Latest news from ChristianAggression.org http://www.christianaggression.org 2008-07-22T23:02:30+01:00 text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1216782148 The Dalit Christians on Friday asked the Church leadership to stop fraudulent conversion in India among Dalits and Tribals. And it further demand that the foreign funds received by the church be used for the welfare and upliftment of the poor Christians who are suffering from the discrimination. The convention strongly urged the Govt of India not to appoint Bishops, priests and nuns in the government commissions and committed but instead it should appoint ordinary Christians. These and many other demands are raised in a resolution adopted at the national conventions organized by the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) headed by R.L.Francis. POOR CHRISTIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT Co-office : A-163, DDA Flats Gazipur, Delhi - 96 Office : IIIA/ 145, Rachana, Vashali- 201 010 (NCR) Telefax : 95120-2772449 Mob. 9810108046 E-mail : francispclm@yahoo.com www.Dalitchristian.org New Delhi, 12 July, 2008 : The Dalit Christians on Friday asked the Church leadership to stop fraudulent conversion in India among Dalits and Tribals. And it further demand that the foreign funds received by the church be used for the welfare and upliftment of the poor Christians who are suffering from the discrimination. The convention strongly urged the Govt of India not to appoint Bishops, priests and nuns in the government commissions and committed but instead it should appoint ordinary Christians. These and many other demands are raised in a resolution adopted at the national conventions organized by the Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) headed by R.L.Francis. The convention urged the “Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the National Christian Council of India (NCCI) to set up a 1000 crore “Dalit Christian Development” fund to ensure integrated social and economic development. Considering the confusion created by the propagation activities in the far flung areas the convention adopted a resolution urging the church authorities to defer the mass conversion programme. The resolution stated that, “This assembly unanimously believes that evangelism cannot be a measurement of a society’s socio-economic development. Therefore, evangelism programme should be suspended for long years and funds should be saved and utilized for the welfare of Dalits and Trible Christians and deprived sections of society for creating awareness among them.” The resolution also demanded reservation of seats for Dalit and Trible Christians as well as other Dalits in Church-run schools, colleges, technical institutions and other vocational organizations. Three hundred delegates from different parts of the country, who attended the convention, alleged that a handful of priests and bishops were monopolizing the Church funds and property in the country. This has led to the worsening conditions of neo converted Christians were living in a pitiable condition and deprived of the basic necessities. In his address, the National President R.L. Francis said that the church leadership is interested only in increasing the numbers and is hardly bothering about their living conditions. The biggest proof of this was that a large chunk of foreign funds were being utilized either for purchasing land and for the luxurious lifestyles of few Christians leaders in India . Bishops are monopolizing the Church estates and treating it as their own property and are indulging in its sale-purchase without the consent of the community,” he alleged. Mr. Jawahar Singh, President Gertor India Foundation said 90 per cent to the maids working in cantt and its surrounding areas are Dalit and Trible Christians. Their children do not even complete their primary education, he said. Mr. Singh said that when he went to the priest of the church in the area to discuss the issue of maids and their children ; he refused to say anything. Mr. P B Lomeo, Christian activist and editor of a church newspaper, alleged that not one of the 40,000 educational institutions run by the church give admission to the children of Dalit Christians. The PCLM, which was launched to help Dalit and Trible Christians and provide them with a platform to express their grief, is the most powerful for them, Mr.Lomeo said. Fr. William Premdass Chaudhary a catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Delhi said that “ in last two decades many poor Christians have gone back to Hinduism due to maltreatment by the church. “Even myself was treated bad fly as I am local Christian and not given any assiyment by Bishop of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese because I am a Dalit and local Priest.” he further stated. Mr. Balbir Punj, a senior BJP think tank and member of Rajya SAbha suggested that the Church in India should honestly make a model for the progress of Dalits Christians. He also called for moratorium on conversion for the next ten years. Raising the question of future of Christian children in India , well known human rights activist Joseph Gathia urged the Govt of India and the Supreme Court to redefine minority educational institutions. He further demanded declassification of those Christian minority institutions who do not admit Christian’s children in their schools. Mr. Joseph Gathia opposed the caste base reservation for Christian community in India as it would institutionalize the discrimination in Christianity which is against its very basic principle. Such a move would darken the future of poor Christina’s children in India . At National Convention, Mr. Meharban James, Bishop R.B.Sandu, Mr. Ashok Bharti, P.N. Ambdker and others express their views reading Casteism in Church.. The copies of the resolution passed in the convention would be sending to the Pope, the World Council of Churches, and Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India and UPA chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi.. Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) Resolution for National Convention Nearly 300 delegates from different parts of the country who gather at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi passed the following resolutions unanimously on Friday 11th July 2008. I Resolution : We demand that Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), National Council for churches in India (NCCI) and other church organizations drop the demand for pushing back the poor Christians in to the category of Scheduled Caste status. The teaching of Jesus Christ does not permit to discriminate among his followers. All Christians are born in the image of God. If the Church in India pursue the reservation for Christians on the basis of caste then it must pay compensation to the poor Christians who got converted to the Christianity long back. II Resolution : (a) We urge the Govt. of India to institute a law allowing the Christians minority institutions to admit 50 % student who are Christians. Any Christians educational institute claiming Minority Status be punished if they refuse admission to a Christian child. Currently there is no such provision therefore the Church educational institutions are fearless. Those not following the directive be declassified and put under the Income Tax Act as commercial venture. (b) We further urged the Govt hat no clergy (Bishops, priests and nuns) be appointed in Government committee, commissions etc. Instead the Govt should appointed ordinary Christians as the members such committees and commissions.. It has been observed that due to such appointments the Bishops, priests, and nuns are deviating format their original work of the Church and misusing their positions and funds. (C) that the Government of India to introduce special laws to protect Church property and land as currently it is being misused and Sold by few interested group of people. As the land was given by the Govt of India long back on perpetual lease it is very much within the right to introduce such laws in the interest of the Christian community in India and for the betterment of the Dalit and Trible Christians. III Resolution : (a) We earnestly urge the Vatican to follow protest pattern in appointing the bishops in India, appointment of bishop by concesious of the local people. The Poor Christian Liberation Movement is opposed to the current procedure of appointing the Bishop in the Diocese by the top from Vatican who is not aware of the local conditions. The Vatican must follow the same law which is being followed in China. (b) Representatives at the National Convention demand to CBCI to appoint lay people (especially Dalit and Tribal Christians) at the important positions in the institutions of Catholic Church. (c) The Church in India is the largest employments giver after the Govt of India. Hence we demand that to solve the unemployment problem among poor Christians 50 % job reservations in Christian’s educational and medical institutions for these category be reserved in the Church institutions. IV Resolution : (a) Churches are bringing fund from abroad and spending crores of rupees on evangelization which creates confusion among the religions and bring disunity in the country. Evangelization must be stopped. Let the population grow within the religions. Church should not criticize another religion. Let all the religions grow freely. Church leaders must spend crores of rupees for the upliftment of the Dalit and Trible Christians rather than on evangelization. (b) The Poor Christian Liberation Movement feels that a time has come when pluralistic societies are to be accepted. It has already been done in the Western Christians countries. Therefore the focus on fraudulent conversion and only increasing number of “rice Christians” would not really serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church in India needs to promote multi culturalism and inter faith dialogues. . (c) In order to facilitate resource for education and training for the children of the poor Christians particularly girls a 1000 crore rupee fund be created in India by the Church. Such fund would help the Christian community to become self sufficient in the long run. We feel that the time has come for Christians in India to suggest their Christian brethren and sisters in the West that all afforts must be made to make the community self sufficient and not dependent. We the Christians in India wish that the foreign funds must be diverted to poor people of Africa. (d) We strong feel that the Church leaders should prove themselves as good shepherds who can lead their sheep selflessly and serve OUR LORD Jesus Christ as per his teachings. Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor. MAY THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE US IN OUR ENDEAVOUR. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1216782066 THE Catholic Church should scrap its program to investigate sex abuse within the church because victims have been denied justice, a maverick Sydney priest says. Father Chris Riley, who heads Youth Off The Streets, a Sydney welfare service that assists homeless, drug addicted and abused young people, said the Towards Healing program hurt the church's credibility and meant victims often did not have their day in court. He told the Nine Network tonight that any family confronted with sexual abuse should go straight to the police and have the matter dealt with in court. "Towards Healing, to me, I have to say, is a joke," he said. "The perpetrator is the only winner there because often they are not charged, because it (the case) is settled. "This is obscene, settling those sort of cases behind closed doors," Father Riley said. "It should be out in the court, and then if they (victims) want to deal with the church, we then do that after the person is ... found guilty, and my position is, jailed for a long time. "Then, if they want to go to the church, let's heal them then, but get justice first." The Catholic Church's Towards Healing program was established in 1996 to investigate sex abuse claims within the church, and provide support and assistance for victims. When asked if he would get to meet Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Sydney, Father Riley said: "Maybe tomorrow, I'm not sure. He might hear this and he mightn't want anything to do with me". text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1216781980 The Catholic Church has released a special Bible for India, one that has reference to Indian scriptures, uses Indian cultural and religious themes, and will appeal to the new generation The liberative knowledge of the spirit (atman) is to be attained through ‘seeing, listening, reflecting and meditating’ This verse from the hoary Brihadaranyaka Upanishad explains chapter 51 of the Book of Isaiah, in The New Community Bible (Catholic Edition) for India. Church leaders called the book, that was released in Mumbai last month by the Archbishop of Bombay, Oswald Cardinal Gracias, “a work of lasting importance”. Christened the ‘Indian Bible’, the book is the culmination of a significant 18-year long experiment by the local Catholic Church to adapt the Bible for the Indian community. Thus, apart from using Indian cultural and religious themes in the narrative, the book also uses English that is familiar to Indians, unlike the older editions of the holy book. The scholars, most of them Indian, who put together the book felt that any serious commentary on the writings of the Bible, especially an edition for India, could not ignore the rich cultural and religious heritage of the country. “You cannot communicate if you do not communicate in the culture of the people,” said Father Tony Charanghat, spokesperson for Cardinal Gracias. Rev (Dr) Augustine Kanachikuzhy, of the Society of St Paul who was the general editor of the book, said that the decision to include Indian scriptures in the book was taken by the scholars. “They felt that a Bible for India should also make reference to Indian scriptures,” he said. India has so many religions and languages. This translation takes into account the aspirations, culture, ethos --- the identifying marks of the Indian. It helps the people to relate the sacred text to local context,” said Bishop of Vasai, Fr Thomas Dabre, who was involved in the project. “It was a complex enterprise, but the resulting work is of lasting importance.” The book is different from other Bibles because it has a commentary accompanying the passages from the holy book. “It is a contextualised Bible and that is where the references to Indian scriptures come in,” explained Kanachikuzhy. Priests feel that the book will appeal to the new generation of church-goers who stress less on the ritual part of religion and more on the spiritual aspects. “They are asking more questions, some of which priests who were trained long ago are not equipped to answer. The book hence serves as a handy guide for both the priests and the worshippers,” said Charanghat. Also, the church is forming groups called Christian Communities, that worship as small congregations. At present, the church does not have enough priests to administer to these small groups, and this precisely where the community Bible comes handy for such groups. References to Indian scriptures While authors of the book admit that references to Indian scriptures may make some Christians uncomfortable, they have clarified that the scriptures have been included only for a better understanding of Biblical terms and concepts, and that there is no implication that the texts from which the scriptures are derived, are parallel to the Bible. Illustrations The book has calligraphy and illustrations by a late priest, Christopher Coelho. The Holy Family here is dressed in Indian