ, Youth With a Mission, and many others.
Media reports over the last few years promote Fidel Castro as a religious "guru",
appearing in American churches to change his image from a harsh and heavy-handed
dictator to a kind and "tolerant" leader. However, in spite of these efforts to change
public perception of him, there still remains an air of hostility, as displayed in the case of
Pastor Orson Vila and recent rulings issued by him and the Office of Religious Affairs.
Pastor Orson Vila
On September 29, 1989, Cuban authorities in the Office of Religious Affairs (of
the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party) met with the Board of Directors
of the Evangelical Pentecostal Assembly of God Church to issue an edict allowing
Christians to meet in house churches. This decision was also communicated to various
other religious institutions.
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98
As a result of this order by the Office of Religious Affairs, a total of 800 house
churches were established across the country of Cuba. Among these 800 house churches
was one in Camaguey called Palabras de Vida Sobre la Roca located behind the home of
Pastor Orson Vila Santoyo [see photos], who stands as the present Superintendent of the
Central District of the Assemblies of God Church in Cuba. Pastor Orson Vila's
congregation grew to a membership of 2,000-2,500 meeting almost daily behind his
home, where many atheists would renounce their ideology for that of Christianity. Pastor
Vila gave up his medical career 23 years ago to preach the Gospel. He has been his
church's National Advisor to youth and has been threatened several times by the police.
Due to this enormous growth coupled with converted atheists, the Cuban
authorities decided to send a message to house churches across the country. On May 25,
1995 at 5:30 am, Cuban police officials arrested Pastor Orson Vila and confiscated items
used in his church services. His congregation was banned from worshipping there.
On that same day, without previous warning to his family or the defense lawyer.
Pastor Orson Vila was taken to the Municipal Tribunal of Justice where he was
interrogated for four hours. Authorities were hoping that Pastor Orson Vila would deny
his faith and convictions, but he did not. Thousands of people gathered in front of the
public prosecutor's office on Cisnero Street in Camaguey in support of Pastor Vila.
Pastor Orson Vila was accused of "illegal gatherings" and "disobedience", which
were considered inadmissible, according to Cuban authorities. Therefore, he was
sentenced to one year and eleven months in prison for "spreading the Gospel." After an
appeal was made, his sentence was reduced to one year and six months. He began
serving his sentence in a cold, refrigerated cell in Cer^mica prison in Camaguey. From
there he was transferred to Central Penitentiary "Las 40" in Camaguey, where he is now
located, doing forced agricultural labor. He weighed 217 pounds when he was arrested
but has lost 62 pounds since then.
Even though the government was granted their wish of sentencing Pastor Orson
Vila to prison, the authorities have not ceased the false accusations and harassment
toward him and his family. Cuban authorities continue to threaten house churches in
Havana, Villa Clara, Eastern Cuba and 82 more4n Camaguey.
Conclusion
In spite of the fact that churches have been given more freedom over the last 10
years, Fidel Castro and his Office of Religious Affairs must be held accountable for the
imprisonment of Pastor Orson Vila, the restrictions on house churches, and the banning
of Christian groups from entering the country. The Committee for the Defense of the
Revolution, represented by at least one family on each block continues to monitor the
movements of every family on the street.
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99
Mr. Tom White
USA Director of The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc.
Date of Hearing: February 15, 1996
House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
Vietnam
Introduction
There may be some present here today who have the opinion that the animosity
toward Christianity in Vietnam is due to the war. However, study of Vietnamese history
proves this is not the case. Vietnam has opposed Christianity since its first introduction
in the 1600's. Under Communism, this opposition first became a national policy with
systematic containment and persecution.
Furthermore, we find a curious mix of Communism, Buddhism and other beliefs
in Central Vietnam among the policemen themselves who persecute the Christian house
churches. Many uf the police have statues in their home, bum incense and maintain
certain local religious customs.
When Vietnamese Christian pastors explain to the authorities that Christianity is
not a Western religion but that the Bible was written in the Middle East, these argimients
are tossed aside.
The Vietnamese government has allowed one printing of the Bible since the
Communist takeover in 1975. This printing has been in the Vietnamese language only.
The Vietnamese government still prohibits the printing or distribution of any Christian
literature in tribal languages among the tribal groups in Vietnam. The most common
accusation by the authorities against those practicing Christianity in Vietnam is that they
are adopting a "Western" religion.
In the summer of 1994, Vietnamese police raided a print shop in Saigon and
confiscated 400 New Testaments that were being printed for the K'Ho tribe. Police
continue to search for the pastor who was in charge of this printing project. Communists
continue to conduct routine searches of print shops. This confiscation of New Testaments
occurred during the same year when the Vietnamese government announced that they
would import a large quantity of Bibles or allow the printing of Bibles. This
demonstrates the government's hypocrisy in giving permission with one hand and
destroying Bibles with the other.
In July of 1995, one week after the United States signed economic agreements
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100
with Vietnam, Vietnamese officials seized over 600 Christian books from believers. We
have met Christians from the Hanoi or Haiphong area in Saigon in February 1996 who
have traveled 800 miles on hard wooden train seats three days and three nights looking
for a Bible. Vietnamese traveling back to Vietnam today have their Bibles confiscated
upon entry at the airport.
South Vietnam
Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma - CMA
The Vietnamese government uses exile, imprisonment, beatings, property
confiscation and heavy fines to persecute Christians in Vietnam. One example of
property confiscation and exile is that of Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma and his family. [See
photo]
Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma was leader of the largest church in Can Tho. After the
Communists took over the South, they tried to force him into signing a document giving
the church to them. He refused.
The Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) movement in Vietnam is one of the
largest Protestant organizations. Two hundred of their church buildings and properties
were confiscated after the Communist take over and were not returned.
Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma, also head pastor of the Southwestern Region for the
Evangelical Church in Vietnam, was placed under house arrest and moved to a remote
area on the Mekong E)elta on April 2 1 , 1982. He was convicted as the "number one
person against communism" without a court hearing or trial. Section 10 of Vietnamese
governmental law says, "No one is considered guilty unless tried by a court and found to
be guilty." He has also been beaten by police on numerous occasions.
Regulation 29 states: "A period for house arrest is 1-5 years after the date of
conviction." Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma was evicted from his original residence and has
remained in exile for over 1 3 years without a single court ^pearance. His wife and ten
children suffer exile with him.
The Vietnamese government made repeated attempts to pressure Pastor Lap Ma to
preach and write his opinions according to Communist doctrines. The government
officials allow the family to go to church with the condition that they sit in the back and
say nothing to anyone. The government's recurrent accusations and threats wear away
Pastor Lap Ma's mental and physical strength. His conscience has consistently refused to
comply with the government's demands, which in turn, has led to forced labor for the
state and continued house arrest.
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Pastor Lap Ma's children have also been persecuted by the government. They are
not allowed to attend college and are denied benefits available to other children. I place
a photocopy of a 1992 police document forbidding 13 year-old Nguyen Thi Kim Tho to
attend his eighth grade public school class. The reason given by authorities is, "under
house arrest because of religion." '
One of his daughters is married but her husband lives in another location. The
government will not allow her to live with her husband but occasionally gives her
permission to visit him. She is 28 years old.
Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma's current address is: Pastor Nguyen Lap Ma
Ap 6, Thi-tran Long My
Huyen Long My, Tinh Can-tho
Vietnam
Central Vietnam
In the last two to three years in the rural areas of Quang Ngai province and Quang
Tri province, the Vietnamese government has constructed himdreds of wooden poles, 18-
20 feet tall. On these poles are loud speakers facing all four directions.
The first week of February 1 996 it was reported that at 3 am. in the area of Dong
Ho, which is in Quang Tri province, the government began news broadcasts over these
loud speakers. It was a very loud broadcast, which continued until 1 1 p.m. In many other
villages, broadcasts begin at 4 a.m. also ending at 1 1 p.m. Even a government guide with
the Americans was very unhappy for these broadcasts and apologized to the groups,
stating negatively that this was propaganda.
These poles with speakers are situated in many outlying rural areas in succession,
one-quarter of a mile apart or in clusters in the centers of villages. It is the opinion of
Christians living in the area and of visitors that these loud speaker poles have been
constructed in an effort to counteract the influence of Christianity and the growth of the
house church movements in these areas.
Specific instances of persecution among the Vietnamese tribes in Central Vietnam
are as follows:
Vietnamese Christians from tribal areas are placed on television or in the
newspapers and are ridiculed. On July 10, 1995, the police in Dae Lac province
interrogated eight Christians for a week. They asked one Christian named, K'Be where he
had obtained these Bibles and tracts. He was accused of preaching the Gospel without a
license. K'Be was forced to have interviews with the police on the radio and on television
in the city of Di Linh. His face was on television every week for three minutes with an
explanation of his crime.
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102
K'Be told me in his words:
"They do not want the church to grow. They put my face on television, so the
people can identify me. I have been caught three more times. They say if I am
caught one more time, they will put me in prison. I asked the police why the city
of Di Linh has no church. They claimed that the church refused to revolt against
the government, so they closed it. My wife rejoices that my name is in the Book
of Life and that my face is a witness on television. I serve in difficult areas. Pray
for me." [Photo available]
Pastor Kon-Sa-Ha-Hak was arrested March 8, 1990. He is the pastor of 10,000
Christians in the K'Ho tribe. All of his property was confiscated, police tied his hands
behind his back and put lit cigarettes in his nose. Evangelist Hoang Van Phung was also
arrested for practicing religion without a license. These two men were held in a labor
camp at Thu Due. They have been released since we published a photograph of these two
men visiting their wives in the labor camp and published the camp address, so Christians
around the world could write to them. [Photo available]
The Vietnamese government arrests men and women, even elderly grandmothers.
Mrs. Vo Thi Manh, a grandmother with 1 5 grandchildren, was held at different prisons
and labor camps and released only a few years ago. Her crime was holding house
services. She was transported from the Thu Due prison to a labor camp in the back of an
old U.S. Army truck with chains on her legs. [Photos available]
KlManh
In late January 1995, Vietnamese police confiscated every Bible and Christian
book in village #3 of Son Nhat. The only churches in this village are two house churches
w^ere 35 families meet. These families shared eight Bibles among them. The police
required them to write a report and then prohibited them from meeting.
One of the house church pastors is Brother K'Manh. He and his family live in a
simple home with a dirt floor. [See photo] His address is: K'Manh
Thon 3 Son Nhat
Thi Tran Dinh Van
Huyen Lam Ha
Tinh Lam Dong
Vietnam
103
Ho Van Loc
Brother Ho Van Loc of the K'ool tribe has suffered greatly for having house
church meetings in his home. Police and soldiers came to his home last year and killed
his only water buffalo, which he used for plowing. The authorities, laughing at his
family, butchered the buffalo in the fi'ont yard, built a fire, and cooked it.
The officials tried to get the villagers to eat it too, but they refused. Brother Lxk
stood quietly to the side with his wife and children, watching their only valuable earthly
possession go up in smoke. The police carried the remaining meat and other possessions
to the station. Brother Loc lives in Quang Nga, but currently serves a prison sentence
with To Dinh Trung. [See photo]
To Dinh Trung
To Dinh Tnmg of the K'Ho tribe has been repeatedly arrested, beaten, videotaped,
ridiculed by police in front of village assemblies, slept covered with mosquitoes in prison
latrines. He has been expelled from the only official church some distance from his home
at Binh Son, as this church is afraid of the police officials.
His wife recently wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Vietnam^ Vo Van Kiet,
opposing her husband's arrest and conviction on official accusations of, "taking advantage
of citizen's freedom to violate the interest of the government" and "evangelizing the Good
News (the Gospel) to the people."
For the record, an English translation of Mrs. To Dinh Trung's letter to Prime
Minister Vo Van Kiet has been included. She is also known as Im Thi Nguyen.
Mrs. Trung pointed out several discrepancies in her husband's arrest. According
to Vietnamese People's Law it is not illegal to "evangelize". Police officials stated that
Mr. Trung was "caught in action" while riding his bicycle home. There was no illegal
action, in which he was engaging when he was arrested by police.
New Vietnamese rulings have also been issued which state that Bibles are not
illegal, in fact they are being printed in Hanoi and Hai Phong. Therefore, authorities
cannot use Mr. Trung's Bible as evidence against him in a court of law or destroy it,
which they tried.
Mr. Trung is being held at: Trai Giam Tinh
Quang Ngai
Vietnam
Mrs. To Dinh Trung resides at: Binh Lap- Binh Son
Quang Ngai
Vietnam
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No official churches exist in these tribal areas. Vietnamese Christians cannot
walk or ride a bicycle fifty or more miles every Sunday morning to church.
Mrs. To Dinh Trung's (a.k.a. Im Thi Nguyen) Letter:
To: Prime Minister of (VN) Socialist and Democratic of Vietnam
To All: People's Court and Supreme Court of Socialist and Democratic of Vietnam
Ref : Petition to protest tlie unfiur trial of my husband, Trung Dinh To, at the People's
Court at Tra Bong, on October 10, 1995 at 8 am.
My Name: Im Thi Nguyen
Date of Birth: 1965
Correct Address: Binh Lap-Binh Son
QuangNgai
Wife of Mr. Tnmg Dinh To
I wish to voice my protestation, disagreement, to the Prime Minister of Socialist and
Democratic of Vietnam, widi the following reasons:
I. Wrongly confiscating and (accusation) arrest at the city of Tra Bong.
1 . As the victim's wife, I was not notified when my husband was arrested. This is
against the government's Law #67 concerning the notification of any arrest to
loved ones and Law #70, page 4 concerning "temporary arrest" by your own law.
2. According to Law #68, page 3 of the govenunent, my husband should have
received paper notifying us that he, my husband, only was kept in jail
temporarily to wait for trial. We never received any notification concerning tiiis
matter.
3. There was no mention of my husband's belongings and property (his bicycle)
at the time he was arrested. According to the Law #120, no officials were
allowed to take away any of the "victim's belongings."
4. Law #71 states: "temporary arrest" by the state law doesnt allow officers to
husband was held in prison for over 5 months and 5 days (from April 29, 1995
till October 4, 1995) before his was put on a trial (at People's Court in Tra Bong
at 8 am October 5, 1995).
I . My husband was convicted at the People's Court on ground "taking advantage of
citizen's freedom to violate the interest of the government!"
a. When my husband visited Mr. Thanh at his house, my husband was invited by
Mr. Thanh. My husband didnt come in without the hosfs invitation.
b. At the court, the judge said that my husband "explained the Good News" to
Mr. Thanh. My husband would not have explained "The Good News" if he was
not asked to do so!
c. When explaining "The Good News", my husband never did try to put down
the government. But on the contrary, my husband advised people to obey the
rule of the land as God wanted them to. He also encouraged them not to gamble,
not to smoke, or to be involved in superstitious practices.. .My husband was
irmocent because he tried to help people to live a good life. Why was he
arrested?
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2. According to the local secret police, my husband was accused of "evangelizing the
Good News" to people, he was "caught in action"!
a. According to the people's Law, it is not illegal to be "Evangelizing The Good
News".
b. My husband was arrested while he was riding his bicycle home. How was he
"caught in action"?
3. There was one witness, Mr. Quang D. Pham, who has known my husband for a long
time. He declared that my husband was innocent.
4. At the People's Court, the evidence was the Bible and you, officers, wanted to destroy
it (the Bible). According to the new laws regarding religious freedom. Bibles are
being reprinted in Hanoi and Danang. Therefore, possessing a Bible is not
illegal.
5. Also, according to the Law #56, it states that Bibles cannot be used as an evidence.
Then Bibles should not be destroyed (burned).
11. 1 wish to present my case as the wife of the "criminal." I want to clarify that my
husband did not fight against another "prisoner" as he was accused at the time he
was put in jail.
a. When my husband was being kept temporarily in the Jail, he was not allowed
to meet the one he was accused of beating. The secret police didnt want my
husband to see him, because you secret police know that my husband was falsely
accused, to extend his stay longer in your jail.
6. According to the Law #5 and #6, government is to protect its citizens. My husband was
not protected but abused physically and mentally by the secret police. On behalf
of the citizens of this country, I strongly oppose your unfair ruling and
dictatorship upon my husband's case.
To the Honorable Prime Minister,
According to the new policy of this country, Mr. Quang Vu, Director of the
Religious Committee from Hanoi, states that one of the ways to promote good
relations with foreign countries is to promote the opeimess of religious freedom.
This new direction is only in theory, not in reality. I wish to ask you, Mr. Prime
Minister, to reconsider this.
7. According to the Law # 1 1 , my husband did nothing wrong. And if a person was not
found guilty because of vague evidences, he or she should be set free. I opposed
the decision made by the People's Court that ray husband was declared that he
had to be jailed for 36 months for committing no crime at all. It is unfair and
uncivilized.
When my husband was taken away fivm my family on April 29, 1995, my third
child was only 13 days old.
Binh son, Oct. 7, 1995
Petitioner- Im Thi Nguyen
8. P.S. My husband was taken to jail, but there was no legal paper or record given to him
or to me as his wife. I have written petitions to all levels of authorities but do
106
not prevail. I followed steps as the Law required, but for 1 S days after my first
petition, I have not heard anything from your offices.
Binh Son, Oct. 23, 1995
TntNham
One case which illustrates the continual pattern of persecution is that of the house
church at Tra Nham in Quang Ngai province:
1st Time: At 7:30 people from Village Fanning Party plus community came to persecute
and beat the brothers in our church rudely. The chief of the village fined us a pig
which was belonged to Brother D6ng's family.
2Dd Time: On Thursday 1993, people from Village Farming Party plus community came
again to persecute and punish us, the brothers in the church, a village guerrilla,
Mr. Pham shot death one ox of Brother Phuong and Dung's family. Afterward,
Mr. Lan and Mr. Chuc guarded the front door with gims and Mr. Tuin and Mr.
Phan guarded the back door with guns, prohibited the brothers to leave the house.
In this 2nd time, Mr. Banh, chief-of-police of the village gave order to bind
Brother Nam with ropes then draw him outside. Mr. Truong and Mr. Thanh used
the ropes to bind Nam up and Mr. Banh used a rod to beat Brother Nam.
Afterward the village authority fined three brothers with 39 days of laboring.
During this time, the village officers, Mr. Banh and Mr. Tuan and Mr. Quyen
pulled down one jack fi^t and forced brother Truong to kneel down upon this
spiny fruit and then fined brother Truong to carry wood in some areas in the
village office. That's the 2nd time.
3rd Time: The people from Village Fanning Party invited 5 brothers: Brother Trinh,
Brother Truong, Brother Nam, Brother Thang and Brother Chuong to go to a
meeting on the 4th day of New Year (Lunar New Year) on Feb. 95. When they
go, the village officers commanded them to bring along 25 containers of rice.
That night, he ordered to bring his duck worth 40,000 VN Dong (one week's
wages). They have to stay in the meeting overnight. On the morning of the 5th
day, they told Brother Trinh to go back and bring the money to buy back his own
duck. In the morning of that 5th day, Mr. Pham used his fists to beat Brother
Truong and Brother Chuong on their faces and their faces turned all black. Then
Mr. Pham commanded Brother Truong to carry the ox stool by hand. He ordered
Brother Truong and Chuong to go look for wood. The next day, the 6th day of
New Year he ordered all of the 4 brothers to go work in the village office one day
(carrying logs). On the 7th day, the officer ordered the 4 brothers to go and work
for Mr. Thang, the village secretary. At midnight, the village guerrillas came to
unit 3- Tra Nhem village, aimouncing the order of the village police authority Mr.
107
Ho van Banh and Mr. Ho van Minh and Mr. H6 van Hoa. The village chief of
Dong Tam gave order to guerrillas to steal away the mother pig of Brother 6n
then of Brother Tranh. That night, they came again took the mother hen and 8
eggs of Brother Hanh, and at 6 p.m. they took away 5 mother hens of Brother
Henh. At 7 p.m. Mr. Quyen shot to death the mother pig of Brother Loi. At 6:45
p.m. Mr. Ho van Pham took away the mother pig of Brother Thang. At 7:20 p.m.
Mr. Pham took away one cock and 5 mother hens of Brother Dong and also took
away 2 mother hens and 1 0 chickens of Brother Thanh and also the hen of Brother
Nang. At 2 o'clock the next morning, Mr. Quyen shot to death the ox of Brother
On, and 3 other oxen and took away one female ox on the 9th of New Year and
draw it back to the village office. The officer of community co-operated with the
chief village gave order ask us to make 600 (milk cans) of rice for them. All the
Brothers in the church had to gather 64 measures of rice to make 600 containers of
rice for the authorities to eat from 9-10 of Feb. 95 and the amount of money we
used for all the group from the 4th of New Year to the 10th of New Year is 80,000
VN Dong. What we said about the 1 st and 2nd and 3rd time is a true report.
Person who wrote is Ho Duy Thang
Person who testify is Ho van Trinh
The church is Tra Nham, number of believers (both males and females) are 102 members.
North Vietnam
It is estimated that there are only 9 to 1 2 official Tinh Lanh churches open in
North Vietnam. Tinh Lanh means "Good News". Tinh Lanh church is the government-
umbrella church which would include all Protestant movements in Vietnam.
The growth of Christians in tribal groups in North Vietnam is in the tens of
thousands within the last few years. In the Hmong tribe alone, north of Hanoi and in the
surrounding regions, is also in the tens of thousands. The government refuses to allow
any Christian worship that is not within the walls of the official church. When one
remembers that there are only 9 to 12 official church buildings opwn in North Vietnam,
this becomes a ridiculous situation and a restriction for on the Christians in this area.
Christianity was introduced to the Hmong tribesmen through Christian literature
brought in from the South and short-wave radio programs. Some of these broadcasts
were set up by FEBC, Far Eastern Broadcasting Company, with transmitters in the
Philippines.
The Vietruimese government has responded to these Christian broadcasts with
ridicule and harassment directed to the Hmong tribe. I now hold in my hands a copy of
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the Hanoi newspaper called, Nhan Dan. This is the April 21, 1991 issue. In this issue, it
reveals the Vietnamese government's verbal attack on the Hmong tribe for listening to
Christian radio broadcasts. Some excerpts from this newspaper are, I quote:
"The Hmong have always believed that one day they will have a good leader, a
Savior to come and save them.... Reactionaries take advantage of this
psychological belief, in order to spread a rumor about this King."
The word, "King" refers to Jesus Christ. Another quotation:
"The King-worshipping "Vang Chu' (God) movement started in Ha Tuyen
province in September 1989. Since then there has been a widespread trend toward
claiming the name of the King and receiving the King. This is causing a lot of
serious damage against the security of the country, and many Hmong are
suffering. They are stopping their work; killing domestic animals; leaving their
local religion; selling buffaloes, cows, pigs and poultry to get money to purchase a
radio to listen to the voice of "Vang Chu' (God)."
Another quotation:
"Foreign radio stations are broadcasting in the Hmong dialect convince people
that "Vang Chu' (God) is in fact the real King of Hmong people. These radio
broadcasts call upon them to leave their household spirit and worship the
Heavenly Spirit instead."
Also during this same time period on Radio Hanoi, they have attacked Christian
radio broadcasts with the statement:
"...they have also organized ethnic-language broadcasts from overseas to
broadcast incendiary propaganda among the Hmong and destabilized the areas
they inhabit inside Vietnam. These include the Hmong-language radio programs
from Radio FEBC, which teach Christianity... claiming that Jesus came down
fix)m Heaven to care for the Hmong from the day they were bom imtil they die.
Therefore, Hmong people must convert to Christianity."
I now hold before you a small, five band, short-wave radio of the type which the
Hmong people purchase. These radios cost eight or nine dollars and are a very great
financial sacrifice for these people.
Although the newsp^)er article attacking Christian radio broadcast was printed in
1991, last year police continued to confiscate these radios from the Hmong tribesmen.
Officials smashed them to pieces and confiscated any Christian literature they had. Once
again, please keep in mind that the Hmong people are offered no alternative, as there are
10
109
no official churches in their areas, which they may attend with the so called "blessing" of
the Vietnamese government.
The Vietnamese government refuses to allow pastors, even of the official
churches, in South Vietnam to visit pastors in North Vietnam. They treat the two similar
bodies as separate organizations and will allow no communication between them. The
northern evangelical church of Vietnam is the only Protestant body in the North with
official legal standing. As far as the Vietnamese authorities are concerned, there are still
two Vietnams for Christians: the growing South and the even more tightly controlled
North.
Northern evangelical leaders speak of government manipulation of church
leadership elections and are unhappy with the order that their annual church conference
must include a mandatory church visit to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, visiting the dead
Communist leader.
Conclusion
1. I place here before you the original 1991 arrest document signed by Vietnamese
police, arresting 43 year-old barber, Mrs. Pham Phi Anh for carrying Christian literature
to the city Da Nang.
2. I place here before you the original arrest document and notice of the government
seizure of Christian literatxire, four days later at the home of the same Pham Phu Anh
back in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Her husband was arrested at this time. The items
seized and listed by police are:
-1 New Testament and 1 Old Testament, published in Hong Kong in 1985
-1 Pastor's Guide, published by a Protestant Organization in 1972
-1 Suiuise Magazine No. 69, published in May 1971, Vietnamese Protestant Church
-1 Notebook (1979)
-1 Photo
-1 Diary, published by Van Hoa 1988
-3 Notebooks, The Holy Spirit, My Great Friend - Books 1, 2, 3
-1 Handbook of Basic Theology
-1 Diary Note
-1 Sunrise Magazine No. 40 September 1968
-1 Book explaining the poems of Ephero
-1 Notebook, with alphiibetic order
-1 Notebook, (diary)
-7 Letters
-1 Book titled Lessons of the Bible
-1 Notebook, published in 1989 by Van Hoa
11
no
3. I place here before you a court document fining 1 1 Christians for meeting June 5,
1995. They are fined 500,000 Dong, about 30 day's wages. This court document states:
Exactly at 4:05 p.m. of Jxme 05, 1995, all eleven defendants must bring all the fine
money to the People's Court. If defendants are late to pay the fine, all of
defendants' properties will be confiscated and the fine will be paid double.
4. I place before you two court documents fining two Christians 2,000,000 Dong each for
holding a Christian meeting in a home without police permission. (Such permission is
never given.) The date on this document is June 12, 1995, a few weeks before economic
agreements between the United States and Vietruun.
I ask all at this hearing today to place the Vietnamese government on notice of its
continued arrests, beatings, fines, and harassment of its less than 10% Christian minority
by recalling our American Ambassador fi'om Vietnam and by bringing the names and
cases of these persecuted before Vietnamese government ofUcials.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Phan Van Khai, stated at the United
Nations: "The government of Vietnam respects democracy and human rights. It allows
different political viewpoints." If this is correct, the Vietnamese government should stop
the hypocritical practice of using a 1991 local security law and other laws to forbid
fi^edom of worship and religious assembly for its people.
Note: Additional photographs and information can fi'eely be obtained fi-om our office.
Fax, phone, and address are noted below.
The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc.
P.O. Box 443
Bartlesville, OK 74005-0443
Phone 918-337-8015
Fax 918-337-9287
12
Ill
Statement before the Subcommittee on International Operations and
Human Rights
David F. Forte
Professor of Law
Cleveland State University
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
February 15. 1996
House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
During the Hrst century of Islam, barely four decades after the death of
Muhammad, a terrible rebellion broke out in the new Islamic Empire. The Empire was
wracked by a civil war, fought between the followers of Uthman the thurd caliph, and
AH, the fourth caliph. Uthman's successors would eventually become the majority
Sunnis in Islam, while All's would constitute the Shi'as. But those who rebelled
against both wings were the Kharijites and their battles and theology were terrible
indeed.
The Kharijites held that any Muslim who committed a sin was an apostate, an
unbeliever who could never re-enter the fold of Islam and must be killed. Any Caliph
who did not follow the strict practice of Islam must be overthrown. The Kharijites
fought brutally against both the followers of Ali and of Uthman seeking to become the
one and only version of Islam.
They were finally suppressed but not until more than 100 years later.
Today, a modem version of Kharijite heresy stalks Islam. It has gained the
reins of power in Iran and die Sudan. It threatens Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, even
Saudi Arabia. It cows a timid government in Pakistan to accede to its program. It
persecutes minorities, particularly Christians. But its real objective is to steal the soul
of Islam, to change that great religion's tradition of art, culture, learning, and
toleration into its own image of rigid and tyrannical power.
Its weapon and symbol is the Shari'a, the sacred law of Islam, and they seek
especially to enforce its criminal provisions against adultery, alcohol, theft, and
apostasy. But little do these modem day radicals realize that the criminal portions of
the Shari'a - the most notorious being diat of stoning for adultery, amputation for
dieft, and death for apostasy ~ is the least developed part of the Shari'a. It was the
least developed because the Islamic state always kept to itself nearly all criminal
112
Statement by David F. Forte
jurisdiction. The Caliphs intentionally excluded the qadis and jurists who developed
the Shari'a from deciding criminal cases. There never was a time in the history of
Islam when the portions of the Shari'a dealing with criminal offenses were enforced in
the literalness their adherents now claim for it.
For the vast majority of Muslims, the Shari'a is a compilation of rules that
applied certain great principles of Islam in a time far past. The great reformers of
Islam in the modem world, Muhammad Iqbal, Ameer AH, Muhammad Abduh,
Muhammad Taha, all thought that the principles of Islam: toleration, freedom, and
brotherhood, transcended the particular provisions of the Shari'a compiled ten centuries
ago. The spiritual father of Pakistan, the great poet Muhammad Iqbal, termed the
Shari'a (and its literal adherents) an example of outdated Arabian imperialism. These
great reformers called for a new jurisprudence, one that takes the founding principles of
Islam, particularly those promulgated by Muhammad in Mecca, and applies them anew
to contemporary social realities. The solutions of a thousand years ago, were not, for
these men, applicable today.
But today, the ancient rules of the Shari'a, hardly observed even in the days
when they were formulated, are used in a program more nearly akin to fascism than to
religion.
In Pakistan, for example, the law against blasphemy is being used to unleash a
regime of terror against Christians, Christians who are among the poorest and most
socially rejected of Pakistan's peoples. The law against blasphemy has had two effects.
First, it directly attacks religious minorities who are supposedly guaranteed their rights
by Pakistan's constitution and the International Law of Human Rights. Secondly, the
law against blasphemy loosens and legitimates private acts of terror against Christians
by unlettered Muslims who believe, and have been told by radical mullahs, that they
have a right to attack blasphemers and apostates directly with legal impunity. All too
often the authorities in Pakistan have confirmed that doleful fact.
According to the State Dq>artment's Human Rights Report, "Christian groups
rarely press charges against the perpetrators of such incidents and believe the
authorities are unlikely to pursue such cases. " ^ Let me give you one example.
Naemat Ahmar, a Christian and teacher in the state school in the village of
Dasuha, was shocked one day in December 1991 to find anonymous posters around the
village accusing him of blaspheming the Prophet of God. A later investigation by the
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found no witness among his students,
colleagues, or even Muslims in the village who had ever heard him make any such
insult. Ahmar believed that a rival candidate for his teaching position, a Muslim, had
' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992 1 171 (1993).
113
Statement by David F. Forte
put up the posters. Many local Muslims were, nonetheless, convinced Ahmar had
blasphemed, even though he denied it and 'offered unconditional apology for any
offence any presumed remarks attributed to him might have caused.*^
Fearful, Ahmar consulted with the Bishop of nearby Faisalabad, took leave
from his post and took a job in Faisalabad. On January 6, 1992, Farooq Ahmad, who
had seen the posters in Dasuha, travelled to Faisalabad, found Ahmar at his place of
work, and stabbed him to death, inflicting 17 wounds. After the fu^t strike, Ahmad
asked Ahmar why he had blasphemed. Ahmar denied it, but Ahmad continued the
attack.-'
At the police station, Ahmad 'was kissed by some of the policemen for his
remarkable courage and commitment to Islam. '^ Villagers came to give him cookies
and flowers. Many clerics from the area visited him to offer their congratulations,
while some engaged lawyers to defend him. In addition, the president of the local bar
association offered his services to Ahmad, while no prominent lawyer would accept
representing the family of the murdered Ahmar. Beyond taking the names of
witnesses, the police took no steps to develop the investigation. The Bishop of
Faisalabad gauged that among the Christians, a 'sense of helplessness, insecurity, and
anguish had crept in. '^
In odier case, a Muslim who had accidentally dropped a copy of the Qur'an into
a fire was stoned and then doused him with kerosene and burned to death by a mob
after mullahs had shouted over loudspeakers from the minarets of mosques that 'a
Christian had burned the Koran. "^ Anodier woman found herself charged widi
blasphemy when her personal copy of the Qur'an fell out of her shopping bag to the
ground.'
The law against blasphemy, passed in 1988, reads as follows:
^ Human Rights Commission op Pakistan, The "Blasphemy" Episodes (hereafter
Blasphemy Episodes) 12 (n.d.[1992]).
•* Beena Sarwar, Pakistan: Islamic Laws are Manipulated to Settle Political Scores Inter Press
Service, September 29, 1992, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^ Blasphemy Episodes at 1 1.
' In another case, a man who accused a Christian came to the jail and stabbed him a number of
times. The Christian survived but was prevailed upon by the police to seek a reconciliation
with his attacker. I.A. Rehman, Persecuted by Law, Newsline (Karachi),
November/December 1993, at 29.
^ Man Accused of Burning Koran is Stoned to Death, Agence France Presse, April
25, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. He had apparently dropped
the Qur'an into a furnace during an argument with his wife. Id. See also Briefs,
Calgary Herald, April 23, 1994, at 12, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws
File.
^ Ahmad Rasid, In God's Name, Far Eastern Economic Review, May 26, 1994, a
20.
114
Statement by David F. Forte
Whoever by words, either spoken, or written, or by visible
representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation,
directly or indirectiy, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or
imprisonment, and shall also be liable to fine.
As broad as the statute was, as severe as the penalty prescribed, Pakistan's
Shariat Court still found it too mild. The Shariat Court held that Islamic law required
the death penalty for any act of blasphemy. The penalty of life imprisonment was
voided.^
Ahmadis, Christians, and Muslims have all been prosecuted under this statute.
Destroying a person's life or reputation is remarkably easy under the statute and its
procedures. Enforcement is left mainly to private complaint leading to a suppression
that the government could never do on its own. Under Pakistani criminal procedure, a
mere complaint (a FIR, or first investigation report), results in an arrest without a
warrant and indeterminate detention, for bail is often hard to obtain or not granted at
all.^^ Technically, blasphemy is a non-bailable offense. As the Pakistan Human
Rights Commission has stated, the blasphemy law gives 'a killing edge to Muslim
fanaticism and to orthodox Muslims' contempt for local minorities, especially the
Christians. " ^ ^
Recently, a case in which a young boy and his two uncles were charged with
blasphemy, one of the uncles having been murdered in the street when the defendants
emerged fix>m court, gained international notoriety. Allegedly, the boy, who is
illiterate, and his relatives threw pieces of paper, on which were written insults to the
Prophet, into a mosque. No neutral observer, including the Pakistan Human Rights
Commission, believed the evidence was credible. Yet the surviving defendants were
sentenced to death. Asma Jahangir, a courageous lawyer with the Pakistan Human
Rights Commission undertook a defense of the Christians when no other lawyer would
^ Pakistan Penal Code, Sec. 295-C.
' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1991 1 154 (1992); Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, at 1167.
Testimony, October 29, 1993, Amnesty International U.S.A., House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human
Rights. Federal Document Clearing House, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
For example. In October 1991 Chand Barkat, a Christian, was charged under Section 198 of the
penal code of wounding the religious feelings of another. By the time he was tried and
acquitted he had spent IS months in prison, three more than the maximum sentence he would
have received if he had been convicted. I. A. Rehman, The Fires of Bigotry, Newsline
^Karachi), November/December 1993. at 30.
Bob Harvey. Free Speech, Islamic Faith Meet head-on in Pakistan (hereafter, Harvey. Free
Speech), Ottawa CmzEN, January 9, 1993. Religion Section, at 9, available on LEXIS. News
Library. Cumws File.
115
Statement by David F. Forte
step forward to represent them. For her advocacy, religious extremists attacked her
and her family. ^ Nonetheless, she prevailed on an appeals court which reversed the
sentence, and the two Christians took asylum in Germany.
When international outrage reached the government of Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto, she promised to modify the law against blasphemy. However, a general strike
called by radical Muslims faced down the government. Prime Minister Bhutto now
promises that blasphemy will remain a capital crime.
American foreign policy has been an ineffective friend, if friend at all, to these
persecuted Christians and other religious minorities. By not using our substantial
influence to let our allies know that these kinds of laws are against international law,
that they offend the basic sense of decency of the American people, and that these
actions will affect their relations widi us, the United States State Department sends the
following messages:
1) We don't believe in protecting those religious adherents of the West: we
must be the materialist bankrupt culture the Islamic radicals claim we are.
2) Radical Islam is a legitimate force in the world, and it is all right with us if,
for reasons of state. Islamic governments give in to the radicals' tyrannical agenda.
3) We treat our Islamic fiiends with patronizing indifference. After all, we in
effect say, this isn't a human rights problem. This is a Muslim problem, and we all
know how these people behave.
