The world's attention is focused on Copenhagen. I don't think this tops what is going on there by any means, especially to the general public.
Why no coverage of the Russian ban in the media?
by highdose 42 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Lekore
It's actually quite sad that the JWs have been banned, we all know that they 'prophesy' that their religion will be banned at Armageddon. Surely this would create more strength in their beliefs and therefore produce counter-productive legislation. Not to mention that as we all know, they are a minority and an un-popular one at that! Who would we be to deny them the freedom of belief and lifestyle, regardless of what we think of it. Plenty of minorities have tried to be silenced in the past and think about how we feel about them now?
The newspapers may not cover the story just because it doesn't quite qualify for 'moral panic,' nor hold the interest in many readers since they wouldn't understand who they were anyway.
You must all stop calling them a 'cult' though, the Jehovah's Witnesses are a sect, there is a big difference in the study of theology and sociology. The word cult has just been thrown around by the media to stirr up emotive responses. Don't always believe what you read, surely we'd all be aware of that now ;)
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Fatfreek
The Associated Press is mainstream. Russian court rules against Jehovah's Witnesses
(AP) – 2 days ago
MOSCOW — Russia's highest court on Tuesday upheld a ruling halting the activities of a regional branch of Jehovah's Witnesses and banning dozens of its publications in what the group deplored as an unfair move.
Russian Supreme Court spokesman Pavel Odintsov said it rejected the group's appeal of September's ruling by a regional court in Rostov-on-Don. That ruling outlawed the group's activities in the region, seized its assets there and labeled 34 of its publications as extremist.
The group said the list of books includes a children's book of Bible stories, and its signature magazine, The Watchtower.
"We are deeply disappointed with that decision," Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Yaroslav Sivulskiy told The Associated Press. "We are concerned that it may affect all our activities, including imports of our publications which are printed in Germany."
Sivulskiy said that the Supreme Court specifically ruled that the 34 publications should be added to the federal list of publications considered extremist. He said that would effectively ban the publications throughout Russia.
"We consider it to be a rollback to the past," Sivulskiy said in a reference to the Soviet past when many members of Jehovah's Witnesses, including his father, were put in prisons. "The Supreme Court makes it illegal for us to profess our views."
He said that the group will appeal the Supreme Court's verdict to the European Court for Human Rights, arguing that the Russian courts misinterpreted the law. The law on combating extremism that served as a basis for the verdict has been widely criticized by many rights groups, which said its loose phrasing allowed authorities to stifle dissent.
A 2004 ruling by the Moscow City Court prohibited Jehovah's Witnesses branch in the Russian capital from engaging in religious activity in the Russian capital.
Sivulskiy said there are at least 160,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Open mind
Lekore:
You must all stop calling them a 'cult' though,
Now that's persuasive.
om
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Gordy
As has been said there are bigger news stories to cover, recession, war, Tiger Woods.
But why doesn't the Watchtower make a bigger things about this?
Why aren't they putting the news about this ban about, sending to all major news agencies etc.If it was a Catholic church, or Evangelical group you could be certain they would make it know.
But the WT always seems to strangely quiet about such things.
But they will use it in their own publications to its rank and file as evidence that they are the true religion,
because of this "persecution" in Russia. -
truthseeker
Official website
http://www.jw-media.org/rus/20091208.htm
For Immediate Release
December 8, 2009
(Russian)Russian Supreme Court rules against Jehovah’s Witnesses and religious freedom
MOSCOW—On December 8, 2009, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation considered the appeal of a local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and upheld the earlier lower court ruling to pronounce 34 pieces of educational religious literature “extremist.” The Supreme Court dismissed the congregation’s appeal. This congregation now faces “liquidation.”