clothes and not in middle-eastern vestments. “Today, the image is very important and complements the abstract. Even religious discourses have recourse to metaphor,” said Dabre. Indianisation of the Catholic Church The Indianisation process began in the sixties when a revolutionary council in Rome introduced local traditions and practices, like use of local languages for mass and incorporation of Indian worship in church rituals. Though the process has been criticised by both Hindu radicals and the orthodox among Catholics, the idea has taken root and is now generally accepted. Some churches in south India, for instance, depict Christ as an Indian holy man, and even in Mumbai, some churches use aarties to welcome priests. Diwali is an important event in church calendars. The priests say • You cannot communicate if you do not communicate in the culture of the people – Fr Tony Charanghat, spokesperson for Cardinal Gracias • It is a contextualised Bible, and that is where the references to Indian scriptures come in – Rev (Dr) Augustine Kanachikuzhy, of Society of St Paul and general editor of the book • This translation takes into account the aspirations, culture, ethos — the identifying marks of the Indian. It helps people relate the sacred text to local context text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1215657915 First Amendment Center On June 16, seven Roman Catholic schools in Washington, D.C., were transformed into seven public charter schools by a unanimous vote of the D.C. Public Charter School Board. It’s a conversion of sorts – only in reverse. Other religious communities around the nation are already on the charter bandwagon, opening Arabic charters without Islam and Hebrew charters without Judaism. Not to be left behind, a Protestant minister in Harlem is pressing to start what he claims will be a religion-free charter in his church building. Strange as it may sound, this is a hot new trend in education: creating faith-based schools without the faith. Establishing a charter requires shedding overt religious identity because “religious charter school” is a First Amendment oxymoron. Although free from some regulations that apply to traditional public schools, charters are still public schools. That means they must be nonsectarian – neither promoting nor denigrating religion. So why do people of faith leap to schools of no faith? In the case of the Washington Catholic schools, it’s all about the bottom line. As Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl told The Washington Post, “We simply don’t have the resources to keep all those schools open.” With voucher proposals stalled in many state legislatures – or running up against state constitutional barriers – some Catholic dioceses and other religious groups are eyeing charter schools as a funding alternative. But take the Catholic out of Catholic schools and what’s left? According to the archbishop, “They will have the same teachers, the same kids, the same environment. There will still be a level of value formation.” What that will look like remains to be seen. At this point, it’s hard to see how the schools can sustain the “same environment” given that charters must be nonsectarian in hiring, admission and curriculum. But at least these Catholic schools are populated mostly by non-Catholic students. When charter schools are designed to attract students of one religion, being faith-based without the faith is a much greater challenge. Consider last year’s controversy surrounding the opening of Ben Gamla Charter School in Florida, the nation’s first Hebrew charter school. It took several tries before the school board approved the Hebrew curriculum because of concerns about religious bias in the materials. Ben Gamla’s start-up problems, however, haven’t dissuaded Jewish community leaders in other states from undertaking similar efforts. An application was filed this month to open a Hebrew-language charter school in New York City. Excluding faith from Hebrew charter schools doesn’t seem to bother proponents. Philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, a backer of the New York school, was quoted last fall in the New Jersey Jewish News as envisioning “a nationwide system of Jewish charter schools focusing on Jewish elements, not on religious studies – which appeals only to a minority of Jews anyway – but on elements of Jewish culture that make us strong.” What is complicated line-drawing for Jews is even more complex for Muslims. The current uproar over Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Minnesota underscores the pitfalls and challenges of attempting to separate Arabic culture and Islamic faith. After news reports of possible mosque-state violations, the Minnesota Department of Education found TIZA generally in compliance with state law, ordering a few modest changes in school practice. But it won’t be easy for school officials to remain neutral toward religion as required by the First Amendment in a school serving mostly Muslims who want and expect an environment that reflects Islamic values. Even if all of these schools manage to satisfy the letter of the First Amendment (a big if), the trend toward faith-based schools without the faith is problematic for at least two reasons. First, public schools