Iran on Top of 2009 Global Restriction on Religion Report
Iran is on the top of the 2009 Global Restriction on Religion Report.
Iran is a closed country and people lack the freedom of religion. The brutality and persecution that the Iranian people endure is unprecedented when compared to other countries. Check out the reports below on Iran and other closed countries.
The study examines restrictions on religion which originate from both government policies and social hostilities undertaken by private individuals, organizations and social groups.
Topping the government restrictions index were Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Egypt, Burma, Maldives, Eritrea, Malaysia and Brunei.
At the top of the social hostilities index were Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Somalia, Israel, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life report found that a minority of countries have high restrictions on religion, but these countries contain most of the world’s population.
Of the world’s 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India have the most restrictions, while Brazil, Japan, the United States, Italy, South Africa and Britain have some of the lowest levels.
The report found that the percentage of the world’s countries with high or very high government restrictions is at about 20 percent, which amounts to 57 percent of the world’s population. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and former communist countries, such as Russia, Belarus and Bulgaria, where state atheism has been replaced by favored religions that are accorded special protections or privileges.
Among the world’s 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India stand out as having the most restrictions when both measures are taken into account, while Brazil, Japan, the United States, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom have the least.
Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
The Government Restrictions Index is based on 20 questions used by the Pew Forum to assess whether governments – including at the local or provincial level – restrict religious practices or beliefs.
3 GRI sample questions (see PDF file link at the end of this article for all questions)
A- Does any level of government ask religious groups to register for any reason, including to be eligible for benefits such as tax exemption?
B- Does any level of government formally ban any religious groups?
C- Is religious education required in public schools?
On average, restrictions are highest in the Middle East-North Africa, where the median score for the 20 countries (4.9) is considerably higher than for the 35 countries in the Americas (1.0), the region with the lowest median score.
Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
Restrictions on religion can result not only from the actions of governments but also from acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations or social groups.
The Social Hostilities Index is based on 13 questions used by the Pew Forum to gauge hostilities both between and within religious groups, including mob or sectarian violence, crimes motivated by religious bias, physical conflict over conversions, harassment over attire for religious reasons, and other religion-related intimidation and violence, including terrorism and war. At the top of the social hostilities index were Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Somalia, Israel, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
3 SHI sample questions (see PDF file link at the end of this article for all questions)
A- Did violence result from tensions between religious groups?
B- Were there acts of sectarian or communal violence between religious groups?
C- Were there incidents of hostility over conversions from one religion to another?
Israel stands out on the list of countries with high scores on the social hostilities index as most of the other countries are either failed states, highly authoritarian or have recently undergone civil wars. Israel’s score is driven up by security policies that sometimes have the effect of limiting access to religious sites, and by its preferential treatment of Orthodox Jews. The government recognizes only Orthodox Jewish religious authorities in some personal status matters (such as marriage) concerning Jews and devotes the bulk of state funds provided for religion to Orthodox Jews, even though they make up only a small portion of all Jews in Israel.
Comparing Government Restrictions and Social Hostilities
Religious Restrictions in the 50 Most Populous Countries
Help The People of Iran Gain Religious Freedom By Partnering With touchIRAN!
Maryam & Marzieh: Jailed Iranians Stand Remain Faithful To Their Beliefs
There’s a bookmark in my Bible that shows the winsome faces of two attractive 20-something dark-haired, brown-eyed Iranians with a kind of alluring beauty that makes Persian women some of the loveliest women on earth.
What natural beauty Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, had at the beginning of the year has certainly disappeared after a six-month stint in one of the world’s worst jails. Marzieh especially suffers from back problems, an infected tooth and blinding headaches.
Members of Iran’s tiny and much-persecuted Christian minority, they were arrested March 5 for “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings” and left to rot in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Their families have tried to bail them out, to no avail.
On Aug. 9, the two gaunt women were brought before a revolutionary court and told to recant, according to a transcript provided by the Britain-based Elam Ministries.
“You were Muslims and now you have become Christians?” the prosecutor asked them.
“We were born in Muslim families, but we were not Muslims,” was the women’s reply.
When he asked them whether they regretted becoming Christians, “We have no regrets,” the women replied. When he told them to renounce their beliefs, “We will not deny our faith,” they said.
At one point, they got into a theological debate while trying to explain how the Holy Spirit speaks to them.
“It is impossible for God to speak with humans,” the prosecutor said.
“Are you questioning whether God is almighty?” Marzieh asked.
“You are not worthy for God to speak to you,” the prosecutor said.
“It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy,” Marzieh replied.
When they were told to return to prison and think over their options, “We have already done our thinking,” the women said.
These women aren’t the only religious minority to suffer the wrath of Iran’s mullahs. Seven long-suffering Baha’is have been in Evin prison since spring 2008 on charges of “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” Their trial has been set for Oct. 18. No official charges have been filed nor have the Baha’is been given access to their lawyer, much less freed on bail.
What alarms Baha’is worldwide is that 25 years ago, members of Iran’s national-level Baha’i leadership were rounded up in a similar manner, and executed. Since 1978, 219 Baha’is have died or are missing.
The local Baha’i community, which represents 3,000 people in the Washington area, is having an event to raise awareness at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University. Speakers include actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, who appears in “The Stoning of Soraya M.”; Azar Nafisi, author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran”; and Dwight Bashir, senior analyst at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Hopefully the Evin prison will, like the Bastille, be torn down some day. Or like Cape Town’s infamous Robben Island – which imprisoned Nelson Mandela for 25 years – Evin will become a World Heritage Site, a place where tourists will go to remember the horrors that once happened there.
Help Political Prisoners like Maryam and Marzieh By Making a Donation Today That Will Go Towards Their Release. touchIRAN Supports Iranians Who Are Being Held in Prison in Violation of Basic Human Rights Like Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech.
Read the Original Article By Julia Duin Here.
• Julia Duin’s Stairway to Heaven column runs Sundays and Thursdays. Contact her at jduin@washingtontimes.com.
