How religious harassment varies by region across the globe

May 2, 2014

By Angelina Theodorou and Peter Hennes

In nearly three out of every four countries of the world, religious groups experience harassment by individuals or groups in society. The harassment and intimidation take many forms, including physical or verbal assaults; desecration of holy sites; and discrimination against religious groups in employment, education and housing. Every year, we track such harassment through a variety of sources, including the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report and U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief reports. (For more information on our sources and procedures, see our latest report on religious restrictions and hostilities.) Here’s a region-by-region look at where it takes place, and to which groups:

Middle East-North Africa: Muslims most harassed group in the region  Harassment or intimidation of Muslims took place in 75% of countries in the region (15 of 20) in 2012, the latest year for which data are available. Christians and Jews also faced harassment in roughly two-thirds of countries (13 and 14, respectively).In Tunisia, for instance, Salafists continued to attack religious sites, including a Russian Orthodox Church, Jewish synagogues and dozens of Sufi Muslim shrines. And in Egypt, Al-Azhar, Egypt’s leading Sunni Muslim religious authority, condemned the building of Shia places of worship, claiming they disrupt the country’s “spiritual unity.” The Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa denounced Shia beliefs and doctrine, saying that the spread of Shia Islam could lead to strife and social instability.

Americas: Harassment of Jews found in nearly a third of countries In the Americas, Jews faced harassment or intimidation in 29% of countries (10 of 35) – more than any other group in the region. In August 2012, for example, a neo-Nazi group in Chile attacked a 14-year-old boy, drawing a swastika on his stomach with a syringe. Christians and Muslims each experienced harassment in about one-in-ten countries in the region (11%, or four countries each). In Mexico, for instance,a group of Catholics burned and destroyed more than a dozen homes belonging to indigenous evangelical Protestant families in retaliation for the families’ refusal to convert to Catholicism. And in Canada in 2012, “hooligans” vandalized a mosque in Quebec with anti-Islamic graffiti and damaged the mosque’s windows and vehicles.

Europe: Jews, Muslims faced intimidation in seven-in-ten countries In Europe, Jews were harassed in 69% of countries in the region (31 of 45). Muslims experienced harassment in 71% of countries (32 of 45) – a rate nearly as high as in the Middle East and North Africa (75%). In Greece, for instance, vandals defaced Jewish cemeteries and arsonists attacked informal mosques as well as Jehovah’s Witness congregations. In France, a group of at least 10 people attacked three Jewish youth with hammers while they were walking to Shabbat services.

Asia-Pacific: Christians harassed in more than half of countries In the Asia-Pacific region, Christians faced harassment from social groups in about six-in-ten countries (58%, or 29 of 50) – more than any other group in the region. In Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, for example, monks attacked Christian as well as Muslim places of worship, including reportedly occupying a Seventh-day Adventist church in the town of Deniyaya and converting it into a Buddhist temple. In Turkey, on Easter 2012, three men attacked a Protestant lay minister in his church, beating and threatening him for not leaving the neighborhood.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Harassment of folk religions prevalent About three-quarters of the countries in which incidents of harassment took place against practitioners of folk religions were in sub-Saharan Africa. Followers of folk or traditional religions – including those practicing or accused of witchcraft – were harassed in nearly three-in-ten countries (27%, or 13 of 48) in this part of the world. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, churches reportedly forced children accused of witchcraft to endure exorcisms involving isolation, beatings, starvation and other torture. And in Malawi, a mob attacked an elderly woman accused of witchcraft, beating her and burning her home.  Muslims (35% of countries) and Christians (29%) also faced considerable harassment in the region.

Survey: Small retailers feeling insecure

Video surveillance, more, would allay fears, they say
by: Amy Canfield
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Thursday, April 10, 2014

BOCA RATON, Fla.—Small retailers aren’t feeling too physically secure these days.

Only one-third of small- and medium-sized retailers had utmost confidence with their current security, according to a new survey. Another one-third of those surveyed said they felt secure, with the remaining one-third saying their businesses were somewhat or not secure at all.

The Harris Interactive survey, commissioned by ADT, asked 712 small retailers—those with less than 100 employees and annual revenues of less than $5 million about their security confidence, especially during the 2013 holiday shopping season.

“There’s actually a large component of retailers who use door chimes as their [sole means of] security,” Luis Orbegoso, president of ADT Small Business, told Security Director News.

While small businesses may be strapped for resources, “they don’t know what capabilities are available, that just by having a camera visible they could cut back on shrink and shoplifting,” he said.

“Beyond the Break-in: ADT Survey of Small Business Retailers’ Everyday Security Concerns” showed that retailers are concerned about managing security needs around short-term holiday employees, shoplifting, vandalism, break-ins and online security.

Sixty-six of those surveyed said they think video surveillance would ensure their safety, but only 46 percent of them have cameras in place; 59 percent think indoor/outdoor cameras would help, but only 33 percent of them have it. In addition, 58 percent said they would rely on an alarm system, but only 50 percent have one deployed.

Real-time video surveillance, recorded surveillance, triggered text alerts and remote viewing of critical areas were the most-sought solutions, the survey showed.

ADT commissioned the survey to support its new Retail Solutions Bundle for small retailers. It will soon conduct surveys in the four other verticals: food and beverage and QSR; professional offices; infrastructure; clinics; and “mechanical,” such as gas stations and oil-change shops, Orbegoso said.

FG Urged to Fortify Security at Cargo Terminals

14 Mar 2014

Some of the challenges in freighting cargo to Nigeria is the exposure of the imported goods to vandalisation and the predilection of government inspection officials to tamper with the content of the goods.

A freight forwarding operator, Mr Humphrey Okonkwo, who made this known said freighting has become a huge business in Nigeria and urged the federal government to install close circuit television cameras at the export and import terminals at major seaports and international airports in the country.

Okonkwo, who is managing director of Hont Global Services Nigeria Limited, also complained about bottlenecks in the clearing of goods at the airports and seaports and the tendency of Customs and other government officials concerned with clearing to institute arbitrary and illicit laws to defraud and exploit importers.

He said many importers and exporters are getting worried over the tampering of their cargo at seaports and major international airports, which are being pilfered under the guise of inspection by relevant agencies.

Okonkwo remarked that the old practice of ripping the cargo open could be eliminated if government acquires state of the art scanners at the air and seaports, which would check the cargo without giving room to physical examination and the attendant rough handling of such goods.

He observed that in other parts of the world cargoes are screened and scanned electronically without ripping them open, thereby preventing pilferage.

“So the government should put in place better technology, security system in place at the airports and seaports so that pilfering can be eliminated. The Installation of CCTVs is part of it and putting a standard security system in place then tracking. These can be done but who is going to implement it? We advise government should install sophisticated scanning machines at the airports and seaports as one of the ways of checking piferage of cargo,” Okonkwo said.

He explained that the firm, Hont Global Services Limited, has opened an office in Nigeria to offer world class services in sea and air freight for clients who want to import or export goods to and from Nigeria, adding that since the company started its successful freight services it has attended to the needs of individual and corporate organisations.

He however flayed the double charge regime policy at the ports urging government to standardise tariff on import and export to make operations seamless.

“Our operations in Nigeria, particularly clearing our goods from the seaport, are where we have great challenges. The charges especially the terminal charges and handling charges are too expensive.”

Okonkwo said there are a lot of hidden charges, most of which are illegal.

“After we have given your client quotation you still incur a lot of hidden charges that are not receipted and which you cannot claim from your clients. If the government can help us in standardising this process so that all those things can be eliminated, I think we should be fine.”