Interview on the mission to promote Freedom of Religion and Belief
Category: Language
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“Embattled” – Conference speakers Jan Figel and Andreas Thonhauser
Conference “Embattled: Christians Under Pressure in Europe and Beyond”; Session I with presentations by Andreas Thonhauser (ADF International) and Jan Figel (European Commission, Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom and religion and belief outside the EU) A conference with the goals of informing lawmakers, professionals, clergy, and media from Austria and neighboring countries about the challenges and pressures faced by Christians in Europe and around the world, as well as proposing legal, political, and cultural solutions.
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What US President-elect D. Trump can do for Syria and Aleppo
(CNN) The US President-elect walks onto the world stage facing a question: Will this century of genocides end or continue?
Donald Trump comes to power amid what has been called „the complete meltdown of humanity“ in Syria, with US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power demanding of UN member states Syria, Iran, and Russia: „Are you truly incapable of shame?“
Power’s speech at a UN Security Council Emergency Briefing on Syria also invoked history’s scenes of horror: „Aleppo will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and now, Aleppo.“
Her words, while an accurate indictment of the current situation in Syria, are also a prescient reminder that generations of American leaders have been confronted with the savagery of genocide and have failed to take appropriate action.
If the scenes emerging from Aleppo show us anything, it is that the Trump administration must now grapple with this legacy and simply put, do better. The United States, through its executive branch, must call upon the United Nations to take action.
The people of the world, especially those in the darkest of places, are looking to America, the European Union, and the international community of democracies with their hopes, and their very lives, at stake. We should not abandon our basic duties, and these people, yet again.
Trump is coming to power at a dark time in the world. Last March, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the ethnic cleansing of Christian, Yazidi, and Shia Muslim communities by ISIS forces amounts to nothing less than genocide. That same week, Congress voted unanimously in favor of classifying the atrocities as genocidal.
And yet even after acknowledging that entire communities are being systematically murdered en masse, no one has been able to stop the massacres.
This is not the first time a US president-elect has confronted such stakes. In 2008, a NY Times editorial urged then President-elect Obama to take practical steps to prevent new instances of genocide. Unfortunately, we failed then — and we are failing now.
The current systematic murdering, torture, enslavement, kidnapping, raping and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in territories dominated by the Islamic State constitutes the very same type of evil that we like to comfortably pretend is confined to only history books. Each time a power-crazed fanatic group is finally beaten down, we view the remains and repeat the promise of „Never Again“ articulated at the Nuremberg Tribunal of 1946.
And each time, we break that promise anew by waiting too long and not working hard enough at our commitment to prevent genocide or crimes against humanity.
Labeling is far from enough, but it is an important first step. Because once we recognize something as genocide, America and other leading nations are then obligated to act.
The US has ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article I of which establishes a duty for contracting states to „prevent and to punish“ genocide, and Article 8 of which states that such countries „may call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action“ as „appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide.“
If soon-to-be-President Trump wants, as he has previously stated, to prosecute criminals, then let him hold these genocidal war criminals responsible for their actions. If, as he claims, he wants to take a firm stand against Islamic terrorism, let him take action in a realm where every day matters, where every hour can mean the difference between life and death for innocent men, women, and children.
If his incoming administration is frustrated with the international community’s status quo, let them break out of the cycle of weak resolutions and empty statements and take seriously the US stake in the „responsibility to protect,“ a political commitment unanimously adopted by all members of the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit.
It says that, „If a State is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take collective action to protect populations, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.“
Fundamentally, this is not about politics; it is about making a commitment to save people’s lives. In 2016, the American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian-based organization that advocates for constitutional and human rights, published a 7-point plan to stop the ISIS genocide against Christians which can be applied in any instance in which the US recognizes that a genocide is taking place.
These practical steps for governmental intervention include calling upon the various UN organs to formally recognize the genocides taking place, to prosecute war criminals and to establish in-region safe zones for genocide victims, which would also eliminate the need for mass refugee relocation.
We urge President-elect Trump to seriously consider these and other practical suggestions.
After a bitter election season, the American people are understandably having a hard time trying to get past their domestic differences. But to paraphrase Saint-Exupéry, national unity will not come from always seeing eye to eye, but from looking outward together in the same direction.
