AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* WHO WILL STOP ZIMBABWE’S TORTURERS

* ARCHBISHOP BLAMES ATHEISTS FOR COLLAPSE OF BRITAIN’S SPIRITUAL LIFE

* UK SCHOOLS TOLD TO PROMOTE RACE RELATIONS OR CLOSE

* AFGHAN WOMEN SEEK DEATH BY FIRE

* RELIGIOUS BELIEF PLUMMETING IN WESTERN NATIONS

* PAKISTAN DUMPS RAPE LAW

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WHO WILL STOP ZIMBABWE’S TORTURERS

Article is written by a Zimbabwean journalist whose name has been withheld for security reasons. The day 50 people set out to attend a prayer meeting but ended up suffering hours of torture by security agents – shocked the world and raised hopes that President Robert Mugabe’s impunity might at last be halted. “We went through unspeakable torture. Each time that night when we heard the sound of boots returning, our bowels loosened,” said Grace Kwinjeh of the ordeal she and Sekai Holland, 64, underwent. But barely a month later, the television news cameras were pointing elsewhere, and international leaders were switching off their phones, declining to hear the shrill cries coming out of Zimbabwe. Why? There are two reasons. First, southern African leaders have told the world that the Zimbabwe problem must be left to them to address; and second, the new victims of Mugabe’s crackdown are “small” people – pro-democracy organisers, known in their communities but scarcely recognised in the neighbouring district, let alone in the wider world. At least 600 have been abducted and tortured by state terror agents this year. Far from being chastened, Mugabe’s regime has stepped up its efforts, invading homes at night, picking off local leaders and activists and taking them to cells in isolated police stations. Officers who protest are court-martialled. A journalist has recently been murdered. And non-governmental organisations have been warned that they may lose their licence to operate if they protest. The world has been told to rely on South African President Thabo Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy. Yet the repression and violence have only intensified since Mbeki received his mandate from his neighbouring heads of state. Far from condemning Mugabe, they called for the “lifting of all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe” and insisted that the scandalously rigged elections of the past six years had been free and fair. Small wonder that terror squads now openly brag to their victims that there will be no opposition left by the time of the next elections. The reality of torture and abductions is an urgent matter that cries out for immediate intervention. Does not the international community have a responsibility to protect? In her book America and the Age of Genocide, Samantha Power warns that when it comes to preventing loss of life and the torture of people at the hands of predatory regimes, the world community always does too little too late. South Africa’s UN ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo, argues that Zimbabwe’s crisis is not an appropriate matter for the Security Council, because it does not threaten international peace and security. Yet Mbeki himself has spoken of the huge humanitarian “burden” on his country as a result of the chaos next door. Three million Zimbabweans have escaped into neighbouring countries, fuelling increased poverty, crime, and xenophobia. We must learn from history. Ambassador Kumalo undoubtedly approved when the UN General Assembly passed its resolution of September 30, 1974, against South Africa. In UN Security Council resolutions passed this year on Somalia, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and others, the Security Council has appropriately observed that serious human rights abuses pose a threat to peace and security in the regions where those states are situated. Zimbabwe’s crisis meets this standard. It is unconscionable that no one, so far, has been willing to try to stop the perpetrators of Zimbabwe’s terror.

Source: Intercessors Network

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ARCHBISHOP BLAMES ATHEISTS FOR COLLAPSE OF BRITAIN’S SPIRITUAL LIFE

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has attacked “illiberal atheists” who insist that religion be a private matter, for contributing to the spiritual demise of Britain. He said “the Church of England ‘has been too timid in responding to them” and has called for a re-assertion of Victorian values and a return to the family. He has also expressed sorrow about the rejection of Britain’s Christian heritage. He is concerned the country does not understand that almost all of what it values has grown out of a strong Christian tradition. Dr Sentamu believes materialism lies behind the catastrophic loss of family life in Britain. Parents should spend more time with their children in their formative years as once children have reached 11 then you have lost them. That is the difference between us and what happens in a Jewish home or a Muslim home, where the raising of the children is paramount. Manners, behaviour and attitude, always begin in the home. He is equally dismayed by the talk coming from the Labour party ranks that the time has come to sever the last ties between Church and State. Chris Bryant, the Labour MP, for instance, says that the Coronation ceremony contains a lot of ‘mumbo jumbo’ and that we should use the current House of Lords Reform to remove the Bishops. Dr Sentamu rejects such calls. The relationship between the Monarch and the Church of England is a constitutional question he says. You change it at your peril.’ ‘People of other faiths say to me the establishment of the Church of England is critical because it is a bulwark against a secularising agenda. ‘The Church of England reminds the nation that in this country the Queen is the defender of the faith, the head of the commonwealth and the head of state.’ He is equally outspoken on whether it is right for Muslim women to be allowed to wear the full veil in Britain. He says “It is clear that those women who fight to wear the veil in public are being deliberately provocative. You know when I visit Orthodox synagogues I never take a cross. When I go into Muslim mosques I take it off. When I go into a Sikh temple I cover my head. Because I am going into someone else’s home. And I can’t simply say:’ take me as I am whether you like it or not. I think in British society you can wear what you want but you can’t expect British society to be reconfigured around you. No minority can expect to impose this on the public or civil life.’