Our inaction helps create regimes and forces whose ultimate aim is to destroy
the West and the great tradition of Islam as well. Imagine if the United States State
Department took a neutral or disinterested view of the radicals who murdered Prime
Minister Rabin. In fact, we accept and champion the view of the majority of Jews that
those who commit acts of violence supposedly in the name of Jewish law are not part of
genuine Judaism at all.
We have the same moral obligation, and indeed, the same enlightened self-
interest to treat the religion of Islam in the same way. We should show our support
and respect for the vast majority of Muslims who reject those who practice violence as
being un-Islamic.
Let us raise our horizon and take a look at what is happening in the world
today. The destruction of the great Communist tyranny by the West did not
^2 United Press International January 22, 19%, available on LEMS, News Library,
Cumws File.
116
Statement by David F. Forte
automatically usher in an era of democracy and capitalism. What has risen to threaten
the West is a different tyranny, the second worst kind. It is not Communism; it is
Fascism. China now has a Fascist regime, as does Iran, as does the Sudan. We should
call these movements for what they are. They are not religious — let us never
legitimize them with that name and insult hundreds of millions of Muslims as we do so
— they are a new form of Fascist tyranny.
Instead of complaining about pirated CD's in China, the Clinton administration
should complain about the persecution of Catholics who remain loyal to Rome, of
house Christians who must meet secredy to worship in fear of their lives.
You can a tell a person by his fruits. And the fruits of Fascism is, and always
has been, an frontal attack on religious minorities. It's happening today, and the longer
we allow it to happen, the worse it will be, for millions of Christians, for millions of
Muslims, and for America.
117
Testimony ofThe Rev. Canon Patridc P. Augustine
Chairman of the Overseas Missi(m Ccnnmittee l^iscopal Diocese of Virginia
Kfonber Advisoiy Committee to The Presiding Bishop of Episcopal Church in USA (m
Chri^ian - Muslim Rdations, Associate RectcM- Church OfThe
Holy Comforter, Vienna, Virginia
Honorary Canon and Bishop's Commissary of the
Diocese of Peshawar, Palcistan in North America
Nfr. Chainnan and die Honorable Members of die House, I want to say tiiank
you to the House Committee on International Operations and Human Rigjits for
inviting me to testify about the violaticm of human ri^its and persecution of
Christians in the Islamic v/oAd with particular en^hasis on PAKISTAN. I
consider it a spedaii privilege to stand before this august House on behalf of
hundreds and thousands of suffering members of our human &mily. Before I say
anymore, I want to make it absolutely clear that the purpose of my testimcmy is
not to demonize Islam. I have been working for many years in my Church in
Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Chicago, Illinois and hen in Vienna, Virginia to hold
Christian-Nfuslim dialogues vsiiich have been reported well in the local and
national newspq)ers. I serve on the advisory committee of die Christian -Muslim
relations of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in USA. My letter
pubUshed in The Washington Times on March 6,1995 made a plea for " people of
both faiths to unite against injustice."
Mr. Chairman, I stand here as a sincere friend of the Islamic community ^o has
participated in marches of siqxport for die freedom of Palestine, Afj^ianistan,
Kashmir and Bosnia. I pray to God Almi^ty for the spirit of tolerance to hear the
txvAi. The purpose of diis testimony is to testify about die present difficulties and
po'secution being friced by Christians in Muslim majority situati<nis e.g. Central
Asia, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. I
like to focus my testimony on die country of my birth: Pakistan.
Pakistan is a Muslim majcHity country, widi a number of rehgious minorities
including Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis. The naticnal flag depicts this by a
narrow v^te sbipe to represent the minorities beside the green backgroimd of die
rest of the flag. Ilie official govemmoit figures from die last census give die
Christian population as 1 .3 million, however, I believe diis figure is grossly
118
underestimated and would suggest 3.5 million ( nearly 3 percent of Ibe
population.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, emphasized in his speech to the
Constituent Assembly on August 1 1,1947 that all members of the newly formed
natixm had equal rights of citizen^p. "You are free; you are free to go to your
tenq)les; you are fi^ to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in
this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has
nothing to do with the state."
The 1985 amendment to the 1973 constitution (Presidential order no. 14 of 1985)
had an important change of enq>hasis as for as non-Muslim minorities were
concerned. All previous constitutions had inchided in the Preamble the following
clause, taken from the Objectives Resolution of 1949 adequate provisions
shall be made for the minorities finely to profess and practice their religion and
develop their cultures." In the 1985 annex to the constitution the word **freely"
was (Knitted, and there have been many protests from Christians about the
implications of this one word change.
There has been very grave concern among Pakistani Christians concerning a
"Shariat bill", the version of which was presented to the Senate on May 13, 1990.
The Bill stated that it was based on the Objectives Resolution and aimed to make
"Shari 'ah " the siq>reme law in Pakistan (Clause 3). There were many critics of
die bill, including constitutional e?q)erts, lawyers, human ri^ts groups, women's
group and Shi'te Muslims. The bill contradicted the constitutional guarantee that
all citizens are equal before the law and are entided to equal protection under the
law. Christians feared that the Shariat Bill would open the way tc^ L^on-Muslims
sinking to the status of dhimmi (non-Muslims under the protection of an Islamic
government but with no ri^ts as citizens), i.e. Christians and other minorities
would become little more than resident aliens in their own country.
Blasphemy Law under the Shariat Bill has proved to be an easy tool for
unscrupulous Muslims to make trouble for Christians and Ahmadiyya against
whom they have a personal grievance. Accusations made against individuals
have had the extra effect of fueling general anti-Chnstian sentiment. A
progressive Muslim newspaper examining various cases of Christians accused of
blasphemy sums up as follows: "In all cases an ulterior motive for the charge
^>pears a distinct possibility. And religious fimaticism has been whipped up to
such an extent that the accused may not be safe even if he is acquitted. It is very
possible diat local people and maulvis will remain determined to carry out their
119
death sentence." In deed, several Christians accused of blasphemy have been
kiUed.
REAL STORIES OF BLASPHEMY CASES INVOLVING CHRISTIANS
Basihir Maslh and Gul Pervalz Maslh
On December 10, 1991, two brothers, Bashir Masih and Gul Masih were
involved in a heated argument over the repair of a common water t^. Three days
later the neighbor reported to the pohce that the brodiers had broken the
bla^emy law. Both were arrested and in^}risoned. A month later Bashir was
released, after tilie Deputy commissioner had made inquiries and found that he
had not even been present when the reported blasphemy was supposed to have
taken place. The next day Islamists demonstrated in the street demanding that
both brothers be killed for their blasphemy. Mullahs issued a Fatwa (legal
pronouncement) that they deserved death and posted large notices around the city
demanding that the brothers be killed. They also appointed a death squad of
young college students to cany this out, but with Gul in prison and Bashir in
hiding, moving from one village to another, the death squad was not able to
achieve their aim. Gul was chained and in soUtary confinement, with no blanket
against the cold, and was harassed and beaten by the Muslim prison Mullah. He
was found guilty at his trial before the district judge in November 1992 on the
basis of the lone witness of Sajjad Hussain, a member of a Sunni Muslim militant
groiq). He was given the death sentence and was the first case imder blasphemy
law in which death was prescribed. Many international himian ri^ts
organizations appealed for the release of Gul Masih. On November 27, 1994 the
Lah(M-e High Court acquitted and released Gul Masih, but as his Ufe remained in
danger from Islamic extremists, he fled the country.
NalmatAhmer
Naimat Ahmer, a Headmaster of government hi^ school, poet and national
writer was murdered on January 6, 1992. Although loved by his students, Naimat
had made himself unpopular with local landlords at the village where he was a
headmaster by putting an end to various abuses and mismanagement of the school
Itemises and property which the landlords had previously enjoyed. The
landlOTds accused him of blasphemy and succeeded in getting him transferred to a
nearby village, Dasuha. There again he became popular with the students and
uiqx>pular with the landlords and teachers. An anonymous pan^hlet was
circulated, accusing Naimat Ahmer of blasphemy (without naming him). After
120
the pami^et had circulated for two days, zfatwa was pronounced on Naimat.
Teachers at his school (who were all Muslim) were also trying to have him
dismissed and asked him >^1iat he thou^t of Prophet Muhmmad. He repUed tiiat
as a Christian he beUeved Jesus to be the only way to God and salvation, at
\«Uch the teachers claimed that he had insxilted Muhammad. Naimat was anxious
about his safety, and managed to get a temporary transfer from the village school
to the District Education ofBce at Faisalabad. On January 6,1992 a butcher's
son, Farooq Ahmed, who came to his o£5ce and invited him out to lunch and
killed him in full pubUc view with a butcher's knife. The murderer danced and
trampled on the body , exulting that he had earned a place in heaven for himself
The murderer was granted financial benefits and media support from the Islamists
in Faisalabad and from the village community.
Tahlrlqbal
The case of Tahir Iqbal, a Christian convert fix>m Islam, \^o was partially
paralyzed and had been in prison in Lahore since December 1990. He was
charged under section 295B of the Penal Code, that is with desecrating the
Qur'an Sharif. However, he was the object of much animosity because of his
apostasy from Islam and the free lessons he gave to Muslim children. He was
detained in prison for his own safety, but was beaten and ill-treated there. He
died there in mysterious circumstances on January 20, 1992.
Salamat Maslh, Rehmat Maslh and Manzoor Masih
Salamat Masih, an iUiterate boy, was accused of writing blasphemous slogans on
the wall of a mosque. Two of his uncles, Rehmat Masih, and Manzoor Masih,
were accused with him. All spent many mcmths in prison until released on bail.
Manzoor Masih was killed on April 5, 1994 \^en Muslim extremists opened fire
(m aU three as they emerged from trail at Lahore Hig^ Court. They have also
beoi fined 25,000 rupees. The trial was accompanied by much violent protest
from Islamists determined that the two Christians should be killed. The two were
finally acquitted on Febniaiy 23, 1995, but had to flee to Europe because of death
threats. There &milies are still feeing the wrath of the militant Muslims.
Other Forms Of Discrimination Against Christians
The Hudood (restrictions) Ordinance (part of the criminal procedure) and the
Law of Evidence (introduced by the British in India before partition) have been
Islamized, so that a non-Muslim giving evidence in a court of law counts as only
half a witness, and may only testify against a non-Muslim. Women are also
121
admitted as half-witnesses oaly, dius leaving C3iristian women witnesses valued
at a quarter of a Muslim man. Under the qisas (retaliation) and Diyat (blood
OKMiey) Ordinance, compensation is awarded on the same sliding scale; a Muslim
w(xnan or a non Muslim man get half what a Muslim man would get, and a
Christian woman gets a quarter. There is a general mistrust of Pakistani
Christians, v^ are suspected of siding with the Christian West against dieir own
country. They are often accused of e^ionage for Britain, die United States and
evea Israel. During the Gulf war of 1991, Christians suffered extra persecution,
for example, being beaten up or killed, churches burned down and cemeteries
desecrated. On October 30, 1993 the Qnistian village of Sikandarabad, Sindh,
was bulldozed and the delxis (including that of a churdi and a Government
primary schod) set on fire. The 33 Christian fiunilies vAio lived in the village
took refuge in Karimabad, three miles away.
In a developmoit Unked to the Salamat Masih bkisphemy case menti(med
previously, a village called Ratta Dhotran near Lahore had an adjoining
settlement known as an Isaiycm-di-Thatti^ 'wbestt until recently there lived some
32 Christian fiunilies (including Salamat masih), comprising about 250 people
who woe forced under severe persecution and death threats to leave tfieir land
and houses. The young Muslim Militants said, "There is no way that we will let
pe(^le fi'om Masih £uth pollute our village. We won't let them stay here and we
dmi't care about die police or anyone else." The walls of the buildings on the
road to Ratta Dhotran were painted with anti-Christian slogans. The Christians
reported that diey received daily death threats fi'om die boys. Interestingly, two
religious communities Uved together harmoniously in Ratta Dhotran for many
decades. The Roman Catholic Church helped die entire village to settle in
Francisabad, a new Christian locality on the outskirts of the city of Gujranwala.
According to Pakistani Law, if either spouse of a non-Muslim marriage converts
to Islam, then die marriage is automatically dissolved. In recent years there have
been a number of cases of Muslim men, abducting Christian women and forcing
them sometimes at guiq)oint to recite die Muslim creed, >^ch is all diat is
needed to become a Muslim. After diat dieir abductor promptly marries them, on
the basis diat their former marriage is now dissolved. Christian women are being
converted to Islam by force. The pohce do nothing to help the Christians, as diey
prefer to help the rich rather then poor peqile.
Recommendatfon
It is my humble plea befwe die Honorable Members of this House, a very Icon of
fieedom to rememlier the sufferings of the persecuted communities and never
122
hesitate to raise dieir persistent voice for justice and £umess for Christian
minraities living within in Islamic countries.
The United States government should assist and grant visas and provide asylum
to those \^ose lives are found under danger by the Islamic militants,
We recognize that there are other minorities besides Christians who are suffering
within the Muslim world. Equally there are Muslim groiq)s who are being
oppressed in the West and elsewhere. We plead for compassion and action fw
all suffering peoples whatever their race or religion.
We afBrm that all human beings have been created in the image of God and as
such reflect His glory. They are to be treated with dignity and with respect.
Therefore it is the task of all of u> stand on the side of those who are oppressed of
^^latever community, of whatever group.
Thank you for listening.
Respectfully submitted.
The Rev. Canon. Patrick P. Augustine
123
Testimony of
Pedro C. Moreno, International Coordinator
The Rutherford Institute
February 15, 1996
United States House of Representatives
Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this Committee, for providing me an
opportunity to testify before you today regarding the persecution of religious peoples in
Mexico. My name is Pedro Moreno, and I am the International Coordinator for The
Rutherford Institute. As you may already know, The Rutherford Institute, headquartered in
Charlottesville, Virginia, is an international legal and educational organization dedicated to the
preservation of religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, and family autonomy.
REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF INDIGENOUS PERSONS
IN MEXICO DUE TO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
As we approach the inauguration of the third millennium of the Christian era, intolerance,
oppression and persecution due to religious conviction remain a sobering reality for many.
Christians are by far the most persecuted of all. The plight of the Chamula Indians and other
indigenous groups in Mexico's southern states exemplify this persecution.
In the last 30 years, the state of Chiapas, Mexico alone has witnessed some 30,000 Protestants
forced into exile. Many of these exiles live in permanent refugee communities in and around
San Cristobal de las Casas. ' Their only crime is adherence to a form of Christianity other
than the traditional religion. People in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, and others have
been the victims of senseless violence, which has included stoning, shootings, evictions, rape,
and murder.
Religious persecution in southern Mexico has many underlying factors. One of them is
socio-political: the existence of an unofficial, parallel power structure in the region which is
intolerant of people of different beliefs. This is coupled with the fact that the Mexican
government is either unable or unwilling to control these intolerant elites. Another factor is
economic. In the state of Chiapas, the economy is dependant on the sale of poch, a locally-
made hard liquor. Since Evangelicals do not consume poch, merchants of this liquor, tribal
leaders, and local political authorities resort to persecution.
The Rutherford Institute, P.O. Bos 7482, ChariottesvUle, VA 22906-7482; telephone: (804)-978-3888; fin:
(804)-978-1789; e-mail: rutherford®fhLcom.
124
In Chiapas ~ Mexico's poorest state — most Chamula Indians live in a state of virtual
servitude. They depend on tribal caciques (bosses) for economic stability: to farm
community lands and to commercialize their products. The caciques also provide social
acceptance into the community: participation in traditional religious ceremonies marked by
extreme drunkenness. These traditional religious ceremonies, often a syncretic mix of
Catholicism and animistic rites, are at the center of social life in Chiapas' rural areas. ^
Because Protestants refuse to take part in these ceremonies — challenging existing religious,
political and economic power structures ~ persecution is accentuated.
Article 24 of the Mexican Constitution reads: "Every person is free to profess the religious
beliefs that pleases him/her and to practice the respective ceremonies, devotions or acts of
worship in the temples or in his/her particular home, whenever they do not constitute a crime
or fault punished by law."' Despite this constitutional provision which establishes freedom of
religion, religious oppression continues unchallenged in Mexico. Furthermore, despite legal
complaints filed before Mexican courts, those responsible for these crimes continue to enjoy
impunity. The indifference and apathy of the Mexican government toward this problem is
appalling.
In addition to that, and going into the religious realm, we would like to mention that the
Catholic Church's resolute commitment to religious freedom in Europe and Africa is not
always present in Latin America, particularly in Mexico.
Recent Cases of Religious Persecution in Chiapas
Although religious persecution against minorities is commonplace in several Mexican States,
the violence against Evangelical Chamulas and sympathetic Catholics (people of the Catholic
faith either closely related to Evangelicals or who refuse to participate in festivities where
heavy drinking and immorality takes place) in the state of Chiapas is an inhumane display of
brutality:
~ A Protestant pastor and his assistant were murdered on October 5, 1995 in Chiapas.
According to church officials. Pastor Aurelio G6mez Ramos of the
Interdenominational Christian Church of Ejidal Sinai in the Chiapas municipality of
Huitiupan was shot to death during an attack by five masked assailants. Pastoral
assistant Gustavo Hem^dez P6rez was also killed during the attack, and a 14-year-old
boy was shot in the arm. A spokesperson of the Chiapas presbytery of the
Interdenominational Christian Church, declared to the press that on October 9 local
Catholics had threatened to kill the evangelicals because of their refusal to Join the
Zapatista Liberation Army.
~ On September 29, 1994, three evangelicals were murdered by caciques and one
125
evangelical girl was hospitalized in critical condition, after being raped and shot in the
small village of Icalumtic, Chiapas. Those evangelicals were part of a group of 584
evicted Christians from San Juan Chamula who decided to return to their homes in
August 1994, after living a year in exile in San Cristobal de las Casas. * One of the
victims was identified as the leader of the exiled Christians. These Christians had
decided to get back to their homelands after nearly a year of petitioning state and
federal authorities for intervention in their case. Their efforts were largely
unsuccessful. ' A well-organized group of some 300 local tribal leaders and their
cronies were responsible for the attack. According to representatives of the
Evangelicals, the attackers were led by a tribal leader who said he was acting on
orders of Domingo Lop^z Ruiz, president of the municipality of San Juan Chamula.
~ On April 12, 1994, the Evangelical layman Domingo L6pez Santos, his wife Maria
P6rez M6ndez, and their daughter, from community Banol6, state of Chiapas, were
attacked by strangers while going to San Juan Chamula. L6pez Santos was beaten and
stabbed several times. His wife and daugther were brutally beaten and raped by several
men. *
~ In November 1993, several evangelical human rights organizations reported that
Municipal leaders in Mexico's Chiapas State were carrying out what had been
considered one of the most violent and massive forced evictions of Protestants and
sympathetic Catholics in recent history. Since June 1993, over 450 individuals from 20
communities in the municipality of San Juan Chamula have bet.i violently evicted
from their homes. Most were P;esbyterians, but others include Seventh Day
Adventists, Pentecostals, and some sympathetic Catholics. State and federal authorities
have been unresponsive to pleas by the persecuted Christians for assistance. The main
instigator in the expulsions is believed to be San Juan Chamula municipal president,
Domingo Ldpez Ruiz, who had threatened anyone caught reading the Bible in
Chamula territory with expulsion.'
— On May 25, 1993, the body of missing evangelical Vicente M6ndez Vel^quez was
found, after Evangelicals in the state of Chiapas publicly demanded an official inquiry
into the disappearance of two Protestant men. The self-confessed murderers led the
police to the body, and admitted that they had shot him four times and then hacked his
body with machetes before disposing of it in a nearby cave. M^ndez, together with
some 600 other Protestants, was evicted from his homeland in 1989 by municipal
officials intent on ridding their Catholic conmiunity of a Protestant presence. M6ndez
was returning from his village, where he has gone to sell his land, when he was
attacked and killed on April 2*
— In May 1993, members of a Protestant church in Chiapas agreed not to hold
worship services in the evenings, after 17 male members were beaten, stoned, and
jailed for four days. The agreement, signed in March by authorities in Nuevo Leon,
and members of the Church of Christ Fraternity, came after a February 26 attack on a
24-741 96-5
126
house meeting. As part of the agreement, the congregation promised to cooperate in
social or community projects-including Catholic ventures—and they were warned that
anyone visiting their church would be in danger of "something happening on the way."
None of the municipal officials involved had been charged in connection with the
attack. '
— On June 3, 1992, a Presbyterian lay preacher, Melecio G6mez Vfcquez, 32, was
brutally murdered in an ambush. His death was believed to be related to efforts by
community leaders in Saltillo, Chiapas State, to eradicate Protestants from their
community. G6mez was shot over 30 times and his body hacked with machetes. '"
— On September 8, 1990, forty four Evangelical families were evicted from their
communities in Tzequentic and Granadilla, two towns of Zinacatan, in the state of
Chiapas. Several members of those families were also put in prison and their heads
shaved."
— On July 13, 1989 an agreement was signed between the representatives of a large
number of Evangelical families and tribal leaders in San Miguel Mitontic, Judicial
District of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. The agreement established the
conditions for the return of the Evangelical families to their homelands, and was also
signed by representatives of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches in the
region. Some of the conditions of the agreement are as following:
Evangelicals would not build any chapel in their communities
Evangelicals would not proselytize
Evangelicals would not practice their religion in other communities
Evangelicals would not use any particular home as a chapel
Evangelicals would not listen to religious music in their own homes. '^
Recent Cases of Religious Persecution in Other Mexican States
Religious persecution in Mexico is not only confined to the state of Chiapas.
Protestants in various parts of Mexico continue to face religious discrimination and
harassment at the hands of local community leaders.
- According to Enoc Hem^dez, an evangelical leader in the state of Oaxaca, five
Mexican families who converted to Protestantism were shut out of their homes and
told to leave the town of Monte Verde."
— On May 28, 1995 two recently converted Evangelicals were jailed overnight in the
town of Pueblo in central Mexico. They were denied food and water throughout their
detention. Enrique Hem^dez, a local resident who tried to defend the two men, was
detained with them. A fourth man, Vitorino Hernandez, was tied to a tree all night for
127
attempting to defend the Protestants. On May 2, the Protestants were ordered to begin
four days of forced labor without pay, hauling rock and breaking it up for 12 hours a
day under strict supervision of local authorities. The men were then ordered to sign a
statement stating that they would not worship with Evangelicals. '*
— On October 9, 1 994 a Protestant Evangelical church and its parsonage were
destroyed in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, by a mob of some 30 neighbors
wielding sticks, stones, pickaxes and clubs. The attackers claimed the land was needed
for the expansion of a kindergarten adjacent to the church property. The church was
established some 1 2 years ago and has a congregation comprised of some 40 families.
~ On Sunday April 3, 1994, two Protestants were killed and five others wounded,
when gunmen assaulted a bus carrying some 40 members of the Interdenominational
Christian Church of Oaxaca, in central Mexico. According to reports, Maximino
Vargas Reyes and Abel Martinez Galvan were killed in resisting the assault.
Evangelical spokepersons refuted allegations that the attack was an act of random
violence, saying it was the result of "severe religious intolerance in the area.""
~ In August 1993, Protestants in the central Mexican state of Oaxaca reported
continuing harassment and direct persecution, in ongoing conflicts resulting from
clashes with hostile municipal authorities. On August 18, 1993, a delegation of six
Methodists traveled to Mexico City in an effort to seek federal assistance in regaining
control of their illegally confiscated lands. In a related case, five families were evicted
from another Oaxaca village on May 23, 1993, by local authorities intent on ridding
the village of a Protestant presence. '*
— In December 1990, five Presbyterians that had been evicted from their homeland
were detained in Chib'Uc'Um town by rural policemen while returning to their own
community. They were beaten and their heads shaved. The women in the group were
disrobed and whipped. "
The uprising of the Zapatista National Liberation Army on January 1, 1994, has added
new and unpredictable elements to the ongoing conflict. The Zapatistas included the issue of
the peasant evictions in their demands before the government. In February 1994, Evangelical
leaders in Chiapas said they were hopeful that the new interim government of the State would
take up their concerns as part of an overall effort to resolve problems that instigated the
armed uprising in January of 1 994. Evangelicals also stated that if their concerns, including
54 complaints filed with the prosecutor's office in 1993, were not addressed, they would not
be able to control thousands of exiled believers who are frustrated with a disinterested state
bureaucracy. Christians reported that they did not participate in the January Zapatista
rebellion. '*
However, two years have lapsed and these problems have not been resolved. Evangelicals are
still at risk in many areas of Mexico. Every time an individual or a family converts to a
128
religious belief other than the traditional, they become the target of persecution. The
traditional tribal power is not willing to allow anyone to be placed outside of its control.
The attacks against protestants in Chiapas, Oaxaca, and central Mexico require a
strong international effort to help restore justice and freedom for believers of minority
religions in Mexico.
The Rutherford Institute's Legal Representation of the Chamula Indians
In the last few years The Rutherford Institute has received a number of complaints and
requests for intervention concerning religious persecution in Mexico. In August 1993, the
International Coordinator of The Rutherford Institute, Pedro C. Moreno visited these Mexican
regions in conflict to gather first-hand information on the human rights violations of the
Evangelical Chamulas and other Christians. Moreno also met with several state and national
authorities in Oaxaca and Mexico City requesting their immediate intervention in order to halt
reUgious intolerance.
In October 1993, The Rutherford Institute filed a legal complaint before the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights, which is an organ of the Organization of American
States. The Rutherford Institute asked the Conmiission to intervene in order to obtain an
official explanation from the Mexican government concerning the lack of attention to the
problem of religious persecution and the apparent indifference of Mexican authorities.
In a 10-page communication dated October 19, 1995, the Mexican Government
responded to our complaint. The document stated that all possible efforts at state and federal
governmental levels have been made to solve the conflicts. It recognizes the existence of a
reUgious conflict in the region, and even identifies by name some of the perpetrators, among
them local authorities. However, the Mexican government does not establish any clear
parameters toward a solution of the ongoing persecution and does not commit itself to the
prosecution of the perpetrators. In fact, it concludes by asking the Commission to declare our
complaint "non-admissible", considering that in its opinion there are still internal remedies
that have not been exhausted by the victims. The latter clearly contradicts earlier statements
made by the Mexican government that "all possible efforts at state and federal governmental
levels" had been made to resolve the conflict.
The Rutherford Institute finds the response of the Mexican government to the severe
human rights abuses suffered by the Chamula Indians grossly inadequate. The Evangelical
Chamulas are unable to resort to "internal remedies" in a region where rape, evictions,
intimidation and murder occur with the indifference if not complicity of local and regional
authorities. Furthermore, The Rutherford Institute has asked the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights to continue the investigation by sending a fact-finding team to the region.
The Rutherford Institute has also asked that the Mexican government prosecute the
perpetrators of these crimes.
129
Recently, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance has also
reported on the case of religious persecution in Mexico at the request of The Rutherford
Institute.
Mr. Chairman, we know that similar religious conflicts have been resolved in other
states of Mexico where the law has been enforced, and perpetrators were sanctioned. We
sincerely hope that the efforts of this Committee, under your leadership, will bring about a
renewed focus and commitment on the part of the Mexican authorities and the international
community to find a lasting solution to the long-suffering of the Chamula Indians.
ENDHOTES
1 . Mexico, "Three Protestants killed in Tribal Violence," News Network International - News
Service. October 4, 1 944, 4.
2. Persecucion, alcohol y rnagia en las disputas chamulas, Epoca. Mexico City, August 9, 1993,
22.
3. Pedro C. Moreno, "Constitutional Reforms in Latin America Promoting Religious Freedom,"
at the XXXI Annual Conference of the Inter- American Bar Association (Paper Presented in
Puerto Rico: June 25-30, 1994), 16.
4. "Three Brethren Murdered in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico," News/ Prayer Flash.
Open Doors Latin America. (September 30, 1994).
5. Mexico, "Three Protestants killed in tribal violence. Among victims was leader of exiled
evangelicals who had returned home despite lack of security guarantees," News Network
International— News Service. October 4, 1994, 4.
6.Comit^ Estatal de Defensa de Chiapas, Official Document of Regional Congress "Chiapas We
Love You" San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, April 15-17, 1994.
7."MEXIC0," News Network International: Special Edition. (November 24, 1993): 1.
8."Mexico," News Network International: Special Edition. (June 30, 1993): 3.
9."MEXICO," News Network International: Special Edition. (May 26, 1993): 5.
10. "MEXICO," News Network International: Special Edition. (June 26, 1992): 1.
1 1 .Comisi6n Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Informe Sobre el Problema de las Expulsiones en
las Comunidades Indigenas de los Altos de Chiapas y los Derechos Humanos. September 8,
1990, : 29.
130
12.Document provided by Comit^ Estatal de Defensa Evang^Iica de Chiapas, "Acta de Acuerdo,
Representantes de las comunidades que intervinieron," July 13, 1989.
13. "Mexico, Protestants Continue to Face Harassment in Several Areas," News Network
International — News Service. September 8, 1995, 25.
14."Mexico," News Network International: News Service. (June 16, 1995): 17.
15. "MEXICO," News Network International: Special Edition. (April 12, 1994): 3.
16."MEXIC0," News Network International: Special Edition. (August 27, 1993): 2.
17. Official Document Regional Congress "Chiapas We Love You". San Crist6bal de las Casas,
Chiapas, Mexico, April 15-17, 1994.
18. "MEXICO," News Network International: Special Edition. (February 23, 1994): 10.
131
Letter to the Editor:
MUSLIMS NEED LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES
I appreciate your recent coverage of religious liberty issues in the United States and other
countries. I hope the following comments help to shed some light on this discussion.
All too frequently we hear people in the West complaining about the lack of religious
freedom for Christians and Jews in Muslim countries. However, how can we expect people of
other religions to have religious freedom in Muslim countries, if even Mushms do not have it for
themselves?
We must ask ourselves: if a person is forced to follow a certain religion, and no other,
from birth - if you never really chose your own religion -- if even in the event that you wanted to
choose a different religion you are not allowed to, and, if you end up choosing a different
religion anyway you lose your family, your job, and most likely even your life, do you really
have freedom of religion? Do you even have freedom of conscience? Or if those concepts are
somehow ahen to the Muslim (ruling) mind, do you have the basic human rights to think for
yourself and act accordingly? For that matter, are you a free citizen?
Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Sudan are known for their policies
against religious freedom. Consider Saudi Arabia, for example. The US. State Department
states flatly that "Freedom of religion does not exist. Islam is the official religion, and all Saudi
citizens must be Muslims." (Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994, issued in
February 1995). This Report also mentions that conversion to a religion other than Islam in
Saudi Arabia is considered apostasy under Shari'a (Islamic) law and is punishable by death.
Most other Muslim countries have similar legislation, but even if they purport to defend religious
liberty, in practice Islamic law takes precedence.
Thus, if a religion is imposed by law and economic, social, and family pressure, is it
really a sincerely held belief? Can it really be considered a religion, something pertaining to the
human soul, to the most intimate facet of a human being?
As an example of what happens when a Muslim decides to choose his religion, let us take
the case of Mr. Hussein Qambar Ali. Mr. Qambar Ali, a Muslim citizen of Kuwait, recently
decided to adopt the Christian religion. However, he found out that he did not really have the
freedom to choose his own religion. His wife deserted him, forbidding their children to see him.
His family kept him from the family business, while he was threatened and harassed, and his
house broken into. The police would not even register his complaints. Though a civil court has
upheld his right to visit his children (a controversial legal decision that is being challenged under
Islamic law), he is under constant pressure and intimidation, and his very life is at risk.
I think it is time to challenge the authorities in Muslim countries to provide for liberty of
conscience and religious freedom for all, and especially for Muslims themselves.
Pedro C. Moreno, Esq., International Coordinator, The Rutherford Institute.
The Rutherford Institute, P.O. Box 7482, Chariottesville, VA 22906-7482; telephone: (804)-978-3888; fax:
(804)-978-1789; e-mail: rutherford@fitLcom.
132
Abe Ghaffari
Executive Director
Iranian Christians International, Inc. (I.C.I.)
February 15, 1996
House Conunittee on International Relations
Subconunittee on International Operations
and Human Rights
133
Religious Liberty
for
Iranian Evangelical Christians
The persecution of Christian minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran first gained attention from
the public and some human rights organizations in the early 1990's. However, the killings of
three Evangelical Protestant pastors in Iran during the first half of 1994 gained worldwide
attention and brought more focus on the worsening plight of persecuted Christians, particularly
that of Muslim converts to Christianity and other Evangelical Protestant Christians.
Bri^f Hi.<i^9ry
The recent history of religious liberty for Christians in Iran can be divided into three periods: 1) the late
1970's and early 1980's , 2) the mid and late 1980's and 3) the 1990's.
Late 1970's and Eariv 1980's;
During and immediately following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Islamic government was
preoccupied with political opposition, consolidation of its power, and the ongoing Iran-Iraq war, which
resulted in relative freedom for and few incidences of persecution against Iranian Evangelical Christians.
The publication and sale of Christian books were allowed. Churches evangelized Muslims with litde
opposition. Nevertheless, the Christian community, especially the Anglican church in Iran, suffered
greatly. In February 1979, Rev. Arastoo Sayyah was martyred in the city of Shiraz. A short time later
there was an attempt on the life of Bishop Dehqani-Tafti, followed by the confiscation of most of the
Anglican church property. In May 1980 Bishop Dehqani's son was martyred in Tehran (a detailed
account of which can be found in the book titled The Hard Awakening). In 1983 Rev. Mehdi Dibaj, a
Muslim convert evangelist, was anested and imprisoned on charges of apostasy. -
Mid to Late 1980's;
During the mid and late 1980's, governmental interference with the Evangelical Christian Church
increased and there was marked persecution of Muslim converts to Christianity. The authorities began
demanding lists of Muslim converts from church pastors. There were attenq>ts to limit and/or deny access
to the church and evangelistic events for Muslims and Muslim converts. The Garden of Evangelism, a
asylum.iepVinlUeQ.sla
134
Christian training center, was declared off-limits to Muslims in 1988. Rev. Dibaj continued to be
incarcerated without a trial and routinely tortured. Another Muslim convert, Manuchehr Afghani,
disappeared in 1988. (The report of his murder was released in 1995.) The government curtailed
publication of Christian materials and limited the supply of printing paper to Evangelical churches.
1990'8:
Persecution drastically increased in the 1990's with seven notable occurrences:
1) The Iran Bible Society was closed in February 1990.
2) Rev. Hossein Soodmand, a Muslim convert pastor, was condemned to death by the Islamic court
in the city of Mashad in December 1990 and the sentence was carried out shortly thereafter. The
charges against him were conversion from Islam, evangelizing Muslims, and pastoring a Muslim
convert church.
3) Rev. Dibaj was condemned to death by the Islamic court in the city of Sari in December 1993.
The court verdict labeled his charges as ^>ostasy from Islam.
4) Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr led an international campaign which culminated in the release of
Rev. Dibaj in January 199S. An Islamic government official denied that there was a death
sentence against Dibaj even as copies of the court order for death sentence were being distributed
worldwide. The official stated the death penalty was "too severe," however he did not say what
would constitute just penalty for conversion from Islam in the Islamic Republic.
5. Bishop Hovsepian-Mehr dissf)peared in mid-January 1994 from Tehran. His body was
found in late January buried in a Muslim cemetery under suspicious circumstances.
6. Rev. Tateos Michaelian, another Iranian Evangelical Christian pastor, and Rev. Dibaj
disi^jpeared in late June 1994 from Tehran. Their bodies were found in early July 1994.
7. In July 1994, Mr. Hassan Shahjamali, an Iranian Evangelical Christian from Idaho, was arrested
at the Shiraz Airport on a trip to Iran to visit his family. He was detained, interrogated and
intimidated for approximately two weeks. He was freed from prison and eventually allowed to
leave Iran due to international pressure.
In January 1994 Bishop Hovsq)ian-Mehr released a list of human rights violations against members of
his church that included the beating of Muslim converts, closing of Persian-speaking churches and arrest,
detention, interrogation and torture of Christian pastors and Evangelical Christians, acts that only
escalated during 1 994 and 1 995 . Because of the church closings , the number of Persian speaking churches
(Persian being the language of 99% of Iranian Muslims) was reduced from over twenty (20) in 1990 to
three (3) in 1995.
The negative publicity following the court sentences of Rev. Soodmand and Rev. Dibaj in Iran led the
authorities to abandon the use of such formal channels of persecution. As a result, Muslim converts to
Christianity, other Evangelical Protestant Christians, pastors and church leaders continue to be arrested,
imprisoned, and tortured, singly because of their religion. Some are kept under heavy surveillance, with
their phones tapped and letters routinely opened, while others receive written and oral death threats.
Some have also escaped assassination attempts. Others have lost their jobs or have been refused gainful
employment, housing and education. Since Bishop Hovsepian-Mehr's death in January 1994, government
agents are concentrating their persecution more on individuals who are Muslim converts and/or those who
encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity. Ethnic Christians such as Armenians and Assyrians also
continue to face officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education,
housing, the court system and public accommodations.
