Although it has been leading up to this for a long time, it appears Russia has made up their mind to get rid of "extremist" groups by banning them, and JWs are pretty much at the top of the list. The last few years under Putin they have been giving them heaps of trouble.
I am not for bans as it usually backfires, but under the "new" admnistration it looks like hard-core responses are in order. I know the Russian Orthodox Church is also supporting this, of course. The dumb thing is that it justs make the JWs look more attrractive to the disenchanted.
Randy
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1366
This article was published by F18News on: 23 October 2009 |
RUSSIA: Jehovah's Witnesses to be banned? |
By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org> |
Following more than 500 check-ups on Jehovah's Witness communities across Russia, prosecutors in several regions are going to court to have various of their publications declared extremist. This would see their distribution banned in Russia and cripple the organisation, Forum 18 News Service notes. Jehovah's Witnesses believe state agencies want a total ban. Rostov-on-Don Regional Court ruled 34 texts extremist on 11 September, the first court to do so. The court ruling, seen by Forum 18, claims that the sentence "true Christians do not celebrate Christmas or other festivals based on false religious ideas" represents incitement to religious hatred, while another publication which quoted Tolstoy – described as "an opponent of Orthodoxy" - created "a negative attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church". The court also declared a local congregation extremist and ordered it liquidated. The Jehovah's Witnesses have appealed to Russia's Supreme Court. Customs continue to seize their books. The public prosecutor who raided a meeting in St Petersburg alleging "extremist activity" was going on refused to talk to Forum 18: "You could be some kind of spy." [omitted] intererestingly, they even mention specific literature! "The texts considered extremist by the Rostov court are all published in the United States and Germany. They include the books "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" and "My Book of Bible Stories" as well as issues of the tracts "Watchtower" and "Awake!". The court's 56-page ruling, seen by Forum 18, gives three categories of alleged extremism located by expert analysts in the texts: 1) "incitement of religious hatred (undermining respect and hostility towards other religions)"; 2) "refusing blood" and 3) "refusing civil responsibilities". Thus, from the book "Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life", "true Christians do not celebrate Christmas or other festivals based on false religious ideas" appears in the first category; "out of respect for the sacred nature of life God-fearing people refuse blood transfusions" in the second; and "true Christians avoid false forms of idolatry, such as revering flags and performing anthems" in the third. |