Religious Persecution

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Religious persecution describes various forms of discrimination and oppression of religious communities and their followers or of "unbelievers" on the basis of religious motivation. A distinction must be made between the actors, the victims and the methods of persecution. As religious persecution and actions are called, which are not directed specifically against certain religious communities, but generally against the human rights of religious freedom violated (eg. As the ban on the practice of religion in the Soviet Union in the era of Stalinism ).

Definition of the European Union

Through the “ Directive 2004/83 / EC of April 29, 2004 on minimum standards for the recognition and status of third-country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection, and on the content of the protection to be granted”, the term the "religious persecution" is defined as legally binding for all member states of the EU . This guideline in turn is based on the “ Geneva Refugee Convention ” of July 28, 1951 and the New York Protocol on the Status of Refugees of January 31, 1967.

Term "religion"

According to Article 10 of the EU Directive, the “concept of religion [...] includes in particular theistic , non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, participation or non-participation in religious rites in the private or public sphere, alone or in community with others, other religious activities or Expressions of opinion and behavior of individuals or the community that are based on a religious conviction or are prescribed by this. "

Term "persecution"

Art. 9 of the EU Directive reads:

“(1) Persecution within the meaning of Article 1A of the Geneva Refugee Convention shall mean acts which

1. are so serious due to their nature or repetition that they represent a serious violation of fundamental human rights, in particular those rights from which no derogation is permitted under Article 15 paragraph 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, or
2. Consist in an accumulation of different measures, including a violation of human rights, which is so serious that a person is affected in a manner similar to that described under letter a).

(2) Persecution within the meaning of paragraph 1 may include the following acts:

1. Use of physical or psychological violence, including sexual violence,
2. Statutory, administrative, police and / or judicial measures that are discriminatory as such or that are applied in a discriminatory manner,
3. disproportionate or discriminatory prosecution or punishment,
4. denial of judicial protection resulting in disproportionate or discriminatory punishment,
5. Prosecution or punishment for refusing military service in a conflict where military service would involve a crime or activity covered by the exclusion clauses of Article 12, paragraph 2, and
6. Actions that are related to gender or are directed against children.

(3) In accordance with Article 2 (c), there must be a link between the grounds set out in Article 10 and the acts classified as persecution in paragraph 1. "

actors

Religious persecution can come from state organs, but also from social groups whose actions are at least tolerated by state organs. However, it is important to note the difference between criminal prosecution and religious persecution. For example, there is no case of religious persecution if a non-Muslim is punished in a Muslim state on the basis of a general law for the consumption of alcohol, since there is neither a religious obligation to consume nor a human right to consume alcohol. The ultimately religious justification of the legal norm is irrelevant in this case.

Victims of religious persecution

See also: Persecution of the Baha'i , persecution of Buddhists , persecution of Christians , persecution of pagans , persecution of atheists and agnostics , persecution of witches , Hindu persecution , persecution of Alevis in the Ottoman Empire , Zoroastrian persecution , genocide of the Armenians (from 1915) , Islamophobia , Judaism , freedom of belief in Islam (the The Islamic legal system recognizes no negative religious freedom for Muslims and also does not recognize the right not to belong to any religion, see Apostasy in Islam ); State religion ; religious minority .

Throughout history, religious groups have been driven out of their homeland time and again. Examples are the expulsion of the Huguenots in the course of the Huguenot Wars in France (1562 to 1598) and the Salzburg exiles (from 1731).

In the 20th century in particular, some religious groups were victims of persecution by totalitarian states.

Religious dissidents were often defamed as heretics or heretics . At the end of 1527, Martin Luther criticized the persecution of the young Anabaptist movement that had already begun . Only the Anabaptist leaders should be expelled from the country. In 1530 and 1531, however, he expressed a different opinion: from 1530, however, he no longer excluded the death penalty for the Anabaptists. In 1531, Luther and Philipp Melanchthon signed a report expressly in favor of the death penalty for Anabaptists - primarily because of riot and blasphemy . For him, Anabaptists were of a "murderous, rebellious, vindictive spirit, whose breath stinks of the sword".

An overview of the current state of the persecution of Christians today gives u. a. the Open Doors organization .

Religious persecution as a reason for asylum

Germany

Recognition as persons entitled to asylum and protection against deportation are only granted to those in Germany whose “religious subsistence level” is at risk when they return to their homeland. A ruling by the Federal Administrative Court on January 20, 2004 states:

“The ban on Muslims who have converted to Christianity (here: in Iran ) to participate in 'public or official' church services in the Christian churches does not yet violate the religious subsistence level protected by asylum law. In principle, such a violation only comes into consideration if they cannot come together for common prayer and worship with like-minded people away from the public without a risk of significant asylum. "

Whether and when religious activity in public is also recognized as worthy of protection is, however, a question of doubt under European law , which ultimately only the ECJ can clarify.

On June 13, 2011, the annual meeting of Amnesty International Germany called on all EU states to fully implement Directive 2004/83 / EC of April 29, 2004 into national law and to protect refugees accordingly.

In September 2012, the European Court of Justice ruled that Pakistani Ahmadis who seek asylum in Germany and plead their religious persecution could not be expected to return to Pakistan and not identify themselves as Ahmadi there. Because the right of asylum protects not only against encroachment on the practice of religion in the private sphere, but also the "freedom to live this belief publicly". A refugee could not be expected to “forego certain statements of faith in order to avoid the risk of persecution” on his return. ”However, the threatened sanctions would have to be“ severe ”- which was the case in this particular case. Commentators consider this judgment to be trend-setting, as it was decided in accordance with the Geneva Refugee Convention and the EU Qualification Directive of 2004.

Opinions on what 'religious persecution' are vary widely. This became evident in the lively public debate in the summer of 2012 following a ruling by the Cologne Regional Court on the religiously motivated circumcision of boys .

Austria

In Austria there are already some legally binding asylum decisions in which, for example, a member of the atheistic religious society in Austria was granted the status of asylum due to his atheism , which creates a corresponding current risk of persecution in the respective country of origin.

Examples

Members of religious minorities are persecuted, for example, by accusing them of blasphemy (= blasphemy).

In pogroms against Jews, the persecutors could check whether young people or men had been circumcised ; then they knew whether they came from a Jewish family.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EU Directive of April 29, 2004
  2. ↑ Geneva Refugee Convention of July 28, 1951
  3. ^ New York Minutes of January 31, 1967
  4. ↑ He writes that he is “not really and truly sorry that such wretched people are so miserably murdered, burned and horribly killed [...] Everyone should be made to believe what he wants. If he believes wrongly, he has enough punishments against the eternal fire ”. Gottfried Seebass, Irene Dingel, Christine Kress (eds.): The Reformation and its outsiders. Collected essays and lectures . Brill 1997, p. 270 .
  5. ↑ Reinhard Schwarz: Luther . Göttingen 1998, p. 219 .
  6. ↑ Martin Luther . In: Christian Hege and Christian Neff (eds.): Mennonitisches Lexikon , Volume II . Self-published, 1937.
  7. ↑ Clarence Baumann: Nonviolence as a hallmark of the community . In: Hans-Jürgen Goertz (Ed.): The Mennonites . Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Stuttgart 1971, p. 129 .
  8. ↑ Judgment of the Federal Administrative Court of January 20, 2004, available at [1]
  9. ↑ Federal Office for Migration and Refugees: Asylum decisions 6/2009
  10. ↑ Christian Rath: Faith can be visible . In taz , ISSN  1434-2006 , from September 6, 2012, page 6
  11. ↑ Freedom of religion: Atheists * also receive asylum in Austria , atheistische.at, December 3, 2019

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