135
For example, last spring an Evangelical Christian pastor was arrested, interrogated and tortured for
almost two months. In November 1995, in separate cities, a Muslim convert and an Evangelical pastor
were arrested. No other information about their situation or any extra-judicial measures has been released.
Armenians have also been threatened with death if they do not convert to Islam. Muslim converts have
sometimes been imprisoned for periods exceeding one year or have been put through mock execution.
They are pressured to retiun to Islam and are warned not to evangelize Muslims. One Muslim convert
received 70 lashes for wearing a Christian cross.
Because of the structure of the underground church, only the most severe incidents of persecution are
reported to Iranian pastors and church leaders or the outside world, and some are reported months or
years after the incidents occurred, often by refugees after they flee Iran. For example, the killing of Mr.
Manuchehr Afghani, an Iranian Muslim convert to Christianity in Tehran in 1988, was not reported until
1995.
The fact that Iranians "disappear" for days, weeks, months or years also makes it more difficult to track
persecution of Christian minorities in Iran. Amnesty International, in its May 1995 Iran: Official Secrecy
Hides Continuing Repression, reports that "... detainees can spend up to 10 years behind bars before
their relatives know where they are."
Consequences of Persecution of Christians in Iran
While some Iranian Christians have lost their lives, others have found no choice b'"» to worship in small
underground house churches. A small percentage (about 1% per year) find ways to flee Iran.
Persecution of Iranian Christians Fleeing to Foreign Countries;
The persecution of Evangelical Christians does not end, however, with their flight from Iran. The
persecution continues in their country of first asylum as they await immigration to a country where they
can freely practice their faith. In both Turkey and India Iranian Evangelical Christians are persecuted by
Iranian Muslim fanatics. And, strangely enough, much of the refugee's persecution is related to the
UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) and U.S. INS (Immigration and Nahiralization
Service) procedures and the treatment refugees receive at the hands of these officials.
Persecution in Turkey;
Iranian Evangelical Christians who have fled to Turkey have faced persecution by their host government
and fanatic Iranian Muslims. Converts have been threatened. The only two Iranian Christian churches
in Ankara and Istanbul are now closed. The Ankara Iranian church disbanded after the Turkish police
raided a worship meeting and arrested two Muslim converts for not having residence permits. Both
Iranian Christians were deported to Iran in June 1994 where they reportedly were questioned at the border
and received 1 10 lashes each. There are reports that one or both were executed in Iran.
The Iranian Church in Istanbul was pastored by an American citizen. He was informed by the U.S.
Consulate of an Iranian plot to harm him and was advised to leave Turkey. He left in November, 1995.
Yet another sign of the growing anti-Iranian Christian sentiment festering in Turkey, a leader in the
Iranian mosque in Istanbul recently protested the existence of an Iranian Christian church in Istanbul.
136
Persecution in India;
In India Iranian Ctuistians, particularly Muslim converts to Christianity, are also persecuted. Iranian
Christians have been verbally insulted and threatened with death. Assassination attonpts have been made
on one Iranian Muslim convert's life. Another has had to remove his children from school because
fanatics questioned school officials about his children. Others have had to move to unknown locations.
Persecution bv the UNHCR and U.S. INS;
Turkey;
In Turkey the UNHCR has denied upwards of a dozen Iranian Christian refugee family cases and has
refused to reopen other cases even when new and pertinent information has been submitted. Because most
refugees do not have form conq)letion or interview skills, and adequate counsel aixl do not know how
to present their cases, their cases are denied.
In July 1994, the U.S. INS adopted a policy requiring all refugee i^iplicants be recognized as refugees
by the UNHCR before being interviewed by the U.S. INS. Prior to that time, applicants were allowed
to apply directly to the U.S. Consulate.
At the same time, the UNHCR turned over all of its refugee processing and decision making authority
to the Turkish government. Therefore, as of July 1994 an Iranian Christian refugee in Turkey, who is
often a Muslim convert, must be interviewed by the Turkish security police, who are most often fanatic
Muslims. The resulting attitude and behavior of the Turkish police toward the Muslim converts or
instates is often hostile and abusive. The net effect of the above changes in procedure is that not a single
Iranian Christian has immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey in the last 18 months.
India. Germany and Austria;
In India the U.S. INS requires that all refugee applicants be first recognized as UNHCR refugees before
they can be interviewed. Most Iranian Christian refugee applicants to the UNHCR have been accepted
after their first interview. Others have been accepted with die provision of additional information and
a second interview. One iq)plicant, however, has been denied even after a second interview and
overwhehning documentation of his persecution in Iran because of his Christian faith.
Written and oral rq>orts of persecution by Muslim fanatics have gone unheeded by UNHCR officials in
India. The U.S. INS in New Delhi has also failed to accept as fact the persecution of Iranian Christians
in India.
U.S. INS offices have been very slow to accept Iranian Christian refugees, even when they are already
officially recognized by the UNHCR as refugees. In Frankfurt one Iranian Christian was not given an
interview until eight months after his application was filed. Some refugees in New Delhi have still not
been interviewed six months after submitting their applications. The second ranking U.S. INS officer in
New Delhi has shown abusive behavior towards the refugees, making statements such as 'don't waste
my time with your story," as well as screaming and telling them they have no chance of being accepted
into the U.S.
In Vienna, after ICI reviewed approximately 30 Armenian/ Assyrian Iranian applications and appeals, we
fouitd that most were inadequately prepared by the Joint Voluntary Agency (JVA). It appears that the
U.S. INS indiscriminately deny Iranian Christians having no standard by which to make a refugee
determination. In some cases when a Motion to Reopen was filed, of which 90% of the 8tq>porting
137
material was new, pertinent information, the U.S. INS officer refiised to reopen the case stating that "no
new information was submitted." Yet U.S. INS policy sutes that a "refugee mav File a Motion to Reopen
his case if he presents new, and pertinent information. " When the new and pertinent information was
presented, the officer denied the case because "the applicant did not mention the above facts in his
qjplication nor were the facts mentioned in his initial interview or appeal which were prepared by the
JVA ...these important facts now brought to our attention for the first time carmot be considered
credible."
The report to Congress on Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 19% (p. 20) sutes that the
(U.S. INS) interview (with the refugee applicant) is "non-adversarial. " This has not always been the case
with U.S. INS offices in places such as New Delhi, Frankfurt or Vienna. An American immigration
attorney in Washington D.C., Ms. Jan Pederson, states in a December 199S letter regarding one refugee
applicant, "I would forewarn you . . .that some examiners in Frankfiut exhibited a hostility toward Islamic
converts to Christianity."
As a case in point, our ICI staff documented a very strong case for one Muslim convert who requested
a Motion to Reopen at the Frankfurt U.S. INS. His original application was prepared by a TV A. They
offered to "produce" a b^tism certificate from Iran if they were paid, because the applicant was baptized
after leaving Iran. When the applicant declined, they told him not to discuss his conversion from Islam
to Christianity or present his genuine baptism certificate at his U.S. INS interview. The interview only
lasted a few minutes and the applicant was not given an opportimity to submit any supporting documents.
When the Motion to Reopen was prepared by ICI and filed by the applicant's attorney, it was denied
because "he presented information in his Motion to Reopen, supporting documents and interview that was
incotisistent with his initial interview. "
There is also marked inconsistency between U.S. INS processing posts in decisions to accept or deny
^plicants. For example, an officer in Madrid accepted one particularly weak case while officers in
Vieima and Fnmkfiirt denied very strong cases.
In all fairness, U.S. INS has given due consideration to Iranian Christians applicants who have applied
for asylum in the U.S. Ninety-five percent of the cases prepared by ICI have been accepted. However
this is not the case with the U.S. INS officers placed in refugee processing posts outside the U.S.
The adversarial attitude of the U.S. INS officials and inconsistent refugee processing has led to refugees
finding thenoselves between a rock and a hard place. They cannot go back to Iran, yet the governments
of the coimtries in which they have found temporary residence threaten them with deportation and in
some cases deport them back to Iran. Many of the refugees are also financially destitute and cannot
survive lumecessarily drawn-out appeals.
Tangible Recommendations for
Assisting Persecuted Iranian Evangelical Christians
The Subcomminee on International Operations and Human Rights of the House Committee on
International Relations, must continue to pressure the Iranian government to discontinue its persecution,
arrest, imprisonment, tortiu'e and killing of Iranian Christians; to re-open churches and the Iran Bible
Society, mkI allow Muslim converts to attend church and pastors to preach in Persian; and to allow
Iranian Christians to leave Iraa.'The Subcommittee must take the lead in applying international pressure.
138
In reality, change in Iran may not take place in the near future. But much can be done to help the fleeing
Iranian Christians. They have clear needs which can and must be met.
1) Independently investigate the refugee processing procedures in Turkey, India, Austria and
Germany.
2) For the purpose of refugee admissions, designate all persecuted Iranian Christiaas and Christian
minorities in Muslim countries and enclaves as Priority One.
3) Bring about changes in the U.S. Department of State policies and U.S. INS procedures so that:
a) all U.S. INS officers at U.S. INS refiigee processing posts receive the same training as
U.S. INS asylum officers.
b) the same standards for acceptance are used by U.S. INS officers at refugee processing
posts as are used by U.S. INS asylum officers.
c) an appeal process outside the U . S . INS refugee processing post is established for bonafide
refugees; currently there is no recourse for appeal for bonafide cases which are denied.
d) personnel at the Voluntary Agencies and Joint Voluntary Agencies (NGO's) receive
training in case preparation and presentation.
e) monitoring is established for the refugee application process (including decision making)
of the Joint Voluntary Agencies, Voluntary Agencies (NGO's), U.S. INS refugee
processing posts abroad, and the U.S. INS and U.S. Department of State offices dealing
with refugees.
f) Iranian Christian refugees, and Christian refugees from other Muslim countries and
Muslim enclaves are able to apply directly to the U.S. INS in those countries rather than
going through the UNHCR, Voluntary or Joint Voluntary Agencies (NGO's).
g) US. INS officers and Personnel at the Voluntary Agencies and Joint Voluntary Agencies
(NGO's) receive education about the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries and
enclaves, and current reports in a timely manner: they are instructed to reflect the U.S.
government's acknowledgement of the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism and the increasing
application of dhimmi doctrine and apostasy laws in Muslim countries; they are instructed
to recognize the serious problems of persecution that Muslim converts to Christianity,
Evangelical Protestants and Christian activists face in Muslim countries and Muslim
enclaves. While each case should continue to be detennined on the basis of its own facts,
the officers must be aware of the basic context which exists, and therefore the seriousness
of claims of persecution made by these individuals.
h) U.S. INS refugee processing posts are established in all countries neighboring Muslim
countries where Muslim converts and other Christian minorities are persecuted.
i) the U.S. INS and the U.S. DOS compile accurate reports of persecution of Christian
minorities, particularly Muslim converts to Christianity, Evangelical Protestants and
Christian activists in predominantly Muslim countries. The investigators should examine
and document particular findings of the existence and degree of this persecution. Special
139
care must be exercised to insure that the investigators have adequate training in, and
exposure to, Islamic dogma and practice as well as the cultural, social and political
factors governing a given Muslim country. Likewise, U.S. DOS's annual Country
Reports on Human Riphts Practices and the U.S. INS country reports should explicitly
include findings regarding persecution of Christians in Muslim countries and enclaves.
They should also have a systematic and periodic review of these reports and quickly
distribute up-to-date information regarding the status of Christian minorities,
including Muslim converts to Christianity, in Muslim countries to all U.S. INS offices
worldwide;
4) Apply international pressure to influence Iran and Turkey to stop returning one another's refugees
and asylum seekers.
5) Pressure Ttirkev to discontinue raiding hotel.«i, intimirfatinp; (including black mailing), arresting,
detaining and deporting Iranian refugees.
6) Obtain assurances from the UNHCR in Turkey, and the Turkish government that the present
refiigee processing procedures for Iranians will change and they will guarantee the safety of
Iranian refugees in Ttirkev.
7) Pressure the U.S. Congressional Committees, the Pentagon aini the Clinton Administration to
continue to freeze military aid and refiise further aid to Turkey and Iran and their assets until they
cease returning one another's refugees and asylum seekers and improve their human rights
records.
8) Call on foreign governments such as those in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Germany, England,
and the European Commimity members to condemn Iran and Turkey for returning one another's
refugees and asylum seekers, and to refuse Turkey's admittance into the Community or any other
dialogue imtil Iran and Turkey ceased returning one another's refugees and asylum seekers.
9) Request the United Nations to pass a resolution condemning Iran and Turkey for returning one
another's refugees and asylum seekers.
A rnncliiding Prnnosal
We at ICI believe no more than 1 %of the Iranian Evangelical Christians are able to flee Iran annually.
This is due not only to the foreign travel restrictions in Iran, but also to the terrible price associated with
abandoning one's homeland and the imcertainty and suffering that await them when they reach another
country. If these problems are resolved, then the persecution of a much larger number of Evangelical
Christians can be avoided.
If the Islamic Republic of Iran would provide a window of opportunity, say two years, for any
Evangelical Christian to leave Iran without harm or retaliation against them or their family, we believe
50% of these Christians, or 10,000, would leave. However, for this to take place there must be new
policies and procedures instated for direct processing of refiigees (bypassing UNHCR and Joint Voluntary
Agencies) by interested democratic governments in countries bordering Iran, such as Turkey. If there is
such a guarantee of efficient and fair processing then the suffering of many Iranian Christians can be
relieved.
140
Brief Background - Iranian Christians International, Inc.
Iranian Christians International, Inc. (ICI) is a non-profit charitable organization registered under the U.S.
International Revenue Code S01(c)(3). It was established in 1980. One of its program-services is to assist
Iranian/ Afghan Christian refugees. ICI does this by providing documentation which supports their
applications, finding sponsors in the U.S., Canada, Australia and some European countries, and assisting
in their resettlement.
Although ICI is not registered UN observers for obvious security reasons, Iranian Christians
International, Inc. , has monitored the human rights situation of Christians in the Islamic Republic of Iran
and other countries since 1980 and the human rights situation of Iranian Christians in Turkey for the past
two years. (Please refer to the Human Rights Watch World Report 1993.)
During the past IS years, ICI has assisted more than 450 Iranian Christian refugees/asylees, of whom
most were Muslim converts ftom Islam to Christianity, (many of them converted after leaving Iran), by
preparing documentation to support their refiigee/asylum applications, appeals, and motions to re-open.
ICI has also worked with more than one hundred attorneys in the U.S. and other countries. More than
95% of the cases for which ICI prepared documentation were accq)ted. Most of the 5% which were
rejected had extenuating circumstances. ICI has also prepared docimientation for Christian minorities from
other Muslim countries, the majority being Muslim converts to Christianity, of whom all were accepted.
ICI provide reports of human rights violations of Christian minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran and
other Muslim countries to human rights organizations including, but not limited to: UNHCR, Geneva;
U.N. Human Rights Center Branch Office in New York; Anmesty International, London; Human Rights
Watch, New York; Christian Solidarity, Geneva; OMCT/SOS Torture, Geneva; U.S. Committee for
Refugees, Washington, D.C.; The Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights in Islamic Countries,
Illinois; International Red Cross, Geneva; Open Doors, Holland; Jubilee Carapaiga, Lx)ndon; Zwemer
Instimte of Muslim Smdies, Pasadena, CA, USA; Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, New York,
USA; and WEF Religious Liberty Commission, Illinois, USA.
UN Special Rapporteurs have quoted ICI's documentation in their reports. Mr. Bacre Waly Ndiaye,
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions used ICI's special report to him
in his report which was presented at the February/March 1995 Commission at its fifty-first session.
Ms. Martha Percival, Associate Information Officer, Center for Documenution on Refugees, UNHCR,
Geneva, Switzerland, provides ICI's documentation to people who request information on the conditions
of Christian minorities in Iran and some other Muslim countries, as well as referring them to us.
Id also provide reports of human rights violations of Christian minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran
and other Muslim countries to the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service Resource Information Center, and to a number of U.S. Congressional Committees and individual
congressmen who are human rights activists. ICI also provide reports to governments of other countries
such as Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Norway and Sweden. ICI has also
provided its documentation to the UNHCR branch offices in a number of countries over the past 15 years.
ICI's contact persons are: Mr. Abe Ghaffari, Executive Director or Ms. Marie Ghaf^ui, Associate
Director, Iranian Christians International, Inc., P.O. Box 25607, Colorado Springs, CO 80936; Phone:
(719) 596-0010; Fax: (719) 574-1141.
asytum.repVbackgnid.ici 1/13/96
141
STATEMENT
Richard D. Land, President-Treasurer
Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
February 15, 1996
House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to Congressman Chris
Smith for his unflagging devotion to keeping the issue of human rights
abuses alive when so many in our society have seemed intent on
remaining unaware or even willfully ignorant of the extent to which basic
human rights have been denied around the world, speciHcally often in the
form of religious persecution of Christians. All of us owe a great debt of
gratitude to all of those in our society who have struggled valiantly to keep
the flickering flame of concern for victims of religious persecution alive in
our midst.
The persecution of Christians in various parts of the world has not
been a high profile item on America's agenda. There are several possible
reasons for this oversight. Hrst, too often people in the West, peering
through the selective prism of Christian history in the West reflexively
think of Christians as persecutors, rather than the persecuted. Second, an
increasingly secularized West and its leadership elites tend to be
indifferent, and often uncomprehending, of a spiritual world view which
endures persecution and death for the sake of "belief." Third, the silence
of the various Christian communities in the West, which could influence
this situation in a significant way, has also contributed to the tragic silence
and neglect of this issue.
I am both delighted and grateful to say that this tragic neglect is
ending with startling rapidity. The conference on "Global Persecution of
Christians" sponsored by the Puebla Program on Religious Freedom, and
held on January 23, 1996 here in Washington, was a long needed "wake-
up" call for many in the American faith community. Many of us had our
eyes opened in a new and life-changing way to both the savagery and the
extent of the persecution of fellow Christian believers in various parts of
the world, most significantly in Islamic countries such as the Sudan, Saudi
Arabia and Communist regimes such as Cuba, China and Vietnam.
There was virtual unanimity of support from the conference
participants for the "Statement of Conscience of the National Association of
Evangelicals Concerning Worldwide Religious Persecution" (attached to
statement). The NAB, which represents tens of millions of evangelical
Christians in America, has produced a statement of conscience which
142
outlines the facts of such persecution, states the principles of opposition
against such persecution, and issues a call for actions which would directly
address such persecution.
I want to compliment Stephen Rosenfeld of the Washington Post
("Human Rights for Christians Too," Washington Post. Feb. 9, 1996) for
lending his influential forum and powerful voice to this issue. Mr.
Rosenfeld is absolutely right when he writes that "Politically as citizens
and objectively in terms of the pain of foreign brothers, the Christian
community has right and reason to be heard. The effort will save lives. It
will also complicate the conduct of foreign policy...."
On the same day that Mr. Rosenfeld's eloquent analysis was printed
in the Washington Post, the Executive Council of the General Convention of
the Episcopal Church joined the group chorus of resolve on this issue by
expressing "its support in principle of the Statement of Conscience
concerning worldwide religious persecution in support of religious liberty
as authored by the National Association of Evangelicals." (See attached
statement.)
The 15.6 million member Southern Baptist Convention, reflecting a
growing concern on this issue, had already passed overwhelmingly a
resolution "On Religious Liberty and World Evangelization" at its
Convention in Atlanta in June, 1995. The resolution expresses "support for
all peoples suffering denial of religious liberty, but especially for those
who are of the household of faith, and even more particularly for those
who share Baptist convictions and commitments." The resolution further
calls upon my agency as well as others to seek ways to represent even
more effectively the concerns of this Convention to various government,
diplomatic, and religious leaders at home and abroad...." (See attached
resolution.) This testimony is at least partly an attempt to respond to that
challenge issued by the Southern Baptist Convention.
In addition. Pope John Paul II has spoken out yet again recently
against the persecution of Christians in his address to the Vatican
diplomatic corps on January 13, 1996. In that speech, the Pope raised the
issue of religious persecution in some Islamic countries as well as China
and Vietnam, as places where persecution of Christians is presently being
perpetrated. He decried such abuses as "an intolerable and unjustifiable
violation not only of all the nomns of current international law, but of the
most fundamental human freedom, that of practicing one's faith openly,
which for human beings is their reason for living."
When Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Southern Baptists and Roman
Catholics are all voicing grave concerns over the persecution of Christians
in other countries, "critical mass" has been reached. I believe we are
witnessing the mere beginnings of a broad-based movement which will
insist with increasing intensity that the government of the United States of
143
America take serious and imporunt steps to use its influence to insist that
the offending foreign governments stop these atrocities.
Let me be clear that we are not insisting that the U. S. Government
seek to hold the entire world to the pristine standard of the U. S.
Constitution's First Amendment's religious liberty rights and guarantees, as
desirable and as beneficial to humankind as we believe that would be. We
are insisting that basic human rights be recognized. These persecutions of
Christians are clear and unacceptable violations of the United Nations'
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (cf. particularly, but not
exclusively. Articles 2 and 18). The international family of nations has
agreed that all human beings have the inherent "right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion."
The persecutions are real, and they are widespread. As our Southern
Baptist Convention resolution notes, countries as diverse and far-flung as
Bulgaria, Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Cuba,
Romania, India and China have well-documented and systemic patterns of
persecuting Christians.
A focused campaign against these persecutions supported by a
committed domestic constituency (such as sensitized and informed
American Christians) can and we believe will, have tremendous and far-
reaching results. The inspiring paradigm of the plight of Soviet Jewry and
the tremendous impact that the American Jewish community was able to
achieve by galvanizing the will and determination of the American people
is the best argument both for the ability to make a life-changing difference
and for the fact that the efforts achieved can be far-reaching.
The American campaign on behalf of Soviet Jews helped to seal the
fate of Soviet repression in its far flung empire. We believe a campaign to
use American governmental influence to stop the persecution of Christians
may well have similarly dramatic results. Evangelicals and Catholics are
being persecuted in many of these countries by those who are seeking to
hold back the 21st century by using the repressive methods which have
made the 20th century's history the bloodiest in terms of human beings
slaughtered. Christians are threats to the anti-democratic forces which
oppose modernity and if the Western secular elites do not understand this,
make no mistake, the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cuban commissars and the
Islamic ayatollahs do.
Further, if the U. S. government makes the price for persecuting
Christians (usually the most vulnerable people in these societies)
unacceptable, it strengthens the moderate Islamic elements in these
societies in their attempts to resist the thuggery and persecution
perpetrated by Islamic radicals in their midst.
Clearly, the United States government has been woefully negligent in
dealing with the issue of the persecution of Christians around the world.
144
This issue has not occupied a significant plane in American foreign policy.
It has not even been on the State Department's radar screen. That must
change.
There are several steps the Clinton administration can and should
take to rectify this situation. First, the President should deliver a strong,
hard-hitting major policy address making it clear that governments
seeking to be on favorable and Mendly terms with the United States must
not persecute Christian minorities. Second, the President should appoint a
high-level "Special Advisor to the President for Religious Liberty" who
would have broad-based authority to investigate, monitor, and report to
the President the persecutions which occur and what the various agencies
of the U. S. government such as the State Department and the Justice
Department are, or are not, doing about it. Such an advisor should be
someone who has the full confidence of, and rapport with, the American
religious community.
In addition, we would fully commend to your committee and the
Congress, as well as to the President, the entirety of the "Call to Action" on
pp. 3-5 of the National Association of Evangelicals' Statement of Conscience.
I would urge the Congress to take a hard look at the NAE's call to action
and to see what parts (such as immigration service indifference, special
trade status, foreign aid, state department reporting on religious
persecution, etc.) could be embodied in legislation.
There are some examples of the State Department's woeful and
callous indifference to the plight of persecuted Christians which I believe
need to be mentioned specifically. 'They are illustrative and not
exhaustive, in terms of the State Department's failures.
1. The current U. S. ambassador to China, Jim Sasser, at a
meeting with NGO's in Washington, D.C., on January 24, 1996
. indicated that he was not aware of the Protestant
Evangelical house-church movement in China—perhaps the
largest evangelical movement in the world—much less of the
torture and imprisonment of its members. It is right and
helpful for the ambassador to be briefed on the persecution
of Buddhists in Tibet and the massive violations of women's
rights in the People's Republic of China, but it is
unforgivable that in the many months of briefings given him
by the State Department that they did not brief him on the
persecutions of a movement that may number 80 million
people in China. We believe Ambassador Sasser should be
recalled until such time as he can be fully briefed on the
extent of the persecution of Christians in China. Also there
should be an investigation as to who was responsible for the
145
Ambassador's background preparation and why they could
be so shockingly insensitive to the persecution of millions of
people.
2. The Vietnamese government continues to this present
moment to persecute Christians. And yet, when our
government was negotiating with Vietnam over our
government's recognition of that country, this issue was not
even "on the table." In fact, at the very moment the U. S.
granted much-coveted full diplomatic recognition to
Vietnam, that country embarked on a campaign to
intimidate and suppress Christian worship. Further, during
the first week in February of this year, three American
young people were arrested and detained in Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam. Chris Ann Riordan (Arizona), Maiy Ann Koch
(Colorado), and Leo Tomko (Michigan) were traveling in
Vietnam as part of a larger group connected with Youth
With a Mission when they were arrested for meeting with a
group of eight Vietnamese young people from a Christian
church. The Vietnamese government has confiscated these
American citizens' passports and placed them under house
arrest in a hotel. A full-fledged investigation should be
launched as to why the State Department did not make the
cessation of religious persecution a prerequisite for
recognition and also into the case of these three American
young people.
3. The U. S. Attorney General should issue immediately a
Bulletin to INS hearing officers acknowledging mounting
anti-Christian persecution in many parts of the world and
direct such officers to process the claims of escapees from
such persecutions with priority and diligence. What
amounts to an anti-Christian bias in U. S. government circles
in this area prevents Christians from escaping torture by
fleeing to the United States. An Ethiopian pastor arrested
and tortured 25 times was told by his lawyer that he had
little chance of gaining asylum in the U. S. because Christian
claims of persecution were not taken seriously.
4. The head of the U. S. Delegation to the Human Rights
Commission of the United Nations should give a major
address at the Commission's annual meeting in March on
Christian persecution and other examples of religious
146
intolerance under the agenda item "Religious Intolerance."
The U. S. head of delegation has failed to address religious
intolerance at the Conunission for the past two years of her
tenure.
5. There should be a full investigation and report to determine
who at the State Department was responsible for advising
participants not to carry Bibles or religious literature with
them to the U. N. Fourth World Conference for Women in
Beijing last fall. It was widely reported in the press that
Georgia A. Rogers, the State Department's director of
consular affairs advised conference attendees "You may be
thinking of taking a lot of Bibles. That is not a good idea.
They don't like that." It is shameful that the U. S.
capitulated to China's demand that participants limit their
own religious freedoms. This should never occur again at
any future international conference— especially one on
human rights—that the U. S. helps fund and attends. The U.
S. should have insisted that another forum site be found if
China could not tolerate the religious rights of the UN
participants.
6. There should be a full report and investigation into reports
that the U. S. Consulate in Jeddah has bowed to Saudi
government demands to end Christian worship services for
U. S. personnel and their dependents on Consulate grounds.
^ It had long been the practice that such services were held
*and they ceased sometime after March, 1994. Here we seem
'to have a case of American citizens' First Amendment rights
being abrogated on American property in acquiescence to
the demands of a repressive Saudi regime.
Traditionally, the role of our embassies in foreign lands has been not
only to represent the American government, but to symbolize American
values. It seems that at least in regard to persecution of Christians, often
the State Department has been in the posture of abject surrender to the
most repressive of regimes which have denied fundamental American
values of freedom from religious persecution.
The question of whether to grant Most Favored Nation trade
privileges for Vietnam will be certain to come up later this year for the
Hrst time and Most Favored Nation status for China will be up for renewal
in May. We urge the U. S. government to take a hard look at U. S. policy
vnth regard to these and other nations in the context of these countries'
147
persecution of Christians. Also of extreme relevance in this regard will be
China's efforts to gain entry into the World Trade Organization.
We are told that the 21st century will be the "Pacific Century." What
kind of century will it be? America has great power and influence. Such
power contains responsibilities as well as privilege. We must do all we can
to influence the Asian powers of the future to recognize the basic human
rights of their citizens, including Christians.
Experience tells us that governments, like children, often do not what
you expect, but what you are prepared to inspect. We expect our
government to insist that nations who want to be in good relation with us
cease and desist from persecuting Christians. We will be inspecting
whether they do so. A foreign policy that denies our basic values and
seeks only to meet the requirements of commerce and business is, and will
always remain, totally unacceptable.
148
STATEMENT OF CONSCffiNCE
OF THE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGEUCALS
CONCERNING
WORLDWIDE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
January 23, 1996
149
FOREWORD
This Statement of Conscience of the National Association of Evangelicals reflects our
deqp concern for the religious freedom of fellow believers, as well as people of every £uth.
We invite others to join us to work tirelessly to bring about action by our government to
curb woridwide religious persecution.
FACTS
The persecution of religious believers has become an increasingly tragic fact in
today's worid. In many countries, moreover. Evangelical Protestants and Catholics have
become special targets of reigns of terror initiated by authorities who feel threatened by
Christian faith and worship. Such authorities, often motivated by anti-Western, anti-
democratic ideologies, also persecute Christians as a means of tlueatening the freedom of all
pn^ons subject to their authority.
Incidents of religious persecution are legion:
• In many Islamic countries, where militant and xenophobic Islamist movements
seek to capture the soul of a historically tolerant Islamic faith, and where the
demonization of Christians also serves to intimidate Muslims seeking freedom
from rq)ressive regimes.
• In China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam, where remnant Communist
r^imes feel threatened by persons whose Christian faith places them under an
authority transcending governments, and where the persecution of Christians
also serves to intimidate non-Christian dissenters.
• In other parts of the world, where persons of evil intent rightly understand that
the survival of churches undermines their aims, because these churches affirm
the human dignity of all persons created in God's image and acknowledge their
ultimate accountability to a transcendent God.
• In countries and regions where the demonization of powerless Christian
scap^oats often serves to vent, foment, and popularize hatred of the West and
the United States.
• Imprisonment and torture of persons for simply attending Christian worship
services or Bible studies.
• Establishment of government-controlled "religious associations" and criminal
prosecution and torture of members of "unlicensed" Christian churches.
• Refusal to permit Vatican appointments of Catholic bishops and refusal to
allow nonapproved bishops to appoint local priests.
I
150
Encouragement and appeasement of ui^ninished mob violence against Chris-
tians conducting burial and other religious services.
Encouragement and appeasement of unpunished looting and burning of busi-
nesses and homes of practicing Christians.
Chuidi burnings and systematic official refusals to allow the building of new
churches or church rqiairs.
Encouragement and :y>peasement of systematic beatings of children who attend
Christian schools.
Literal sale into slavery of Christian children abducted by government forces.
Refusal to distribute food to Christians in famine-stricken areas unless they
agree to renounce their faith.
Wide dissemination, often with government support, of scurrilously hateful,
deliberately provocative, anti-Christian tapes, books and tracts.
Imprisonment of Christians for the mere possession of Bibles.
Prosecution, torture and even murder of practicing Christians under in£imious
and broadly construed "blasphemy" laws.
Prosecution, torture and even murder of Christian converts and the children
and grandchildren of such converts, under equally infomous and broadly
construed "apostasy" laws.
PRINCIPLES
If people are to fulfill the obligations of conscience, history teaches the urgent need to
foster respect and protection for the right of all persons to practice their faith.
If people are to fulfill the obligations of conscience, history cries out for an end to
today's wrongful silence, by Christians as well as others, in the fkce of mounting persecution
of Christian believers.
If governments are to be worthy of the name, or responsive to their national interests
and the interest of their people, lessons of history mandate uncompromising hostility to
religious persecution.
If, though it is true, the United States government cannot end all evil throughout the
worid, it can nonetheless adopt policies that would limit religious persecution and ensure
greater fulfillment of inalienable and internationally recognized rights to freedom of religious
151
belief and practice.
CALL TO ACTION
It is lamentable that persecution of religious believers is pervasive around the worid.
We are dismayed that the United States government has been indifferent to its
obligation to speak out against reigns of terror now being plotted and waged against
Christians. At the same time, we confess our own culpability in failing to do all within our
power to alleviate the suffering of those persecuted for their religious beliefs.
We know that the United States government has within its power and discretion the
capacity to adopt policies that would be dramatically effective in curbing such reigns of
terror and protecting the rights of all religious dissidents.
As a matter of conscience, therefore, we respectfully call for the following actions to
be taken by the government of the United States:
L Public acknowledgment of today's wideq>read and mounting anti-Christian
persecution and the adoption of policies condemning religious persecution whether it results
from official policy or from unchecked terrorist activity.
To that end, we respectfully recommend that the following stq>s be taken:
• A major policy address by the President initiating a new public diplomacy
commitment to openly condemn anti-Christian persecution wherever it occurs
and further announcing a lesser reliance on today's private diplomacy and
case-by-case appeals to curb such persecution.
• Issuance of instructions to all Ambassadors or surrogates to meet regularly
with willing church leaders and dissidents in countries where religious persecu-
tion occurs.
• Appointment of a knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate Special
Advisor to the President for Religious Liberty charged with prq)aring a rqx)rt
indicating needed changes in policies dealing with religious persecution, and
recommending remedial action.
• Issuance of instructions to the United Sutes del^ate to the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights to regularly and forcefully raise the issue of
anti-Christian and other religious persecution at all j^propriate Commission
sessions.
• Issuance of instructions to consular officials acknowledging the mounting
evidence of religious persecution and instructing them to provide diligent
152
assistance when the victims of religious po^ecution seek refugee status.
Issuance of instructions to senior officials engaged in trade or other interna-
tional negotiations, when dealing with officials of countries that engage in
religious persecution, to vigorously object to such religious persecuti<m and to
link negotiations with the need for constructive change.
n. Issuance by the State Dq>artment's Human Rights Bureau and related govern-
ment agencies of more carefully researched, more fully documented and less politically
edited rqx>rts of the facts and circumstances of anti-Christian and other rdlgious persecution.
To that end, we respectfully recommend that the following steps be taken:
• Issuance of instructions to human rights officers to distinguish between the
treatment of different Christian groups within countries and no longer to
assume that all such groups are similariy dealt with.
• Issuance of instructions that Human Rights Bureau annual rqwrts are to make
explicit findings of whether anti-Christian or othei religious persecutions
occur, thereby eliminating fix>m such reports any "option of silence" r^arding
such persecutions.
• Clarifying and upgrading the role of embassy human rights officers in coun-
tries where anti-Christian or other religious persecution is ongoing and perva-
sive, and ensuring that such officers carefully monitor religious liberty viola-
tions on an ongoing and prioritized basis.
m. Cessation of the indifferent and occasionally hostile manner in which die
Immigration and Naturalization Service often treats the petitions of escapees from anti-
Christian persecution.
To that end, we respectfully recommend that the following steps be taken:
• Issuance of an Attorney General's Bulletin to INS hearing officers acknowl-
edging mounting anti-Christian persecutions in many parts of the worid, and
directing such officers to process the claims of escapees from such persecution
with priority and diligence.
• Issuance of instructions by the Attorney General directing prqnration of
annual INS rqx>rts describing its processing of religious refugee and asylum
claims:
• Issuance of regulations requiring written opinions from INS hearing officers
clearly stating the grounds for any denial of religious refugee and asylum
claims.
153
Establishment of INS listening posts in countries to which lefiigees from anti-
Christian persecution frequently flee.
Cessation of INS delegation of refugee processing functions to foreign and
United Nations agencies.
rV. Tennination of foreign assistance to countries that tail to take vigorous action
to end anti-Christian or other religious persecution, with resumption of assistance to be
permitted only after a written finding is made by the President that the countries have taken
all reasonable stq>s to end such persecution, and arrangements are made to ensure that
idigious persecution is not resumed.
CONCLUSION
Religious liberty is not a privilege to be granted or denied by an all-powerfxil State,
but a God-given human right. Indeed, religious liberty is the bedrock principle that animates
our republic and defines us as a people. We must shaic our love of religious liberty with
other peoples, who in the eyes of God are our neighbors. Hence, it is our responsibility, and
that of the government that rq>resents us, to do everything we can to secure the blessings of
religious liberty to all those suffering from religious persecution.
We appeal not only to our own government, but to the governments of every nation
that would be free, to treasure religious freedom. A people cannot be truly free where the
elemental justice of religious freedom is abridged or denied. If justice is to 'roll on like a
river,' religious persecution around the worid must cease.
Therefore, before God, and because we are our brother's keeper, we solemnly
pledge:
To end our own silence in the face of the suffering of all those persecuted for their
religious faith.
To do what is within our power to the end that the government of the United States
will take appropriate action to combat the intolerable religious persecution now victimizing
fellow believers and those of other faiths.
