Article18: Norway — Personal Reflections on the Origin of a Tragedy
By Martin Surridge – My personal experience with terrorism is not extensive but is actual nevertheless, and extends through several phases of my life. As a child I lived in East England, and North London and I remember the daily news updates of the troubles in Northern Ireland that would frequently extend into England. When I was ten years old, an IRA terrorist killed himself and injured eight others when his bomb detonated in a bus traveling in Aldwych, London. This vehicle was decimated only twenty miles from our house in Watford and it was part of a public bus system our family used several times a year. It understandably left the residents of North London shaken, including my mother who was concerned for our safety as children when we traveled in the area. Other IRA attacks included a bombing less than an hour away from our town that killed two that same year and mortar attacks 30 mins away just three years earlier. 
Exactly a decade later, almost to the day, I was traveling through Palestine with a friend from college. We were visiting Beit She’an, a Roman-era settlement, as well as Jericho and the banks of the Jordan River. As to be expected in the Holy Land, even when things are outwardly peaceful, a tension hangs in the air nearly everywhere you go. Military checkpoints had 18-year old female Israeli soldiers with sub-machine guns eye us suspiciously when we crossed into new territory. I had noticed helicopters hovering above our taxi while we were driving, but didn’t think anything of it. Then we were suddenly escorted to the side of the freeway by unmarked cars and quickly had more sub-machine guns aimed at our car by what appeared to be policemen, speaking rapidly to our driver while we sat mesmerized and terrified. As quickly as they came, they left, satisfied we posed no danger. Our driver told us they were looking for two suicide bombers in an identical van to ours on the same road at the same time. Our shock only increased when we read the newspaper the next day and saw that the suspects were in fact apprehended that day–same model of taxi-van, same freeway, same afternoon.
I have experienced the effects of terrorism in two countries, albeit not directly and fortunately not in any way that harmed me or my loved ones and for that I am thankful. One was the result of violent criminals who were White, staunchly Catholic, and Irish. The other was planned by Arab Muslims in the Middle East. For both, religion was an important motivation, but not the sole or even primary reason for their terrorism.
Like most terrorist acts, the motivation came out of a mix of socioeconomic and/or ethno-religious reasoning and such people rarely represent their community at large. If you have read this blog before, even just a couple entries, you know that we have profiled religiously motivated violence and terrorism in several countries and the aggressors are a colorful bunch–Hindus in India, communists in Cuba and China, Buddhist authorities in Thailand, as well as the aforementioned Muslims and Christians.
The horrific attack that occurred in Norway last week might be the worst terrorist attack to hit Europe in the post-9/11 era. The savage way that the acts were committed and the tragedy of so many youth being targeted makes the incident hard to comprehend. It was an alarming story for me to hear as I had camped in a similar location near Oslo some years ago, very close to where the killings took place. Many were quick to point out that the suspect is a Christian fundamentalist, an anti-Muslim terrorist, eager to erase Norway’s non-indigenous populations. There have been those on the right who are quick to ignore or brush this fact away and those on the left who see this as a way to further demonize religion, Christianity in particular.
Too many people in the news quickly blamed Muslims for the attack, speaking without any credible information in the hours before we knew the attacker’s name or motivation, leading to a CNN article on why we can’t blame the Muslims in such a situation without knowing all the information. The fact of the matter is that the demon of terrorism is one that will practice whatever religion it must to satisfy its craving for violence. Terrorism knows no religion that it can’t corrupt. Violence can find a home in any religion, any belief system, be it Muslim, Christian, or Sikh and it is not partial to any one in particular, despite the ramblings in the media. I have even had several good discussions with RLTV contributor Joshua Crouch this year about how violence and terrorism find just as comfortable a home in the lack of a religious structure, as we have seen this year in Laos, China, North Korea, and Cuba. 
As candidates for president openly admit their refusal to appoint a Muslim in their hypothetical cabinet, let us remember that the world’s one billion Muslims should not be judged on the actions of criminals, just as Christians would not want to be judged by the actions of Anders Behring Breivik in Norway.
Khalid Latif in that same article gave his readers a suggested course of action, one we often forget about in this chaotic world, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Norway. May God make things easy for them and grant us all the strength and courage to stand up against those who preach intolerance and hatred, even if they look like us, align politically with us, or practice the same religion we practice.”
Article18 is a weekly blog written by Martin Surridge, Associate Editor of Religious Liberty TV. Article18 logo and other artwork created by Bradley Kenyon.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Don’t forget to check out other recent Article18 entries.
Article18: Uzbekistan — Recent Incidents of Violence Against Christians Alarm Religious Minorities
Article18: Laos — Four Christian Women Raped and Executed by Laotian Military Along Vietnam Border
INDIA – 27 Seventh-day Adventists Die in Religious Violence
On September 19, 2008, we were alerted by a reader in India to a story about the violence between Christians and Hindus in India. Click here to read the story.
India: Aftermath of violence leaves scars on Orissa
Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in India have reported at least 27 Adventists dead from anti-Christian brutality that developed in the eastern India region of Orissa in late August. Church leaders said there are still violent outbreaks in the area despite India’s Central Reserve Police forces patrolling the state.
Choudampalli John, president of the Adventist Church in east India, reported that he was not allowed to enter the areas where extremist violence occurred. John also said some Adventists are still hiding in the jungles because they fear retribution from other refugees at government-run aid camps.
Other church leaders commented on the severity of the situation.
Paka Jesurathnam, Adventist church leader for Orissa, reported thousands of houses and three dozen Adventist churches were likely destroyed and looted.
“To evaluate the actual loss of lives, property, people … dwelling places and worship centers is impossible right now,” said Jesurathnam. “To hear … personal stories [makes] our nerves ache and blood dry.”
