CANBERRA – The Prime Minister has announced his intention to examine allegations against the Church of Scientology before deciding whether to back independent senator Nick Xenophon’s demand for a Senate inquiry, The Australian reported on November 19. Senator Xenophon told parliament on November 17 that Scientology was a “criminal organization” hiding behind religion, and the State Crime Command of NSW Police confirmed that he had handed over ex-Scientologists’ complaints for investigation.

ORISSA – The government has sentenced 9 people to prison and fined each $70 on charges of their connection to the anti-Christian riots in 2008, BBC reported on November 19. A local court acquitted five others, including a legislator from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who were accused of rioting.  The violence in Kandhamal district left at least 40 people dead and more than 25,000 homeless.

KARSHI – Mekhrinisso Hamdamova, a Muslim holding a state appointment, has been arrested for holding unauthorized religious meetings in her home, and over 30 of her family members and other acquaintances have been arrested, Forum18 reported on November 18.  Authorities have accused Hamdamova of attempting to overthrow the President and the “constitutional order,” and inciting religious hatred.  In other cases, 11 Protestants have been fined because they were together for a meal in a friend’s house, the fines ranging between 50 and 10 times the minimum monthly wage, and 17 Protestants have been fined for possessing “illegal” religious literature.

JAKARTA – Leading human rights and legal organizations as well as a number of public figures, including former President Abdurrahman Wahid, on November 17 demanded the Constitutional Court overturn a controversial law adopted in 1965 that they argue is discriminatory and limits religious freedom, the Jakarta Globe reported on November 18. The parties argue that the Law on the Prevention of Blasphemy and Abuse of Religion, which carries jail terms of up to five years, is unconstitutional. 

The law bans people from publicly espousing or gathering public support in favor of certain religious interpretations, and forces citizens to follow one of six state-sanctioned religions.

KUALA LUMPUR – The editor for Malaysia’s weekly Catholic newspaper, The Herald, has lost its publishing permit for next year following the dispute over its use of the word “Allah,” the AFP reported on November 12. The Roman Catholic Church has waged a two-year legal battle with Malaysian authorities over the use of the word “Allah,” while the government has argued that the word “Allah” should be used only by Muslims, who represent the majority religious population in Malaysia.

An article in the NY Times covers the pending construction of two grand mosques. In August 2009, the city council approved the construction of a Shiite Muslim mosque in an industrial quarter on the site of a former factory. Plans are also afoot for a Sunni mosque. But it has been a long and complicated process, tangled up in local politics and the publication four years ago of cartoons mocking Islam.

TOKYO – Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, a top politician in Japan’s ruling Democratic Party, spoke out in favor of Buddhism while calling Christianity “exclusive and self-righteous” and labeling Islam as only somewhat better, Reuters reported on November 11.  The Secretary General made the remarks while meeting with the head of the Japan Buddhist Federation, a group traditionally close to the rival Liberal Democratic Party. Religious organizations can pack clout in Japanese politics because of their ability to mobilize voters, but politicians tend to shun public remarks about people’s beliefs.

A November 5 article by the WSJ covers the emotional debate over the role of Islam in Switzerland that has arisen in the face of a referendum to be held on November 29 that would ban the construction of minarets on mosques, an initiative promoted by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. The party, the country’s largest political group and a fierce critic of immigration, drew international criticism for a campaign poster two years ago showing a white sheep kicking a black sheep out of Switzerland.

KUALA LUMPUR – The government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles that it seized because they contained the word Allah, which the government asserts is an Islamic term and so its usage could upset the Muslim population, the BBC reported on November 4.  Church officials say that although the word Allah originated in Arabic, Malays have used it for centuries to refer generally to God, and Arabic-speaking Christians used it before Islam was founded, and the Christian Federation of Malaysia said the religious freedom guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution was meaningless if people were denied Bibles in their own language.

ROME – The European Court of Human Rights ruled on November 3 that the display of crucifixes in public schools violated religious and education freedoms, a decision that could force a review of the use of religious symbols in government-run schools across Europe, the AP reported on November 3. The court rejected arguments by Italy that the crucifix was a national symbol of culture, history and secularism.