154
TO: TheExeootiveCouiioU
FROMi The Standing Committee on PxogFun
DATEt February 9, 1996
SUBJECT: STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCB
TieMchirA Hut tfio Ewcutive Cooooil of the Oeaoenl Corventlon of lii0 Epiaoopai Churdi
expnaacs its soppoit in prindple of die Statement of Consoieoce oooceniing woridwide
idigioui peaecution In siqjpoit of religious Ubetty as audioied by tlie National
Association of Evangelicals; and be It fisther
BfiBOlxgd. Tliat certified copies of dw nsdutloo be fisrwaided to ibe NAB, NCCC,
Anglicao Observer to Ifio United Natimu, Piesideot of tiie United States and ]^nsoopsl
membeta of Congress.
BYPT.AWATfOM
Hue Executive Coundl has been asked to join its voice wifli Evangelical and Catholic
oiganizBdons in scfiport of die cause of persecuted Christians aiovndtiie^rorid. Hie
statement is similar in oonleat tone and intent to the Human Ri^its and Religious Liberty
Statement adopted by the Natiooal Council offlteChurohesofCbrist at its governing
board meeting in November 1995.
The statement caUs on the U.S. Oovetnment to use its influence abroad. Spedfically, die
statement calls fbr
a) apolioy statement by President Clinton;
b) tiieq>pointmeat of a special advisor to dwPresldeat on religious
libera,
o) inqvovements in State Department iBseaidi and documentatioii of
leligioas liberty violations;
d) change in the Immigiatton and NatumHwition Services
classiflcntioa to leoognixe xeli^ous tiylum;
e) tetmhiation of foreign aid to countries diat allow idigious
persecution.
155
f
156
Amnesty International Testimony
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE
Before the House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Organizations and Human
Rights
Presented by
Morton E. Winston
Cliair, Board of Directors,
Amnesty International USA
February 1 5, 1 996
157
Introduction
Amnesty International USA welcomes the opportunity to submit testimony on specific instances of
intolerance and persecution on grounds of religion or tielief in recent years wtiere ttiese issues fall
witfiin ttie mandate of the organization.
In a numt>er of countries, Amnesty International has worlced for the release of persons who have
been imprisoned because of the peaceful exercise of their religious beliefs in accordance with
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The provisions in these instruments have been further elaborated in the Declaration on the
Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religious Belief which was
proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on November 25, 1981. In spite of all these efforts,
however, Amnesty International documentation attests to the fact that religious intolerance
continues against peoples of faith in countries around the world.
Religious Intolerance
The causes for religious intolerance are complex and very often have a political dimension. It is,
therefore, not always possible to make a sharp distinction between intolerance based strictly on
religious grounds and intolerance based on political grounds as the following testimony will
indicate.
Govemments seek to curtail or ban the practice of religk>us groups for a variety of reasons. Some
countries seek to reduce the influence of one or more religkius groups because of their perceived
links with oppositran groups or with separatist movements. Other govemments suppress religious
communities because they disapprove of their connections with branches or headquarters
abroad. A third category of govemments have clamped down on religious freedom following a
reform of the national legal system in accordance with their own religious convictions.
State control of religious activity may take different forms. A few countries allow only the practice
of a single state-recognized religion. A larger group of countries has followed a policy of giving
official recognition to only a limited number of religtons and of putting their institutions under ck>se
supervision. This supervision may entail various restrictions on religious activities.
Officially prohibited activities may include preaching and evangelizing, teaching religion to
children, distributing or copying religious materials, and attending religious services. People have
been imprisoned for converting from one religkm to another, and for displaying religk>us symbols
such as verses or crucifixes.
Sanctions inflk:ted on religious believers for the infringement of these prohibitions range from
various forms of harassment to imprisonment torture and even to the imposition of the death
penalty. In some instances, religkjus believers have been subjected to confinement in labor
camps for decades for exercising their right to freedom of religion.
The following testimony does not constitute an exhaustive survey of instances of religious
intolerance under Amnesty Intematranal's mandate. Rather it is intended to illustrate Amnesty
International's concerns in this area, and to lay out steps that govemments can take to end the
human rights violations that accompany systematic religious intolerance. At the request of the
Subcommittee, the testimony focuses primarily on the persecution of Christians.
158
AFRICA
Africa continues to suffer from several violent conflicts that fiave caused massive displacement,
loss of life and costly refugee flows. As witti the so called "ethnically t>ased" tragedies that
occurred in Rwanda, Ubena, Sierra Leone and Burundi between 1993 and the present viotenoe
and human rights violations have often been unleashed by groups wishing to retain their hold on
power. However, the use of religion as the pivotal issue was nowhere as pervasive as the factor
of ethnicity.
Last year did not see a repeat of the unprecedented loss of life that marked 1994, where in
Central Africa alone more than 1 million people were killed as a result of vk>tence in Rwanda and
Burundi. However, little has been done to defuse tensions in several Afrk^n countries where
human rights vioiattons caused by religious beliefe have occurred. Those countries remain at risk
and in need of nfK)nitoring.
Sud^n remains the principal African country that has experienced the flagrant manipulation of
religious issues, and has deliberatety fostered a climate of intolerance wtiere widespread human
rights vk)lations based on religious affiliation have been perpetrated.
The country has been mired in a civil war between the govemment in Khartoum and the amied
opposition Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) since 1983 when the govemment sought to
impose its interpretatkMi of the Shari'a, the Islamic law, on the whole country. The cunent military
govemment led by President Omar al-Bashir-t>acked primarily by the National Islamic Front-and
the main armed oppositron factkms, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) led by John
Garang de Mabior, and the South Sudan Independence Army (SSIA) led by Dr Riek Machar
Teny-Ohurgon, are responsible of committing human rights abuses.
Upon independence Sudan was, for all practical purposes, two countries: a Northern region,
predominantly Arab, Muslim, well-educated and in control of the govemment apparatus, and a
much poorer South with an African populatk>n divided into Christians and worshipers of traditional
religtons. In September 1983 the Khartoum govemment tried to consolidate its power and
"arabize* the country through the enforcement of a radical version of the Shari'a law. In the North
this included ttie imposition of severe restrlctmns on the rights of women, a dress code, the
prohibition to women of travel unless accompanied by males, and a steady retrerK:hment on
educational opportunities for women. In the South, this has resulted in a scorched-earth,
campaign-style war that has created millions of refugees and taken the lives of thousands of
innocent Sudanese.
The govemment has sought to suppress all forms of independent political activity, and to destroy
the Institutions of an independent civil society throughout the country. After legal changes in mid-
1993, the media are technically no longer the monopoly of the state txjt they remain entirely
controlled by govemment loyalists. The judkriary, the prison system, the police force and the army
have been purged of anyone suspected of oppositkin to the official state ideology. In May 1993
the govemment even expropriated the holy centers of the three main Sudanese traditional Islamic
groups: the Ansar, the Khatmiya and the Ansar Sunna.
As a standard practice, the Khartoum govemment detains and tortures suspected opponents in
so-called "ghost houses," ttie security forces' secret detention centers. Targets have been non-
Muslim and moderate Muslim critics of official policies, and of the radical Islamic agenda. PolitKal
activity remains fbrtidden; any form of opposition leads to detention without charge or trial, and
often to torture. Hundreds of people convicted for criminal offenses have been flogged. An
unknown numt>er has suffered judk^l amputations of hands and feet since the auttK>r1ties
159
introduced a Shari'a based Penal Code that allows cruel, inhunian and degrading punishment
such as flogging and amputation. The military government has sought to deflect human rights
criticism by accusing its opponents of being motivated by a desire to oppose or insult Islam.
Massive human rights violations have also been committed by the various SPLA factions, claiming
to be building a "New Sudan" against the Khartoum government and each other. There has been
a lack of accountability and a complete disregard for humanitarian principles in the conduct of war.
Prominent internal dissidents have been detained and some have been killed. Ethnic violence
against civilians has been mirrored by killings within the ranks of each warring faction. Captured
govemment sokliers of rival factions are usually extrajudicially executed on the battlefield or after
interrogation and torture. Male villagers caught during an offensive are forced into becoming
porters and are killed after t>eing deemed no longer useful.
In January 1992 an intensive campaign against the SPLA was unleashed by the Sudanese
government This included aerial bombardment of civilian villages and refugee camps; and
buming down of villages and crops resulting in large-scale death, famine and environmental
destruction and other war crimes committed by the army and the "People's Defense Forces," the
govemmenf s militia. In Western Sudan the campaign involved ethnic cleansing, torture and mass
killings. Whole communities have t>een forced to resettle away from their traditranal homelands.
Recommendation: The tragedy of Sudan should not be allowed to continue. The Sudanese
authorities and the SPLA factions must end human rights violations. The International Community
and the United States have a critical role to play and must if Sudan is ever to know peace.
Amnesty Intemational calls for the creation by an appropriate intergovernmental organization of a
team of intematk>nal civilian human rights monitors to woric with the authorities and the Sudanese
public in all parts of Sudan to buikJ respect for human rights.
Amnesty lntematk>nal also calls on the Sudanese govemment and each faction of the SPLA to
demonstrate their commitment to human rights by inviting and extending full cooperation to a
monitoring team to be established in the areas under the control of the belligerent parties.
liigeija
In Nigeria the human rights situation continues to deteriorate under the regime of General Sani
Abacha. Religbus tensions between the Northern Muslim-dominated part of the country and
members of the Christian minority in the North have ignited several riots and attacks on
Christians, resulting in scores of deaths and hundreds of injuries. The most notable incident
occurred in 1992 in the Zango-Kataf area. The impositron of martial law in the region resulted in
widespread arrests and the use of military tribunals. These institutk>ns, which fell to meet
intemational standards of due process, came back to haunt the country in 1995 when they were
used to sentence and hang members of the Ogoni ethnk: minority in the Southem Delta region.
Recomnr)endation: The tensions between members of different religious groups can only be
mediated and defused if the rule of law is reinstated and the Nigerian people are confident of
receiving justice.
Amnesty Intemational urges the Nigerian govemment to repeal the military decrees that restrict
the judicial system from performing its duties, in particular, Decree Nos. 12, 1994, the
Govemment (Supremacy and Enforcement of Powers) Decree.
160
ASIA-PACIFIC
Persecution against religious minorities is common in various Asian countries. Since Ctiristians
are minorities in many countries tttey, too, face persecution. But Christians are not singled out
from other minority reflgions for persecution. Laws that were originaliy passed to target ottwr
religious minorities were later used to persecute Christians. In Pakistan, for example, Blasphemy
Laws were passed to target Ahmadis and later used against Christians. Communist countries like
China, Vietnam and North Korea target aH religions, except state-sancttoned churches. We have
very little infbrmatkxi about Vietnam and North Korea.
Persecutkw of Christians in China
In 1994 in China new regulations and official directives were implenwnted at ttie natk>nal and local
level ttiat might result in the restrictk)n of the religious freedoms of Chinese citizens. Although the
past decade has witnessed a sut)stantial religk>us revival in China, many members of religkxis
groups-other than those offictally recognized by the government the Catholic Patriotic Association
(CPA), and the Three-Self Patriotic Association-have experierioed harassment, persecutkm and
arisitrary arrest in recent years. The new regulattons include new guarantees for offidaUy
registered religious groups but may perpetuate the harassment and represston suffered by those
who are unable to obtain official sanction.
Arrest of Roman Catholics and Protestants during peaceful religious celebratk>ns is widespread.
Amnesty lntematk>nal is particularly ccncemed about the arrest and detention of 30 to 40
Christian worshipers in the Jiangxi province that occurred during Easter celebrations in April 1995.
Many of the worshipers were released shortly after ttie arrests, tiut 17 people are believed to
remain in detention. According to reports many of ttie detainees were badly beaten and two
female detainees, Gao Shuyun and Huang Guanghua, were so badly beaten during ttieir
incarceration ttiat they now need help to eat
Bishops, priests and ottier leaders of the Chinese Christian community are often targets for
harassment and arrest by the government Amnesty International remains concerned about 76-
year-old Bishop Zeng JIngmu, who was detained on or around November 22, 1995, and is
reported to be suffering from a serious case of pneumonia, whnh he contracted while being
previously detained in October 1995. Reports that Bishop Zeng did not receive medical attention
during his first detention heighten Amnesty IntemationaPs concern that he may not be receiving
proper medical attention now.
The arbitrary detention of Christians is facilitated by ttie governments use of laws and regulations
that alkiw detainees to be hekl under 'administrative detention* wittiout charges being brought
against ttiem. Police often detain Christian worshipers for k)ng periods of time merely on
suspick>n of criminal activity under a form of administrative detentnn called 'shelter and
investigation.' Another form of detention, ttie so-called 're-education ttirough labor* alknvs
someone suspected of criminal activities to be held and made to labor for up to four years wittiout
charge or trial.
Amnesty International is also concerned about reports of extieme vtolenoe that have been
common during government raids on unregistered religious groups. On March 27, 1993, in
Taoyuan Village, Shaanxi Province, Xu Fang was one of 30 Protestants whose meeting was
forcibly broken up by public security officials. She and four ottier participants were humiliated,
beaten, and tortured before being arrested and hekj for eight days. An offictal response denied
ttiat Christians had been brutalized but ttie speed and substance of the report raised doubts as to
whettier a genuine investigation was ever carried out
161
Human rights violations in the course of enforcement of the birth control policy were also reported.
For example, villagers In the Fengjiazhuang and Longtiangou in Lingzhou county alleged they
were targeted in a t>irth control campaign initiated in eariy 1994 under the slogan of 'better to have
more graves than one more child.' Ninety percent of the villagers are Catholic and claim that they,
have been fined in the past for having nwre than one child because they reject the practices of
at>ortion and sterilization on religious grounds.
Recommendation: Amnesty International remains concerned that some of the administrative laws
in China pemit the detention of those who do no more than exercise their fundamental rights of
freedom of belief or opinion. Amnesty International appeals to the Chinese authorities to release
all those prisoners of conscience held under those provisions. Amnesty International urges ttie
Chinese government to halt the systematic persecution and arbitrary arrest of its Christian
minority.
Persecution of Religious Minorities in Pakistan
One of the major concerns of Amnesty International has been the abuse of Pakistan's blasphemy
laws. In 1986, the blasphemy law was added to the Pakistan Penal Code to provkje the death
penalty or life imprisonment for the criminal offense of defiling the name of the Prophet
Mohammad. Many people have been charged with blasphemy over the years since the law has
been introduced. According to Al, the charges appear to have been arbitrarily made, based on
the individuals' minority religious beliefs. Al believes that many of the individuals currently facing
blasphemy charges are members of minority religk>us groups such as Chrisitians and Ahmedis
and are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for their religk>us beliefs.
Persecution of Christians in Pakistan
Christians are one of the minority religk>us groups nK>st comnrx>nly accused of blasphemy.
Salamat Masih, a 14-year-okl boy accused of blasphemy, as a result of a dispute with a Muslim
boy over some pigeons. Charges of blasphemy were also brought against Manzoor Masih and
Rehmat Masih by the prayer leader of a mosque in Kot Ladha who claimed that they had handed
out blasphenwus leaflets and had written blasphemous remartcs on the wall of a mosque. Since
their arrest, Islamists called for the death of the accused, and during trial hearings, the defendants'
femilies and lawyers received death threats.
In February 1994 the accused were sentenced to death. The case was appealed in April 1994,
and on the way from the court the defendants were attacked. As a result Manzoor Masih was
murdered, and Salamat Masih, Rehmat Masih and John Joseph, a Christian human rights activist
who escorted them, were injured. The assailants were apprehended but later released on bail in
an unusually lenient decisk>n.
Amnesty lntematk>nal believes that tfie trial of Salamat Masih and Rehmat Masih was unfeir,
because the original charges of blasphemy were brought against ttiem due to hostility towards the
Christian community. Furthermore, the prayer leader of the mosque who made the complaint
reportedly wiped away the offending words; as a result there was no material evkience for the
alleged offense. A report issued by Al even indk^ated that Salamat Masih never learned to read or
write. In February 1995 a twcHudge panel of Pakistan's High Court overturned the convk:tk)n and
human rights activists helped the vk:tims and John Joseph to flee the country. They now resKle in
Germany.
Despite the acquittal of Salamat Masih and Rehmat Masih, their safety is still a major concern and
therefore requires government protectkxi. Furttiermore, one of the defense lawyers, Asma
Jahangir, stated that this case underscored tfie need to ctiange the blasphemy laws, '\vhk:h have
been manipulated by alleged 'orthodox* believers wtio are in fad terrorists." The reversal of ttie
162
decision has led to the issue of Fatwas. or legal/religious sentences, t)y extremist Islamic groups,
calling for the death of Asma Jahangir.
The venjict prompted Christian leaders to call for the repeal of the blasphemy law. Due to the
negative put>licity around the world surrounding the decision, Benazir Bhutto's govemment t)egan
to work on ways to prevent such abuses of the blasphemy law in the future. Since the
govemment feels that politically it cannot overturn the law itself, it has changed the filing
procedures and made filing a false charge of blasphemy a crime in its own right
Christians who are foced with blasphemy charges have been virtually stripped of their rights in
society. For example, Chand Barkat arrested in Karachi on a blasphemy charge in Octot>er
1991 , was "acquitted with honor" on 24 January 1993. However he has been unable to return to a
life of nonnalcy, for his Muslim neighbors continue to threaten him. As a result, he has been
forced to leave Karachi and to go into hiding with his family.
In Pakistan the blasphemy law has created an atnrasphere that allows people to believe they have
the right to take the law into their own hands. For example, in January 1992 Naimat Ahmer was
stabbed to death by Farooq Ahmed, a student who claimed that the Christian had been
blasphemous even though he admitted he had not heard the offending utterance himself.
Eventually the govemment worked out a compromise with religk)us leaders and representatives of
the minorities consisting of a changed mechanism by whk:h a case of blasphemy is registered.
Now the police no longer have the authority to register a case simply on the basis of a complaint
Instead it has to report the matter to the area magistrate who, along with the respective Deputy
Superintendent of Police, has to visit the area. If there is evidence, the magistrate then will order
the pdce to register a First Informatfon Report (FIR) and take the accused into protective
custody. If the complaint is found to t>e baseless, the FIR is to be kxlged against the complainant
who can receive up to 10 years in prison for filing a false complaint
Persecutfon of Ahmadis in Pakistan
The Ahmadis, who daim to be a sect of Muslims, have been the target of much hostility from the
majority Muslim groups for their beliefe, whk:h differ from the bask: Islamic tenets. Ahmadis
conskjer themselves Muslims but do not believe that Prophet Mohammad is the final prophet,
whrch is the fundamental belief in Islam. As a result they have been the target of discriminatnn
firom many Muslims. One of the niost recent cases against the Ahmadiyya community is the
charge against five Ahmadi joumalists who were arrested for propagating the Ahmadi faith.
Based on the law, Ahmadis who pose as Muslims and propagate their faith are fined and
imprisoned.
The changes that have been made in the Pakistani legal system make it illegal for Ahmadis to
propagate their faiVn. In 1974, a oonstitutfonal amendment enacted by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto declared the Ahmadiyya convnunity a non-Muslim group. In 1984 under Presklent Zia Ul-
Haq, the PPC made it a criminal offense for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslims, to emptoy
Muslim terms and appellations associated with Prophet Mohammad, to use Muslim practices of
worship and to propagate their faith.
Recommendatk>n: No effort has been made by the current govemment to overturn the penalty of
death for blasphemy. Although the Shari'a, the Islamk: law does call for such a harsh punishment
other Muslim states do not enforce it For example, in Saudi Arabia, a fine, imprisonment or
deportatton are the usual punishments.
Amnesty Intematfonal urges the Pakistani govemment to introduce an amendment of the
blasphemy laws to prevent injustnes ainr)ed at minority religious groups. Amnesty Intematkmal
163
also calls on the government to drop charges on all Christian and Ahmadi prisoners of conscience
who have been prevented from exercising their right to freedom of religion and expression.
THF MIDDLE EAST
Throughout the Middle East, there is a strong record of repression and persecution of religious
minorities. The details and groups affected vary from region to region. However, the specific
targeting of the Christian community is nxjst prevalent in Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia
Persecution of religious minorities, particulariy that of Christians and ShPa Muslims, has increased
dramatically in Saudi Arabia during the years following the Gulf War. Hundreds of men, women
and children have been summarily arrested and ill-treated by the religious police, nrrastly without
formal charges or trials, for the nonviolent expression of their religious beliefs.
The majority of Saudi Arabian citizens are Sunni Muslims and all judicial niatters in Saudi Arabia
are decided not according to a written penal code, but rather according to the Shari'a (Islamic
Law). Interpretation of the Shari'a is solely entrusted to the Council of Senior 'Ulama, the highest
religious body in the country that is composed of 18 'Ulama appointed by the King.
The judicial punishments embodied in the Hanbali interpretation of the Shari'a (the most
conservative interpretation of the Islamic Law) are strictly adhered to in Saudi Arabia. Public and
private non-Muslim worship is banned and there are no public places of worship for non-Muslims
in the country. Punishments prescribed and implemented by the Saudi Arabian authorities include
public flogging, amputation and beheading. These rulings are applicable to both Muslim and non-
Muslim residents and also include arrest and detention without charge or trial, torture and flogging
and, in case of foreign nationals, deportation.
The Christian community, predominantly expatriate woricers on short-term residence permits, has
been targeted by the religious police due to its activities such as the formation of clandestine
vrarship groups. Of those Christians arrested, the majority come from developing countries. For
example, in 1994 eight Filipino Christian worshippers were arrested during a religious service in
Riyadh. Others have reportedly been arrested solely for the possession of religious materials
such as cassette tapes or Bibles.
Recommendation: Amnesty International urges the Saudi Arabian government to enact new laws
to combat religious persecution and to demonstrate a commitment to international human rights
standards guaranteeing people's right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The
government is urged to release all persons being detained for the nonviolent expression of their
religious beliefs. Amnesty International also stresses the importance of safeguards to protect
detainees from torture and ill-treatment which should be prohibited explidtty by law.
Iran
Despite Iran's secrecy, reports continue to surface regarding political arrests and religious .
persecution in that country. Procedures governing arrest detention and trial are rarely made
public in Iran and prisoners are usually not informed of what charges are being brought against
them. Prisoners have spent years in prison as a result of unteir trials, and more are being
condemned to join their ranks every year.
Real or alleged political opponents are targeted in Iran, along with religious minorities such as
Baha'i and Christian converts. Women have been flogged for violating Islamic dress codes and
prisoners have been tortured and executed.
164
Religious minority leaders continue to be singled out for extrajudidal executions in Iran. The
violent deaths of four prominent religious leaders in Iran in 1994 have raised fears specifically for
the safety of memt>ers of the Christian community. Reverend Haik Hovsepian Mehr,
Superintendent of the Church of the Assemblies of God, had been a vocal campaigner for the
release of another prisoner of conscience, Reverend Mehdi Dijab, who had been detained since
1984. Reverend Mehr was found dead in January and Reverend Dijab's body was discovered in
July. A Reverend from the Council of Protestant Ministers was also found dead in July as a result
of gunshot wounds to the head.
The Iranian government has continually placed the blame for extrajudicial killings on the People's
Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). an opposition faction, while the PMOI has denied the
claims. In March 1995 the UN Commissk>n on Human Rights urged the Iranian government to
"cany out thorough, careful and impartial investigations into the assassinatk>n cases of the three
Christian ministers..."
The persecution of other religious minorities is also prevalent in Iran. The constitution of Iran does
not recognize the Baha'i faith. As a result hundreds of members of the Baha'i faith have been
reportedly executed in the past 15 years, and hundreds more were imprisoned or tortured
because of their religious beliefs. Other minority religk>ns have also been targeted for harassment
and an-est One member of the Jewish community was held for two years before tieing executed
in 1994. The real reason for his arrest, detention and subsequent executkin is believed to have
been related to his religious activities within the Jewish community in Tehran.
Recommendation: Amnesty International calls on the government of Iran to end all religious
persecution, and to condemn publicly the practice of extrajudicial killings. Amnesty International
also calls on the international community to apply pressure on Iran to adhere to the standards of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Convention on Torture and other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and other international human rights
standards.
I ATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
In Latin America and the Caribbean, members of the religious institutions, both clerical and lay
workers, have often been targets of human rights violatk>ns. These attacks have not only
included harassment such as expulsion, search and seizure without warrant, intimidation, and
threats, but have also included extrajudicial killings. These attacks and incidents have usually
taken place in the context of the religtous wortcers' involvement with indigenous peoples, the poor,
the dispossessed, and others who have been targets of human rights vkilations. In the case of
Cuba, the conflk:t between the state and the churches appears to be one stemming from the
governments desire to hold a tight control over the right to freely associate and assemble. In the
case of Mexkx), this conflict originates from the religious wortcers' direct involvement in exposing
human rights violations.
Cuba
The Cuban Constitution "recognizes, respects and guarantees freedom of religion,' while
establishing that 'religious institutions are separate from the state.' (Artk:le 8) It also 'recognizes,
respects and guarantees the freedom of every citizen to change religk>us t)eliefe...and, subject to
respect for the law, to profess the religion of his preference.* (Article 55). Despite this official
recognition. Amnesty Intemational wrote in June of 1995 that 'while many religions have been
able to operate in Cuba in recent years, their activities are still in practice severely restricted by
law. For example, they are not permitted to proselytize or hoM 'open air" meetings. All religkxis
assemblies must be hekj in the confines of registered church property or in private homes. All
religbus denominations have to be registered with the authorities in order to carry out their wori<.'
165
In May 1995, Cuban state security agents in the province of CannagOey arrested Reverend
Orson Vila Santoyo of the Assembly of God Evangelical Pentecostal Church ss well as the pastor
of Alleluya Temple Benjamin de Quesada and dergynfian Balbino Basulto. White the latter two
were released on the same day of their detention without charge, Reverend Vila was sentenced
on the day of his an-QSt to 23 months' imprisonment, later reduced on appeal to 18 months. He
was charged with 'disobedience' (article 147 of the Penal Code) and 'illegal meeting' (article
209), stemming from his refusal to shut down his home, which is used as an evangelical center.
Reverend Vila had been ordered by the Cuban authorities to close his house-church in January
1995 but he requested that the order be put in writing. In March, he received a communication
stating that only 16 house churches would be allowed in CamagOey. Reportedly, since May 24,
the Cuban government ordered the closure of 85 of the existing 101 evangelical centers in
CamagOey. That week, as security agents shut down dozens of evangelical centers, Reverend
Vila refused to comply, stating, 'The doors of my house are open. If you want them shut, do it
yourselves.*
Amnesty International has also received reports that members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, illegal
in Cuba since 1974, are occasionally imprisoned for activities related to the exercise of their
religion that conflicts with Cuban law. Charges under which they have been imprisoned include
clandestine printing, conscientious objection to military service, and refusal to allow children to
participate in certain state-sponsored activities.
Recommendation: Reverend Vila is currently serving his sentence and Amnesty International
considers Reverend Vila to be a prisoner of conscience, incarcerated sotely because of his
attempts to peacefully exercise his rights to freedom of religion, expression, and association.
Therefore he must be immediately and unconditionally released. The Cuban Govemment should
reverse its actions against the religious activities of the Assembly of God and of the Jehovah's
Witnesses, and should ensure that their rights to the peaceful exercise of religion, assembly, and
association are respected.
Mexico
Amnesty International documented the increase in the number of threats against human rights
advocates in Mexico during 1995. Prominent among those targeted for advocating human rights
are those woridng on behalf of the right of the indigenous populations, including members of the
Catholic Church. Many of these threats and incidents of harassment have occurred in the state
of Chiapas. However, ttiey are not exclusive to Chiapas.
The Catholic Bishop Samuel Ruiz has advocated human rights on behalf of the indigenous
populations for decades and has played a prominent role in the peace negotiations between the
Govemment of Mexico and the EZLN (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacidn Nadonal - Zapatista Amiy
for National Liberation). He has received dozens of threats over the years. On 19 February 1995,
scores Of supporters of the ruling party, the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional - Institutional
Revolutionary Party), demonstrated outside the Cathedral where Bishop Ruiz officiates, hurting
abuse, making death threats, and throwing rocks, chairs, and eggs, against the doors. Although
the Cathedral is centrally located in San Cristobal de las Casas, the police did not intervene for
two hours while such harassment went on. In the neighboring state of Oaxaca, another Catholk:
Bishop, Arturo Lona Reyes, was shot at by two masked men, as he was traveling by car on 29
June 1995. He had received death threats on at least six separate occasions before this attack.
While in the above two cases the attacks have been perpetrated by unknown private indivkJuals,
similar threats have also l>een made by official govemment agents. On 15 February 1995,
menitters of the judicial police and the public ministry broke Into the church of San Jacinto, also in
166
the state of Chiapas, reportedly to search for 'sut>vefsive' material. This same group of
government agents later raided the local convent of Dominican brottiers and sisters, also without
search warrants.
The Mexican government in June tool^ even more serious measures. On 23 June 1995, Fathers
Rodolfo Izal Erioz, Loren Riebe, and Jorge Bar6n Gutlein, all foreign nationals and Cattiolic priests
in parishes in the state of Chiapas, were artntrarily arrested and expelled from Mexico. Ail three
had helped pronrtote the welfare cf local Indigenous peasants in their respective parishes.
According to reports, the decision to deport the priests was based solely on unfounded
accusations from local landowners alleging that the priests had engaged in political activities. Due
to the priests' work in human rights. Amnesty International is alarmed ttiat the expulsions may
indicate the Mexican govemnrtenf s intolerance against those perceived as exposing abuse.
Recommendation: The Mexican Government must ensure foil respect and protection for the
activities of all human rights monitors. Including members of the Catholic Church engaged in such
activities. Its purported commitment to protect and support all human rights defenders in the
country must be made effective.
10
167
TESTIMONY BEFORE
THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
February 15, 1996
Albert M. Pennybacker
Associate General Secretary
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S JV.
My name is Albert Pennybacker. I am an Associate General Secretary of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. I wish to express my gratitude to you, Mr.
Chairman, for the opportunity to testify beiore you on this important matter.
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. is the principle ecumenical
organization in the United States through which 33 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican church
bodies with a combined membership of 51 million Christians make a common witness to their
faith and work together to serve the churches and the world. While I do not purport to speak for
all members of the communions constituent to the National Council, I do speak for our policy-
making body, the General Assembly, whose 260 members are selected by those communions
in numt>ers proportionate to their size.
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. once again voices its
strenuous opposition to religious persecution anywrhere in the world - the punitive attack on
religious liberty and freedom for which we have been a long-standing, vigorous advocate. We
are pleased to be in the company of other religious voices now addressing this fundamental
human rights issue.
We are and have been deeply committed to the religious freedom of people of every
faith, and even the freedom of conscience of people of no faith, and especially of those who
share our Christian faith. During the difficult years of Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, we
maintained strong, affirmative and cooperative ties with the Christian communities of long and
faithful histories who maintained their faith under conditions of painful, almost unimaginable
religious persecution, even martyrdom. We rejoice today in the new freedom they know to
rebuild their churches and publicly affirm both their faith and their compassion and we support
their new life.
In settings today where there is genuine religious persecution, often directed at the
diminishing of resident Christians as well as other religious communities, we seek to maintain
ties of support, encouragement, advocacy and even direct aid. This is currently the status of
our ties with Christians in Cuba, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan and other nations. We
have not hesitated to address governments in such settings in seeking genuine redress,
typically with the counsel of the resident religious community.
Our first concern is that in addressing religious persecution, the integrity of the resident
religious communities be respected and the transnational ties of ail religious faiths l>e allowed to
offer companionship, support, advocacy and aid to religious communities in difficult, even
hostile, settings.
168
\Ne recognize that the relationship t)etween religious feith and the communities that live
out such feith, and the cultural heritage of religions and nations are deep-seated, complex and
defy easy assessment from afar. There is an interior religious and cultural reality that requires
respect by governments, and especially by religionists of other cultural and religious traditions.
The evangelistic zeal of outsiders, openly voiced or even subtly imposed, may encounter an
authentic resistance as it moves on unfamiliar ground. What may appear as 'persecution' and
indeed is resistance may in fact be the wish to preserve authentic religious and cultural
traditions. This has long been a reality in the missionary outreach of the churches over the
centuries and a tension that continues today.
So, as a second concern, in any increased commitment to oppose all forms of religious
persecution, we urge a careful assessment of the claims of religious persecution, listening not
only to the voices of those who enter new settings from outside but the witness from indigenous
religious voices where such religious persecution may appear to t>e occurring.
There is no question that religious persecution as described to this committee by others
with whom we join is occurring in numerous places in the world. We would add, as uplifted in
our recent policy statement on human rights (1995), that the evidence is all too dear that 'group
classifications' of people become the basis for prejudicial and hostile actions, violating the rights
of both particular communities and the rights of individual to belong to them. Women, for
instance, are the ones who often suffer the most as members of religious groups under attack.
Further, religious groups may be caught in intra or intercommunal strife, as well as the
dynamics of religious fanaticism and ethnic cleansing. Civil wars and genocide can threaten
religious groups. Such realities insist on being confronted in the context of a commitment to a
pluralistic civil society. Both the U.S. government and religious bodies here, we believe, are
called to such a shared commitment.
However, there are also claims of the 'persecution of Christians* in our own country
sometimes along the lines that appear to us to be excessive, aligned with domestic political
concems ar>d an inappropriate use of so strong a term as 'persecutions. ' We urge great
fort)earance in linking the authentic concem for those of our religious tradition experiencing
persecution for their t)eliefs beyond our borders and excessive and unsubstantiated claims of
religious 'persecution' here. We believe that our historic preservation and defense of religious
freedom here and the separation of church and state have protected us from the horrors of
religious persecution experienced elsewtiere. We are grateful for every voice and action that
defends and maintains this fruitful American commitment.
Turning now to actions that may need to be conskiered by the United States
govemment regarding the real occurrence of religious persecution in our worid, we are ready to
join with others in calling for a genuine investigation and assessment of the persecution of any
for their religious beliefs anywhere in the worid. Further we t)elieve it is an appropriate role for
the United States govemment and true to our heritage to used its influence and power to
ameliorate any such identified conditions. If it is true that the persecution of believers of all
faiths is pervasive, it is rightly a cause for deep concem and lament. We urge an investigation
leading to appropriate actions to address such persecution.
We have seen in actions ambassadors and foreign service representatives of a U.S.A.
who seek to understand the cultural and religious life of the settings to which they are assigned.
169
We urge a more thorough attention to religious life where they may serve, and we are prepared
to put the heritage and understanding represented by the member communions of the NCCC -
33 in number with a constituent membership exceeding 50 million - in the service of such
increased uruJerstarKling.
We support the appointment of a commission, kr>owledgeable, representative and
compassionate to investigate and report to the President the conditions of religious persecution
and to recommend an appropriate course of action to address such conditions. We believe the
focus should be the task that a broad p>erception religious persecution needs to inform our
actions, and that it is premature to move quickly to the appointment of a Special Advisor to the
President on these matters. It is a matter of timing. We believe that the actions of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any instances of religious persecution, not
simply anti-Christian persecution, needs to be included within the investigation. We urge further
a continuing and strong commitment to the Intemational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
and to the U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance Based on Religion or
Beliefs. There is an integral relationship between religious freedom and freedoms of
expression, communication and assembly.
We believe that from such a body can come appropriate guidance for our U.N.
representatives, consular officials and other senior ofRciais of government. We believe that
these are matters too urgent, delicate and important to address without the best guidances that
come through investigation and the experience of the whole religious community with its
intemational ties.
We believe that the use of non-humanitarian foreign assistance in seeking relief from
religious persecution is a legitimate course of action. We t>elieve that strategic decisions of this
sort must invite a thorough grasp of instances of religious persecution.
We concur with the National Association of Evangelicals with whom we share Christian
faith - that religious liberty is not a privilege granted by governments but is God-given - to use a
worid familiar in our American vocabulary - an 'inalienable*, God-given human right. Our
Council has a long history of standing firmly for religious liberty, dating from our first policy
statement in 1955, renewed in 1963, and revised and updated as recently as 1995. I quote an
eariy phrase that describes religious liberty as 'basic both historically and philosophically to all
our liberties.* (October 5, 1955) Recall the conditions of our worid when that statement was
issued. We are pleased to voice again in concert with our vigorous opposition to all forms of
religious persecution. We affirm again and urge you to affirm a commitment to religious
freedom and the relieving of any religious persecution experienced not only by Christians but by
those of any and even no faith. We commend the sensitivity and caring of those who have
been alert to raise the issue and newly put it before us all at this time. We stand ready to
cooperate with the recommended actions that may issue from these hearings.
170
Family f j^^
Research Council
Gary L. Bauer, President
Martin J. Dannenfelser, Jr.
Assistant to the President for Government Relations
Family Research Council
February 15, 1996
House Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
Some problems are so big we completely fail to notice them. That's the message I
get on the global problem of anti-Christian persecution. That persecution is growing,
both in frequency and in cruelty. I am appalled at the lack of concern and public attention
being paid to the hidden horror of anti-Christian persecution.
This persecution takes many forms. Under predominantly Islamic and former
Communist governments, Bibles and reUgious services are being banned, missionaries
and converts are being imprisoned, and in Ethiopia believers are actually being crucified.
