NYTimes Article - Russia Moves to Ban Jehovah's Witnesses as 'Extremist'

by AndersonsInfo 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  AndersonsInfo

  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/world/europe/russia-moves-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-as-extremist.html?_r=0
  

  VOROKHOBINO, Russia — A dedicated pacifist who has never even held a gun, Andrei Sivak discovered that his government considered him a dangerous extremist when he tried to change some money and the teller “suddenly looked up at me with a face full of fear.”
  

  His name had popped up on the exchangalee bureau’s computer system, along with those of members of Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and other militant groups responsible for shocking acts of violence.
  

  The only group the 43-year-old father of three has ever belonged to, however, is Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian denomination committed to the belief that the Bible must be taken literally, particularly its injunction “Thou shalt not kill.”
  

  Yet, in a throwback to the days of the Soviet Union, when Jehovah’s Witnesses were hounded as spies and malcontents by the K.G.B., the denomination is at the center of an escalating campaign by the authorities to curtail religious groups that compete with the Russian Orthodox Church and that challenge President Vladimir V. Putin’s efforts to rally the country behind traditional and often militaristic patriotic values.

  READ MORE: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/world/europe/russia-moves-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-as-extremist.html?_r=0

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  darkspilver

  Thank you for posting a link to this in depth article from the New York Times

  Thought this was interesting:
  

  In the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the putative extremism seems to derive mostly from the group’s absolute opposition to violence, a stand that infuriated Soviet and now Russian authorities whose legitimacy rests in large part on the celebration of martial triumphs, most notably over Nazi Germany in World War II but also over rebels in Syria.

  Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of a denomination founded in the United States in the 19th century and active in Russia for more than 100 years, refuse military service, do not vote and view God as the only true leader. They shun the patriotic festivals promoted with gusto by the Kremlin, like the annual celebration of victory in 1945 and recent events to celebrate the annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
  
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  Village Idiot

  ...the group’s absolute opposition to violence, a stand that infuriated Soviet and now Russian authorities whose legitimacy rests in large part on the celebration of martial triumphs, most notably over Nazi Germany in World War II but also over rebels in Syria.
  

  Obviously, the writer did not know the stand that JWs take. No stand at all, absolutely neutral in political matters. Some confuse that for pacifism. I remember hearing from a brother that they were not pacifists because they were preaching about the greatest war on earth.
  
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  sir82

  That's a pretty well-balanced article.

  Funny - no mention of the "earth shattering" campaign of JWs to write letters to Putin & his ministers. To listen to the num-nuts on JWtalk, you'd think it would be headline news across all majot media sources.

  Go figure - must be Satan blinding the minds again.
  
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  ShirleyW

  Just saw it and was going to post about it myself, front page article too, but on the right side, where they have top breaking stories listed by time
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  jwleaks

  Interesting reporting from New York Times. Did Andrei Sivak's name really pop up on the exchange bureau’s computer system, along with those of members of Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and other militant groups responsible for shocking acts of violence?

  I hardly believe so. Russia has a wanted list of 260 terrorists, in addition to a secondary list of about 50 extremist organizations and over 1500 extremist individuals (which includes people accused or suspected of money laundering).

  It is more likely Sivak's name was singularly flagged.

  This part of the story by New York Times is a beat up. If a person in the USA is pulled over in their vehicle by the police they will do a license check. If you have an unpaid fine or even a misdemeanor then your name could come up and you could be arrested. It could even be for not paying child support. Would it be fair to say your name "popped up" on a computer system "along with those of members of Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and other militant groups responsible for shocking acts of violence"? Hardly.
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  lusitano o tuga

  Jw peoples allow not your members use guns!
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  OUTLAW

  A dedicated pacifist who has never even held a gun, Andrei Sivak discovered that his government considered him a dangerous extremist

  Reality Check:

  A dedicated pacifist who has never even held a gun (But supports a WatchTower Globel Genocide), Andrei Sivak discovered that his government considered him a dangerous extremist.

  
  
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  zeb

  and of course the gb will see the Russian jw repatriated to the US as immigrants for their safety wont they..
  
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  lusitano o tuga

  maybe the next governing body member from Russia ????