|
Christian Aid and Assistance
Unwanted and Even Unlawful In Southeast Asia Washington, DC The death and devastation that now plagues Southeast Asia in the aftermath of recent tsunamis demands immediate attention by the global community. Aid and assistance to those who have managed to survive this natural tragedy, by both religious and nonreligious charitable organizations, is necessary without question. But what is necessary is also criminal, or so extremists in Sri Lanka, India, and elsewhere suggest. The current "debate" in Sri Lanka, for example, is whether such assistance by Christian missionary groups and the like is a crime carrying a five to seven year sentence. Two anti-conversion laws are currently under review by Sri Lanka's Parliament. If passed, Christian organizations dedicated to providing assistance -- whether spiritual or material -- to those in need would be criminally prohibited from participating in the relief effort. Drafted to promote and preserve Buddhism's "foremost place" in this island nation, the laws criminalize any effort that may influence another to convert, whether conversion is the intended effect or not. Providing aid and assistance to the poor, elderly, and devastated in times of crisis are examples of what triggers the laws' application. Thus, Christian missions and organizations in Sri Lanka willing and eager to provide food, clothing, and shelter to those desperately in need would either face prosecution and imprisonment or be forced to forgo the effort entirely. But religious persecution survived the tsunamis in other parts of Southeast Asia as well. Recent reports suggest that Christian aid workers are at risk in Indonesia where Muslim extremists suspect that humanitarian assistance is a pretext for conversion efforts. Similarly, Hindus in India have begun to tout their very own anti-conversion law that threatens the ongoing aid efforts by Christian religious and humanitarian groups. "The chilling effect of Sri Lanka's proposed anti- conversion laws, India's law, and similar efforts to criminalize Christianity in Southeast Asia will inevitably cut off the very lifeline that sustains the growth and redevelopment of the region," said Jared N. Leland, Esq., Media and Legal Counsel for The Becket Fund. "Those in Southeast Asia need now, more than ever, helping hands to put them back on their feet," Leland said, "and these laws and efforts, the fruits of religious persecution, will do nothing more than push them back down." About The Becket Fund The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is an international, interfaith, public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. Available For Further Comment |