One of my staff members, Rosanne Dupras, was a volunteer worker overseas for seven
years and has traveled extensively throughout Asia. She has witnessed the persecution of
individuals because of their religious faith. For example, India is hailed as the world's
largest democracy, with a population of almost 1 billion people. Eighty-five percent are
Hindu, 12 percent Muslim, and 1-2 percent are Christian. Although the national
government describes itself as a secular democracy with freedom of religion for all - the
government has taken a less than tangible approach to the outcries of persecution.
Miss Dupras recalls how Sunil, a native of India and a Christian, was jailed,
harassed, stripped naked and interrogated for an endless number of hours. The compound
where he lived was vandalized. He was slandered and vilified in the local press by
persecutors who included police officials, government intelligence agents, as well as
radical Hindu fundamentalists. The state government participated in and initiated many
of the attacks - the federal government simply turned a blind eye. Atrocities like this
occur frequently in nation-states that give lip-service to freedom of religion while
persecuting any deviance from their own ideology of religion.
Allow me to clarify that this persecution extends beyond Christianity to include
other faiths, although persecution of Christians seems to be the most widespread. In
Family Research Council
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171
Ayodhya, Miss Dupras reports that Hindu groups slaughtered Muslims as the police
watched and in Bombay the police themselves were the ones who massacred MusUms. A
young MusUm Bengali woman in Bangladesh had to flee for her life after writing a book
which was sympathetic to Hindus rather than to Muslims. She is still hiding somewhere
in the West.
So far, the U.S. Government has turned a deaf ear to this rising tide of terrorism
and these human rights violations. Saudi Arabia, our recent ally in the Gulf War, has
pressured the U.S. on two fronts. The first was to close a U.S. sponsored nightclub
ft^uented by American servicemen in Saudi Arabia. Our government said "No way!" to
closing it. The Saudis also demanded that we stop Sunday worship services at our
embassy. To this, we buckled under. In Turkey, the U.S. has turned a blind eye as
Turkish officials forcibly returned Christian refiigees to the clutches of Iran.
On January 15, 1996, The Wall Street Journal reported. "China's religious
authorities ordered all places of worship to register with the government in what may be
the beginning of a new crackdown on religion." The Detroit News elaborated:
. . . persecution is commonplace in China, where only a fi'action of the
estimated 30 million to 70 milhon Christians belong to government-
approved sects. Amnesty International reports cases of Christian women
hung by their thumbs from wires and beaten with heavy rods, denied food
and water, and shocked with electric probes (Charen 12/14/95).
The Detroit News described the following abuses under Sudan's Islamic
government:
many of the black Sudanese in the southern part of the country (the north
is Arab) have resisted conversion, in many cases because of adherence to
Christianity ... As punishment, the Sudanese govenmient has denied food
and medicine to Christians in famine areas and has sold thousands of
Christian children ~ some as young as 6 ~ into slavery (Charen 12/14/95).
Tolerating episodes such as these violates not only the inalienable rights of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our Declaration of Independence but even those
basic human rights universally accepted. These rights include, under the Universal
Declaration of Himian Rights; the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3),
fieedom from slavery or servitude in all their forms (Article 4), fi«edom from torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5), equal protection of the
law without any discrimination (Article 7), the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; freedom to change his religion or belief and to manifest his religion or belief
in teaching, practice, worship and observance (Article 18), freedom of opinion and
expression (Article 19), and the freedom of peaceful assembly and association without
compulsion to belong to a particular association (Article 20). Christian persecution is a
gross violation of human rights.
172
In the United States, the historical example for our defense of religious minority
rights abroad is the 1974 Jackson- Vanik amendment, which made Jewish emigration a
condition for aid to the Soviet Union (Witham 1/23/96). Title 22 of the United States
Code Service contains the following passage:
The Congress declares that the individual liberties, economic prosperity,
and security of the people of the United States are best sustained and
enhanced in a community of nations which respect individual civil and
economic rights and freedoms... Furthermore, the Congress reaffirms the
traditional humanitarian ideals of the American people... (22 USCS @
2151(1995)).
The U.S. development cooperation policy emphasizes the encouragement of development
processes in which individual civil and economic rights are respected and enhanced as
one of its four principal goals. It sustains that the ". . . pursuit of these goals requires that
development concerns be fully reflected in United States foreign policy..." (22 USCS @
2151 (1995)). Our policy toward humanitarian violations is quite clear and the real
tragedy here is the appalling lack of concern here at home and the lack of action by the
Administration.
It's time to end the silence of our President and his administration. President
Clinton must waste no time in addressing the American people, issuing demarches to
offending nations, initiating letters to Heads of States, and working with the State
Department desk officers in the offending nations. President Clinton's focus should
begin with the most egregious violators such as China, Ethiopia, and the Sudan.
Hopefully, other countries will begin to change their policies when they see the tangible
consequences of their inhumane actions.
As a candidate for president in 1992, Bill Clinton criticized former President
George Bush for "coddling dictators" in his policy toward China. Ironically, it is the
Clinton Administration that has now totally decoupled the issues of human rights and
Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status for China. This action sends a signal that the
U.S. Government is prepared to do nothing more than pay lip service to China's human
rights abuses which include persecution of Christians, forced abortion, and slave labor.
We call on President Clinton to heed his own advice and stop coddling persecutors of
Christians. The time has come for rhetoric to be joined with actions and results.
It's time to end the silence of Congress in decrying these outrageous violations of
freedom of speech. This kind of brutality compels Congress to action: "Dear Colleague"
letters. House Resolutions, floor speeches, and necessary adjustment in our foreign
economic policy. I strongly suggest a bi-partisan coaUtion to establish a checklist of
conditions required for economic aid with a commitment to inquire, track, reprimand, and
call for sanctions against violators. Consistent action is demanded in order to stop the de
facto tolerance of such grievous offenses.
173
It's also time to end the silence of the citizens and churches of America. The
Family Research Council is committed to doing our part in educating citizens and
churches, and encouraging their involvement and participation. America as a whole can
no longer remain silent.
America has an obligation and responsibility to speak out against manifestations
of tyranny and oppression. Indeed, it was our forefathers who fled to this country for
freedom of religion, speech, and expression. These are values that unite this country and
we should defend them. The Department of State Bulletin from December, 1984 put it
succinctly: "the moral bases of democracy -- the principles of individual rights, freedom
of thought and expression, freedom of religion ~ are powerful barriers against those who
seek to impose their will, their ideologies, or other religious beliefs by force." If we fail
to speak out forthrightly in defense of the freedoms endowed by our Creator, we will
undermine our nation and the principles it is built upon. It is a central element of our
national heritage to stand up and, as documented again in a September 1989 Department
of State Bulletin, "stress the protection of freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
and of freedom of opinion and expression; for without these freedoms, other rights cannot
be fully realized."
Some argue that they cannot speak up, because it will only tempt the tyrants to
greater cruelty. But history teaches the opposite lesson. Speaking fearlessly is the only
thing that deters tyrants. The time has come for Americans to demand that our
government act now to stop this unconscionable persecution. Clearly, the pro-family and
Christian communities need to be full partners in the quest to bring an end to the horror of
religious persecution. Failure to do all within our power will sear at our collective
consciences as we hear the anguished voices of our brothers and sisters overseas who cry
out, "Why have you forsaken us?"
174
Works Cited
Cbaren, Mona. "Christians suffer silently for the faith." The Detroit News. 14
December 1995: Op.
Shultz, William. 'Terrorism and the Modem World." Department of State Bulletin.
December 1984: 12.
"Sununit of the Arch." Department of State Bulletin. September 1989: 1.
22 United States Code Service. Sec. 2151(A). 1995.
Wall Street Journal. 15 Jan. 1996, eastern ed.: Al.
Witham, Larry. "Christians press to end persecution; urge U.S. government to use4 its
influence." The Washington Times. 23 Jan. 1996, final ed.: A2.
175
Statement of
Congressman Tom Lantos
Hearing of the
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
February 15, 1996
Persecution of Christians Worldwide
Mr. Chairman, I welcome the holding of this hearing today and I commend
you for dealing with this issue. Religious persecution around the world is one of
the most pervasive and tragic examples of the abuse of human rights in many
countries. It is extremely important that we in the United States make known our
most serious concern with official government efforts to prevent the free exercise
of religious belief.
In view of the importance of this topic, I very much regret that I could not
join you today for this hearing. I have had some long-standing obligations in my
congressional district in California which I am keeping today. I also regret that
others of our colleagues on the International Relations Committee can not attend
this hearing. Unfortunately, the Congress is in recess, and Members are attending
to constituent concerns in their own congressional districts.
Mr. Chairman, there has been a disturbing upsurge in religious persecution
across the globe. We here in the United States have made religious freedom a
defining trait of our national character, and as a result we cannot and we will not
turn a blind eye to the denial of this most basic human right. Unfortunately, in far
too many countries, religious-based violence and persecution and discrimination
have resulted in gross violations of individual rights and in heightened tensions that
threaten the stability of a number of countries.
This religious persecution has come from incredibly diverse governments.
On one hand, we have seen atheistic communist regimes ~ in states such as China,
Vietnam, and Cuba, to name only the most egregious violators of religious
freedom ~ who have persecuted Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Moslems, and others,
simply because they accept religious ideals and do not accord complete and total
allegiance to the communist state. We have also found that there are religious
states which follow a single religious belief and seek to impose that belief on all
citizens of the state. The regime of the radical ayatoUahs in Iran is perhaps the
176
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classic example of such a religious state that permits no opportunity for its citizens
to follow any belief except the officially sanctioned religion.
Whatever the basis of religious persecution, we in the United States must be
clear and unequivocal in our opposition. Whatever religious groups are
persecuted, Mr. Chairman, we must be frank and outspoken in our criticism. I
welcome the hearing today on persecution of Christians. I welcome the hearings
that you are planning in the future on persecution of Jews and anti-Semitism. I
join in condemning any type of religious persecution by any regime and of any
religious group.
Mr. Chairman, I welcome these hearings today as a continuing investigation
by the Subcommittee of this serious human rights problem. On October 28, 1993,
and March 9, 1994, I held hearings on religious persecution as chairman at that
time of the Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and
Human Rights ~ some of whose jurisdiction has been assumed by your
subcommittee. I am pleased, Mr. Chairman, that we heard on those earlier
occasions from several of the individuals and organizations who will testify here
today, including Nina Shea, President of the Puebla Institute, and Joseph M.C.
Kung, President of the Cardinal Kung Foundation. I also recall, Mr. Chairman,
that as a member of the former subconunittee, you took an active role in those
hearings that I chaired.
Mr. Chairman, again I regret that I am not able to join you for the hearing
today, but I look forward to reading the testimony of our distinguished witnesses.
- mnt -
177
Written Testimony
RESPONSES TO RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
before
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 15, 1996
Most Reverend Theodore E. McCarrick
Archbishop of Newark
Chairman, Committee to Aid the Church
in Eastern Europe
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
Member, Committee on International Policy
United States Catholic Conference
178
RESPOM8B8 TO RBLI6IODS PERSECUTIOM
Most Reverend Theodore E. McCarrick
Archbishop of Newark
Mr. Chairman, allow me to thank you for the opportunity to testify
before this committee on behalf of the United States Catholic
Conference. Let me also express our appreciation for your
willingness to raise the consciousness of the American public and
heighten the responsiveness of the United States Government to the
persecution of Christians and members of other religious
communities in various parts of the world.
We very much welcome the increased attention to this grave issue.
We earnestly hope that the energies of many parts of the U.S.
government, where appropriate, would be turned to advancing
religious liberty in the many places where it is denied. For, after
all, in the history of civilization, religious liberty is the first
of our freedoms. As Pope John Paul II said in his address to the
diplomatic corps last month, "religious persecution is an
intolerable and unjustifiable violation ... of the most fundamental
human freedom, that of practicing one's faith openly, which for
human beings is their reason for living."
I must also confess our disappointment that both the Congress and
the Executive, in both Republican and Democratic Administrations,
too often in recent years have tended to place economic interests
ahead of human rights and religious liberty.
I am referring especially to the policy granting Most Favored
Nation status to China without linking that concession to human
rights performance and respect for religious liberty. I think as
well of bi-partisan support for the North American Free Trade
Agreement in two Administrations and successive congresses with
only minimal regard for collateral protection for human rights,
labor and the environment.
We have indulged both Beijing and Mexico only to suffer the natural
consequences of rewarding bad behavior. In China, religious
persecution of Buddhists, Evangelicals and Catholics is the worst
it has been in many years, and, as members of this Committee know,
relations with China grow more difficult on every front. In
Mexico, missionary priests who are above reproach, without any hint
of political involvement, have been expelled, denied permission to
re-enter the country, or threatened with expulsion simply because
they minister to the poor and the indigenous in keeping with the
Church's social teaching.
Whether it is China, Mexico, Sudan or former Yugoslavia, religious
liberty should be a primary concern of United States foreign
policy. Religion is the carrier of fundamental values, the source
of people's most intimate identity, the atmosphere which sustains
179
conscience and community, a source of renewal in civilization. For
all those reasons, it deserves both respect and protection. Insofar
as it is a human phenomenon, of course, religion can be a source of
prejudice, intolerance and sometimes violence. But, the active
defense of religious liberty is the best way to insure that the
religious impulse is not corrupted.
Since the Second Vatican Council's promulgation of its Declaration
on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis humanae) , religious liberty has
been the cornerstone of the Church's policies in opposing religious
persecution, intolerance and discrimination. The Fundamental
Agreement concluded two years ago between the Holy See and the
State of Israel and the accord concluded a few months later between
the Holy See and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were premised on
a common commitment to religious liberty and freedom of conscience
as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
associated United Nations documents.
Because religious liberty is the first of our freedoms, when we
pursue freedom for Catholics, we also defend the religious liberty
of other persecuted believers. Accordingly, in the case of China,
our episcopal conference has advocated on behalf of Tibetan
Buddhists and Evangelical house church members as well as members
of the so-called underground Catholic Church. In other cases, we
have protested persecution, discrimination and prejudice against
Jews in the Soviet Union, Buddhists in Vietnam, and Muslims in
Tunisia, Bosnia and the United States.
In Sudan, there are numerous documented accounts of murder and
intimidation directed against the majority Christian population of
the south. The government continues to deny permission to build
churches; in the north no new churches have been built since the
early 1970s. In addition, churches have been closed and government
forces have restricted the movements of Christian clergy.
But even with respect to a case like Sudan, where persecution has
taken such enormous and ghastly proportions, following the lead of
the Holy See, our policy is to advance the cause of religious
liberty generally rather than to pursue the interests of Catholics
alone. We want an end to persecution of Catholics and other
Christians in southern Sudan, but the remedy we seek is religious
liberty for all — including the followers of traditional African
religions there.
In these present hearings, we would make the same plea to the
Congress and the Administration. Make the defense of religious
liberty your first concern. In defending persecuted Catholics and
Evangelicals, plead the case, as appropriate for persecuted
Buddhists or repressed Muslims, Orthodox and Jews as well. In many
cases, co-religionists of the persecutors are suffering as well for
belonging to the wrong sect, for being too secular, or holding the
180
wrong political views. They will be grateful for American defense
of their religious freedom.
In other cases, as in China or Vietnam, all religions suffer in
similar ways because their very existence challenges the
totalitarian aspirations of the state. Both give evidence not only
gives evidence against the belief that free markets and free trade
automatically yield free societies, it also attests once again to
the fact that freedom of religion is our first freedom. Where
others would temporize with tyranny, believers continue to affirm
their freedom in defiance of a totalitarian state.
So, wherever appropriate and as far as possible, defend the
religious liberty of all. It is needed, it is the right thing to
do, and it is an act of fundamental human solidarity.
Second, I would counsel the Committee and the Congress against
believing that there is just one remedy for religious persecution.
The remedies are many and we ought not be misled by the apparent
straight-line success of Jackson-Vanik and the campaign on behalf
of Soviet Jewry.
In the case of China, we have used a variety of tools to defend the
rights of believers. The Bishops Conference has tried quiet
diplomacy, and letter-writing campaigns. We have also used more
public challenges, and have repeatedly supported conditioning of
MFN on human rights performance.
In 1996 the time has come for the Congress to return to linking MFN
trading status to improvements in human rights and religious
liberty. As business has flourished the repression of believers and
democratic reformers has grown ever more bold, even arrogant. On
nearly every front, Chinese policy has been emboldened to be more
imperious and demanding, because the United States has led the
Communist government to believe that all we Americans care about is
profits.
The time has come for business to make a contribution by steadfast
adherence to the cause of liberty. Codes of conduct should be
stiffened. Business people should be encouraged to take a stand in
defense of human rights and religious liberty. It may simply be a
matter of individuals urging the cases of imprisoned religious
believers on their Chinese counterparts, or refusing to allow in-
house supervision of their personnel by government appointees, or
rejecting enforcement of the one-child policy on nationals employed
in their firms, or adhering to high standards of conduct in labor
relations. In cooperation with others, our Bishops' Committee on
International Policy is itself exploring how we might encourage
business people in various ways to defend the cause of religious
liberty in China.
181
In other cases, interreligious dialogue presents another, very
important means to promote religious liberty. In our view,
interreligious dialogue should not be lightly disregarded in favor
of high-profile political remedies. Indeed, when interreligious
remedies are available, it may be more prudent to seek to improve
conditions for co-religionists through interreligious contacts. As
a matter of prudent policy, legislative remedies should be used
primarily when other means are unavailable or have been tried and
failed.
We have regular exchanges with Jewish and Muslim colleagues over
one another's concerns. These meetings are occasion for us to raise
issues and work together for their correction. In Russia, an
agreement between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate has
provided the basis for ameliorating tensions between Orthodox and
Catholics in an area where the Russian Orthodox Church has a
special historic place.
In many areas, moreover, the pressures on one religious group tend
to come from other religious groups rather than from the
government. In such cases, direct communication between
representatives of the religious groups may be more effective, no
matter how difficult, than the punitive intervention of a third-
party government. For example, we are presently engaged in dialogue
with Southern Baptists over tensions between Catholics and
Evangelicals in Latin America. We dialogue with our Jewish
interlocutors and with the Israeli government through ordinary
channels concerning the impediments for freedom of access to
Jerusalem and for the everyday operation of the local church
created by the prolonged closure of the West Bank and Gaza.
Together with the Presbyterian Church USA, we have formed with
Presbyterians and Catholics in Northern Ireland what we call the
Inter-Church Committee on Northern Ireland. For six years, we have
worked together to promote mutual respect and understanding. We
have promoted several tours of leading church figures, annual
ecumenical lecture tours of Catholic and Presbyterian clergy, a
business education exchange program through our church-affiliated
colleges and universities, and a summer institute to acquaint
Americans with the realities in Northern Ireland.
For two years the churches have been working together on issues of
investment and fair employment in Northern Ireland. Together, we
have urged the British government to strengthen anti-discrimination
laws. Just last month we conducted a workshop on the U.S.
experience with employment discrimination for the Standing Advisory
Commission on Human Rights, which is carrying out a statutory
review of Northern Ireland's fair employment law.
My point here is that churches and other religious groups can work
together to relieve social tensions which possess a religious
182
dimension. In our view such initiatives should have priority.
Where there are interreligious tensions, religious people have a
responsibility to search for their own solutions and build their
own networks of cooperation whether or not governments become
involved.
Thirdly, in protesting religious persecution and discrimination and
in alleviating interreligious antagonism, foreign co-religionists,
as well as governments, have an obligation to consult as broadly as
possible with the affected local groups. Consultation, of course,
does not relieve us of the responsibility to act conscientiously in
defense of religious liberty. None the less, the people who are the
victims of religious persecution and discrimination should be our
informants and advisers. They are the experts on their own
situation; they understand the cultural and social conditions in
which they must struggle for their own liberty, and they will be
the ones impacted, for good or ill, by the protests of outsiders.
Finally, our defense of religious liberty ought to distinguish
carefully between religious persecution and government-sponsored
discrimination, on the one hand, and group prejudice and inter-
religious tension, on the other. Persecution is the gravest of
these offenses because it attempts to coerce or to abolish
religious practice and profession by the use of government power.
It is the most pernicious offense against religious liberty and is
the violation most appropriate for outside intervention and foreign
government pressure.
Discrimination, while a serious problem, takes many forms and is
more enmeshed in the web of social practice. On the one hand,
discrimination should not be confused with persecution, as it will
be by many well-meaning people. On the other hand, government-
sponsored discrimination is fair game for engagement by foreign
governments because it is carried out as a matter of public policy.
Prejudice and interreligious antagonism are areas in which local
initiatives and interreligious collaboration at national and
international levels should most appropriately take precedence over
foreign government initiatives. The good offices of government will
be a welcome help in these efforts, but punitive government action
may be counterproductive.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, let me make two points. First, we
must not ignore or minimize threats to religious liberty; neither
should we advance our cause by exaggeration or with claims that
cannot be sustained. Our credibility and accuracy are precious
tools in this cause. Second, in addition to interventions with
foreign governments, U.S. officials can do much to promote freedom
of religion. This is especially the case in matters of refugee
status and immigration, where the Consular Service and Immigration
and Naturalization Service have not always been sensitive to
183
negotiator, will J .x«edingTy ^^w^u '^"^"^ •'«' 'r.d.
Thank you.
184
Writfen statement of James B. Jacobson,
President of Christian Solidarity International,
Submitted to the Subcommittee on
International Relations and Human Rights,
Committee on International Relations,
Hearing on Persecution of Christians Worldwide,
February 15, 1996
Persecuted Christians around the world need our help, support, and prayers —
now, more than ever. The heartbreaking reality is that Christians face persecution in
many nations on a daily basis.
Millions of Christians live in constant dread in Islamic dominated countries like
Nigeria, Sudan, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran,
and elsewhere. To be honest, many of our fellow Christians living in Islamic lands
wonder if Americans even think about their suffering.
Every day more Christiarts are being imprisoned, tortured, maimed, and even
killed for their faith than ever before in history. Islamic oppression is the leading cause.
Muslim fanaticism is stronger and more vicious now than ever:
— Islamic extremists advocate the murder of Christians and Jews. For ex-
ample, the policy statement of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth says,
"A Christian should be asked to repent. If he does not, he must be
killed..."
— The Korcm, Islam's holy book, gives the following advice to Muslims
cor\fronting Christians: "Strike off their heads, maim them in every
limb...It will not be you who slays them, but Allah."
— Not only do Muslim extremists believe in "Jihad" (holy war), but they
take action. The result: A new wave of vicious attacks on Christians in
many nations.
Sadly, there are many nations which have officially adopted the Islamic doctrine
of persecution. Others have large numbers of Muslim extremists that seem to persecute
Christians at will. In Pakistan, for instance, the government has declared those who
"insult Mohammed" wiU be put to death.
185
Islam's horrible oppression is reason enough for action. Yet, there are many
other causes of Christian persecution in the world which also need our attention. CSI's
sources tell us of brutal killings in Peru... .torture and death squads in Africa.... wide-
spread imprisonments.... all poured out on ovir fellow Christians. The holdout Commu-
nist states of China, North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam still bear down heavily on Chris-
tians who dare to hold another master higher than the state.
In my opinion, the greatest threat to Christians today, though, does lie in the
Islamic world. From Algeria to Indonesia, Christians are faced with severe tests of their
faith. Let me share with you a recent incident of persecution.
Christian Solidarity International recently received reliable information that the
Metowah (Saudi religious police) imprisoned seven leaders of an Indian Christian
Fellowship in Saudi Arabia. The entire congregation of 70 were initially detained on
December 22nd at Alkhobar, near Dahran airport in Saudi Arabia.
In Saudi Arabia there is no religious freedom. Sunni Islam is the state religion.
All Saudi citizens have to be Muslims. Apostasy is punishable by death. There are no
public worship services for non-Muslims. Anyone who does mission work or converts
Muslims faces expulsion, jail, or execution.
Fifteen Metowah entered the house of Mr. Philip Thavamoney and Mr.
Arulanandhan during a private Christian worship service. They confiscated many
photos and the work permits of all 70 Christians who were at the service in the home.
All 70 were interrogated individually and later the police released 63 of the 70
work permits. However, seven leaders of ttie fellowship were detained by the Metowah
and held in prison. Their families were in deep shock «md did not know where the
seven were imprisoned.
Those imprisoned were: Mr Jacob Jeyaseelan, Mr. Jim Selvam, Mr.
Arulanandhan Davidson, Mr. Babu Thomas, Mr. Philip Thavamoney, Mr. Clifford and
Mr. M. Sargunam. All seven were abused while in prison, and two were beaten so
badly that they were unrecognizable by close friends.
All of the prisoners have now been released, except for Mr. Jacob Jeyaseelan. He
is employed by a Saudi company (Ahmed a al-Hashim Sons Co.) who owes him several
months of back-pay. Although he has been released by the secret police, his company
refuses to take him out of jail. He will probably be deported, without receiving any of
the salary which was due him.
The leaders of thousimds of Christians in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu have
made requests to Western Christian oigaiuzations and governments to assist in obtain-
ing his release.
186
Mr. Chairman, we at CSI could provide you and this Comnuttee with hundreds
of stories of religious persecution of Christians, but I will conclude with some final
thoughts.
Why should we care? We should care because the United States has a long,
proud Christian history and tradition of speaking out against religious intolerance.
While mciny victories have been achieved, I have major concerns. Like Congress-
man Frank Wolf, I am frustrated by the lack of public discourse on the subject among
the Christian commuruty, but I am equally frustrated by the lack of concern in our own
government for their plight. Our government ignores mass imprisorunent of Christians
in China and Vietnam. We become interested in Sudan only when terrorism poses a
threat to the U.S. We step lightly aroimd persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt. We
remain silent about Christian persecution in Saudi Arabia. We ignore the pleas for help
from Iranian Christian refugees who are seeking asylum in the U.S. from Turkey.
Mr. Chairman, I cannot recall the President nor his Secretary of State making a
single speech on this very important subject.
We are seeing a dangerous trend in the world that the U.S. must recognize and
condemn. I hope the Administration and the Congress can begin to look at new ways
to address this growing problem. At the very least, I thcink you for this hearing and for
speaking out on this very important issue. It's an enormous step in the right direction.
# # #
^
187
VIETNAM HELSINKI COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 6132, Alexandria, VA 22306-6132 . Tel. & Fax: (703) 532-3807
Board of Directors
Nguyen Ngoc Bich
Nguyen Tu Cuong
Huynh Thanh Hung
Dang Dinh Khiet
Ngo Vuong Toai
Presldait
Ngo Vuong Toed
Secretary General
Nguyen Tu Cuong
Eiecutiye Director
TranTu Thanh
LIST OF REUGIOUS LEADERS
PRESENTLY DETAINED IN COMMUNIST "RE-EDUCATION" CAMPS
or PLACED UNDER HOUSE ARREST
1. Superior Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang: was bora Le Dinh Nhan in
1919 in Binh Dinh province; Acting Head of the Institute for the
Propagation of the Dharma (IPD) of the Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam (UBC); was arrested in 1977 and incarcerated at Hoi
Phuoc Temple from 1982 to December 29, 1994. when he was
transferred to a village temple, Phuoc Quang Temple, N^iia Hanh
district, Quang Ngai province. Hie official seal and files of the UBC
as well as his personal files were confiscated. In August 1995, Nhan
Dan, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of '^etnam,
aimounoed the impending trial of Tliich Huyen Quang.
2. Most Venerable Thlch Quang Do: was born Dang Phuc Tue on
November 27, 1928 in Thai Binh province; Secretary General of the
IPD; was arrested in 1977 and incarcerated since 1982; around 3: 15
p.m. of January 4, 1995, was arrested at Thanh Minh Meditation
Temple, 90 TVan Huy Lieu St., Ward 15, Phu Nhuan precinct, Ho
Chi Minh City, was detained at T82 interrogation camp, Nguyen Van
Cu St., Ho Chi Minh City, has been recently transferred to Vu Ban
village. Nam Dinh province, North Vietnam. In August 1995, Thich
Quang Do was brought to trial and sentenced to five years of
imprisonment for "disturbing the peace"
3. Venerable Thlch Khong Tanh (bom Phan Ngoc Anh): Head of Lien
Tri Pagoda, Thu Due district; Ombudsman of the UBC Central
OfiBce; was arrested in late 1976 and jailed for 10 years for writing to
Premier Pham Van Dong protesting the drafting of young Buddhist
monks into the aimy, which was aimed at disn4>ting UBC personnel;
November 6, 1994, was transferred to interrogation center 3C (Ton
Due Thang St.), Section PA 24 of Ho Chi Minh City's PoUoe Station;
1
The Vietnam Helsinki Comminee is a non-profit organizabon. founded and incorporated in Virginia in 1995. whose purpose is to
work for the protection of human rights and monitor violations of human nghis in Vietnam.
188
August 1995, was convicted of ^indermining the policy of religious solidarity" and
sentenced to five j^ars.
4. Venerable Thich Nhat Ban: was arrested together with Venerable lliich Khong
Tanh; was detained at interrogation center 3C, To Due Thanh St., Precinct 1, Ho
Chi Minh City; was put to trial together with lluch Khong Tanh in August 1995
and sentenced to four years for his attempt to carry out flood relief in the name of
theUBC.
5. Venerable Thich Tri Luc: religious son of Supreme Patriarch Thich Don Hau; was
arrested for the first time on Oct. 2, 1992 and released in March 1993; Jan. 6, 1994
was arrested at Phap Van Temple, 246 C Nguyen Van Dau St., Ward 6, Binh
l^ianh precinct. Ho Chi Minh City; was incarcerated for refiising to abort flood rehef
activities; in August 1995, was brought to trial and sentenced to two and half
years. \
6. Venerable Thich Long Tri (bom Ly Truong Chau): Head of Vien Giac Pagoda, Hoi
An district. Da Nang Province; Chairman of the UBC Committee for the Rehef of
Flood Victims; was arrested Oct. 29, 1994 in Ho Chi Minh City, and later
transferred to detention at Hoi An district, Quang Nam province.
7. Venerable Thich Hai Hung: was arrested at Phxioc Duyen Pagoda, Hue City, Dec
25, 1994
8. Venerable Thich Hanh Due (same name with Reverend Thich Hanh Due of Son
Linh Temple, Thu Due District) was arrested at Linh Quang Pagoda, Hue City,
December 25, 1994.
9. Reverend Thich Hanh Due: Head of Son Linh Temple, "Hiu Due district; was
arrested at Ba Ria and sentenced to 3 years in 1993 for "illegal activities and
possession of anti-govemment materials; evicted fix>m (State-sponsored) Vietnamese
Buddhist Church owned temple Mar. 25, 1993 for supporting of the UBC led
campaign for religious fi«edom.
10. Reverend Thich Thlen Tho: Head of Son Linh Pagoda; was arrested Jul. 9,
1993; sentenced to house arrest since Jan. 1994.
11. Thich Tri Tuu: was bom Le Quang Vinh on Oct. 10, 1953; was arrested at Linh
Mu Pagoda, Hue City, in J»u». 1993 and detained at Thua Phu Prison, Hue City;
189
was sentenced at Nov. 15, 1993 trial to 4 years for "disturbing public order"; now
incarcerated at Ba Sao "re-education" camp, Phu Ly district. Ha Nam Ninh province
12. Thich Hai Thinh (bom Le Phu TTunh): was arrested Jun. 5, 1993; was sentenced at
Nov. 15, 1993 trial to 3 years; now detained with common prisoners at Camp Ba
Sao, Phu Ly District , Ha Nam Ninh province.
13. Thich Hai Tang: was bom Nguyen Dinh Hoa on Mar. 14, 1958; was arrested May
6, 1003 and sentenced to four years of imprisonment; now detained with criminal
prisoners at "re-education" camp Ba Sao, Phu Ly district. Ha Nam Ninh province.
14. Thich Hai Chanh (bom Nguyen Chan Tam): was arrested July 19, 1993; was put
on trial Nov. 15 and sentenced to 3 years of imprisoivraent; now incarcerated at Ba
Sao "re-education" camp, Phu Ly district. Ha Nam Ninh province.
15. Thich Nhat Lien: Head of Long Tho Temple, Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province,
was taken into custody Dec. 2, 1993 for interrogation for 9 days; now under house
arrest at Long Hio Temple, Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province.
16. Most Venerable Thich Tri Luc: was arrested (3ct. 2, 1992 in Ho Chi Minh City
for distributing materials protesting the SRV government's persecution of the UBC,
demanding its respect for human rights as weU as the release of Patriarch Thich
^ Huyen Quang and Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, put under house arrest by
administrative sanction in March 1993.
17. Reverend Thich Tue Sy: was bom Pham Van Thuong on Feb. 15, 1941; scholar
on Vietnamese Buddhism and co-editor ( with Reverend Thi Tri Sieu) of the
Encyclopedia of Buddhism; was arrested Apr. 2, 1984 with other Buddhist monks
and followers at Gia Lam Temple and Van Hanh Pagoda; founder of the Free
\^etnam Force ( FVF - Luc Luong Viet Nam Tu Do) and writer of its Manifesto; was
proscecuted together with 20 other FVF members in September 1988 and sentenced
to death; his sentence was subsequently commuted to 20 years by the Supreme
People's Court in November 1988 in the face of mounting opposition by the
international community end the Vietnamese community overseas; in April 1989,
transferred to "re-education" camp Z30A, Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province,
immediately returned to "re-education" camp 20A, Xuan Phuoc district, Phu Yen
province, where he was jailed for the first time from June 1978 through February
1980
18. Reverend Thich Tri Sieu: was bom Le Manh "Hiat in 1943 in TVieu Phong
3
190
village, Qiiang TVi province; was a U.S. educated professor and co-editor of the
Encyclopedia of Buddhism: was arrested with other Buddhist monks and followers
at Gia Lam Temple and Van Hanh University on April 2, 1984; brought to trial for
"plotting to overthrow the People's Government" and given a death sentence which
was later commuted to 20 years imprisonment by the Supreme People's Court in
November 1988; transferred from Cell 20, Section F of Chi Hoa Prison in Ho Chi
Minh City to "re-education" camp Z30A, in Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province.
19. Reverend Thich Nguyen Giac: was bom Ho Khac Dung in Thua Thien province
in 1951; as a FVF member was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in September
1988; transferred from Chi Hoa Prison to "re-education" camp Z30A; now detained in
camp A20 in Xuan Phuoc village, Tuy Hoa district, Phu Yen province
20. Reverend Thich Phuc Vien: bom Le Hien in 1951; was arrested in June 1980 at
Chau Lam Pagoda in Hue City for "plotting to overthrow the People's Government",,
sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in September 1980; now detained in camp A20.
21. Venerable Thich Thien Tan: was bom Thai T^anh Himg in 1945; Head of
Thuyen Ton Temple in Hue City since 1972; was arrested in August 1978 for
"participating in conspiratorial activities against the People's Government"; sentenced
to life imprisonment by the People's Court of Hue City in March 1980; presently
detained in camp A20.
22. Reverend Thich Minh Su: was sentenced to 20 years' hard labor, now
incarcerated in camp Z30A.
23. Reverend Thich Tri Giac: was sentenced to 20 years' hard labor, now detained
in camp Z30A.
24. Reverend Thich Tarn Can: was bom Nguyen Huu Tin in 1945, sentenced to 20
years' labor, now detained .n camp A20.
25. Reverend Thich Tam Tri: was bom Huynh Van Ba in 1945; sentenced to 20
years' labor.
26 Tliich Nguyen The: was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment; now detained in
camp Z30A.
27. Thich Hai Tri: was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.
191
28. Reverend Thich Thong Buu: sentence not yet confirmed.
29. Reverend Thich Thanh Tinh (bom Hoang Van Giang): sentence not yet
confirmed; now detained in camp Z30A.
30. Reverend Thich Tri Giac (bom Nguyen Dung): was sentenced to 20 years'
imprisonment; now detained in camp Z30A.
3 1 . Reverend Thich Hue Dang (bom Nguyen Ngoc Dat): was sentenced to 20 years'
imprisonment; now detained in camp A20.
32. Reverend Thich Hai Dan: was arrested together with Reverend Hiich Hal Chanh
on July 19, 1993; now tmder house arrest.
33. Reverend Thich Hai Lac: was arrested July 19, 1993; now under house atrest.
\
34. Venerable Thich Nguyen Ly: Head of Tu Hieu Temple; taken into custody from
Nov. 7, to 12, 1994 for intensive interrogation; now under house arrest.
35. Venerable Thich Lang Quynh: Headed a temple in Nha Be district; was coerced
twice in November 1994 by Ba Luc, a hi^ ranking police officer in charge of religiouB
affairs for Ho Chi Minh City Police, into aborting a flood relief effort in VLah Binh
province; barred fit>m traveling outside his district of residence.
36. Most Venerable Thich Nhu Dat: member of the Central Executive Committee of
the (state-sponsored) VBC; author of an eight-page statement submitted to SYR
Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and the (Central Committee for Religious Affairs of the
CPV, protesting the politicization of Buddhist teachings at the School of Basic
Buddhism in Thua Thien province. Hue City; was arrested together with 12
Buddhist monks on December 7, 1994.
37. Monk Do Huy Cuong: was arrested Jul. 9, 1993 at Son Linh Temple in "Iliu Due
district; ordered out of his temple and now tmder house arrest.
38. Layman Pham Van Due: was arrested with Reverend Thich Hanh Due, head of
Son Linh Temple.