were founded to educate youngsters of all races and creeds. Of course, parents have the right to send their children to religious or other private schools. Public schools, however, receive public support because they serve the common good – not the interests of one group. It’s important to ask whether Hebrew and Arabic charter schools – filled with mostly Jewish and Muslim students, respectively – undermine the purpose of public schools by creating a balkanized system of public education. Second, a faith-based school without the faith does religion no favors. Devout Christians, Jews, Muslims and others may be tempted to take the money and start the school. But substituting “culture” for “religion” is no way to advance the mission of faith. Religious leaders beware. This Faustian bargain isn’t worth the spiritual cost. 6-19-08 Charles C. Haynes is senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1213562977 (CrusadeWatch note: It is unfortunate that in a state where people cannot even afford square meals a day, the Government headed by a Christian fundamentalist chief minister is misusing people's money to pay each Christian pilgrim to visit Jerusalem. The amount paid to each Christian visitor is enough to feed a poor child for 2 years) source: Deccan Chronicle, June 15, 2008 Hyderabad, June 14: State government is finalising the guidelines to Holy Land Yatra to Israel for Christians on the lines of Haj Pilgrimage. Only white card holders are to be made eligible under the scheme for which government earlier gave the nod for financial. The Minorities Welfare Department will be soon coming out with the guidelines after consultation with AP Federation of Churches sources said. Christians holding white cards will be given preference on first cum first serve basis and those who are above 50 years will be given financial assistance. Church authorities and lay groups asked the government to sanction Rs 20,000 to each pilgrim on par with Haj Pilgrims. As per the schedule the pilgrimage covers Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Jordan River, places around dead sea and Sea of Galilee and several other places connected to Christian faith. A group of 50 to 100 pilgrims will be visiting the Holy Land. "Mainly the tour is for a week and charges would be around Rs 55,000 to Rs 65,000 depending on accommodation and facilities provided by travel agent. It is proposed to limit the period to five days in Israel excluding the travel to reduce the cost to Rs 45,000 in which government will bear Rs 20,000 and the rest will be borne by the pilgrims," Fr T Anthony Raj, Executive Secretary of AP Federation of Churches, said. The state government already sanctioned Rs 2 crore and at least 1000 pilgrims will be benefited. Advisor to the Government and former South Central Railway, GM Mr T. Stanley Babu, is also part of the team finalising the guidelines. An official of Minorities Welfare Department said "The pilgrim shall produced SSC certificate which shows that he is a Christian. Even the MRO certificate stating that the person is a bonafide Christian will also be valid. The applicants should possess a valid passport with a minimum validity period of two years at the time of applying." A screening committee with five members including officials from Minority Welfare Department, AP State Minorities Commission, AP Minorities Finance Corporation and representative from the church bodies. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1213237981 Thiruvananthapuram, June 9: A high-profile evangelist is under pressure to explain an “unaccounted” amount of Rs 900 crore his trust received from the US as Kerala’s crackdown on “commercial spiritualism” gathers pace. Bishop K.P. Yohannan has been under the watch of regulators and police since the hunt for “fake godmen” began in the first week of May for having received the funds from the Texas-based Gospel for Asia in the past 12 years. Failure to explain could make him the subject of a probe. The police claim that a trust closely held by Yohannan and his relatives had received Rs 1,044 crore for charity and church activities from Texas body since 1995 but spent only Rs 144 crore on such purposes. Director-general of police (intelligence) Jacob Punnose has told home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan about the “unaccounted cash” and recommended an inquiry to verify how the trust had used the Rs 900 crore. Chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan is aware of the matter. The assets of Believers’ Church, Yohannan’s trust, were estimated at Rs 572 crore and Gospel for Asia’s at Rs 472 crore. The nature of the probe is yet to be decided since there are several departments and agencies concerned with the activities of Believers’ Church and Gospel for Asia. Since the amount flowed in from a single source, the Gospel for Asia, the Reserve Bank will have to probe if any part of it had been spent on activities outside the country and whether it was done with permission. Another matter to be examined is how Yohannan’s trust has retained 2,500 acres when the law allows only 2,000 acres and whether it had secured special permission. The bishop was not available for comment. Yohannan is not the only one facing the heat in the drive “commercial spiritualism”. Other Christian prayer-healing organisations like Swargeeya Virunnu (Heavenly Feast), run by Brother Thanku (Sam Kuruvila) and Brother Thomas Kutty are also under the scanner. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1213237874 Buxar: Residents of Parmanpur village in Bihar’s Buxar district have alleged that Christian missionaries lure them to convert and threaten them with violence if they don’t obey. Anjoriya Devi’s husband died death eight years ago and she alleges he was beaten to death by goons hired by missionaries. "They beat up my husband when he refused to convert to Christianity. They have threatened me too," alleges Anjoriya. MISSION SCARE: Anjoriya Devi alleges missionaries are harassing her. Mithilesh Kumar, another resident of the village, alleges the missionaries tried to lure him by offering him a job. “They said if I remain a Hindu, I will remain unemployed and poor. They said I would have money and a job if I converted to Christianity,” he alleges. Police in the village say they have arrested two persons after investigating complaints. “Investigations confirm there have been instances of conversion by intimidation. We have arrested two persons,” said Koran Sahay, officer in charge of the local Kuran Sarai police station. Missionaries in the village reject the allegations and claim they are being framed. “We have done no such thing. We are victims of a conspiracy,” said Shyamshun Dayal Ishai, a missionary accused of intimidation. The villagers allegation could snowball into major controversy, as it will give excuse Hindu outfits to renew their demand for an anti-conversion Bill. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1212453900 The Church of England was accused by one of its most senior bishops yesterday of failing in its duty to convert British Muslims to Christianity. The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, said Church leaders had rightly shown sensitivity towards Muslims as part of efforts to welcome minority faiths. But he said: ‘I think it may have gone too far and what we need now is to recover our nerve.’ Dr Nazir-Ali, who faced death threats earlier this year after saying that some parts of the country had become ‘no-go areas’ for non-Muslims, said that it was important for faiths to talk to one another without diluting their core beliefs. ‘Our nation is rooted in the Christian faith, and that is the basis for welcoming people of other faiths,’ he said. ‘You cannot have an honest conversation on the basis of fudge.’ The Pakistani-born bishop, who in 2002 was tipped to become Archbishop of Canterbury before Dr Rowan Williams took over from Dr George Carey, was echoing concerns that many Church leaders are abandoning attempts to spread Christianity among Muslims out of fear of a backlash. Members of the Church’s ‘parliament’ have now forced the highly sensitive issue on to the agenda of this summer’s General Synod – despite the efforts of liberal bishops to warn them off. A private members’ motion calling on the bishops to clarify their strategy has gathered so many signatures of support from Synod members that it has leapt over others in the queue for the July meeting in York. Synod member Paul Eddy, who tabled the motion, said that the active recruitment of non-believers and adherents of other faiths had always been a Biblical injunction on Christians, commanded by Christ himself. But he claimed that many bishops were downplaying the missionary role of the Church and official documents often glossed over the requirement to convert Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs or followers of other religions. He warned that the central role of Christianity in Britain was being eroded, and by ‘allowing the rise of another religion in our country, all that Britain stands for is up for grabs’. The row follows new projections from the independent Christian Research organisation that suggest numbers attending mosque on Fridays will overtake those going to church on Sundays by 2050. And Dr Peter Brierley, a former Government statistician and expert on Church figures, has estimated that at least 50,000 Britons had converted from Christianity to Islam over the past decade, while the number of Muslims becoming Christians was negligible. Senior Churchmen are jittery about discussing the issue publicly, especially so soon after Dr Williams provoked outrage by supporting the introduction of elements of Sharia into British law. Mr Eddy said that he had received angry emails and telephone calls from opponents, including four bishops, leaning on him to drop his campaign. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1212453817 ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria hit back on Saturday at foreign accusations minority Christians are harassed, saying Protestant evangelicals were secretly trying to divide Algerians to colonise the mainly Muslim north African country. Abu Amrane Chikh, head of the government-appointed Higher Islamic Council, said uproar in the West over a recent prosecution of an Algerian woman on a charge of practising Christianity was being fomented for the benefit of foreigners. "There are some church evangelists and reformist journalists who want to sow discord among brothers, and their long-term political goal is to create a Christian minority coupled with some foreign institutions," he said in an interview with the website of the El Khabar daily newspaper. "This is a new form of colonization that is hidden behind freedom of worship," said Chikh, whose body regulates religious practice in the former French colony. "The evangelist movement is characterized by a secret activity that violates the Koran and the Sunna in one way or another," he said, referring to Islam's holy book and Islamic practice based on words and deeds of the Prophet. CHURCH CLOSURES Christian groups overseas accused the overwhelmingly Muslim Mediterranean country of religious repression after a Muslim woman in her mid-30s appeared in court this month accused of "practising a non-Muslim religion without authorisation". Critics, including some of Algeria's liberal French-language dailies, said the woman, Habiba Kouider, was breaking no law simply by practising her religion and added that the constitution guaranteed individual religious freedom. The state prosecutor demanded she be jailed for three years. The case, which continues, follows state-ordered closures of several churches under a law passed in 2006 that limits non-Muslim worship to specific buildings approved by the state. Algeria is almost totally Muslim. According to officials, less than 10,000 Christians, including expatriates, live in the country of 33 million. Most of its Christian colonial settler population fled shortly after independence from France in 1962. Secular liberals suspect tightening curbs on Christian activity is a headline-grabbing tactic to pander to Islamists and divert attention from a worsening economic situation. But Chikh said in the case of Kouider Algeria was concerned to ensure respect for a provision in the 2006 law that forbids non-Muslims from seeking to convert Muslims. "This law requires that Christians and Muslims are to exercise their religious rites in full transparency in a place reserved for that purpose and belonging to an accredited religious institution," Chikh added. "There is no movement opposed to Christians as alleged by some tendentious minds. It is only about respecting Islam in a Muslim country, just as one must respect the Christian religion in a Christian State." text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1212453751 Online Journal Contributing Writer Jun 2, 2008, 00:17 Some U.S. military personnel appears to have launched an initiative to covert thousands of Iraqi citizens to Christianity by distributing Bibles and other fundamentalist Christian literature translated into Arabic to Muslims. A recent article published on the website of Mission Network News reported that Bible Pathway Ministries, a fundamentalist Christian organization, has provided thousands of a special military edition of its Daily Devotional Bible study book to members of the 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, currently stationed in Iraq, the project "came into being when a chaplain in Iraq (who has since finished his tour) requested some books from Bible Pathway Ministries (BPM).” “The resulting product is a 6"x9" 496-page illustrated book with embossed cover containing 366 daily devotional commentaries, maps, charts, and additional helpful information," the Mission Network News report says. Chief Warrant Officer Rene Llanos of the 101st Airborne told Mission Network News, “the soldiers who are patrolling and walking the streets are taking along this copy, and they're using it to minister to the local residents.” "Our division is also getting ready to head toward Afghanistan, so there will be copies heading out with the soldiers," Llanos said. “We need to pray for protection for our soldiers as they patrol and pray that God would continue to open doors. The soldiers are being placed in strategic places with a purpose. They're continuing to spread the Word.” Karen Hawkins, a BPM official, said military chaplains "were trying to encourage [soldiers] to be in the Word everyday because they're in a very dangerous situation, and they need that protection." That would appear to violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibiting government officials, including military personnel, from using the machinery of the state to promote any form of religion. The book’s cover includes the logos of the five branches of the armed forces giving the impression that it’s a publication sanctioned by the Pentagon. The distribution of the Bibles and Christian literature comes on the heels of a report published Wednesday by McClatchy Newspapers stating that U.S. Marines guarding the entrance to the city of Fallujah have been handing out “witnessing coins” to Sunni Muslims entering the city that read in Arabic on one side: "Where will you spend eternity?” and on the other side: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16." A Pentagon spokesman said he was unaware of the issue involving the distribution of coins and Bibles and declined to comment. The issue comes at a particularly sensitive time for Sunnis who recently clashed with U.S. military in an area west of Baghdad a week after an American soldier was found to have used a Koran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice. Following a daylong protest by Iraqis that threatened to turn violent, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond issued a public apology to Sunnis in the area. "I come before you here seeking your forgiveness," Hammond said. "In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers." The soldier who shot up the Koran was disciplined and removed from duty in Iraq. Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the watchdog agency, The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), said the religious intolerance among U.S. military personnel calls for a federal investigation. "The shocking actions revealed just last week of American soldiers in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan callously using the Koran for automatic weapons 'target practice' is absolutely connected to the same issues of national security breach wrought by our United States armed forces proselytizing the local populations via the distribution to them of fundamentalist Christian coins, bibles, tracts, comics and related religious materials written in Arabic," Weistein said. "The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been acutely aware of such astonishing unconstitutional and illicit proselytizing in Iraq and Afghanistan for over three years now and knows how massively pervasive it really is. These proselytizing transgressions are all blatant violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and MRFF is now demanding that any and all responsible military personnel be immediately prosecuted under Failure to Obey an Order or Regulation," Weinstein added. Members of the U.S. military first started actively proselytizing Iraqi Muslims soon after the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003. In a newsletter published in 2004 by the fundamentalist group International Ministerial Fellowship (IMF), Capt. Steve Mickel, an Army chaplain, claimed that Iraqis were eager to be converted to Christianity and that he personally tried to convert dozens of Iraqis, which is also an apparent constitutional violation. "I am able to give them tracts on how to be saved, printed in Arabic," Mickel said, according to a copy of the IMF newsletter. "I wish I had enough Arabic Bibles to give them as well. The issue of mailing Arabic Bibles into Iraq from the U.S. is difficult (given the current postal regulations prohibiting all religious materials contrary to Islam except for personal use of the soldiers). But the hunger for the Word of God in Iraq is very great, as I have witnessed firsthand." Mickel evangelized Iraqis while delivering leftover food to local residents from his unit's mess hall. He handed out Bibles translated into Arabic in the village of Ad Dawr, a predominantly Sunni territory where Saddam Hussein was captured. "Such fundamentalist Christian proselytizing DIRECTLY violates General Order 1A, Part 2, Section J issued by General Tommy Franks on behalf of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) back in December of 2000, which strictly prohibits 'proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice,'" said Weinstein, a former Reagan administration White House counsel and former Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG). In addition to coins and Bibles, there have been reports of the distribution to Iraqi children of Christian comic books published by companies such as Chick Publications. These inflammatory comic books, published in English and Arabic, not only depict Mohammed, but show both Mohammed and Muslims burning in hell because they did not accept Jesus as their savior before they died Chick Publications states on its website that its literature "is desperately needed by Muslims, but getting it to them without endangering our soldiers or enflaming the Muslim leadership will not be easy." Postal regulations prohibit sending bulk religious materials contrary to Islam into Iraq, but allow religious materials to be sent to an individual soldier for their personal use. Sending more of these materials than would be necessary for an individual's personal use, but not a large enough quantity to risk being flagged by the postal service, is one way that these materials are making their way into Iraq. Chick Publications advises those wanting to send their literature to military personnel to first find out "just what tracts would be most useful and how many they can effectively use," and "to find out whether the tracts can be drop shipped from Chick Publications or if they should be sent as personal mail from the soldiers' families." A spokesman for Chick refused to comment for this story about the comics handed out to Iraqis. Meanwhile, members of the 101st Airborne stationed in Iraq will continue their work evangelizing Iraqis unless it is told otherwise. Llanos, the division's chief warrant officer, said about 2,000 copies of the military edition of the Bible provided to the 101st Airborne will soon be distributed to Iraqis. However, according to reports on the Bible Pathway Ministries website, up to 30,000 of the Christian books have been distributed to military personnel, some of which will presumably end up in the hands of Iraqis. Jason Leopold is the author of "News Junkie," a memoir. Visit www.newsjunkiebook.com for a preview. His new website is The Public Record.