Stopping genocide around the world could and should serve as a unifying call to action, and a request for every American, including both the President-elect and his opponents, to turn their powerful gazes outwards. Regardless of party affiliation, we must all look back at our failures over the last hundred years and look ahead with a unified vision for a more humane century.
Our collective political energy could best be spent saving lives, and the incoming leader of the free world must immediately commit to doing his part.
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What US President-elect D. Trump can do for Syria and Aleppo
The US President-elect walks onto the world stage facing a question: Will this century of genocides end or continue?
Donald Trump comes to power amid what has been called “the complete meltdown of humanity” in Syria, with US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power demanding of UN member states Syria, Iran, and Russia: “Are you truly incapable of shame?”
Power’s speech at a UN Security Council Emergency Briefing on Syria also invoked history’s scenes of horror: “Aleppo will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and now, Aleppo.”
Her words, while an accurate indictment of the current situation in Syria, are also a prescient reminder that generations of American leaders have been confronted with the savagery of genocide and have failed to take appropriate action.
If the scenes emerging from Aleppo show us anything, it is that the Trump administration must now grapple with this legacy and simply put, do better. The United States, through its executive branch, must call upon the United Nations to take action.
The people of the world, especially those in the darkest of places, are looking to America, the European Union, and the international community of democracies with their hopes, and their very lives, at stake. We should not abandon our basic duties, and these people, yet again.
Trump is coming to power at a dark time in the world. Last March, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the ethnic cleansing of Christian, Yazidi, and Shia Muslim communities by ISIS forces amounts to nothing less than genocide. That same week, Congress voted unanimously in favor of classifying the atrocities as genocidal.
And yet even after acknowledging that entire communities are being systematically murdered en masse, no one has been able to stop the massacres.
This is not the first time a US president-elect has confronted such stakes. In 2008, a NY Times editorial urged then President-elect Obama to take practical steps to prevent new instances of genocide. Unfortunately, we failed then — and we are failing now.
The current systematic murdering, torture, enslavement, kidnapping, raping and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in territories dominated by the Islamic State constitutes the very same type of evil that we like to comfortably pretend is confined to only history books. Each time a power-crazed fanatic group is finally beaten down, we view the remains and repeat the promise of “Never Again” articulated at the Nuremberg Tribunal of 1946.
And each time, we break that promise anew by waiting too long and not working hard enough at our commitment to prevent genocide or crimes against humanity.
Labeling is far from enough, but it is an important first step. Because once we recognize something as genocide, America and other leading nations are then obligated to act.
The US has ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article I of which establishes a duty for contracting states to “prevent and to punish” genocide, and Article 8 of which states that such countries “may call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action” as “appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide.”
If soon-to-be-President Trump wants, as he has previously stated, to prosecute criminals, then let him hold these genocidal war criminals responsible for their actions. If, as he claims, he wants to take a firm stand against Islamic terrorism, let him take action in a realm where every day matters, where every hour can mean the difference between life and death for innocent men, women, and children.
If his incoming administration is frustrated with the international community’s status quo, let them break out of the cycle of weak resolutions and empty statements and take seriously the US stake in the “responsibility to protect,” a political commitment unanimously adopted by all members of the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit.
It says that, “If a State is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take collective action to protect populations, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”
Fundamentally, this is not about politics; it is about making a commitment to save people’s lives. In 2016, the American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian-based organization that advocates for constitutional and human rights, published a 7-point plan to stop the ISIS genocide against Christians which can be applied in any instance in which the US recognizes that a genocide is taking place.
These practical steps for governmental intervention include calling upon the various UN organs to formally recognize the genocides taking place, to prosecute war criminals and to establish in-region safe zones for genocide victims, which would also eliminate the need for mass refugee relocation.
We urge President-elect Trump to seriously consider these and other practical suggestions.
After a bitter election season, the American people are understandably having a hard time trying to get past their domestic differences. But to paraphrase Saint-Exupéry, national unity will not come from always seeing eye to eye, but from looking outward together in the same direction.
Stopping genocide around the world could and should serve as a unifying call to action, and a request for every American, including both the President-elect and his opponents, to turn their powerful gazes outwards. Regardless of party affiliation, we must all look back at our failures over the last hundred years and look ahead with a unified vision for a more humane century.
Our collective political energy could best be spent saving lives, and the incoming leader of the free world must immediately commit to doing his part.