39 Venerable Thich Nguyen Nhu: was prohibited by Ho Chi Minh City Police in
November 4, 1994, fit)m participating in flood relief efforts by the UBC; now tmder
house arrest.
192
40. Venerable Thich Quang Ton; was also barred fh>m taking part in UBC-
sponsored flood relief projects; now under house arrest.
41. Reverend Thich Tarn Van: same as No. 39.
42. Reverend Thich Nguyen Thinh: same as No. 39.
43. Layman Nhat Thuong (bom Pham Van Xua): was arrested on November 4, 1994,
the same time as Venerables Thich Khong Tanh and Nhat Ban, and Reverend
Tluch Tri Luc.
44. Laywoman Dong Ngoc (bom Nguyen Thi Em): ssune as No.43.
45. Monk Thich Nguyen Man: was arrested for interrogation for having visited
Patriarch Huyen Quang at Hoi Phuoc Temple; coerced into signing a commitment
not to contact with Patriarch Huyen Quang.
46. Monk Thich Dong Hoa: same as No. 45.
47. Student Monk Tliich Huyen Van: is now held in custody at Tho Due Temple.
■48. Thich Thien Minh (bom Huynh Van Ba): was bom in 1945; was sentenced to 20
years' imprisonment.
49. Buddliist monk Do Ngay: under house eurest
50. Monk Hoang Son: -id-
5 1 Monk Ngo Van Hua -id-
52 Monk Nguyen Viet Hoc -id-
53. Monk Nguyen Van Hoa -id-
54. Monk Nguyen Huu Phuoc -id-
55 Monk Nguyen Phi Hung -id-
56 Monk Nguyen Minh Cuong -id-
6
193
57 Monk Phan Van Du -Id-
58. Monk Phan Van Vinh -id-
59. Phan Van Lai -id-
60. Tran Dai Minh -id-
6 1 . Tran Quang Minh -id-
62. Tran Thanh Son -id-
63 VoVanChinh: -id-
64. Monk Nguyen Van Tho: now detained in '^-education" camps
65. Monk Nguyen Van Hoang: -id-
66. Monk Nguyen Van Trung: -id-
67 Monk Tran Van Tu: -id-.
68. Various Reverends and Buddhist monies: were reportedly injured and arrested
by Hue City Police on November 27, 1994, for presenting a petition to Most
Venerable Thich Thien Sieu (also a member of the SRV Assembly) of the state-
sponsored UBC. Their identities and places of detention have yet been confirmed.
194
APOSTASY AND BLASPHEMY IN PAKISTAN
10 Conn. J. Int'l L. 27 (1994)
by David F. Forte ^
If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no
matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you
in the past, no matter what his colour, caste or creed, is first, second, and last a
citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be
no end to the progress you will make.
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1947)^
Intolerance is becoming holy, a distinguishing badge of devotion to Islam.
— Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan (1993r
Pakistan has come a long way since its founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, proclaimed
tolerance for all religions in 1947. Nowadays in the eyes of many, active persecution of
minority religions is afoot, and previous governmental policy has let loose private acts of
vengeance against Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, pagans and minority Muslim sects. The
ancient prohibition of apostasy in the Shari'a'* ~ though never specifically included in th£ law
of Pakistan - is nonetheless now being effectuated by Pakistan's law against blasphemy,^ a
more flexible and potent weapon. Iran's "sentence" against Salman Rushdie for blasphemy
Professor of Law, Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. A.B.
Harvard, M.A. Manchester University, Ph.D. University of Toronto, J.D. Columbia University. I am
immensely grateful for the fruits of the erudition and good judgment of my colleague, Tayyab Mahmud,
and for the editorial expertise of Karen Mika.
^ Quoted in Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan 339 (1984).
•^ Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, The "Blasphemy" Episodes (hereafter
Blasphemy Episodes) 13 (n.d.[1992]).
The Shari'a (sometimes spelled Shari'ah or Shariat) is the classical law of Islam,
formulated and developed over a number of centuries after Muhammad's death in 632, and crystallized
within four variant schools in Sunni Islam (Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali) by around the year
12(X) A.D. The dominant Shia school is Jafari.
^ Pakistan Penal Code, sec. 295C.
195
more flexible and potent weapon. Iran's "sentence" against Salman Rushdie for blasphemy
and Bangladesh's prosecution of Taslima Nasreen may have gained wider international
notoriety." Nevertheless, Pakistan's application of its law against blasphemy has so outraged
human rights observers and so roiled its own internal politics that the current government of
Benazir Bhutto had fitfully considered measures to limit its effect, but wary of the influence of
the mullahs, the government has not proposed to repeal it.
Blasphemy, of course, has long been an element in the religion, law, and politics of
the West. ' Though mostly in desuetude, the instinct to punish blasphemy may be replicated in
the West today by the orthodoxy of political correctness and by hate speech laws. In Islam,
however, laws directly criminalizing apostasy and blasphemy are reaching a crescendo of
support among certain Muslim segments in many countries, to the dismay of many other
Muslims, and to the detriment of minority religions.
This essay analyzes how the law against blasphemy has become a weapon against
religious minorities in Pakistan. It begins with a brief overview of the constitutional struggle
between the forces for religious tolerance and that element of Pakistani society seeking a
particularized Islamization of Pakistan's law and culture. The second section of the article
explains the manner in which classical Islamic law (the Shari'a) treated apostasy and
blasphemy, and how it permitted private acts of religious vengeance to be immune from legal
liability. In the final section, I describe how the current law on blasphemy imposes a harsh
regime on religious minorities, allows private acts of vengeance to go unpunished, and mimics
the classical prohibition against apostasy to work against dissenting Muslims as well.°
I. PAKISTAN'S CONSTITUTION AND RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE
Over the last few years, human rights groups around the world and within Pakistan
have uniformly condemned practices that are directed against minority religions within
" See M. M. Slaughter, The Salman Rushdie Affair: Apostasy, Honor, and Freedom of
Speech, 79 Va. L. Rev. 153 (1993) and Tim McGirk, Bangladesh: Extremists Want Feminist Writer to
Hang, Ottawa Citizen, May 25, 1994, at A14, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^ See Leonard W. Levy, Blasphemy (1993); Michael Bohland, Public Peace, Rational
Discourse and the Law of Blasphemy, 21 Anglo-Amer. L. Rev. 162 (1992).
Necessarily, this essay does not analyze the entire range of the place of minorities in
Pakistani law, including the nearly unrelenting suppression of the Ahmadi sect. Instead, I concentrate
on the particular problem of the application of the law against blasphemy and its effects. For a more
complete treatment of the subject of the treatment of religious minorities, the reader is referred to the
forthcoming essay by my colleague. Professor Tayyab Mahmud, "Religious Minorities in Islam: The
Law and Politics of Identity and Rights."
196
Pakistan.^ The irony is that during British imperial rule, Muslim intellectuals of British India,
such as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Ameer Ali, were in the forefront of Islamic reform,
tolerance, and an expected Islamic renaissance in learning, culture, and the law. "
Muhammad Iqbal, one of the greatest poets of the subcontinent, president of the
Muslim League, and spiritual father of Pakistan, spawned an entire generation of Muslim
scholars dedicated to freeing Islamic law from the confines of the Shari'a. Drawing on
earlier Islamic modernists such as al-Afghani and Muhammad ' Abduh, Iqbal taught that the
provisions of the Shari'a were limited to the time, conditions, and traditions of the Arab
peoples a thousand years ago and could not legitimately bind future generations. He called
instead for applying the values of Islam as a religion, not a legal code, to the construction of a
modern Islamic society, which would be open and tolerant to all religious traditions.
" See, e.g.. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, State op Hitman Rights in
Pakistan 1992 37-52 (n.d.[1993]); Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, State of Human
Rights in Pakistan 1993 39-48 (n.d.[I994]); 5 Asia Watch, Persecuted Minorfties and
Writers in Pakistan (September 1993); Amnesty International, Violations of Human Rights
OF Ahmadis (1991); Pakistan, Amnesty International Report 1992 (1992); Pakistan,
Amnesty International Report 1993 (1993); Human Rights Watch/Asia, September 19, 1993;
Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1991 1 154-60
(1992); Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992 1 168
(1993); Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993 1370-
86 (1994).
" Farzana Shaikh, Communfty and Consensus in Islam, Muslim Representation
IN Colonial India 1860-1947 30-34; Daniel P. Collins, hlamization of Pakistani Law: A Historical
Perspective, 24 Stan. J. ofInt'l L. 511, 524 (1985); I. A. Rehman. Pakistan under Siege 123
(1990).
^ ^ See Muhammad Iqbal, Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam 145
(1934).
'^ Report of the Constitutional Commission (1%1), Safdar Mahmood, CoNSTrruTiONAL
Foundations of Pakistan 516 (rev. ed. 1990). Mahmood is a collection of the fundamenul
constitutional documents of the state of Pakistan. Iqbal was reiterating the doctrine of an earlier Islamic
thinker. Shah Waliullah, who held that the criminal penalties of Islamic criminal law were specific to
the Arabs "and since their observance is not an end in itself, they cannot be strictly enforced in the case
of future generations." Quoted in I. A. Rehman, Pakistan under Siege 137 (1990). For a
description of the thought of al-Afghani and Muhammad ' Abduh, see Aziz al-Azmeh, Islams and
Modernities 43-57 (1993).
'■^ See also the earlier work. Ameer Ali, The SPlRrr of Islam (1922, 1974), passionately
arguing that Islam enshrines tolerance more than any other religion, and compare with Sayyid Abul
A'LA Maududi, The Islamic Law and Constitution (Khurshid Ahmad, trans., 7th ed. 1980), who
rhetorically criticized both the liberal West and the conservative ulama, but whose party, Jama'at-i-
Islami, supported a radicalized form of Islamization, including a program detrimental to religious
minorities. Maududi favored a one-year probationary period following the inauguration of the Islamic
state during which time Muslims would be allowed to renounce their faith. Following that period, any
Muslim would be subject to death if he, by word or action, apostasized from the faith. S. A. Rahman,
The Punishment of Apostasy in Islam 5-6 (1972).
197
Despite the current intolerance displayed towards religious minorities, the anniversary of his
death is still a national holiday in Pakistan.
Iqbal's views met much hostility. The tension between the Islamic purists, or more
accurately, the defenders of the ancient Shari'a in all its positivistic details, and the Islamic
reformers was present at the founding of Pakistan and has been a cardinal element of its
politics and law ever since.
Pakistan was formed in 1947 as a state for Muslims, but not necessarily an
at least one admitting of the varied and rich traditions within Islam. '^ It wj
Islamic
state, or at least one admitting of the varied and rich traditions within Islam. '^ It was the
religion preached by Muhammad, and not necessarily the law of the Shari'a, that was "the
very raison d'etre of Pakistan. " ^" From the beginning, constitutional drafting was bedeviled
by the problem of the place of Islam in the jjew constitutional and legal structure and how non-
Islamic elements would be accommodated. ^ ' The "Objectives Resolution," passed in March
1949 and designed to guide the constitutional drafting process, illuminated the pluralism both
within Islam and among non-Islamic religions.
Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective
spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in
the Holy Quran and Sunna^°
'^ See generally, Ishttaq Ahmed, The Concept of an Islamic State: An Analysis of
THE Ideological Controversy in Pakistan (1987)(discussing alternative models of an Islamic state
and the degree to which the divine will, enshrined in the Shari'a, should be incorporated).
15 See generally, KhalidB. Sayeed, Pakistan, the Formative Phase, 1857-1948 (2d
ed. 1%8). Ninety-seven percent of Pakistan's 125 million people is Muslim.
1^ Norman Anderson, Law Reform in the Muslim World 174 (1976).
1 ' Mahmood, supra note 12, at 10.
1® According to Islam, the Qur'an (alternatively transliterated as Koran) is the collection of
divinely inspired utterances proclaimed by the Prophet Muhammad to his followers. Tradition holds
that parts of the Qur'an, some noted down and others committed to memory during Muhanmiad's life,
were written down, collected and organized within thirty years of Muhammad's death, when an
authoritative canon was declared and variant versions destroyed. Fazlur Rahman, Islam 40 (2d. ed.
1966).
198
and that
adequate provision shall be made for the minorities fteej^to profess and
practise their religion's [sic] and develop their cultures. "
Both aspirational objectives made it into the preamble of Pakistan's first constitution
when promulgated in 1956 and have been maintained in the nation's subsequent
constitutions. " Nonetheless, each of Pakistan's constitutions was formulated in the context of
coups, martial law, executive rule, democratic reaction, and religious frictions, and they all
have come to bear the marks of that political conflict. In addition to the distribution of power
between parliament and the president and the division of powers between the center and the
provinces, the institutional position of Islam has been in the center of the political and legal
contest.^*
Throughout Pakistan's constitutional and political history, the ulama ~ composed of
the learned Islamic elite and a class of less well educated mullahs or Muslim clerics — has
vigorously pressed for a mechanism by which the positive law of Pakistan would always be in
The Sunna (sometimes spelled Sunnah or Sunnat), or "pathway," is the customary way in
which legal cases were decided in Arabia before Muhammad, and by rulers of the Islamic empire after
Muhammad's death. Its content, however, was debated, developed, and later concretized by reference
to actions attributed to Muhammad himself. The Sunna, therefore, came to be defined only by the
Traditions of the Prophet (hadith, pi. ahadith). They are an assemblage of recollections put together
some cenmries after the death of Muhammad, purporting to describe what the Prophet said, did, or
permitted to be done. The six authoritative collections of ahadith are al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud,
al-Nasai, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Maja. The Sunna is regarded, with the Qur'an, as an authoritative
source of divine legislation. The historical authenticity of the Sunna, however, is debated, given the
political contest surrounding its emergence and compilation. See Joseph Schacht, The Origins of
MUHAMMADAN JuRispRirt>ENCE (1953) (tracing the manner in which traditions developed early in the
Islamic empire independent of Muhammad were later ascribed to the Prophet) and my evaluative essay,
hlamc Law: the Impaa of Joseph Schacht, 1 Loyola Int'l & Comp. L. Ann. 1 (1978).
Traditionally, the Qur'an and the Sunna provide two of the four sources of Islamic law, the
other two being ijma, or consensus of the scholars, and qiyas, or analogical reasoning. Fazlur
Rahman, Islam at 68-78.
^ Objectives Resolution (1949), in Mahmood, supra note 12, at 46. The Objectives
Resolution was "founded on the political equality of all religious groups," Shaikh, CoMMUNrrv and
Consensus in Islam, supra note 10, at 47.
20
Constitutional stability has not been the hallmark of the Pakistani state. Technically,
Pakistan has had three constitutions - 1956, 1%2, and 1973. In addition, however, there have been
periods of executive rule legitimated by organic decrees having quasi-constitutional status, an interim
constitution of 1972, and extensive amendments to the 1962 and 1973 constitutions. See generally,
Tayyab Mahmud, Praetorianism and Common Law in Post-Colonial Settings: Judicial Responses to
Constitutional Breakdowns in Pakistan, 4 Utah L. Rev. 1225, 1273 n.28 (1993).
21
William L. Richter, The Political Dynamics of Islamic Resurgence in Pakistan, 29 Asian
Survey 547 (1979). The contest between the more populous province of East Bengal and the more
politically powerful West Pakistan was never resolv&d until the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
199
compliance with the Shari^a. -^ At the same time, however, political liberals and Islamia^
reformers sought a declaration of fundamental rights for all persons of whatever religion. -^
The debate focussed on the legal implications of Pakistan's Muslim identity. For
Muslims to be "enabled" to live their lives "in accordance with the teachings and requirements
of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunna," the requirements of the Qur'an and the
Sunna had to be elucidated. One option, favored by the ulama, was the recognition of the
primacy of the Shari'a, as based on the Qur'an and the Sunna, to which all positive law must
be aligned. The alternative, developed by such thinkers as Fazlur Rahman, recognized the
diverse sects and schools of law within Islam, as well as the place of non-Islamic minorities in
the society. These modernist Muslims opted to keep Pakistan's legal framework free of the
(often conflicting) strictures of the developed Shari^a and to look to the Qur'an and the Sunna
as the source of generic values, not specific rules, that the society^^ a whole could share, and
which were themselves prior to and superior to the Shari'a itself.
As finally adopted, the Constitution of 1956 tried to finesse the conflict between
minority rights and the Islamization of the society. -' The Constitution did declare that the
state would be "based on Islamic principles of social justice," " and concentrated on
educational provisions that would "enable the Muslims of Pakistan individually and ^
collectively to order their lives in accordance with the Holy Quran and the Sunnah. '^ It also
declared that "[n]o law shall be repugnant to the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out
in the Holy Quran and Sunnah," but no mechanism was provided for enforcing that
^^ See Report of the Basic Principles Committee adopted December 22, 1952), in which a
complex procedure was required to assure that no legislation "repugnant to the Holy Quran and the
Sunnah" would become law. Mahmood, supra note 12, at 88-90. When the Constituent Assembly
adopted the Report on October 6, 1954, however, the Islamicization provisions were much diluted. Id.
at 158
^^ Two drafts of the Fundamental Rights of Citizens of Pakistan were formulated. In 1950,
the first draft contained extensive protections for religious minorities as well as other rights. In 1954, a
far more truncated Declaration was passed with far fewer protections for religious minorities. Compare
Report of the Committee on the Fundamental Rights of Citizens of Pakistan and on Matters Relating to
Minorities (adopted October 6, 1950), in Mahmood, supra note 12, at 239-42 and Report of the
Committee on the Fundamental Rights of Citizens of Pakistan and on Matters Relating to Minorities
(adopted September 7, 1954), id. at 243-245. But the final draft of the 1956 Constitution utilized the
earlier Report with is greater protections for minorities.
^'^ Fazlur Rahman, Islam & MoDERNrrv: Transformation of an Intellectual
TRADmoN 20 (1982); Richard S. Wheeler, The PoLmcs of Pakistan, A Constitutional
Quest 93-97 (1970).
^^ For a tiiorough discussion of the early constimdonal debates and religious and political
jousting, see Leonard Binder, Religion and Politics in Pakistan (1%3).
^^ The CoNSTrrunoN of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1956)(hereafter Pakistan
Const. (1956)), preamble, in Mahmood, supra note 12, at 247.
^^ Pakistan Const. (1956), preamble, id.
200
provision.^ In fact, the Constitution of 1956 significantly reduced the initial gains of the
ulama in the preparatory documents on Islamization of the law, putting off that issue pending a
report by a Presidential Commission. ' Kjial authority for incorporating any of the fmdings
of the commission was left to parliament. ^
More importantly, the Constitution of 1956 emphasized the principle that "adequate
provision shall be made for the minorities freely to profess and practise their religions.""* An
extensive listing of fundamental rights, was included, protecting each citizen's right to "profess,
practise and propagate his religion,"-^ and affirming that "every religious denomination and»
every sect thereof has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions," -^
including educational institutions. Significantly, the Constitution also prohibited
discrimination in taxation against religious minorities, for under the Shari'a, non-Muslims
gained protected status only by payment of a special, and usually higher, tax.'^*'
It was significant that both the preparatory documents and the Constitution of 1956
were careful to avoid references to the Shari^a as the authoritative source for Islamic law. The
allusion to the "Holy Quran and Sunnah" was designed to go behind the intricate provisions of
the Shari-a as formulated by the schools of law, and to seek a "new ijtihad, ' a new
jurisprudence, based on original Islamic sources and adapted to modern conditions. it was
part of the legacy of Muhammad Iqbal. The authorilative source of the "new ijtihad' was to
be, not the ulama, but the parliament and the courts.^ In this way, the drafters of Pakistan's
constitution hoped to avoid a contradiction between the dominant place of Islam in the culture
and the protection of other religions since it was obvious to everyone that many of the
^^ Pakistan Const. (1956), art. 198, id.
^^ Wheeler, The Politics of Pakistan, supra note 24, at 97-100; Collins, Islamization of
Pakistani Law, supra note 10, at 554-555.
^" Pakistan Const. (1956), Art. 198, id. at 300.
^^ Pakistan Const. (1956), preamble, id. at 247.
^^ Pakistan Const. (1956), Art. 18(a), id. at 251.
^^ Pakistan Const. (1956), Art. 18(b), id. at 252.
^ Pakistan Const. (1956), Art. 13(5), id. at 250.
^^ Pakistan Const. (1956), Arts. 13(4), id. Protected religious communities (dhimmis)
had to pay a special tax, the jizya. David F. Forte, Religious Toleration in Classical Islam,
IhTTERNATlONAL Perspectfves ON CHURCH AND STATE 209, 211 (Menachem Mor, ed. 1993).
Justice ZakauUah Lodhi, Ijtihad in the Process of Islamicization of Laws, 32 All
Pakistan Legal Decisions, 22 Journal 21 (1980).
^^ Salah-Ud-Din Ahmad, Ijtihad, 32 All Pakistan Legal Decisions, 2 Journal 1
(1980).
201
constitutional provisions protecting minority religions would have been at odds with the
classical Shari'a. ^
The 1956 Constitution represented a substantial victory for the legal protections of
religious minorities. Although that constitution was short-lived, its liberal attitude towards
minorities continued under the martial rule of General Muhammad Ayub Khan who came to
power in a coup in 1958. ' In 1%1, Khan further secularized the law by promulgating the
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance which dissolved much of the traditional Muslim family law
that had been left by the British.'**'
A new constitution was formulated and proclaimed and civilian rule reintroduced in
1962. That document established an Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology and an Islamic
Research Institute neither of which, however, were given any real power over legislation."*' In
fact, the 1962 constitution had fewer references to Pakistan as an Islamic state than did the
1956 constitution. Both the repugnancy clause and the "Holy Qur'an and Sunnah" phrasing of
the 1956 constitution were deleted. Soon, however, pressure from the partisans of
Islamization forced major amendments to the constitution in 1964. A significant change was
the reinsertion of the repugnancy clause, viz.,
No law shall be repugnant to the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out
in the Holy Quran and Sunnah and all existing laws shall be brought in
conformity with the Holy Quran and Sunnah.^
More importantly, the foundations of an enforcement structure were laid, as the Advisory
Council of Islamic Ideology was directed "to examine all laws in force immediately . . . with a
view to bringing them into conformity" with Islamic law.'*^ Nevertheless, Ayub Khan
intentionally staffed the Advisory Council and the Islamic Research Institute with persons who
shared Muhammad Iqbal's vision of a new ijtihad.
As the subsequent political history of Pakistan oscillated between coup and election,
the influence the ulama grew and the program for the legal Islamization of the society found its
way into the constitution and the laws. Nearly all of the movement towards imposition of the
Shari' a occurred during martial rule. The mullahs and their political allies were always
soundly defeated in every electoral contest. The religious parties never gained more than 18
^ For a description of how minority religions fared under the Shari'a, see Forte, Religious
Toleration in Classical Islam, supra note 35, at 209.
^^ See generally Lawrence Ziring, The Ayub Khan Era, PoLmcs in Pakistan, 1958-
1969 (1971), and Herbert Feldman, From Crisis to Crisis, Pakistan 1962-1969 (1972).
^ Collins, Islamization ofPaJdstam Law, supra note 10, at 556-57.
^^ CoNSTmmoN OF the Second Repi«lic (1%2), Part X, in Mahmood, supra note 12,
at 535, 602-04.
^2 First Amendment (Act. no. 1, 1964), id. at 628, 634; Wheeler, The Potmcs of
Pakistan, supra note 24, at 106-108.
^^ Mahmood, supra note 12, at 635.
24-741 96-8
202
seats in Parliament, and now hold only 9 out of 204 Muslim seats. "^^ Dictatorships have been
more amenable to their dictatorial aims. Nonetheless, even the democratically elected regimes
of the socialist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970's and the nationalist Mian Mohammed Nawaz
Sharif in the early 1990's courted their power and even advanced their aims.
The political power of the religious radicals comes from their ability to mobilize the
passions of the lower middle classes in the cities by conjoining the ideology of nationalism
with the xenophobia and legalistic positivism of militant Islam. ^^ Fear of violent disruption
has gained the attention of those in power. As one commentator put it, "[A]ll kinds of
politicians have been trying to bolster their weak regimes by giving concessions to the clerics
and compromising on democratic norms and the ideals of the freedom movement. And most
of this at the cost of minorities' rights and interests. "^
Martial law was reimposed in 1969, and General Muhammad Yahya Khan assumed
control. Following civil war and separation of Bangladesh from Eakistan in 1971, a new
constitution and civilian government was put into place in 1973. The 1973 constitution
reflected the growing influence of fundamentalist and legalistic form of Isl^ in the political
structure. The constitution formally established Islam as the state religion.'*" It continued the
1962 Constitution's requirement that "all existing laws shall be brought into conformity with
the Injunctions of Islam" but went further to establish a Council of Islamic Ideology to advise
parliament on the compatibility of past or proposed laws with Islamic law.*'
Under the acquiescence of Zul^kar Ali Bhutto (who also banned alcohol and changed
the day of rest from Sunday to Friday), laws affirmatively directed against minority religions
soon began in earnest. Following serious riots, the constitution was amended in 1974 to
deprive the Ahmadis of the status of Muslims.'^ The three million Ahmadis consider
themselves Muslims and follow a prophet whom they believe to have been the Mahdi. Many
Pakistanis think them heretics or unbelievers {kttfir), which, under the Shari'a, would not have
** I.A. Rehman, Rout of the Mullahs, Newsline (Karachi), October 1993, at 4445;
Lawrence Ziring, From Islamic Republic to Islamic State in Pakistan, 24 Asian Survey 931, 943
(1984).
*^ See AL-AZMEH, Islams and MoDERNrriES, si^ra note 12, at 60-74.
^ I.A. Rehman, Silenced Minorities, Newsline (Karachi), August 1993, at 72.
*^ The CoNSTmmoN of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1973) (hereinafter
Pakistan Const. (1973)), in Mahmood, supra note 9, at 839. In the interim, a temporary Legal
Framework Order (1970) and Interim Constitution (1972) regulated the laws of the country. Id. at 653,
677.
^ Pakistan Const. (1973), Art. 2, id. at 842.
*' Pakistan Const. (1973), Art. 227-30, id. at 956-58.
Faman Bokhari, Koran-quoting Businessmen Campaign to Work on Friday, The
Financial Times, February 12, 1994, at 12, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^* Constitution (Second Amendment) Act (1974), Act 49 (1974), in MAHMOOD, supra note
12. at 1038.
203
a right to exist in an Islamic state. ■^ The Ahmadis had long been harassed, but this new law
began a long period of direct persecution. In addition to the constraints placed on the
Ahmadis, Christian schools were nationalized in the general legal disenfranchisement of,_
private schools in 1970's, and, despite protests, have yet to be returned to the churches. ^^
In 1977, another coup displaced the civilian government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto^
(who was later hanged), and PakUtan's new leader. General Zia ul-Haq, made the Islamization
of the laws a primary objective.^' The Shari'a partisans made the most of their opportunity.
Zia ordered the establishment of Shariat benches within the superior courts, ° a reform soon
incorporated into the constitution by amendment.' In 1980, the Shariat benches within the
superior courts were displaced, and a separate and stronger Federal Shariat Court was created,
having jurisdiction 'notwithstanding anything in the Constitution' to examine whether any law
was repugnant to Islam. '° The name was of the court was significant. Its standards were not
to be the 'new ijtihad' promised at the founding of the country, but the classical Shari'a. If
the Shariat Court found a law to be in conflict with the injunctions of Islam, the invalid
portion of the law was voided, and the President directed to take steps to assure that the law
was brought into conformity with the injunctions of Islam. ^' By 1986, the Shariat Courthad
found portions of 55 federal laws and 212 provincial laws to be contrary to Islamic law.
Only the constitution itself remained outside of the jurisdiction of the Shariat Court.
The ulama now possessed constitutional legitimacy and a religious court to enforce
their program, subject, of course, to the political realities of executive enforcement and
parliamentary acquiescence. General Zia enfranchised the power of a class of relatively
uneducated mullahs. The ulama were given enormous ideological leverage: over government
television, setting requirements for university courses, gaining valuable government owned
property to build mosques, and utilizing the loudspeakers on the minarets of thousands of
^ A 1974 amendment to the Constitution declares Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. Violations
OF HUMAN Rights of Ahmadis, supra note 9, at 2.
^^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, stq)ra note 9, at 1 168.
^ For a history of the Bhutto era, see Shahid Javed BuRKi, Pakistan Under Bhutto,
1971-1977 (1980).
^^ J. Henry Korson, Islamization and Social Policy in Pakistan, 6 J. OF S. Asian and
Middle Eastern Studies 71, 72 (1982); Justice Gul Muhammad Khan, Islamization of Laws in
Pakistan, 38 All Pakistan Legal Decisions, Journal 249, 261 (1986).
^^ President's Order 22 (1978), Shariat Benches of Superior Courts Order, 1978, 31 All
Pakistan Legal Decisions, Central Statutes 6 (1978).
^^ Mahmood, supra note 9, at 936, n.l.
^^ Originally, such a case could be brought by motion of a citizen, the federal government,
or a provincial government. In 1982, an amendment was passed allowing the court to roam freely and
take up any law on its own motion. Pakistan Const. (1973), Art. 203D, id. at 940, n.4.
^^ Pakistan Const. (1973), Arts. 203C, 203D, id. at 938-41.
^ Justice Gul Muhammad Khan, Islamization of Laws in Pakistan, supra note 55, at 264-65.
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mosques to incite Muslim passions. The Islamic reformers had been politically and
constitutionally eclipsed, and enforced Islamization of the nation went forward.
In 1979, the Hudood Ordinances went into effect, enforcing the hadd penalties for the
offenses of drinking intoxicants (including drugs), theft (including robbery), adultery, and
false imprecation of adultery."* The hadd crimes of the Shari' a are those purportedly derived
from the Qur'an, whose penalties are fixed and from which no judicial deviation is allowed.
The brake on the application of the Hudood Ordinances has been that they must be tried before
the ordinary courts, no qadi courts yet having been established, and the judges have the option
of trying the offense under the secular penal code."^
Most schools of law in Islam also regard apostasy as a hadd offense, but the Hudood
Ordinances of 1979 omitted it.°^ The law against blasphemy would soon cover much of the
same ground. In addition to the establishment of the hadd offenses, the rules regarding the
imposition of the Islamic punishment of whipping were enunciated, as well as the enforcement
of the fast of Ramadan and the obligation of Muslims to pay the religious tax, or zakat. At
^' President's Order 4 (1979), Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 (punishing
drinking intoxicants), 31 All Pakistan Legal Decisions, Central Statutes 33 (1979); Ordinance
6 (1979), Offences against Property (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979 (punishing theft and
robbery), id. at 44; Ordinance 7 (1979), Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979
(punishing adultery), id. at SI; Ordinance 8 (1979), Offence of Qazf (Enforcement of Hadd) Ordinance,
1979 (punishing false accusation of adultery), id. at 56.
The Hudood Ordinances regarding adultery and false accusation of adultery raised the ire of
women's groups in Pakistan. To convict a man accused of rape, a woman must present four Muslim
wimesses of good character to the act. One Woman Raped Every Three Hours in Pakistan, Reuters,
May 20, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. If a woman accused a man of rape and
the man was acquitted, the woman was automatically liable for the offense of false accusation of
adultery. Such a case did occur in which a woman was sentenced to three years prison, 13 lashes in
public and fine when the man she accused of rape was acquitted. In response to the uproar, the Federal
Shariat Court transferred the case to itself and rescinded the sentence. Mohammed Waseem, PoLmcs
AND THE State in Islam 394-95 (1989); Rubya Mehdi, The Offence of Rape in the Islamic Law of
Pakistan, 18 Int'l J. of the Sociology of Law 24-25 (1990).
^^ Charles H. Kennedy. Islamization and Legal Reform in Pakistan, 63 Pacific Affairs 62,
65 (1990).
As early as 1%3, however, Pakistan had reinstated the prohibition against inheritance by
an apostate. David Pearl, A Textbook on Muslim Personal Law 211 (2d. ed. 1987).
Another crime often included as hadd offense is rebellion, but not all jurists agree. See
Abditllahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Toward and Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human
Rights, and International Law (hereafter An-Na'im, Islamic Reformation) 108 (1990). In
any event, that crime was obviously already prohibited within the law of Pakistan. Pakistan Const.
(1973), art. 6, in Mahmood. supra note 12, at 842.
^ Ordinance 9 (1979), Execution of the Punishment of Whipping Ordinance, 1979, id. at
60; Ordinance 29 (1979), Zakat and Ushr (Organisation) Ordinance, 1979, id. at 277; Ordinance 23
(1981), Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance. 1981. 33 All Pakistan Legal Decisions, Central
Statutes 278 (1981).
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the same time, the govermnent amiounced that the rules of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam
would be enforced, raising the ire of the substantial Shi^ ite minority.*^
During the 1980's, Islamization continued apace in the midst of continuing political
turmoil. The Federal Shariat Court was granted additional constitutional powers to review,
sua sponte, any decisions or procedures by any other court enforcing hadd crimes and, if
necessary, "enhance the sentence. "°'' In 1984, Pakistan passed the Qadiani ordinance,
directed at the Ahmadis and forbidding them to call themselves Muslims, to use forms xif
Muslim worship, to call to worship, or to use prayers and salutations that are Muslim.^ By
die end of 1992, 1,790 criminal cases had been brought against Ahmadis for violating the
ordinance."® In 1985, a constitutional definition of "Muslim" excluded the Ahmadis, and
separate electoral rolls were established for non-Muslims with minority religions allocated 10
out of the 217 seats in the federal parliament."'
The same year, the final objective of the Islamic partisans came within reach. Under
the Shari'a, there is no human authority to legislate. God is the only legislator. Rulers may
only administer God's law as articulated through the Shari'a. Where there are gaps, the ruler
may pass ordinances (qanun) designed to supplement, but not contradict the Shari'a. fia
human law, or ruler, or assembly, or constitution, can have authority over the Shari'a. '*'
That fundamental principle was placed into the constitution by two amendments. The first,
inserted by presidential ordinance, declared that the Objectives Resolution was no longer
merely preambular, but a substantive part of the constitution. '' This meant that the clause
stating that "Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective
spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy
Quran and the Sunnah" was now a legally obligatory part of the basic law. The second
amendment, passed by parliament, declared that "the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the
Holy Quran and Sunnah are the supreme law and source of guidance for legislation to be
AM Haydar, TTie Politicization of the Shias and the Development of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-
Fiqh-e-Jqfaria, in Charles H. Kennedy, Pakistan 1992 79 (1993).
^ Pakistan Const. (1973), Art. 203DD, in Mahmood, supra note 12, at 942.
^^ Pakistan Penal Code, sects. 298-B, and 298-C.
^ The Friday Times (Lahore), July 15-21, 1993, at 9. According to an Ahmadi rights
organization, there were at least 2,133 Ahmadis arrested on various religious charges by the end of
1992. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 1377. The
Ahmadi Ordinance has been condemned by a number of United Nations agencies and the United State
House of Representatives. Mohammed Waseem, PoLmcs and the State in Islam 3% (1989).
Also in 1984, testimonial evidence became regulated by the Shari'a, although the requirement that the
testimony of two women count only as the equivalent of one man was later restricted to financial cases
because of political protest. Id. at 395.
^ Pakistan Const. (1973), arts. 50 and 260(3)(a) and (b)(amended 1985), in Mahmood,
supra note 12, at 860.
^® Kanun, 4 The Encyclopaedia of Islam 556 (1978).
^^ Pakistan Const. (1973), art. 2A (amended 1985), in Mahmood, supra note 12, at 842.
12
206
administered through laws enacted by Parliament and provincial assemblies, and for policy
making by the Government. " •^
The amendments gave the Shariat Court constitutional warrant to examine all laws
that might be contrary to the Shari'a. In a jurisprudential sense, Shari'a became supreme
even over the constitution, or as later cases presumed, it made the Shari'a "the supra-national
gmndnorm of the polity," the "real and effective law," and "now the postive Law" of the
Pakistani constitutional order. "^ Under this interpretation of the classical theory of the
Shari'a, Parliament no longer "made" laws. It could only "administer" the law as already laid
down in or the Shari'a, or formulate "regulations" not in conflict with the Shari'a.
The President souglu to enforce the new norm by promulgating the Enforcement of
Shari^ah Ordinance in 1988. It is not surprising that in a country where the jurisprudential
ideas of Hans Kelsen have long dominated legal thought, ' the authority of the Shari^a should
be made directly in such terms: "Shari'ah shall be the supreme sourc^ of law in Pakistan and
Grund Norm for guidance for policy and law-making by the State." ° The melding of
classical Islamic law and modern western positivism had taken place, and although the
Enforcement of Shari'ah Ordinance lapsed after Zia's death,' ' a fer more extensive
Enforcement of Shari'ah Act was passed by Parliament in 1991.^*
Meanwhile, the provision that would cause the most notoriety had been emplaced into
the criminal code. Blasphemy became among the most serious of crimes. The new penal
provision declared.
72
Emphasis added. Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill (198S), amending art. 2, id. at
1065; Rasida Patel, Islamisation of Laws in Pakistan? 22 (1986). The same amending act also
mandated that tax, banking, and insurance law be brought into harmony with Islamic law. Mahmood,
supra note 12, at 1065-66.
