International Religious Freedom News

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1. Religious Books Banned at Algeria’s Book Fair (Oct. 23)

El-Shorouq El-Yawmi reports that around 1,000 books were banned from being displayed at Algeria’s annual book fair. Of these, about 90% had a religious theme. The fair’s guidelines set down a number of restrictions on the types of books which may be displayed; among those prohibited are books which encourage terrorism or racism, those which are deemed to harm public morals, and those which offend Allah or the prophets.

2. Uganda: Religious Congregations to Register as NGOs (Oct. 24)
3. Bosnia-Herzegovina Establishes Framework for Catholic Activity (Oct. 25)
4. Non-Buddhist Burmese Face Difficulties in Obtaining Identity Cards (Oct. 27)
5. Across Russia, Churches and Mosques Threatened with Closures (Oct. 30)

Forum 18 reports that state-ordered demolitions of places of worship continue, regardless of denomination. In Astrakhan, in the south, a Muslim community has been told that its newly-constructed mosque did not receive proper authorization and may be destroyed, while the Jesus Christ Pentecostal Church has been told that the building that houses its congregation may be destroyed to make way for a theater. In Kaluga, the Word of Life Pentecostal Church continues to fight government efforts to confiscate its property, while in Khakassia, Siberia, another Pentecostal church was demolished on October 22.

Features: Asma Jahangir, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, spoke about the dangers of using religion to justify criminal acts, and about the related dangers of overly broad legislation to prevent such activities. From the UN News Service.

International Religious Freedom Archive from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

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