Arli Chimirov, the lawyer representing the interests of Jehovah’s Witnesses, decried the ruling: “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a ruling against the freedom to manifest religious beliefs, and it affirms a misapplication of the Federal Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who distribute these publications internationally. Jehovah’s Witnesses will appeal this matter to the European Court of Human Rights in order to protect freedom of religion in Russia, including the right to worship using religious literature of one’s choice and to peacefully share one’s beliefs with others. Meanwhile, I fear there will be many more acts of religious intolerance and hatred taken against Jehovah’s Witnesses because of the Court’s ruling.”
Members of the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov Region) at the center of the case, as well as worshippers throughout Russia and abroad, are also deeply concerned that this high court ruling will unleash a greater wave of religious intolerance, even worse than the attitudes and actions already fueled by the regional court decision. There are seven other cases pending against congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the same “extremist” charge put upon the Taganrog congregation.
The Chairman of the Presiding Committee of the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Vasily Kalin, said: “I am very concerned that this decision will open a new era of opposition against Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose right to meet in peace, to access religious literature and to share the Christian hope contained in the Gospels, is more and more limited.” Mr. Kalin can speak from personal experience. “When I was young I was sent to Siberia for being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and because my parents were reading The Watchtower , the same journal being unjustly declared ‘extremist’ in these proceedings.”
The Watchtower has been in print for 130 years; it is available in 170 languages and each month some 37 million copies are distributed worldwide. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been practicing their faith in Russia for over 100 years.
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truthseeker
The irony that the "end is near"
"The Watchtower has been in print for 130 years"
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truthseeker
More news...
http://www.jw-media.org/rus/20091021.htm
For Immediate Release
October 21, 2009
(Russian)Literature shipments detained in Russia—random incidents or new trend?
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—A shipment of religious literature intended for the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia was detained at Russia’s border with Finland in Vyborg, Leningrad region. The normally seamless import procedure was stalled when the customs official referred to a new order he had received stipulating that this load must be handled by a special department.
The literature detention began October 5, 2009. After a three-day wait, special service agents arrived and, without introduction, supervised a highly unusual detailed inspection of each item in every box making up the 31-pallet shipment of literature. The agents—representatives Goncharenko, Nikolayev, and Grudakov—obtained entry to the customs premises using employee identification from the Department for Handling Especially Dangerous Forms of Contraband of the Northwest Customs Operative Division. There was no information provided as to what the agents were looking for, how long this process would take, or when the shipment would be released. Finally, on October 19 a vaguely written explanation came to Jehovah’s Witnesses from Customs stating: “The literature may contain material intended to incite religious discord.” In order for the literature to be released, officials demand “documents confirming that there are no restrictions on importation of the declared goods into customs territory.”
A few days earlier, a freight vehicle belonging to the German transportation company Globalsped was detained at the Russian border near Bryansk on its way through Russia to Kyrgyzstan. Along with other goods intended for various unrelated recipients, the vehicle was carrying religious literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Kyrgyz language. After being held by Russian Customs for a total of 14 days with no explanation given for the detainment, the shipment was finally released on Tuesday, October 13. The driver said that he was told that the literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses is under ban in Russia.
Such unprecedented actions seem to be in response to the Rostov District Court ruling that pronounced certain publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses “extremist.” However, because the Rostov District Court decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and is not yet in effect, the detention of the literature was unfounded and unlawful.
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mkr32208
Nah they are falling everywhere, this little bit of 'persecution' won't be enough to fan the flames. Back in the 80's strong growth a sense of purpose extreme persecution these things were great the society was gonna grow to a major religion. However they didn't use that impetus to grow adapt and become mainstream and now the steam has escaped the boiler fires have gone out and the moment is passed... Every religion that wants to become a major religion on the world stage has that moment and the JW's missed theirs. So they will dwindle and fall, I honestly don't see them making another 20 years as a cohesive worldwide organization....
2014 is also going to be a big blow...
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leavingwt
2014 is also going to be a big blow...
100 Years Afer 1914 -- Certainly, Brothers, The End is Near!*
*When we say "near", it's give or take a few thousand years, or when the sun eventually explodes.