“To hear … personal stories [makes] our nerves ache and blood dry.”
The Prime Minister of India has condemned the violence, calling it a “national disgrace,” according to published reports.
Possibly as many as 50,000 Christians from the Kandhamal region of Orissa are scattered throughout the seven government-run refugee camps and the surrounding jungle, Ecumenical News International reported.
Hindu extremists are blamed for beheading an Adventist pastor in August. Samuel Naik, pastor of the Phulwani Adventist Church, and his mother were killed during anti-Christian violence sweeping the region of India. Church leaders reported that Naik’s wife, who was previously reported to have committed suicide, is still alive.
The outbreak came after unidentified attackers killed a Hindu religious leader and four other individuals. Hindus are blaming Christians for the deaths, while the Indian government cited Maoist rebels.
Source: Adventist News Network – http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1222720930/index.html.en
THIS WEEK: Christian-Hindu Unrest leads to Violence in India
A reader in India has alerted us to contemporary conflict between Hinduism and Christianity in India. Here are several news stories about this:
7 prayer halls in DK, Udupi & Chikmagalur face wrath
Thousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion…
Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged.
The district administration has clamped ban orders in these areas for three days, starting Sunday.
The places of worship which were attacked in Dakshina Kannada include Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery in Mangalore city, Christ Church at Kodikal near Mangalore, Believers Church of India at Puttur, Mahima Prathanalaya and Indian Pentecostal (both at Madanthyar in Belthangady taluk) and Bethesda Aradanalaya at Sullia.
The modus operandi of all the attacks was similar: a group of 20-25 persons barged into the prayer halls between 10 am and 10.30 am, damaged the furniture and desecrated the statues of Jesus Christ.
As news spread, Christians in Mangalore came onto the streets in large numbers and blocked roads till night. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes visited the protesters near Milagres in the evening.
Read more from the Deccan Herald – DH News Service Mangalore
Mangalore: Citizens’ Delegation Blames Home Ministry for Collapse of Law and Order
Mangalore, Sep 16: The state home minister is responsible for the total collapse of law and order in coastal Karnataka, and the failure of the state intelligence to warn of such a tragedy. Action must be taken against the district authorities while Christians, who are the victims of this tragedy, must not be targeted and the persons who were arrested on false charges should be released immediately, said Mahesh Bhat, head of the Citizens’ Delegation and noted bollywood director.
Read more and see pictures at Daijiworld
Orissa Govt Acquiesces Plot To Wipe Out Christianity In State
By John Dayal
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 18, 2008, 10.00 Hrs (SAR News):
Late Sunday night I had two very disturbing calls interrupting the unceasing messages and rings from Orissa on my two mobile phones. The first was of two separate gunbattles between police and armed mobs. One was a Sangh Parivar posse attacking a church in Tumuliband and apparently two of the attackers were killed by the police. The second was reportedly a Maoist attack on two villages in the Raikia region.
The second message confirmed something I had been told some days ago – that Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and surgeon Dr. Praveen Togadia (he is still registered, apparently, with the Medical Council of India) had given a call, almost a contract, to his cadres in Orissa that three prominent Christian leaders, two of them living in Bhubaneswar, had to be “eliminated”.
Already, these three have been named in the Oriya language press, and pamphlets while their names have been distributed in villages in Kandhamal and neighbouring districts.
Read more at Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)
###
UPDATE:
Mangalore: Hindus and Catholics Agree for Amicable Settlement
Mangalore, Sep 18: The leaders of Catholic Christian and Hindu community have decided to burry the hatchet and resolve differences, if any between two communities with amicable settlement in the future to maintain peaceful atmosphere in the district. They also assured not to hurt religious sentiments of each other. The leaders of both the communities agreed to resolve all differences at the peace meeting led by district in-charge-minister J Krishna Palemar held on Wednesday September 17 in the presence of district commissioner M Maheshwar Rao…
. . .
Fr Francis Serrao said that Catholic Christian institutions never played any kind of discriminatory role among students. The New Life Society has no connection with Catholic Christian community. It is not under the jurisdiction of any Catholic Bishop.
“Baseless allegations against Catholic community and attack on churches either owing to mistaken identity or well-planned strategy have hurt our sentiments. We should respect and encourage the culture of every community. Such incidents should not occur again. Nobody is above the law. Hereafter nobody should take law and order into their hands,” he added.
When he was asked as why other sections of the Christian community had not been invited during the peace meeting, Fr Serrao replied that they also to be invited during next peace meetings.
Puranik clarified that attacks on churches in other parts of the state have no connection with Sangh Parivar. It is a well-planned political conspiracy, fishing in troubled waters. “Being a RSS member, I can say that Hindutva is a nationality. According to RSS, all religions of our country are Hindu only. Hindu community is a peaceful community. We never want to hurt anybody,” he opined.
VIDEO: Proselytism and Religion – A Hindu Perspective
At ReligiousLiberty.TV, we feature information from a wide variety of perspectives. A posting on this site does not indicate endorsement of the views presented, but rather presents it with the intent to discuss and learn.
This is a set of 2 video clips from a Hindu perspective that discusses the attempts of Christians to evangelize non-Christians in India. Are Christians engaging in sincere evangelism or opportunistic exploitation as the video producers claim? Is conversion being unfairly used as a price to pay in order to receive missionary aid?
The video also proposed a “Code of Ethics” for religious conversion which includes language that it should be the result of true spiritual change, not manipulation or coercion. This is likely to increasingly become a larger issue in a global economy and information society. As this issue grows, churches will need re-evaluate their methods of spreading the gospel and seriously consider how they are being perceived in order to avoid sweeping attempts to ban all forms of proselytism.
If you have experience in this issue, please share!
Add to Google