The original article can be found here: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/18/opinions/trumps-responsibility-in-aleppo-fige-goldfeder-opinion/index.html
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CNN: Trumpova vláda musí zodpovedne riešiť tragickú situáciu v Sýrii
Americká veľvyslankyňa pri OSN Samantha Powerová podľa nich tvrdí, že generácia amerických lídrov bola konfrontovaná s krutosťou genocíd v rámci ktorých sa im nepodarilo prijať príslušné účinné opatrenia. “Ak nám vynárajúce sa scény z Aleppa niečo ukazujú, tak je to to, že Trumpova administratíva sa teraz musí popasovať s týmto dedičstvom a jednoducho sa musí usilovať o zlepšenie situácie. Spojené štáty musia prostredníctvom svojej exekutívy vyzvať OSN na to, aby konala,” uvádzajú.
Podľa nich ľudia na celom svete vzhliadajú k USA, EÚ a demokratickému medzinárodnému spoločenstvu s nádejou, keďže v hre sú ich životy.
Súčasné systematické vraždenie, mučenie, zotročovanie, únosy, znásilňovanie a prenasledovanie náboženských a etnických menšín na územiach ovládaných Islamským štátom predstavujú podľa autorov ten istý druh zla, ktoré nachádzame aj v historických knihách. “Za každým, keď nanovo porušíme sľub “nikdy viac” deklarovaný Norimberským tribunálom v roku 1946, čakáme príliš dlho a nepodnikáme dostatok v našom záväzku, aby sme zabránili genocíde či zločinom proti ľudskosti. Označenie genocídy zďaleka nestačí, ale je to dôležitý prvý krok. Pretože ak raz rozoznáme genocídu, Amerika spolu s ďalšími vedúcimi mocnosťami sú povinné konať,” konštatovali.
Ak Trump, ktorý sa čoskoro stane ďalším americkým prezidentom, podľa nich chce, ako už skôr deklaroval, stíhať zločincov, potom ho nechajme, aby sa kriminálnici zodpovední za zločiny genocídy zodpovedali za svoje činy. Ak sa, ako tvrdí chce postaviť islamskému terorizmu, mali by sme ho podľa nich nechať, aby konal.
“Ak je jeho nadchádzajúca administratíva frustrovaná status quo medzinárodného spoločenstva, nechajme ho prelomiť bludný kruh slabých rezolúcií a prázdnych vyhlásení a berme vážne podiel USA na “zodpovednosti chrániť” politický záväzok jednomyseľne prijatý členmi Valného zhromaždenia OSN na svetovom summite v roku 2005,” tvrdia.
Záväzok hovorí o tom, že ak štát zlyhal v ochrane svojho obyvateľstva, medzinárodné spoločenstvo musí byť pripravené kolektívne konať, aby ho ochránilo v súlade s Chartou OSN.
V roku 2016 kresťanská organizácia Americké centrum pre právo a spravodlivosť, ktorá presadzuje ústavné a ľudské práva, zverejnila plán siedmich bodov na zastavenie genocídy Islamského štátu voči kresťanom, ktorý môže byť použitý v prípade, ak USA uzná, že ide o genocídu.
“Tieto praktické kroky zahŕňajú napríklad výzvu orgánom OSN, aby formálne uznali genocídy, ku ktorým dochádza, stíhali vojnových zločincov a vytvorili bezpečnostné zóny pre obete genocídy, čo by tiež mohlo prispieť k eliminovaniu masovej migrácie. Vyzývame novozvoleného amerického prezidenta Donalda Trumpa, aby seriózne zvážil tieto i ďalšie praktické návrhy,” uzavreli.
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What US President-elect D. Trump can do for Syria and Aleppo
(CNN) The US President-elect walks onto the world stage facing a question: Will this century of genocides end or continue?