Source: Daily Mail

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UK SCHOOLS TOLD TO PROMOTE RACE RELATIONS OR CLOSE

Schools with large numbers of white pupils may be taken over or closed if they fail to promote race relations and links between different religious groups, according to Government guidance. Those in rural areas or leafy suburbs should be twinned with ethnically mixed schools in the inner city, it suggests. Under the guidelines Christian schools would have to strike up partnerships with Muslim and Jewish institutions, while other community schools would have to organise more trips to churches, mosques and synagogues. In a move designed to stop children drifting toward extremism, all schools will have a legal duty from September to break down barriers and promote “community cohesion”. Jim Knight, the schools minister, said governing bodies would be sacked or schools closed if they fail to comply with the direction. “I am quite keen on faith-based schools twinning with those of other faiths or within the network of schools within their community and talking about their faith.” The Commission for Racial Equality has warned that Britain’s segregated schools are “a ticking time bomb waiting to explode”. The new guidance said: “Every school – whatever its student makeup and location – is responsible for educating children who will live and work in a country which is diverse in terms of culture, faith, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. “The staff and pupil populations of some schools reflect this diversity, but others do not, and need to make links with other schools and organisations in order to give their pupils the opportunity to mix with, and learn from and about, those of different backgrounds.” According to latest figures, about one in eight children in English schools now speak English as a second language and numbers have soared over the past 10 years. But ministers are concerned some schools are still being monopolised by single racial or religious groups, acting as a breeding ground for extremism. There are now 323 schools in Britain where more than half their pupils are from Bangladeshi or Pakistani backgrounds.

Source: UK Telegraph

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AFGHAN WOMEN SEEK DEATH BY FIRE

Increasing numbers of Afghan women are committing suicide by setting fire to themselves to escape difficult lives. Non Government Organisations (NGO’s) based in the country say women forced into marriage or suffering chronic abuse are killing themselves out of desperation. One group says cases of self-immolation in the capital have doubled since last year. Cases are said to be reported every day in the western city of Herat. In Kabul, some 36 cases of self-immolation have been recorded this year. One Afghan survivor of a self immolation, a 16-year-old girl, said she had endured beatings from her drug-addicted husband, a man 25 years her senior and whom she was forced to marry. “When he did not have access to heroin and narcotics, he tortured me” she said. “One night he hit me and hit my head. Blood was coming from my nose. I asked him why he was doing it and he hit me even more.” Following the attack, she doused herself with benzene and lit a flame. Since then she has divorced her husband and undergone a series of operations. Experts say many such women believe they have no protection from their abusers or the cultural practices that makes their lives unbearable. “These are young girls at their most productive ages,” Ancil Adrian-Paul, a spokeswoman for NGO Medica Mondiale, said “These young girls are killing themselves from frustration and because they feel that there is no way out for them.” Campaigners say illiteracy and an incompetent justice system contribute to women deciding to take their own lives, because they can see no way out of their problems. Women and girls are also often given away to settle conflicts in the country. A recent Human Rights Watch report said many gains made by women since the fall of the Taleban had since been reversed.

Source: Intercessors Network

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RELIGIOUS BELIEF PLUMMETING IN WESTERN NATIONS

Religious belief is rapidly deteriorating in much of the western world a new global poll shows. The Angus Reid World Poll surveyed 5,800 adults from 20 countries world wide on how important religion was to their daily lives. Over all, the response was evenly divided, with 48 percent of global respondents saying religion was very important to them, and 52 percent saying it was not. The poll found a significant decrease in religious interest in Canada over the past 14 years. In 1992, 61 percent of Canadians said religion was important for their daily lives. In this years’ poll, only 39 percent said religion was important to them. In European countries, respondents showed even less interest in religion. France had the lowest percentage of respondents indicating religion was important to them, at only 17 percent. Great Britain showed 23 percent, Germany 24 percent, and Roman Catholic Spain 31 percent. Religious interest remained high in Italy, with 51 percent of respondents indicating religion held an important place in their lives. The U.S. population showed a greater interest in religion than its Western counterparts, with 63 percent of those polled saying religion was important in their lives. That number showed a marked decrease from 1992 results, however, which were recorded as 83 percent. Middle Eastern countries, India, Mexico and South Africa all showed high levels of religious interest among the population. The predominantly Muslim nations of Saudi Arabia and Egypt scored highest of all 20 nations surveyed, with 96 percent of Saudi Arabia’s population stating that the official religion of Islam was very important in their lives. 89 percent of Egyptians agreed. South Africa scored third highest, with 70 percent of respondents saying religion was very important to them. Mexican respondents indicated 65 percent of the population consider religion to be an important part of their lives, the highest response of predominately Catholic nations surveyed.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

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PAKISTAN DUMPS RAPE LAW

Pakistan’s Government has claimed a historic victory against religious conservatives after winning a vote to change the country’s controversia rape laws. The parliamentary vote scrapped a law that placed an almost impossible burden of proof on women bringing a claim of rape and exposed them to charges of adultery. Under former laws rape victims had to have four male witnesses to the crime. If they didn’t, they faced prosecution for adultery – a crime that potentially carried the penalty of death by stoning. Although the death penalty was never implemented, women convicted of adultery were often jailed or given substantial fines. Now rape will be tried under civil law, the Pakistan Penal Code. The amendment will lend much-needed credibility to the “enlightened moderation” policy formulated by Pakistan’s President, General Pervez Musharraf. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz hailed the vote, saying: “It is a historic bill because it will give rights to women and help end excesses against them.” If however a woman cannot prove she has been raped, she could still fall foul of the adultery laws. Pakistan’s religious parties walked out of parliament in protest at the new laws and have called the legislation “a harbinger of lewdness and indecency in the country” and against the strictures of the Koran and Sharia law.

Source: Intercessors Network

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