T\
Mahmud, Praetorianism and Common Law in Post-Colonial Settings, supra note 20, at
1273 n.28; Dard & others v. Pakistan & others, C.A. 149/89, slip opinion, (Supreme Court of
Pakistan, July 3, 1993) at 29.
'^ Enforcement of Shari'ah (Revised) Ordinance (1988), 49 All-Pakistan Legal
Decisions, Central Statutes 18 (1989).
75
See Tayyab Mahmud, Jurisprudence of Successful Treason: Coup D'Etat A. Common Law,
27 Cornell Int'l L. J. 49 (1994).
"^^ Id. at 19.
^^ Kamal Azfar, Constitutional Dilemmas in Pakistan, Shahid Javed BimKi & Craig
Baxter, Pakistan under the Military: Eleven Years of Zia ul-Haq 79 (1991). Presidential
ordinances lapse after 120 days unless enacted into law by Parliament. Pakistan Constitution (1973) art.
89, in Mahmood, supra note 12, at 882.
^* 49 Pakistan Legal Decisions, Central Statutes 373 (1991). The year before,
Pakistan reintroduced the Shari'a law of retaliation and blood money for murder and intentional bodily
harm.
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Whoever by words, either spoken, or written, or by visible representation, or
by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the
sacred name of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) shall be punished with
death, or imprisonment, and shall also be liable to fine. '^
Unlike the Hudood Ordinances, however, there was no option given the judge to try the
offense under an alternative provision in the law. The prohibition against blasphemy had been
written directly into the penal code.°"
As broad as the statute was, as severe as the penalty prescribed, the Federal Shariat
Court still found it too mild. The Shariat Court held that Islamic law required the death
penalty for any act of blasphemy. The penalty of life imprisonment was voided.*' The
decision was curious, in that under the Hanafi school, punishment for blasphemy could vary
from flogging, imprisonment, or death according to the severity of the offense and the
discretion of the judge. "^
The blasphemy ordinance was but one more criminal provision designed to protect
and advance Islam. Older provisions dating from British rule protected places of worship and
prohibited words or actions that with "deliberate and maiicjous intention" outrage "the
religious feelings of any class of the citizens of Pakistan."*^ During the Islamization program
of General Zia, however, five additional orovisions were added: the law against blasphemy; a
law punishing the defiling of the Qur'an;^ a prohibition against insulting the wives, family,
or companions of the Prophetr^ and two laws directed against the Ahmadis.*° The political
and legal structure of the state was now in place for an offensive against dissenters.
The two religious groups the Pakistani government focussed on for suppression were
and are the Ahmadis and the Christians, although there are threats against the Shi'ites, the
^' Pakistan Penal Code, Sec. 295-C.
*^ In 1993, in a move designed to attack the ShiMtes, a bill was introduced to extend severe
penalties to insults to the Prophet's family and companions. DEPARTME^4T OF State, Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 1377. The bill was rejected by
parliament in July 1994. Pakistani Parliament Rejeas Religion Bill, United Presss International, July
24, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
*^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1991, supra note 9, at 1 154;
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, supra note 9, at 1 167.
*2 Bernard Lewis, BMnd the Rushdie Affair, 60 THE American Scholar 185, 188 (1991).
83 Pakistan Penal Code, sees. 195 and 295 A
^ Pakistan Penal Code, sec. 295B.
8^ Pakistan Penal Code, sec. 298A.
^ Pakistan Penal Code, sees. 298B and 298C.
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Zikris, the Isma'ilis, and Hindus as well. ' The U.S. State Department reported that in May
1991, the advocate general of Punjab asserted that "parents who raise their children as
Ahmadis are inciting their children to a^stasy" and have committed a capital crime.°° In
July, 1993, the Pakistani Supreme Court upheld the Qadiani ordinance against constitutional
challenge, with one judge suggesting that if any Ahmadi proclaims that Muhammad is not the
last prophet, they defame the Prpghet contrary to the law against blasphemy and subject
themselves to the death penalty. °^ In other words, the affirmation of the central tenet of the
Ahmadis would become a capital offense.
Political frictions in Pakistan only increased the pressure for Islamization. General
Zia perished in a plane crash in August, 1988, and in the following elections, the Pakistan
People's Party, led by Benazir Bhutto, daughter of the former prime minister, won a plurality
of seats. Bhutto became prime minister, but was unable or unwilling to turn back the Islamic
momentum. She was dismissed by the President in 1990. The army-backed conservative
Islamic Democratic Alliance, led by Mian Mohammed Nawaz Sharif, decisively won new
elections.
Bhutto was charged with corruption, while Sharif pressed on with further
Islamization. The government increased the pgnalty to ten years for anyone outraging "the
religious feelings of any citizens of Pakistan."^ Under that law an Ahmadi was sentenced to
eight years in prison for tuiilding a place of worship on his own land, and injuring the religious
feelings of his neighbors. ^^ The government^idso sought to require identity cards of differing
colors according to the religion of the bearer.^
At present, proselytization by non-Muslimy^ forbidden."^ Religious minorities are
discriminated against in employment and education.^* Church permits for Christians are
withheld by the government, and there are reports of riots against Christians and Ahmadis, and
87
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, supra note 9, at 1 168. Steven
Barzamel, Pakistan Shows Zero Tolerance for Blasphemy, Ottawa CmzEN. February 6, 1993, at G5,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. Fundamentalist Muslims are also pressuring that the
Zikri sect of one million be declared non-Muslim. Human Rights Group Highlights Minority
Difficulties, Agence France Presse, January 20, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws
File.
^ Country Reports of Hih^an Rights Practices for 1991, supra note 9, at 1559-60.
*' The Friday Times (Lahore) July 15-21, 1993, at 9.
^ Ordinance XXI of 1991, in Violations of Hi^ian Rights of Ahmadis, supra note 9,
at 5.
^^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, siq)ra note 9, at 1 168. Six
other Ahmadis were arrested in 1991 for painting Muslim expressions on their mosque wall. Pakistan,
Amnesty International Report 1992 supra note 9, at 207.
^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, supra note 9, at 1 168.
93
/d. at 1167.
^ «. at 1171.
15
I
209
kidnappings, beatings, torture, and forced conversions of Ahmadis, Hindus, and pagans. ^
Amnesty International reports that "[SJoores of prisoners of conscience were held for their
political activities or religious beliefs."^" The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
declared that 1992 was "a traumatic year for non-Moslems in Pakistan."^ The Islamization
program also increased tensions between the Shi' ites and Sunnis. Reportedly, scores of
persons have been assassinated in conflicts between the two main wings of Islam. °
The re-election of Benazir Bhutto as prime minister in 1993 gave some hope for relief
firom the harsher elements of Islamization, but reforms are tentative, and in view of Pakistan's
history of military coups, dangerous. Some constriction of the sweep of the blasphemy law
has been suggested by her government. In the meantime, the law against blasphemy, passed
by Parliament, stiffened by the Shariat Court, remains one of the most potent weapons of the
Shari'a partisans and is used as a surrogate for the classical prohibition against apostasy.
n. APOSTASY AND BLASPHEMY IN ISLAM
Under the dominant strain of classical Islamic law, or Shari'a, apostasy (nddo) ka
hadd crime, that is, a crime for which the punishment is fixed and no deviation allowed.'^
Most other offenses are enforced by discretionary {ta ^zir) punishments, or in the case of
homicide or battery, by retaliation {qisas) after adjudication of the accused's guilt. Apostasy is
a capital offense and is particularly heinous under the Shari'a. In an era when the state and
the religion were interwoven ~ a principle that remains fundamental to Islamic law - to .„
change one's religion was tantamount to committing treason, and it was punished as such. ^^
^^ Id. at 1167-68. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has indicated that Muslim
clerics are engaged in forced conversions of the Kalash tribe. One Woman Raped Every Three Hours in
Pakistan, supra note 61.
^ Pakistan, Amnesty International Report 1993, supra note 9, at 229.
^ Pakistan Rights Group Says 1992 Bad Year for Non-Moslems, The Reuter Library Report,
January 13, 1992, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^ Anwar Iqbal, Pakistani Gunmen Kill Accused Blasphemer, United Press International,
April 5, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^ An apostate is known as murtadd. N.J. CouLSON, A History of Islamic Law 124
(1964); MOHAMED S. El-Awa, Punishment in Islamic Law: A Comparative Study 1-2, 49-50
(1982). The other hadd offenses are adultery, false imprecation of adultery, theft, drinking wine, and
highway robbery.
**^ Matthew Uppman, Sean McConville, & Mordecai Yerushalmi, Islamic
Criminal Law and Procedure (hereafter Uppman et al. Islamic Criminal Law and Procedure)
49 (1988).
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.The Qur'an condemns the apostate to eternal damnation but imposes no earthly
penalty. "^ The death penalty apparently arose later in the law. It was the Traditions of the
Prophet in the Sunna, developed and codified later during a driveibr the Islamization of the
early Islamic empire, that required putting the apostate to death. ^"■^ A primary Tradition
relied upon for this-view attributes to Muhammad the statement, "Whoever changes his
religion, kill him."^^-*
Most Traditions, however, including the one just cited, inflict a death sentence
because the apostate waged war on Islam. ^"^ Indeed, the primary justification for the
execution of die apostate is that in the early days of Islam apostasy and treason were, in fact,
synonymous. ^"^ It is reported, for example, that immediately after the death of Muhammad,
many tribes apostatized, returned to paganism, and rebelledagainst Muslim rule. The first
Caliph, Abu Bakr, ordered all such apostates to be killed.'"" Majid Khadduri argues that the
Tradition that all apostates be killed had its origins during these wars of rebellion, and not
during Muhammad's time. In one of the most exhaustive studies of the classical sources of
Islamic law, S. A. Rahman, a Pakistani jurist of renown, argued that all references in the
Qur'an and the Sunna to apostasy tied retaliation to rebellion, not merely a falling from faith.
Further, Rahman argued, most other verses and traditions indicate an undeviating view that
changes in belief were left to God to punish and that it was forbidden to compel any person to
join or rejoin any religion, including Islam. '^°
The paradigm of apostasy as rebellion*^' gains credence in the Hanaft school (the
dominant Islamic school of law in the subcontinent), which declares that women may not be
^^^ MURTADD, The Encyclopaedia of Islam 635 (1992). In the thirteen verses of the
(^'an mentioning apostasy, no punishment in this life is prescribed. El-Awa, Punishment in
Islamic Law, supra note 99, at SO-Sl.
^^ Murtadd, THE Encyclopaedia of Islam 635 (1992).
^^ 9 Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari (hereafter Al-Bukhari) 45
(3d rev. ed. 1979).
^^ 8 Al-Bukhari, supra note 103, at 519-22 (those who apostatized, rebelled, and
committed murder were put do death); 9 Al-Bukhari, siq)ra note 103, at 155 ("Do not revert to
disbelief after me by strilung (cutting) the necks of one another"); 1 Sahih Muslim 43 (1976, reprint
1978); Slaughter, The Salman Rushdie Affair, supra note 6, at 180.
*^ ASAP a. a. FYZEE, Oini-INES OP MUHAMMADAN LAW 169-70 (3d. ed. 1964).
** Samuel M. Zwemer. The Law of Apostasy in Islam 35 (1924).
^^ Majid Khadduri, The Islamic Conception of Justice 238 (1978).
^^ See S.A. Rahman, The Punishment of Apostasy in Islam 9-86 (1972)
According to some Jurists, rebellion is itself a separate hadd offense requiring death.
See, e.g., Henri Laoust. Le Precis de Droft D'Ibn Qudama 269 (1950).
17
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211
executed for apostasy since infidel women were not to be killed in war. '" Instead, apostate
women are to be imprisoned until convinced to recant. '^ .Some jurists in the Hanafi school
prescribe beating apostate women while they are in prison. ^ *^
Parallel to seeing apostates as insurrectionists, most jurists also define apostasy as
reversion into unbelief (hifr). Unlike Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and other "people of the
book" who were granted protection though subservient status jn the Islamic empire, the
Shari'a gives unbelievers only the choice of Islam or death. ' '^■' An apostate, therefore, would
deserve death either because of his act of rebellion or because he had become an unbeliever.
Whatever the paradigmatic source of the sentence for apostasy, most jurists of the
Shari^a came to regard the crime neither as one of rebellion or unbelief, but merely a falling
away from Islam. No distinction was made regarding the apostate who converts to one the
protected religions from one who falls into polytheism or unbelief. All apostates were
denominated as "unbelievers." No connection with rebellion was required. All that was
needed was some evidence of disbelief, and unless recantation occurred relatively quickly,
death was imposed." For the Maliki school, it was the act of falling away from the religion
of Islam Uiat mattered. The law had no regard for conversion from one non-Islamic faith to
another."^ For the more casuistical Shaffi school, any act of apostasy was fatal, even from,
say, Judaism to Christianity. ''"
Under the Shari'a, the evidence for apostasy need only be circumstantial. Impious
behavior, such as failing to pray or offending Islamic morals, can be taken as evidence of
^^^ 2 TheHedaya 228 (Charles Hamilton, trans. 1791, reprint 1985). The Hedaya, a
translation of a Hanifite commentary of the Shari'a, was used by the British in their administration over
Muslims throughout the Indian Empire. It has, therefore, been of primary influence in the kind of
Islamic law seen as authoritative in that area of the world.
' * ^ Id. at 227. See also Ann E. Mayer, Islam and Human Rights, Tradition and
Politics 163 (199!); El-Awa, Punishment in Islamic Law: A Comparative Study, supra note
91, at 53.
^ ^^ 2 The Hedaya, st^ra note 1 10, at 228; Joseph Schacht, An Introduction to
Islamic Law 187 (1964). Some Islamic casuists opine that the apostate women should be beaten at the
hours of prayer. Zwemer, Law of Apostasy in Islam, supra note 106, at 50-5 1 .
^ '^ Such protected persons were denominated dhimmis. See Forte, Religious Toleration in
Classical Islam, supra note 35, at 210.
* ^'^ See SiDi Khalil, Malki Law (hereafter Khalil, Malki Law) 325-27 (M. Ruxton,
trans. 1916, reprint 1980).
* ^^ Khalil, Maliki Law, supra note 1 13, at 327.
* '^ Seppo Syrjanen, In Search op Meaning and lDEJ>nTrY: Conversion to
Christianity in Pakistani Muslim Culture (hereafter Syrjanen, In Search of Meaning and
Identity) 165-66 (1987).
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212
apostasy. ^'^ Statements "in contradiction of the principles of IsUun, or by giving forth
opinions implying renunciation of those principles" ^o suffice. ^° Conversion to another
faith, through baptism for example, is dispositive. ^ '^ The only excuse a Muslim would have
for accepting Christianity would be.exireme duress. The degree of duress must be compulsion
"under tiie direat of certain death. " ^^^
As in other areas of Islamic law, probative evidence relies upon the bona fides of the
witnesses, more than upon the substance of the acts that constitute apostasy. According to
Nawawi, of the Shafi' i school.
Witnesses need not recount in all their details the facts that constitute apostasy;
they may confine diemselves to affirming that the guilty person is an apostate.
Other authorities are of the contrary opinion; but the majority go so far as to
make no account of the mere denial of the accused, even where the assertions of
the witnesses are made in general terms. '^^
The punishment for apostasy is dea|h, traditionally by beheading, although crucifixion
and immolation have also been employed. ^^^ For some jurists, the apostate must be given a
period of time in which to recant and return to Islam. Most schools require that the apostate
be "exhorted" to repent, but the Shi' ites will not accept the recantation of an apostate who was
bom a Muslim. '^^ The Hedaya, an authoritative translation of Hanafi law in the Indian
subcontinent, recommends three days of imprisonment before execution, although neither the
delay nor the requirement to try to dissuade the apostate before killing him is mandatory. ^^^
The Maliki school, normally stricter on this issue than the Hanafi, will in this case allow up to
^^^ 9 Al-Buhkari, supra note 103, at 46-47; 1 Sahih Muslim 48-49 (1976, reprint 1978);
IBN TAYMnrvA ON PUBLIC AhfD PRIVATE LAW IN ISLAM 145-48 (Omar A. Farrukh, trans., n.d.).
* ^^ Khalil, Maliki Law, supra note 1 13, at 325; Nagaty Sanad, The Theory of
Crime and Criminal Responsibility in Islamic Law: Shari' a 56 (1991); 1 Sahih Muslim 45
(1976, reprint 1978) (unbelief shown by stating that the movement of stars created rainfall).
' ^^ Khalil, Maldu Law, supra note 1 13, at 325; Slaughter, The Salman Rushdie Affair,
supra note 6. at 178.
*^® Khalo., Malou Law, supra note 113, at 325
'^' Nawawi, Minhaj et talibin: a manual of Muhammadan law; according to
the school of Shafi 436 (E.C. Howard, trans, from French trans, of L.W.C. Van Den Berg 1914).
'" Lippman et al. Islamic Criminal Law and PROCEDifRE, supra note 1(X), at 42; Lewis,
Behind the Rushdie Affair, supra note 82, at 188. According to a Tradition related by Malik,
Muhammad once said. "If someone changes his religion, - then strike off his head!" IBN Malik IBN
Anas. Al-Muwatta 303 (Aisha Andurrahaman Bewley trans. 1989).
'*^ Slaughter, The Salman Rushdie Affair, supra note 6, at 181.
124 2 The Hedaya, supra note 109, at 225-26.
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ten days for recantation.*^^ Although the Hanafi school does not condemn the female apostate
to death, jurists in the Maliki and Shafr i schools do. '^°
Under most schools of Islamic law, the apostate is an outlaw.
[S]ince by the very act of apostacy a man loses the protection of the law, if even
before the chance of re-embracing the Faith has been given to him, a Muslim
kills an apostate, it will be considered as an improper act, but he would incur no
penalty of the law. '^'
The HedayaJs explicit. Any person killing an apostate is himself immune to prosecution or
retaliation.'^ In addition, the aposta^loses all civil entitlements. His marriage becomes a
nullity and he has no right to inherit. *^^
Blasphemy, on the oAer hand, is a ta ^zir offense and the degree of punishment is
discretionary with the judge. *^" When uttered bv a Muslim, blasphemy can be evidence of
^)ostasy and hence subject to the hadd penalty,"* but when spoken by a non-Muslim,
blasphemy is obviously separate from the hadd crime of apostasy.
In the commentaries on the Shari'a, far less effort is spent on glossing ta ^zir offences
since their definition and enforcement was left up to the individual Islamic judge and the state.
When discussing blasphemy, however, most Islamkijurists outside of the Hanafi school
generally recommend execution for blasphemers. ^-^'^ For them, the discretionary punishment
{ta^zir) for blasphemers turns out to be no different from the legally obligatory (hadd) penalty
for apostates. Both are regarded as public dangers to Islam. Ibn Taymiyya, one of the
greatest jurists of Islam and the Hanbali school, insisted, upon sufficient proof, on immediate
^^^ Speech, Religious Discrimination, and Blasphemy, 83 Am. Soc'yInt'lProc. 427
(1989), available on WESTLAW.
*^^ See 9 Al-Bukhari, supra note 103, at 42; Khalil, Malki Law, supra note 1 13, at
326 n. 3; 2 The Hedaya, supra note 109, at 227.
*^^ Abdur Rahim, The Principles of Muhammadan Jurisprudence according to
THE Hanafi, Malki, Shafi'i and Hanbali Schools 153 (1911).
*28 2 The Hedaya, supra note 109, at 227; Abdur Rahim, Muhammadan
JinusPRUDENCE 253 (191 1 , reprint 1981). The Islamic abhorrence of apostasy is so strong that even
during the period of Turkish reform in the 19th century (the Tanzimat), the Ottomans translated and
adopted the French penal code as their own, repealing all hadd offenses, but retaining apostasy as a
ci^ital offense. CouLSON, History of Islamic Law, supra note 91, at 151.
*2' D.F.MuLLA, Principles of Mahomedan Law 340 (M. Hidayatullah, ed., 18th ed,
1977); Khalil, Maldu Law, supra note 113, at 395; Mayer, Islam and Human Rights, supra
note 110, at 163; ScHACHT, Introduction TO Islamic Law, supra note 103, at 138, 165; Pearl,
Textbook on Muslim Personal Law, supra note 63, at 209.
*^^ Khalil, Maldu Law, supra note 113, at 328.
*^* Henri Laoust, Le Precis de Droft D'Ibn Qudama 269 (1950).
*^2 MuRTADD, The Encyclopaedia of Islam 636 (1992).
20
214
execution for a Christian who insulted the Prophet as necessary to the good order of the
state. ^^
In the Maliki school, the law in regard to blasphemy became more severe than even
for apostasy, for "recaq^tion will not save the blasphemer from death" and the execution must
proceed immediately. -^^ The Shi' ites and Ibn Taymiyya agree. ^^^ An act of blasphemy
objectively harmed the good order of society. Apostasy, on the other hand, was based upon
personal belief, and recantation wiped away the basis for the hadd punishment. The Shaff i
school's penalties are also stringent. For example, when the Sudan (an area traditionally under
the Shafri school) was conquered by the Mahdi in 1885, he imposed Islamic laws and
punished blasphemy with death or amputation. Those penalties, though severe, "were
understood and accepted as the correct application of the Shari'a law by his own people. "^^"
As noted above, the Hanaft school has a more flexible scale of punishment for
blasphemy, a concept in keeping with the notion of ta ^zir as discretionary punishment.
Dependine^on the severity of the offense, a blasphemer can be flogged or imprisoned or
executed." Despite that tradition, however, both the Shariat court and many ordinary
Muslims in Pakistan regard blasphemy as a capital crime.
Overt heresy, for niany jurists, is another ta ^zir offense, and it is not surprising that it
is also punishable by death. '^* Heresy is related to the political wars of early Islam and
associated with the offense of rebellion, a hadd offense in some schools. '^' Islamic law has
never clearly glossed the differences between a dissenter, a heretic, and an apostate. Since
heresy can be difficult to distinguish from a difference of opinion, blasphemy can provide a
suitable cover. Thus, the very ambiguity of the definition of blasphemy serves as a useful
device for the state to punish apostates, heretics, non-Muslims who criticize Islam, and
political dissenters. Indeed, with the law of blasphemy in the hands of an Islamic state, the
need to enact the hadd punishment for apostasy would be superfluous.
^^^ Majid Khadduri, The Islamic Conception of Justice 180-181 (1978). Ibn
Taymiyya (1263-1328) was a famous expositor of the Hanbali school of law.
^^ Khalil, Maliki Law, supra note 1 13, at 328.
'^^ Slaughter, The Salman Rushdie Affair, supra note 6, at 199.
'^° Safiya Safwat, Islamic Laws in the Sudan, in Aziz Al-Azmeh, Islamic Laws, Social
AND Historical Contexts 235 (1988)(quoting A.B. Theobald, The Mahdiya: A History of the
SinjAN 1881-1899 43 (1967)).
'^^ Lewis, Behind the Rushdie Affair, supra note 82. at 188.
^•** Ibn Taymiyya on Public and Private Law in Islam 143-44 (Omar A. Famikh,
trans., n.d.).
'^' Abdur Rahim, The Principles of Muhammadan Jurisprudence according to
theHanafi, Maliki, ShafiM and Hanbali Schools 153 (1911).
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215
in. BLASPHEMY IN PAKISTAN
With the dominance of Great Britain over the Indian subcontinent and the
development ofAnglo-Muhammadan law, Islamic law was replaced for the most part by
British forms. ''*^ The law of apostasy was not enforced. *' Conversions to Christianity were
numerous, especially among the poorer Muslims and Hindus. As early as 1790, the British
East India Company had already dispensed with the application of many parts of Islamic penal
law in areas under its jurisdiction, and in 1860, the Indian Penal Code did away with Islamic
criminal law altogether.* The British did retain Muslim family law. Even there^ however,
many of the civil penalties for apostasy under personal Muslim law were voided. In 1850,
loss of inheritance through apostasy was done away with, and, under the dissolution of Muslim
Marriages Act of 1939, ^e renunciation of Islam by a married woman no longer automatically
dissolved her marriage.'
Today, however, the legal situation has been transformed. Pakistan still has no
formal law prohibiting apostasy, but Wasphemy serves as a surrogate in suppressing those who
dissent from Islam by word or deed. •* As one observer has noted, "Not to accept Islam is to
deny that Motummed is God's final prophet. And to deny that prophethood is
blasphemy. "^*" A recent decision by the Lahore High Court declared that if QDC insults any
one of the prophets of God, he ceases to be a Muslim, i.e., he is an apostate.*'*' Ever since
^^ John L. Esposito, Perspectives on Islamic Law Reform: the Case of Pakistan, 13 J. of
INT'L Law and Politics 217, 221 (1980).
*^* Syrjanen, In Search of Meaning and Identity, supra note 1 15, at 167.
* Collins, Islamization of Pakistani Law, supra note 10, at 537-38, 544.
^^^ The capital penalty for apostasy had apparently fallen into desuetude when the British
arrived, and, in any event, would not have been allowed by the British Courts as being contrary to
"justice, equity, and good conscience." See generally Pearl, Textbook on Muslim Personal Law,
supra note 63, at 20-33.
*^ Mulla, Principles of Mohamedan Law 63, 338-39 (18th ed. 1977); Pearl,
Textbook on Muslim Personal Law, supra note 63, at 169, 210. Apostasy by the husband,
however, voided the marriage, ipso facto. AsAF A. A. Fyzee, Outlines of Muhammadan Law 170-
71 (3d. ed. 1964). Pakistan reinsUted the prohibition against inheritance by an apostate in 1%3.
Pearl, Textbook on Muslim Personal Law, supra note 63, at 211.
**^ In March, 1992, 20 Ahmadis were arrested for blasphemy during their Friday prayers.
Pakistan, Amnesty International Report 1993, supra note 9, at 229.
**** Steven Barmazel, Persecution in Pakistan, Jerusalem Post, March 1, 1993, Opinion,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^^ Editorial: Blasphemy Law, Saudi Gazette, April 18, 1994, available on LEXIS, News
Library, Cumws File.
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216
its founding, the ulama have insisted that the death penalty for apostasy be reintroduced. ^^^
The law against blasphemy seems to have satisfied ^eir demands.
As early as 1%8, a respected Pakistani jurist, S. A. Rahman, saw the emerging
program of the ulama and penned his thorough study declaring that the death penalty for
apostasy was contrary to the tenets of Islam."' In response, M.S.H. Masumi, director of the
Islamic Research Institute, raised the fear of mass conversions of the "poor masses" from
Islam to Christianity if the ancient law were not used as a deterrent. Evincing the
national ist/fundamentalist embarrassment that Pakistan had seen more converts to Christianity
than in most of the Islamic world, Masumi wrote, "If the unanimous decision of the Ummah
[the Muslim community] on the punishment of apostasy were followed in Pakistan, the easy
conversion of Muslims in the j^njab and Sind to Christianity for small worldly gains, would
have been stopped long ago." ^
Pakistan, of course, has not been alone in reimposing parts of the Shari'a including
the crimes of apostasy or blasphemy. In 1992, the United Arab Emirajcs sentenced 12 Indians
for blasphemy for producing a play critical of Islam and Christianity. *^^ In Saudi Arabia and
in Qatar, criticism of Islam is forbidden, apostasy a capital crime, and all other religions but
Islam are forbidden."^ In Saudi Arabia, a Shi" ite youth was reportedly beheaded for apostasy
and blasphemy in 1991, while Christians are persecuted and tortured for their religious beliefs
and practices, according to Amnesty International.^^ In 1992, a Coptic man was chjU'ged
with blasphemy, trie^d and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and 1000 lashes.^' In
fact, government sponsored religious intolerance in Saudi Arabia has increased dramatically
since the Gulf war, although recently Saudi Arabia has made overtures of rapprochement
towards its Shi' ite minority. ^^^
*** Anderson, Law Reform, supra note 16, at 181.
^*' S.A. Rahman, The Punishment of Apostasy in Islam (1972).
'^® Syrjanen, In Search of Meaning and Identity, supra note 115, at 166 n. 333.
^ On appeal, six of the defendants were acquitted, but two had their sentences increased
from 6 to 10 years. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, siqjra note 9, at
1303.
Id. at 1279, 1271. In Qatar, private non-Islamic religious practices seem to be more
tolerated. Id.
"^ Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia -- Religious Intolerance: The Arrest,
Detention and torture of Christian Worshippers and Shi'a Muslims 8-21 (1993).
He served four months of his sentence and received 500 lashes. Id. at 12.
•55 Caryle Murphy, Saudi King Reconciles with Shi ite Opposition, Washington Post,
October 16. 1993, at A15. available on LEXIS. News Library. Cumws File.
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217
In Sudan, with an abysmal human rights record, apostasy is a capital offense. '^^ In
1985, an influential Islamic reformer, Mahmoud Muhammad Taha, was executed for apostasy.
Four convicted co-defendants were given three days to recant. They did and had their
sentences commuted. " Yemen has imprisoned a writer for apostasy, ^^ while a province in
Malaysia has sought federal permission to outlaw apostasy. '^^ In Iran, a Christian pastor was
executed for apostasy in 1990, and more recently, a 59vear old man was sentenced to death
for having converted to Christianity when he was 19.*^ After a number of international
protests, the sentence was commuted to ten years, but a few months after his release, he was
found murdered. '°^ The Protestant bishop in Iran who raised international awareness of the
case was also murdered.*"^ Male prisoners who fail to perform their prayers are reportedly
executed in Iran, while female prisoners are beaten at the time of prayer.'"^ Salman Rushdie,
of course, remains under a "sentence' of death for blasphemy.
^^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 281.
According to the State Department, no convert from Islam has been executed but two Christians have
been threatened with death if they do not reconvert. Id. Other reports indicate that at least one person
was crucified for apostasy. Christopher Walker and Ruth Gledhill, Militant Zeal Compels States to
Apply Stria Islamic Law, The Times (Lx)ndon), available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
There are persistent reports of mass crucifuions of Christian males in the south of the country. Con
Coughlin, Sudan Trains Terrorism's New Generation, Sunday Telegraph, May 15, 1994, at 24;
Elwood McQuaid, Blueprint for Brutality, Jerusalem Post, March 31, 1994, at 6, available on
LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
'^^ Abdullahl Ahmed An-Na*im, The Islamic Law of Apostasy and Its Modem Applicable,
16 Religion 197, 205-06 (1986).
*58 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 1310.
^^^ Kelantan Plans Private Bill to Push HududLaw, The Straits Times, May 20, 1994,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. A writer in Malaysia critical of the Traditions
attributed to Muhammad was branded an apostate, presumably not by the state but by the religious
mullahs. See Letter to editor by Paigham Mustafa, The Herald (Glasgow), Febmary 21, 1994,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
*^ Testimony, October 29, 1993, Amnesty Intemational U.S.A., House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Subcommittee on Intemational Security, Intemational Organizations and Human Rights
(hereinafter Amnesty Testimony), Federal Document Clearing House, available on LEXIS, News
Library, Cumws File. Michael Binyon, Iranian to be Executed for Giving Up Islam, The Times
(London), January 14, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
*^^ Iran Accused of Executing Christian Leader, Chicago Tribune, July 5, 1994, at 7,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^^ Bishop's Killing Puts Focus on Persecution in Iran, New York Times, Febr\iary 6,
1994, Sect. 1, at 20. In July, 1994, anodier leading Protestant bishop was also murdered. Group Says
Iran Protestant Leader Killed, Reuters, July 4, 1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws
File.
^^^ Anuiesty Testimony, supra note 158.
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218
In I9?i, Indonesia punished a magazine editor with five years' imprisonment for
blasphemy. °^ In Bangladesh, two editors of the country's second largest newspaper have
been arrested in charges of blasphemy, while thousands have demonstrated calling for the
hanging of feminist writer Taslima Nasreen. Mullahs have issued fatwas (legal opinions based
on the application of Islamic law) declaring her an apostate and "sentencing" her to death for
her novels and opinions critical of Islam and the Qur'an. The fact that throughout the Islamic
world, mullahs without secular warrant believe themselves possessed of the authority to
"sentence" malefactors speaks to their view that the Shari'a is the only true source of law. A
hundred prominent lawyers have petitioned the government of Bangladesh to enact a law
against blasphemy. The government finally bowed to pressure and issued a warrant for
Nasreen's arrest for outraging die religious feelings of her fellow citizens. Nasreen was able
to find sanctuary in Sweden.™^
In Egypt, the murder in 1992 of Farag Foda, an anti-fundamentalist writer, was
justified by Islamic scholars on the basis of the Shari'a. Sheikh Mohamed el-Ghazali testified
at the trial of Farag Foda's accused assassins that the writer "d^erved to die" and that there
was no punishment for the killers of apostates in Islamic law.'"" Recently, fundamentalists
brought suit to declare the marriage of Abu Zeid, a renowned Qur'anic scholar, null because
Indonesian Moslems Join Protest of Bangladesh Writer, Agence France Presse, June 8,
1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
Violation of the law protecting the religious feelings of believers carries a sentence of
two years at hard labor. Arshad Mahmud, Muslim Hardliners Threaten Bangladesh Press Freedom,
The Guardian, June 27, 1994, at 10; Warrant Issued for Bangladesh Author, United Press
International, June 4, 1994; Female Salman Rushdie Stirs Controversy with Novels, All Things
Considered, NPR, June 4, 1994; Lawyers Demand Law to Deal with Blasphemy, April 28, 1994,
Reuters; Tim McGirk, Bangladesh, Extremists Want Feminist Writer to Hang, Ottawa CmzEN, May
25, 1994, at A14; Deborah Baker, "They Try to Kill Me But I Wdl Never Stop Writing, " Dallas
Morning News, September 4, 1994, at 43A, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. See
also Taslima Nasrim, Sentenced to Death, New York Times, November 30, 1993, at A15.
Nabil Megalli, Egyptian Leader Backs "Death Edia" for Opponents of Islamic Law,
Ottawa CmzEN, July 31, 1993, at C5. El-Ghazali, pre-eminent member of the faculty of Al Azhar
University, had been Imown as a moderate. Caryle Murphy, Killing Apostates Condoned,
Washington Post, July 22, 1993, at A27. A university teacher, supported or Foda, recently suted,
"(AJccording to the customs of this nation, securlarism means atheism and apostasy." Samia Nakhoul,
Egyptian Activists Fight Battle of Backwardness, Reuters, September 11, 1994.The approval of
private capital punishment for apostasy exacerbates the reported problem of thousands of Coptic girls,
kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam many of whom seek to escape back to Christianity when given
a chance. Shyam Bhatia, Raped Behind a Veil of Tears, Observer, June 5, 1994, at 19, available on
LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. Even blasphemy is enforced in Egypt. Reportedly a Copt was
given 1000 lashes and seven years in jail for blasphemy. Fundamentally Wrong to Tolerate the
Intolerable, The Scotsman, Febmary 21, 1995, available on LEXIS, News Library, CURNWS File.
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219
he was a heretic and apostate. The petitioners were non-suited for lack of standing.'^' Had
they succeeded, and Zeid's wife continued to live with him, she would have guilty of adultery.
In Jordan as well, fundamentalists asked a court to annul the marriage of an outspoken woman
recently elected to parliament. The militants also petitioned the court to charge her with
apostasy and to declare that any person who killed her would be immune from prosecution.
TTie suit was dismissed. '°^
The mechanism for suppression is self-enforcing in the law of apostasy or blasphemy.
He who opposes imposition of the Shari'a has himself confessed apostasy. The Grand Mufti
of Egypt, thought to be a moderate, supported issuing a fatwa that would condemn to death
Egyptian "apostates who oppose the application of Islamic law."'"' In Pakistan, when Benazir
Bhutto was in the opposition and criticized the Shariat Court for stiffening the punishment for
blasphemy, the religious affairs minister of the^sitting government declared her a 'kqfir
(unbeliever) and liable for, the death penalty." ^ Not surprisingly, Bhutto feared for her life
following that accusation. ^'^ More recently, a personal charge of blasphemy has even been
lodged against her as Prime Minister on basis that she has publicly criticized the blasphemy
Governmental suppression of minorities through the law of apostasy or blasphemy,
however, does not equal the wave of private violence Uiat such laws engender. One of the
great legal reforms of Muhammad was to remove the adjudication of murder and serious
bodily harm from tribal determination. Blood money and retaliation were retained as the
appropriate remedy for such serious crimes, but after Muhammad, no man, no tribe or clan
could unilaterally undertake such vengeance without first obtaining a conviction against the
accused before a neutral judge under the procedural protections of the law.^'-* Although
adjudication of apostasy should also precede a declaration of outlawry, many Islamic scholars
^^^ Alan Sipress, Egyptian Court Saves Marriage of Professor, Houston Chronicle,
January 29, 1994, Sect. A, at 22, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. There are reports
of increased government harassment of Christian converts in Egypt. Testimony on October 28, 1993 of
Reverend Keith R. Roderick, Secretary General, Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights, House
Foreign Affairs Committee, SubconMnittee on International Security, International Organizations and
Human Rights, Federal Document Clearing House, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
*^ Eve-Ann Prentice, Ashtrays Fly as Jordan's Woman MP Storms Male Bastion, The
Times (London), June 15, 1994, n.p.
^^ Sipress, Egyptian Court Saves Marriage of Professor, supra note 164, at 22.
^^^ Nearer, my God, to Theocracy, The Economist, September 5, 1992, at 38.
^^^ Bhutto Accused of Blasphemy; She Says Her Life's in Danger, Chicago Tribune,
August 12, 1992, at 4, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
'^^ State of Human Rights in Pakistan 1993, supra note 9, at 27; Persecuted,
Newsline (Karachi), November-December 1993, at 26.
^^^ Schacht, Introduction to Islamic Law, supra note 128, at 187.
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220
hold that the failure of the state to act permits ordinary Muslims to enforce the penalty for
apostasy on their own without legal liability. ^^
Whether or not there has to be a preliminary fmding of ^)ostasy by the qadi before
the accused can be treated as an outlaw, the fact is that the notion of the apostate as outside the
protection of the law percolates into public attitudes. '^ One Islamic scholar notes the
influence of
the tradition of direct violent action and self-help which goes back to the earliest
times of Islam. Examples can be cited of the Prophet instructing-Muslims to
kill someone on sight or to correct an injustice by direct action. ^°
The man who kills an apostate commits no offense and is not liable by blood or money to the
tribe of the one slain. Thus, the enforcement of the law of apostasy in Islam winds up relying
upon self-help as a remedy and undoes one of the most salutary legal benefits Muhammad gave
the Arab tribes.
During the 1920's, a Protestant missionary chronicled many of the acts of retaliation
in numerous Islamic societies inflicted upon those Muslims who converted to Christianity. Of
the dozens of incidents reported, virtually all acts of violence were private, many from the
convert's own family.''' One contemporary English observer noted, "It is a well-known fact
that converts to Christianity from Islam are liable to be killed, not by judicial condemnation
and execution, but by secret assassination or by mob violence." ^ Or as the Egyptian scholar
Abu Zeid recently commented on the suit by fundamentalists to have his marriage declared
null, "If you call a person an apostate, . . . you are legalizing his murder. "'^^ The mechanism
of the law of blasphemy works in precisely the same fashion in Pakistan today. In 1993, in
Lewis, Behind the Rushdie Affair, supra note 82, at 195; Alan Sipress, Egyptian Court
Saves Marriage of Professor, Houston Chronicle, January 29, 1994, Sect. A, at 22, available on
LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
In May 1994, Paul Williams Roberts, a British novelist living in Canada was stabbed by
an assailant at his home following death threats claiming that his novel. The Palace of Fears, was
blasphemous. Ben Macintyre, "Blasphemy Novelist' Stabbed, The Times (London), May 27, 1994,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^'° An-Na'im, Islamic Reformation, supra note 63, at 184. See also Lewis, Behind the
Rushdie Affair, supra note 82, at 195 (giving examples attributed to Muhammad).
177
' ' ' ZwEMER, The Law of Apostasy in Islam, supra note 106, at 54-74.
^^^ Statement by President C.F. Gates of Robert College, id. at 62-63. There has been a
report that recently in England, a Muslim killed his daughter when she continued to attend Jehovah's
Witnesses' meetings against his will. Paul Stenhouse, Blasphemy/Freedom of Speech in Islamic Law,
Australian J. of Forensic Sciences, September-December 1989, at 4, 5.
179
Caryle Murphy, Egypt's "Intellectual Gvil War; " Divorce Becomes Weapon for Islamic
Militants, Washington Post, July 22, 1993, at Al. Even in the West, self-help by fundamentalists
has effect. The city of Geneva, Switzerland recently cancelled support for a restaging of Voltaire's
play, "Mahomet, ou le Fantisme," because Muslims in the city protested that it was blasphemous and
threats were made to directors and actors. A Play by Voltaire; Ecrasez iinfame. The Economist, July
2, 1994, at 82, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
27
221
the case upholding the vindictive Qadiani ordinance against the Ahmadis, the Pakistani
Supreme Court stated that if an Ahmadi were allowed to worship in public as a Muslim, 'it is
like creating a Rushdi' out of him. Can the ^ministration in that case guarantee his life,
liberty and property and if so at what cost?"'*"
Even in the earlier days in British India when there were numerous converts from
Islam to Christianity (particularly among the poorer classes in Punjab and Sind), fear of
private retaliation restrained others from converting.'*' One elderly convert explained in 1974
(a deoide before the law against blasphemy was enacted),
[A]lthough Pakistan is an Islamic state, putting to death or stoning of converts is
not legal. But in the mind of a Muslim this thing has certainly its influence.
When a Muslim sees some other Muslim leaving Islam, he wants to cause that
Muslim harm as much as he can, and if possible, even kill him. On the level of
thought this jaw of Islam works, although not in matters of the constitution of
the country. ^°^
Whenever any Islamic state has sought to enforce the law of apostasy, it has
inevitably set loose private acts of terror and execution against the one who forsook Islam. It
re-establishes tribal and clan vengeance within Islam. If an Islamic state, such as Pakistan, is
created over tribal cultures, the result is predictable. For example, the tribal culture of the
Pathan people in the northwest area of the country make it unlikely that attacks against
apostates WJJl go unpunished, for the Pathan code, Pukhtunwai, "demands that every insult be
avenged. "'°^ The Times of London reported in 1993 that "Pathans have a ruthlesicode of
honour which requires revenge to be exacted even if it takes several generations."^"* The
Pathans are a cross border tribe and militant Muslims who fought resolutely against the Soviet
invasion in Afghanistan. Even the reformist Benazir Bhutto has had to bend to their demands.
Facing secessionist pressures, her government capitulated to the leaders of a fundamentalist
^^ Dard & others v. Pakistan & others, C.A. 149/89, slip opinion, (Supreme Court of
Pakistan, July 3, 1993) at 29.
'^^ Syrjanen, In Search of Meaning and iDENrmr, supra note 1 15, at 8, 165-70.
182
Id. at 167.
^*^ Louis Nicholson, Pakistani Tea Query: One Salvo or Two? The Plain Dealer.
E>ecember 20, 1992, Travel Section, at IJ.
^^ Christopher Thomas, CIA Tracks Suspect in Desert, The Times (London), February 15,
1993, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. In addition, because of the tradition of Sufism
and folk religions among die Pakistanis, many of them venerate the name of the Prophet to a more
emotional level than do other Muslims. Slaughter, The Salman Rushdie Affair, supra note 6, at 199.
28
222
Islamic revolt in the Pathan tribal Malakand area and actually ordered the implementation of
the Shari'a, replacing the Pakistan constitution. "
In addition to the tribal ethic, and the self-help provisions of the Shari'a, retaliation
against apostates is also legitimized by the caste-like culture that centuries of Hinduism has left
on Pakistan's Muslim society. The horwr of one's community group (biradari) is of primary
concern to many ordinary Pakistanis. °° The palpable dishonor brought upon one's biradari
by conversion to another faith can only be rectified by reconversion to Islam, by ostracisation,
or by vengeance inflicted on the convert by a member of his own biradari. °^
In Pakistan, most of the persecution under the law of blasphemy has been directed at
the Ahamdis and at Pakistan's other large minoritv^the Christians, but all groups including
Muslims, Hindus, and Zikris have been affected. ^°° For example, a fired employee accused
Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan, a Muslim and renowned director of a welfare project, of writing a
blasphemous poem that he published in a nursery rhyme. In response, his publisher, Oxford
University Press, removed the offending passages. " Thousands of posters in Karachi
declaring him fit for execution were taken down only after a court order. When one suit
against Khan was dropped, another was instituted. Because Khan is an active reformist
^*^ Ahmad Rasid, In God's Name, Far Eastern Economic Review, May 26, 1994, at 20;
Rahul Bedi, Pakistan: Religious Right Puts Bhutto on Spot, Inter Press Service, May 27, 1994,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. The agitating group - Tahrik-e-Nifaz Sharia
(Movement for the Enforcement of the Shari'a) decreed that Islamic law required driving of the right
side of the road, resulting in a series of head-on collisions in Malakand with those who continued to
follow the secular rule of driving on the left. Id. The same group also called for all acts of blasphemy to
be punished by immediate execution. Rahul Bedi, Bhutto Gives in to Militants; Approval of Islamic Law
in Tribal Area Criticized, San Francisco Chronicle, June 9, 1994, at A14, available on LEXIS,
News Library, Cumws File.
^^ Syrjanen, In Search of Meaning and Identtty, supra note 115, at 21.
^*^ Id. at 19-20, 177.
IBS
One report states that 107 Ahmadis and 8 Christians have been charged with blasphemy,
but the informal persecution let loose by the law had been much greater. Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 1377-78. Another indicates that 24 Christians
and over 2,000 Ahmadis charged under any of the multiple offense in Sect. 295 of the penal code.
Nafisa Shah, Victims of Zealotry, Newsline (Karachi), November/December at 33, 36, 36b.
The technique is spreading. In March 1994, a group of Sikhs in India posted a reward of 5
million rupees for the death of a Pakistani whom they claimed had blasphemed to Sikh gurus. Rahul
Bedi, IneUa: Sikhs Put Bounty on Author's Head, South China Morning Post, March 7, 1994, at 12,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
189
Id. at 34-35.
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Muslim, the militant Muslims are utilizing the blasphemy law to delegitjmize him and enforce
their own notion of orthodoxy. The case against IGian is still pending. ^^
Hundreds of others, including Muslims, are incarcerated on charges of blasphemy,
while private acts of terrorism continue to be let loose by the law. In late Spring of 1994, a
Muslim who had accidentally dropped a copy of the Qur'an into a fire was ston^ and then
doused him with kerosene and burned to death by a mob after mullahs had shouted oyer
loudspeakers from the minarets of mosques that "a Christian had burned the Koran."'"'
Another woman found herself charged with blasphemy when her personal copy of the Qur'an
fell out of her shopping bag to the ground.''^
The mere public expression of Ahmadi or Christian religious belief is seen by many
militants as blasphemous. By 1992, 106 Ahmadis had been accused of blasphemy simply by
their assertion that they were Muslim.''^ Unknowingly, the Christians have made the
situation worse. In a suit brought by a bishop to declare that blasphemy against Jesus was just
as punishable as blasphemy against Muhammad, the Lahore High Court agreed. It declared
that blasphemy against any of the prophets (including Jesus) incurs the death penalty.
Claiming that Jesus is the Son of God would be, to a Muslim, a blasphemy.'** Thus, the law
against blasphemy also undermines the traditional, albeit limited, guarantees that Islamic law is
supposed to provide to dhimmis, that is. to Jews, Christians, and other religions living in
protected status under a Muslim state. '"^
Enforcement is left mainly to private complaint leading to a suppression that the
government could never do on its own. Under Pakistani criminal procedure, a mere complaint
(a FIR, or first investigation report), results in an arrest withouta warrant and indeterminate
detention, for bail is often hard to obtain or not granted at all.'^ Technically, blasphemy is a
'^ State of Human Rights in Pakistan 1993, supra note 9, at 26; Eqbal Ahmad, Law
against Justice, Dawn (Karachi), October 4, 1992, n.p.; Abbas Rashid, Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan: the
Dream We Trampled Underfoot, The Friday Post (Lahore). March 19, 1993, n.p.; Anti-Blasphemy
Law Tough, Rocky Mountain News, March 20, 1994, Sect. F, at 49A, available on LEXIS, News
Library, Cumws File.
191
Man Accused of Burning Koran is Stoned to Death, Agence France Presse, April 25,
1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File. He had apparently dropped the Qur'an into a
furnace during an argument with his wife. Id. See also Briefs, Calgary Herald, April 23, 1994, at
12, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^ Rasid, In God's Name, supra note 185, at 20.
'^^ Pakistan; Prophet and Loss, THE Economist (U.K. ed.). May 7, 1994, at 38, available
on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
194
Id.
1Q5
See Forte, Religious Toleration in Classical Islam, supra note 35, at 21 1.
Testimony, October 29, 1993, Amnesty Intemational U.S.A., House Foreign Affairs
Conunittee, Subcommittee on Intemational Security, International Organizations and Human Rights,
Federal Document Clearing House, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
30
224
non-bailable offense. Trial is presided over by a Muslim judge. ^^ As the Pakistan Human
Rights Commission has stated, the blasphemy law gives "a killing edge to Muslim fanaticism
and to orthodox Muslims' contempt for local minorities, especially the Christians. ^^°
A number of recent cases illustrate the terror and abuse that the blasphemy law has
begotten.
In December 1990, Tahir Iqbal, a convert from Islam to Christianity, waijurested
because of his apostasy and held in prison in Lahore on the charge of blasphemy. ^^^ After a
year and a half awaiting trial, Iqbal, a paraplegic, died in mysterious circumstances. Two
weeks before his death, Iqbal had written to members of the Pakistani government, including
the prime minister, expressing fear for his life.'^^ He believed there was a conspiracy to
poison him. J^o police action was taken to investigate his death, despite petitions to conduct a
postmortem. •^"^ One of his Muslim neighbors said, "Tahir was an intelligent and good
person. His only offence was his conversion to Christianity."^"^
In late 1991, a Christian, Gul Masih (Masih is a generically common name to ...
Christians in Pakistan), argued with a neighbor over how many wives Muhammad had. •^
The neighbor reported him to a local Muslim activist, who withthe urging of the Deputy
Superintendent of Police, registered the charge of blasphemy. ■^"^ Gul Masih's brother, Bashir
Masih who was not involved in the altercation, was also arrested and held for over a month
For example. In October 1991 Chand Barkat, a Christian, was charged under Section 198 of
the penal code of wounding the religious feelings of another. By the time he was tried and acquitted he
had spent IS months in prison, three more than the maximum sentence he would have received if he had
been convicted. I. A. Rehman, The Fires of Bigotry, Newsline (Karachi), November/December 1993,
at 30.
'^ Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Newsletter, July 1993, at 22.
^° Bob Harvey, Free Speech, Islamic Faith Meet head-on in Pakistan (hereafter, Harvey,
Free Speech), Ottawa CmzEN, January 9, 1993, Religion Section, at 9, available on LEXIS, News
Library, Cumws File.
'^ Pakistan, Amnesty International Report 1992, supra note 9, at 207; State op
Human Rights in Pakistan 1992, supra note 9, at 40.
200 Beena Sarwar, Pakistan: Islamic Laws are Manipulated to Settle Political Scores
(hereafter Sarwar, Political Scores), Inter Press Service, September 29, 1992, available on LEXIS,
News Library, Cumws File.
201
Pakistan, Amnesty International Report 1993, supra note 9, at 229; Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, supra note 9, at 1 161; State of Human Rights
in Pakistan 1992, supra note 9, at 40-41 .
^^ Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Newsletter, October 1992. at 9.
Masih claimed Muhammad had eleven wives including one teenager. Harvey, Free
Speech, Islamic Faith, supra note 195, at 9.
^^ Blasphemy Episodes, supra note 3, at 6-7.
31
225
before being released. When Bashir Masih was fteed, the locaLpiulIahs organized a march
"demanding that he be retaken and both the brothers hanged. "^^-^
In November 1992, Gul Masih was tried and sentenced to death, solely on the
testimony of the neighbor. The two witnesses-c^iled on behalf of the prosecution denied that
the defendant had said anything blasphemous. ^ It is reported that the trial judg&revealed to
another judge that he awarded the death penalty "only out of fear of the mullahs."^" Gul
Masih had spent a year in jail before his trial and remained in prison undL November 1994,
when his death sentenced was overturned by by the Lahore High Court. ■^^°
In January, 1993, a complaint lodged against Anwar Masih resulted in his arrest for
blasphemy. Masih was a Christian who had converted to Islam and then reconverted to
Christianity. He lives in an area populated by 180,000 Christians. The facts of the charge are
vague. Anwar Masih argued with a shopkeeper and allegedly uttered a blasphemy. He was
arrested a week later on a complaint not by the shopkeeper, but by a local political leader who
proclaimed Anwar Masih's guilt in the streets.^"' The accused took refuge in a church to
avoid being lynched by a fundamentalist mob. Later, the police entered and arrested him.
Masih is a former heroin addict and is mentally unstable. Subjected to police brutality while
in custody, he is, at this writing, still awaiting trial. '^'^
As can be seen, not only are charges of blasphemy often lodged for personal and
political motives, but once brought, they subject the accused to acts of private violence.
Although Pakistani law does not formally recognize self-help in these matters, the influence of
the Shari' a allowing individuals to execute apostates with impunity may influence the behavior
of individuals and the police.^'^ Gul Masih, for example, was beaten in jail by a Pathan
205 w. at 6.
206 State of Human Rights in Pakistan 1992, supra note 9, at 41. Tim McGirk,
Muslim Fanatics Feeding Intolerance in Pakistan, The Independent, November 25, 1992, at 15;
Pakistani Court Hands Death Penalty for Blaspheming Prophet, Agence France Presse, November 3,
1992, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
207 State of Human Rights in Pakistan 1993, supra note 9, at 41.
208 Pakistan, Amnesty International Report 1993, supra note 9, at 229. Alistair
Lyon, Plaintiff Steps Back into Pakistan Blasphemy Case, Reuters, February 22, 1995, available on
LEXIS. News Library, CURNWS File.
209 State of Human Rights in Pakistan 1993, supra note 9, at 41.
2^0 Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Newsletter, April 1993, at 14. Khan
Mohammed, The Blasphemy Trap, The Herald (Karachi), March 1993, at 72-73. In a different cause
of action under the blasphemy law, another unbalanced man, who is Muslim, claimed to be Jesus and
praised Salman Rushdie. He was condemned to death despite testimony that he was insane. His case is
on appeal. State of Human Rights in Pakistan 1993, supra note 9, at 26. Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 1378.
2^' The self-help tradition affects other religiously intolerant actions. In 1993, a landowner
bulldozed an entire Christian village, including a church, without waiting for a civil court decision in a
land dispute case. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, supra note 9, at 1377.
32
226
prisoner incensed at what he had allegedly done. There is evidence of official tolerance for
private attacks on Christians. According to the State Department's Human Rights Report,
"Christian groups rarely press charges againstJhe perpetrators of such incidents and believe the
authorities are unlikely to pursue such cases." Two examples follow.
Naemat Ahmar, a Christian and teacher in the state school in the village of Dasuha,
was shocked one day in December 1991 to find anonymous posters around the village accusing
him of blaspheming the Prophet of God. A later investigation by the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan found no witness among his students, colleagues, or even Muslims in
Uie village who had ever heard him make any such insult. Ahmar believed that a rival
candidate for his teaching position, a Muslim, had put up the posters. Many local Muslims
were, nonetheless, convinced Ahmar had blasphemed, even though he denied it and "offered
unconditional apology for any offence any presumed remarks attributed to him might have
caused. "^'^
Fearful, Ahmar consulted with the Bishop of nearby Faisalabad, took leave from his
post and took a job in Faisalabad. On January 6, 1992, Farooq Ahmad, who had seen the
posters in Dasuha, travelled to Faisalabad, found Ahmar at his place of work, and stabbed him
to death, inflicting 17 wounds. After the first strike, Ahmad asked Ahmar why he had
blasphemed. Ahmar denied it, but Ahmad continued the attack.^*^
At the police station, Ahmad "was kissed by some of the policemen for his
remarkable courage and commitment to Islam." Villagers came to give him cookies and
flowers. Many clerics from the area visited him to offer their congratulations, while some
engaged lawyers to defend him. In addition, the president of the local bar association offered
his services to Ahmad, while no prominent lawyer would accept representing the family of the
murdered Ahmar. Beyond taking the names of witnesses, the police took no steps to develop
the investigation. The Bishop of Faisalabad gauged that among the Christians, a "sense of
helplessness, insecurity, and anguish had crept in."^^'
Such cases have impelled a senior Christian school teacher to decline a promotion to
headmaster "because I knew any disgruntled teacher or student could send me to prison by
accusing me of blasphemy. '^^° Another non-Muslim history teacher was asked in class which
^^^ Blasphemy Episodes, supra note 3, at 8.
^^^ Country Reports on HimiAN Rights Practices for 1992, supra note 9, at 1 171.
^^^ Blasphemy Episodes, supra note 3, at 12.
2IS
Id.; Sarwar, Political Scores, supra note 197; Muslim Fanatics, supra note 204.
^^^ Blasphemy Episodes, supra note 3, at 11.
217
Id. In another case, a man who accused a Christian came to the jail and stabbed him a
number of times. The Christian survived but was prevailed upon by the police to seek a reconciliation
with his attacker. I. A. Rehman, Persecuted by Unv, Newsline (Karachi), November/December 1993,
at 29.
30b.
^^* I.A. Rehman. The Fires of Bigotry, Newsline (Karachi), November/December 1993, at
33
227
of the two periods of Muhammad's life was the better- the years in Mecca or Medina. Upon
his answer, the teacher was charged with blasphemy. *'
An even worse incident was soon to follow. In May 1993, the imam of a village
mosque in the village of Ratta Dhotran lodged a complaint that sometime during the previous
year, some persons had insulted the Prophet of God by graffiti on the bathroom wall and on
pieces of paper cast into the mosque. The accused were two men, Rehmat Masih and
Manzoor Masih, and an illiterate eleven year old boy, Salamat Masih. ^^" Allegations were
that the group was retaliating for a sermon the imam had given some time ago stating that it
was a sin to believe that Christ had died on the cross. "^^^ The testimony against Salamat
Masih was from an eight year old boy, with whom Salamat had been quarreling over
ownership of some pigeons and who said he witnessed Salamat writing on the Mosque walls.
The day after the quarrel between the two boys, some men arrived at Salamat's home^ forcibly
took him to the village mosque and beat him until he confessed to acts of blasphemy. ^^^
Muslim demonstrations and boycotts against the Christians in Salamat Masih's village
brought a further charge of blasphemy (later dropped) against eight other Christians.
Ubiquitous signs proclaimed, "Any one who blasphemes against the prophet should be hanged
in public. "^^^ Soon thereafter all the Christian families who had been in the village for
generations decided to leave.''^
On the day of the hearing, a mob outside the courtroom demanded death for all three
accused, while handbills and sermons to the same effect were spread throughout the area. The
bar was intimidated. A lawyer who agreed to take the case failed to appear and no other local
lawyer could be engaged. ' Five months later, in November IS?3, the boy Salamat Masih
was released (one of die very few Christians ever granted bail),^^° but bail was set too high
for the other two accused.
^ Id. In another case, a teacher with 37 years experience, in answer to a question about the
form of government under the Prophet, stated that Muhammad had "dictated" the policies to be
followed. That verb was enough to charge him with blasphemy and place him in jail. Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan, Newsletter, October 1992, at 8.
^^^ Persecuted by Imw, supra note 215, at 24-26.
Eleven-year-old Boy in Pakistan Prison for Writing on Mosque Wall," Agence France
Presse, June 17, 1993, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^^ Jennifer Griffin, A Hanging Matter in Pakistan, The Plain Dealer, March 28, 1994,
at 7B; Fistfight between Boys Led to Murder. Death Sentences. The Ottawa CmzEN, February 25,
1995, at A6.
^^^ Jennifer Griffin, Is it a Mosque or a State? Los ANGELES Times, March 20, 1994, Part
M, at 2, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^* Exodus of Fear, Newsline (Karachi), November/December 1993, at 33-35.
^ Persecuted by Law, supra note 215, at 26.
^^^ Shah, Victims of Zealotry, supra note 185, at 33.
34
228
Because of the threats to the defendants, the case was transferred to Lahore, and
prospects for their release seemed good. On April S, 1994, the counsel for the prosecution
proposed a settlement which was approved by the court. As the three defendants were being
escorted out of the back entrance of the courthouse, three gunmen on motorcycles appeared
and opened fu'e. Manzoor Masih was killed with 12 bullets flred into his body. Rehmat
Masih received multiple wounds in the stomach area but none struck a vital organ. Salamat
Masih was wounded in the wrist and hand. A social worker assisting the trio was seriously
wounded. ^^' One of the assialants was identified as a local Imam who had originally brought
the charge of blasphemy against the group. Charged with murder, the Imam is free on bail,
assured by the prosecutor that he does not want to pursue the charge. ^^ A huge mourning
procession by Christians and non-Christians called for the repeal of the blasphemy laws, but
the government of Benazir Bhutto remained hesitant in the face of the increasingly militant
fundamentalist opposition.
On February 9, 1995, despite the weak and contradictory evidence, Rehmat and
Salamat Masih were sentenced to death by the trial court, the judge opining that no Muslim
would ever forge a document insulting the Prophet. Protests from Muslim and non-Muslim
groups around the world descended on Prime Minister Bhutto. In March, the Lahore High
Court overturned the verdict, one judge stating his certainty that the allegedly blasphemous
p<^rs had been forged. Rehmat and Salamat Masih, certain they would be killed, were
spirited out of the country to asylum in Germany. Their families remain in hiding in
Pakistan. ^^^
In commenting on the recent spate of attacks against Christians, The Herald of
Karachi stated:
227
Iqbal, Pakistani Gunmen Kill Accused Blasphemer, supra note 98; John-Thor Dahlburg,
After Attacks, Christians Feel Threatened in Pakistan, Los Angeles Times, Part A, at 4, available on
L^XIS, News Library, Cumws File; Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Newsletter, April 1994,
at IS.
^^* Blasphemy in Pakistan, Irish Times, Letter to the Editor, July 6, 1994, at 1 1, available
on LEXIS, News Library, CURNWS File. Shadows of Hate. The Jerusalem Post, February 22,
1995, at 6, available on LEXIS, News Library, CURNWS File.
229
John-Thor Dahlburg, Reported-Illiterate Boy of 14 Sentenced to Die in Case That Could
Upend Pakistan's Legal System, The Gazette, Febryary 21, 1995, available on LEXIS, News
Library, CURNWS File; Shadows of Hate, supra note 228, at 6; Facing up to Fundamentalists, Los
Angeles Times, February 26, 1995, at M4; Family Gives Shelter, The Independent, March 2,
1995, available on LEXIS, News Library, CURNWS File; Jennifer Griffin, Blasphemy Boy Faces Life
on the Run, February 26, 1995, The Observer, February 26, 1995, at 20. In reaction to the release,
mobs stoned the court, and threatened the lives of the judges and the lawyers defending the two men.
Amnesty Demands Lifting of Blasphemy Death Sentences, Agence France Presse, February 21,
1995, available on LEXIS, News Library, CURNWS File. The government is ^pealing, hoping to
reinstate the sentence, although with the defendants out of the country, the issue may be moot. John
Ward Anderson, Pakistan Frees 2 Christians Set to Hang for Blasphemy, International herald
Tribune, February 24, 1995, available on LEXIS, News Library. CURNWS File.
35
229
The blasphemy law clearly singles out non-Muslims for persecution. While
Mullahs daily blast their congregations with sermons, openly instigating people
against other religions, they remain beyond reproach. But a non-Muslim trying
to offer a r^iUttal to this abuse is instantly branded a criminal guilty of
blasphemy.^^
Already five Christians charged widi blasphemy have been murdered with no or little
police investigations undertaken against their attackers. Threats against Christians are
constant. Asma Jahangir, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, declared
'The blasphemy law has unleashed religious terrorism, allowed the people to take the law into
their own hands, is undermining the legal system and scaring off judges. "^^^
..The law against blasphemy is in direct violation of the international law of human
rights,^^ but its utility in political and personal vendettas make it popular. Even at the state
level, it is easily relied upon. When a recent United Nations report criticized the Sudan for
human rights violations, including call the law against apostasy in "flagrant violation" of
intemation^ law, the goveriunent of Sudan accused the rapporteur of "satanic morality" and
blasphemy.'^^-'
Christians have mobilized against the law. Following the ambush and killing of
Manzoor M^ih, thousands of Christians marched in Lahore and Karachi to demand the repeal
of the act.^'* Pakistan's six bishops have also formally petitioned for Us recission, and non-
Muslim members of Pakistan's parliament have sought its amendment.^^^ In response, the
provincial assemblies in Lahore and Punjab unanimously called upon the government to retain
^■*® Blasphemy Trap, supra note 208, at 72-73.
^^^ Ahmed Rashid, Bhutto Bows to Protests by Muslims, Daily Telegraph, May 21, 1994,
available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^^ Mayer, Islam and Human Rights, supra note 110, at 163-73, 189-95; An-Na"im,
Islamic Reformation, supra note 63, at 167-181. See also Reza Ahshai, An Essay on Islamic
Cultural Relativism in the Discourse on Human Rights. 16 Human Rts. Q. 235 (1994) and Bassam
Tibi, Islamic Law/Shari 'a, Human Rights. International Morality and International Relations. 16
Human Rts. Q. 237 (1994).
^^^ Murder. Slavery Rife in the Sudan. U.N. Reports, Associated Press, February 11, 1994;
Sudan Calls U.N. Official a Blasphemer, International Herald Tribune, March 9, 1994; Edward
Luce, Sudan Criticises the Author of a Rights Survey for Blasphemy, The Guardl^n, March 3, 1994,
Foreign Page, at 11, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^ Dahlburg, After Attacks. Christians Feel Threatened in Pakistan, supra note 225, at 4;
Teargas Used as Christians Protest Blasphemy Law. Agence France Presse, April 21, 1S>94, available
on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^^ Ahmed Rashid, Bhutto Bows to Protests by Muslims. Daily Telegraph, May 21, 1994;
Pakistani non-Muslims Demand Protection, United Press International, April 21, 1994, available on
LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
36
II 1,1 Mi.nS.'^r?'^ ''^^'-IC LIBRARY
230 lllllilllliillliilllillll
3 9999 05983 886 0
the death penalty. -^^ The government of Benazir Bhutto, holding a slim majority in
Parliament, has not moved to do away with the law, or even denounced it. ^ Rather, it has
gingerly proposed to limit its excesses^first, by making the law applicable only to deliberate
provocation and not unintended insult,^^° by requiring preliminary court determination of
sufficient evidence before the police could make an arrest, and secondly^ by imposing seven
years imprisorunent on anyone making a false accusation of blasphemy. ^^ Seeing the
desultory manner in which the police prosecute those who kill alleged blasphemers, it seems
doubtful that there would be much hope for the police to investigate those who merely make
false accusations.
CONCLUSION
There is no more unity in Islam than there is in Christianity.^* The identification of
Islam with the totality of the positive provisions of the Shari'a is but one tradition. There are
many others. In nearly every Islamic state, for every fundamentalist group, there are many
more which denounce its program and support toleration. In fact, tht Shari'a never guided
ancient Islam in the manner in which its modern partisans claim. The Islamic state always
escaped the restrictions of the jurists' niceties by establishing its own courts and a responsive
bureaucracy to enforce its own decrees.^' Even in its own terms, the Shari'a was never
universal. It was a juristic mode of reasoning utilized to solve certain legal problems, a mode
of reasoning which varied by time, place, and person, and which may or may not have been
Dahlburg, After Attacks, Christians Feel Threatened in Pakistan, supra note 205, at 4;
Herve Clerc, Christians Mobilise Against Moslem Blasphemy Law, Agence France Presse, April 24,
1994, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws File.
^^^ Rasid, In God's Name, supra note 185, at 20.
238 Paidstan; Prophet and Loss, supra note 190, at 38.
239
Even so, the government has awaited proposing the changes to parliament until their is a
"consensus" among religious leaders, hardly a sanguine possibility. Pakistan Link (Inglewood), May
20, 1994, at 3; One Woman Raped Every Three Hours in Pakistan, supra note 61 ; Pakistan May Amend
Blasphemy Law, Agence France Presse, May 8, 1994; Beena Sarwar, Pakistan: Blasphemy Law to Stay,
Minor Modifications, Inter Press Service, July 19, 1994. In reaction to the government's prc^osal,
hindamentalists have offered a reward for the murder of the law minister. Extremists Put Contract on
Law Minister, The Independent, July 11, 1994, at 11, available on LEXIS, News Library, Cumws
File
2^ AL-AZMEH, ISLAMS AND MODERNITIES, supra note 12, at 1.
^^^ David F. Forte, Islam and Politics, in 11 Teaching PoLmcAL Science 158, 161-62
(1984), reprinted in J. ScHALL, S.J. & J. Hanus, Studies on Religion and PoLmcs, Univ. Press of
America 70 (1986).
37
231
followed by the political authorities. As one scholar hi^s noted, the Shari'a was no more a
"code" to be applied than is the common law a "code."^^ It has been the particular answers
that the jurists gave to particular problems of their time that has taken on the modern
conceptualization of a "code" of positive law. But it was the method of reasoning, the ijtihad,
that more fully describes the Shari'a, as it is the method of reasoning that more fully describes
the common law, not its particular legal rules at any one time.
It is true that within the legal tradition of Islam, ijtihad came to be denigrated, and a
more or less slavish following of the concrete results of the earlier jurists' thought typified the
study of law. The creativity of ancient Islamic jurisprudence turned into the rigidity of
medieval Islamic legality. It is that historical turn from reasoning to rules that many of the
modern Muslim intellectuals wish to undo, and regain the liberty of exercising ijtihad once
again. In the meantime, they must contend with Islamic radicals who take the rules that came
out of medieval Islam as the defming focus of a genuine Islamic society. But taking Islamic
legal tradition as a whole.
Calls for the "application of Islamic law" have no connection with the Muslim
legal tradition based upon multivocality, technical competence and the existence
of an executive political authority which consols the legal system. It is a
political slogan, not a return to past reality.^^
Even if we were to look solely at the jurists' conclusions within the Shari'a, we fmd
that penal provisions are its most miniscule part. Most of the jurists' elucidations of the law
concerned the details of religious practice, a sophisticated system of property and contract law,
and a complex exegesis of trusts and estates. Only secondary attention was paid to criminal
law for so little of it was directly enforced in the Islamic empire. Criminal jurisdiction was
simply moved from qadi courts to the imperial tribunals. Nor were the jurists themselves very
concerned with worldly penalties. Contrary to the political picture portrayed by some Islamic
militants, the Qur'an and religious Islam left God in charge of punishment in the afterlife, and
the individual much opportunity for private repentance here on earth.
The partisans of the Shari'a, therefore, are arguing for the dominance of a particular
version of Islam, a version that never existed except in their idealized recollection. One critic
describes their strategy.
[T]he politics of nostalgia imagines a past, or prior reality, conjures an affection
for a past that never was, and turns this sentimentalist imperative into a
programme to be imposed on the social and political realities of today.^^
Yet the Shari' a itself turns out to be their most effective weapon. In a religion without an
ecclesiastical structure, in a religion where differences in doctrine were less defming than in
Christianity, in a religious culture without the bond of a unitary state, and in an intellectual
tradition in which the development of political theory was stultified, the Shari'a stands as an
iconographic symbol identifying a Muslim as a Muslim. It is a symbol claiming a divine and
obligatory provenance.
^^^ AL-AZMEH, ISLAMS AND MoDERNmES, si^ra note 12, at 1 1.
2^3 Id. at 14.
'^ Id. 2X9.
38
232
The original authors and commentators of the Shari'a were among the finest minds of
a highly develoj^ civilization. The Shari'a's arcane intricacies, differences, and reasonings
are far beyond the comprehension of the average Muslim, including the ordinary mullah of
today. Indeed, the modern partisans of the Shari'a disparage the same analytical creativity of
modern Muslim thinkers that the ancients exercised. For the politically militant Muslims,
there can never be a "new ijtihad,' and they themselves are incapable of exercising ijtihad.
They take advantage of the fact that the ancient jurisconsults did define and gloss certain
crimes, the hadd offenses particularly, including apostasy. Yet the contemporary Muslim
radicals have no qualms about turning a ta^zir offense like blasphemy - an offense that should
have a variable punishment or no pei^ty at all ~ into one with a mandatory death penalty that
advances their politico-religious aims.
Despite the marginal position of criminal law within the Shari'a, its modern partisans
press for the application of their own version of its penal provisions because it provides the
coercive element they need for dominance. The law against blasphemy raises the xenophobic
fear of a tribal society against outside religions, it saps the legitimacy of competing traditions
within Islam, it stills political dissenters, and undermines the very basis for democratic
government. Under Uie radical interpretation of what blasphemy means, none of the great
intellectual leaders of Pakistan's pre-history, from Muhammad Iqbal even to Muhammad Ali
Jinnah would have been immune to attack. Despite the fact that Christians and Ahmadis are
currently the most prominent victims of the blasphemy law, the true objective of the militant
advocates of the Shari'a is to destroy the validity of any other tradition within Islam but their
own.
The mullahs are weak at the polling place but influential on the streets. Unlike the
other Hudood Ordinances which have been more or less unenforced because of the alternatives
available under the Pakistani criminal code, the law against blasphemy has developed a life of
its own. The ease of accusation and arrest, the usual lack of bail, and the tradition of
legitimizing self-help has unleashed such a wave of religious terror than even the government
and the opposition shrink from calling for its repeal. Direct international diplomatic pressure
at the state level may help to empower the Pakistani government to confront the mullahs. But
success will come only if the gov£rnment politically validates the variable strains of Islam as
authentically Islamic, as the intellectual fathers of Pakistan so forcefully championed. The
only alternative will be a shattering of Pakistan into tribal and religious warfare and the likely
imposition of a more tyrannical military government than it has yet experienced.
39
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ISBN 0-16-052719-8
9 780
60"527197
90000
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11