Donald Trump comes to power amid what has been called “the complete meltdown of humanity” in Syria, with US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power demanding of UN member states Syria, Iran, and Russia: “Are you truly incapable of shame?”Power’s speech at a UN Security Council Emergency Briefing on Syria also invoked history’s scenes of horror: “Aleppo will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and now, Aleppo.”Her words, while an accurate indictment of the current situation in Syria, are also a prescient reminder that generations of American leaders have been confronted with the savagery of genocide and have failed to take appropriate action.If the scenes emerging from Aleppo show us anything, it is that the Trump administration must now grapple with this legacy and simply put, do better. The United States, through its executive branch, must call upon the United Nations to take action.The people of the world, especially those in the darkest of places, are looking to America, the European Union, and the international community of democracies with their hopes, and their very lives, at stake. We should not abandon our basic duties, and these people, yet again.Trump is coming to power at a dark time in the world. Last March, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the ethnic cleansing of Christian, Yazidi, and Shia Muslim communities by ISIS forces amounts to nothing less than genocide. That same week, Congress voted unanimously in favor of classifying the atrocities as genocidal.And yet even after acknowledging that entire communities are being systematically murdered en masse, no one has been able to stop the massacres.This is not the first time a US president-elect has confronted such stakes. In 2008, a NY Times editorial urged then President-elect Obama to take practical steps to prevent new instances of genocide. Unfortunately, we failed then — and we are failing now.The current systematic murdering, torture, enslavement, kidnapping, raping and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in territories dominated by the Islamic State constitutes the very same type of evil that we like to comfortably pretend is confined to only history books. Each time a power-crazed fanatic group is finally beaten down, we view the remains and repeat the promise of “Never Again” articulated at the Nuremberg Tribunal of 1946.And each time, we break that promise anew by waiting too long and not working hard enough at our commitment to prevent genocide or crimes against humanity.Labeling is far from enough, but it is an important first step. Because once we recognize something as genocide, America and other leading nations are then obligated to act.
The US has ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article I of which establishes a duty for contracting states to “prevent and to punish” genocide, and Article 8 of which states that such countries “may call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action” as “appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide.”If soon-to-be-President Trump wants, as he has previously stated, to prosecute criminals, then let him hold these genocidal war criminals responsible for their actions. If, as he claims, he wants to take a firm stand against Islamic terrorism, let him take action in a realm where every day matters, where every hour can mean the difference between life and death for innocent men, women, and children.If his incoming administration is frustrated with the international community’s status quo, let them break out of the cycle of weak resolutions and empty statements and take seriously the US stake in the “responsibility to protect,” a political commitment unanimously adopted by all members of the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit.It says that, “If a State is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take collective action to protect populations, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”Fundamentally, this is not about politics; it is about making a commitment to save people’s lives. In 2016, the American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian-based organization that advocates for constitutional and human rights, published a 7-point plan to stop the ISIS genocide against Christians which can be applied in any instance in which the US recognizes that a genocide is taking place.These practical steps for governmental intervention include calling upon the various UN organs to formally recognize the genocides taking place, to prosecute war criminals and to establish in-region safe zones for genocide victims, which would also eliminate the need for mass refugee relocation.We urge President-elect Trump to seriously consider these and other practical suggestions.After a bitter election season, the American people are understandably having a hard time trying to get past their domestic differences. But to paraphrase Saint-Exupéry, national unity will not come from always seeing eye to eye, but from looking outward together in the same direction.Stopping genocide around the world could and should serve as a unifying call to action, and a request for every American, including both the President-elect and his opponents, to turn their powerful gazes outwards. Regardless of party affiliation, we must all look back at our failures over the last hundred years and look ahead with a unified vision for a more humane century.Our collective political energy could best be spent saving lives, and the incoming leader of the free world must immediately commit to doing his part.The original article can be found here. -
Address by Ján Figeľ at The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2016 in the theme of “Promo
“Freedom of Religion, Interfaith Dialogue and Development Policy” A Keynote Address by The Hon.
Jan Figel (EU Special Envoy for Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU) The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2016 “Promoting Global Human Rights through Cultural Diplomacy” (Berlin, December 14th- 19th, 2016) The Center for Cultural Diplomacy Studies – Publications Institute for Cultural Diplomacy www.ccds-berlin.de www.culturaldiplomacy.org The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy
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Ján Figeľ’s speech at the Launching Event of the European Academy of Religion in Bologna, Italy
European Academy of Religion A research intiative of Scientific Societies and Associations of Scholars, Research Centers and Departments, Media, Scientific Journals, Publishers and Scholars coming from European and Mediterranean Countries, the Middle East, Caucasus and Russia Bologna, December 4th & 5th 2016 – www.fscire.it
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The spread of “Christianophobia”: ignored by the international community and media
High-level European officials and experts attending an international conference in Vienna last week stated that European governments and the international community were failing to address religious discrimination and the persecution of Christians in Europe and worldwide.
In his opening keynote speech to the conference, EU Special Envoy for Religious Freedom, Ján Figel’, observed that even though tens of thousands of Christians worldwide are killed every year because of their faith, the media and the international community pay little attention.
Significantly, the conference, entitled “Embattled: Christians under Pressure in Europe and Beyond” was split into two parts, the first part dealing with persecution outside of Europe in countries such as Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea and Syria, and the second focused on growing governmental restrictions within European countries on conscience, freedom of association, freedom of speech and parental rights, as well as hate crimes against Christians.
Speaking on behalf of the Archbishop of Vienna at the start of the conference, Bishop Stephan Turnovszky said that although there is no organised or systematic persecution of Christians in Europe, there were frightening trends involving Christian marginalisation, as well as political and media reprisals against those with religious convictions. He also observed that violence against Christians is rarely reported in the media and cited examples.
Although the conference did not use the term “Christianophobia” in its report on Europe, it is significant that this term was first used in 2004 by Joseph Weiler, a Jewish professor at New York University’s Law school, to describe discrimination against Christians within Europe. Professor Weiler coined the term following the European Union’s refusal to accept Italy’s nomination of Rocco Buttiglione for the post of EU Justice Commissioner because of his Christian beliefs on sexual ethics.
Worryingly, similar instances of anti-Christian discrimination are increasingly the norm, despite being dramatically under-reported.
Article available here: https://www.barnabasfund.org/news/The-spread-of-Christianophobia-ignored-by-the-international-community-and-media
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Un siècle de génocide, suite ou fin ?
La journée internationale de la liberté de religion, célébrée tout récemment (le 27 octobre), nous rappelle que la liberté de religion ou de conviction n’est ni une réalité qui va de soi, ni, globalement, une tendance internationale qui a le vent en poupe.
Bien au contraire, la tendance est négative. Cette valeur humaine universelle, essentielle, est actuellement sérieusement limitée, voire battue en brèche, dans une majorité de pays et de territoires de la planète, représentant 74 % de la population totale (selon le rapport du Pew Study Center pour 2013).
Pour en savoir plus : le Rapport 2016 sur la liberté religieuse dans le monde
La journée internationale rappelle aussi à tout un chacun combien la route a été difficile, longue, souvent sanglante, depuis l’époque du servage, celle où la société était divisée par de profonds fossés, où régnaient la haine sectaire et l’oppression violente, jusqu’à l’émergence de sociétés libres, pluralistes et tolérantes, respectant l’État de droit, les droits de l’homme et les valeurs universelles fondamentales. Aucune de ces sociétés n’est un modèle parfait, mais nous apprenons chemin faisant. De nombreux peuples, communautés, dirigeants et gouvernements, qu’ils se trouvent en Europe, en Asie, en Afrique, dans les Amériques, en Australie ou en Océanie, luttent pour accroître la qualité de la démocratie et améliorer l’acceptation et la préservation de ces principes et de ces valeurs. De nombreux dictateurs, régimes autocratiques et groupes violents luttent, eux, dans un but opposé: pour un État sans droit plutôt que pour l’État de droit, pour imposer leur loi au peuple plutôt que pour se mettre à son service…
Liberté de religion pour la dignité
Bien que plus de 84 % de la population mondiale puisse être qualifiée d’«affiliée à une religion» (ibid), la liberté de religion ou de conviction ne concerne pas qu’eux. C’est une liberté dont nous profitons tous, puisqu’elle couvre les athées, les agnostiques, tout le monde. Le droit à la liberté de pensée, de conscience et de religion ou de conviction est lié à la liberté d’expression, à la liberté de réunion et à d’autres droits civils et politiques importants. C’est un indicateur très parlant de l’état de tous les droits de l’homme. En effet, lorsque la liberté de religion fait défaut, d’autres libertés civiles sont également absentes. La culture de la dignité humaine est inconcevable sans la liberté de religion ou de conviction.
Dans ma patrie, la Slovaquie, alors appelée la Tchécoslovaquie, la lutte pour renverser le régime totalitaire communiste a atteint son apogée après le Grand vendredi de Bratislava en 1988, lorsque la manifestation pacifique sur fond de prières, organisée par des citoyens au centre de la capitale pour demander qu’on leur reconnaisse des droits civils et religieux, a été brutalement dispersée par les forces de l’ordre. À partir de ce moment-là, la vague qui a abouti à la révolution de velours et au bouleversement politique de 1989 est devenue impossible à arrêter.
L’engagement des chefs religieux pour la paix
La liberté a toujours un objectif et elle ne peut survivre sans une responsabilité partagée. C’est pourquoi, à mes yeux, les revendications pour une plus grande liberté religieuse sont implicitement liées à l’engagement actif des communautés et de leurs chefs religieux en faveur de la paix, de la justice, du vivre-ensemble et de la solidarité. Nous en avons bien besoin, en ce XXIe siècle. Depuis l’extermination systématique de 1,5 million d’Arméniens en 1915-16, le premier génocide reconnu du XXe siècle, l’humanité a connu d’autres horreurs similaires, pour des motifs religieux, raciaux, nationaux ou ethniques, dans bien des endroits du monde – dans les camps de concentration nazis ou soviétiques, les goulags et les fosses communes, au Cambodge, au Rwanda, en Bosnie… «Jamais plus !»: la promesse du Tribunal de Nuremberg en 1946 a été brisée à plusieurs reprises, encore et encore. Nous avons trop souvent abandonné, rompu notre engagement à prévenir les génocides et les traitements inhumains. En réalité, ce sont des gens dans le besoin que nous abandonnons, ceux qui sont persécutés à cause de leur religion, de leur conviction, de leur race, de leur appartenance ethnique – de leur identité humaine.
Humaniser ce siècle!
Meurtre, torture, esclavage, enlèvement, viol ou persécution: toutes ces atrocités que subissent actuellement, systématiquement, les minorités religieuses et ethniques dans les territoires dominés par Daech se résument finalement à un seul et même crime: un génocide. Telle est l’opinion vigoureusement défendue par les organes parlementaires du Conseil de l’Europe, de l’Union européenne, des États-Unis, du Royaume-Uni et d’Australie, ainsi que par d’autres institutions et organisations. Une question alarmante et particulièrement actuelle se pose alors: ce siècle de génocides doit-il prendre fin ou continuer? Après les chrétiens, les yézidis, les chiites, et quelques autres communautés en Irak et en Syrie, qui sera sur la sellette la prochaine fois, quel groupe, quel territoire ?
La réponse à cette question est cruciale et s’engager est essentiel. Comme bien d’autres, je suis convaincu qu’un siècle meilleur est possible. Nous avons l’obligation morale d’améliorer, d’humaniser ce siècle! Si nous voulons avancer de concert dans une ère meilleure, plus pacifique, nous devons enrayer cette tendance à la répétition, ces recrudescences d’inhumanité. En d’autres termes, nous devons mettre fin à la persécution des innocents, aider les victimes privées de parole et de moyens de défense et traduire les criminels en justice. L’ignorance, l’indifférence et la peur aident les fanatiques et les criminels: notre silence meurtrit les victimes.
Génocides et autres atrocités au nom de la religion
Hormis la persécution sous forme de génocide, il existe bien d’autres formes d’oppression religieuse: les lois anti-blasphème, les lois anti-conversion, la violence sectaire, les régimes totalitaires qui s’efforcent de supprimer les manifestations religieuses et la liberté de conscience et de conviction dans l’intérêt de leur idéologie et de l’uniformité. Marx et Lénine détestaient la religion, la considérant comme l’«opium de l’humanité». Et ils avaient créé leur propre «religion», une idéologie nouvelle, coercitive et militante. Les grands dictateurs des dernières décennies – Hitler, Staline, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot – ont aussi violemment réprimé la liberté de religion et de conviction.
Combattre l’ignorance
Nous ne pouvons pas comprendre ce qui se passe dans le monde sans comprendre les religions, y compris l’utilisation abusive qui en est faite (par les terroristes islamistes par exemple). Sans cela, nous ne pouvons pas non plus trouver de thérapie efficace.
Promouvoir la liberté de religion ou de conviction et l’éthique de la responsabilité, éduquer à vivre dans la diversité: telle est la meilleure manière de réagir au fondamentalisme religieux, à l’extrémisme violent et au terrorisme. Si nous arrachons sans relâche les racines de l’ignorance, de l’indifférence et de la peur, la culture de la dignité humaine pour tous et partout pourra croître et porter ses fruits, durant notre siècle.
L’article est disponible ici:
