The Raelian movement under the lens of francophone television channels
An analysis of the television documentary by Au nom de la loi entitled The last of the prophets
By Willy Fautr, Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (21.12.2001) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - On the 17 October 2001 the television channel TV 5 which serves primarily the French-speaking areas of Europe, North America and Africa showed a recent documentary entitled Rael, the last of the prophets (1) by the documentary team Au nom de la loi (In the Name of the Law) on the RTBF network (French-speaking Belgian Radio and Television).
In this report, Human Rights Without Frontiers examines the methodology used by the Belgian journalists responsible for the documentary, Grard Rogge, Michel Renard and Marc Deschamps. To clarify certain points, Human Rights Without Frontiers met with some Belgian Raelians who had been interviewed for the programme.
Human Rights Without Frontiers does not take any position as regards doctrines or practices of religious movements, but condemns any illegal acts.
A study of the Raelian movement, from a human rights point of view appears on its internet site http://www.hrwf.net. It contains information on the cases taken against or by the Raelian movement in French-speaking European countries. Reference is also made to more detailed studies, notably the works of Susan Palmer, Professor of Religious Science at Dawson College in Montreal, Canada, as well as Professor Alain Bouchard (Canada) and the French historian Cherblanc.
The scenario
From the introduction onwards, the journalists clearly outlined the direction the programme would take: to explain that the Raelian movement is a dangerous sect, encouraging paedophilia and abusively obtaining funds. To support their statement, they claimed that the parliamentary enquiry commissions in France and Belgium backed this up (2). For more than an hour the documentary carried out its enquiry, accumulating information, documents and statements that all seemed to agree with the conclusions of the parliamentary commissions.
A negative image of the movement was presented from the beginning, and during the whole of the programme, this negative image was reinforced by other characteristics highlighted by the documentary makers:
- - Raels charisma towards his followers, especially the pretty female ones, a character who never previously had much success as a singer, racing driver or journalist, but now has a renewed success thanks to his encounter of the third kind and assignment from the Elohim to proclaim their mission to humans ;
- - Total sexual freedom between adults ;
- - The recent promotion of cloning.
Current members explained the positive aspects of the movement.
The programme finished as it had started, that is to say with harsh accusations without any convincing proof and without allowing Rael or his spokespeople the opportunity to defend the movement. Some of the statements made were that the Raelian movement was essentially fascist, that it wanted to install a political system called geniocracy, in which the right to vote would be refused to anyone who didnt have a sufficiently elevated IQ, restricting the running of the world and states to intelligent people, and that the movement was in favour of creating a perfect race.
Despite the opportunities given to Raelians to express and defend themselves at certain points during the documentary, the last volley of allegations was not followed up by the movements version of events, and therefore left the viewer with the impression that the Raelians are a dangerous sect. Something that still must be proved.
The choice of individuals interviewed
Contrary to many other programmes dealing with cults, In the Name of the Law gave a lot of air-time to the founder and director of the movement, several national representatives and members of the movement in Belgium and France. No ex-Raelian was interviewed. However, the ex-wife of a Raelian and an employee of the Centre against Mental Manipulation (CCMM), a French anti-cult organisation (3), spoke on several occasions. And once again, like all the French television programmes on cults, no religious sociologist who had seriously studied the movement was interviewed.
Court cases against Rael and related legal entities in several countries
The documentary did not refer to any court decisions against Rael or related legal entities:
- - No cases brought by ex-members;
- - No embezzlement of funds;
- - No rape or sexual abuse either by Rael or his clergy.
Some accusations and their basis, and the opportunity given to the accused to defend themselves
- 1. Abusive collection of funds, financial exploitation of members and suspicious financial operations?
Sale of Raels books: The documentary makers insinuated that Rael was profiting from his royalties through the hard work of his followers who he was pushing to sell his books. However, Rael and his spokespeople were never asked about how many books were sold each year, the sales targets reached by each member, or even the level of financial profit gained from the royalties. Belgian Raelians interviewed by Human Rights Without Frontiers stated that they only sold books very occasionally and that they were under no obligation to do this (4).
Membership fees: According to their level, the followers of the movement give between 3% to 11% of their net annual salary, stated In the Name of the Law. However, the non-compulsory nature of members monthly contributions (5) is well summed up in the statement given by a Belgian Raelian who tempers the initial point of view of the Belgian journalists.
The cost of building an embassy for extra-terrestrials: The construction of a terrestrial embassy to welcome extra-terrestrials is expected to cost 25 million dollars. According to Raels right-hand man, Grard Jeandupeux, half of this sum has already been amassed. However, he was not asked how many years this had taken to achieve. (The answer is 25). The money, which belongs to and is managed by the International Raelian Movement (of which Rael is the president) has been placed on the stock market and made a profit, according to Jeandupeux. The allusion to the funds being placed in banks in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland, presented as the prophets tax paradises, leads to the allegation, which was not proved by the programme, that suspicious financial practices have been taking place. The documentary made no reference to any enquiries being made into the subject, or any legal cases being taken as a result of the situation.
Financial contributions to Raels motor racing: Special fees are paid to the Rael Racing Team, a foundation aimed at allowing heo prophet to devote himself to his favourite sport, motor racing stated In the Name of the Law. Asked where these funds came from, Rael explained to the journalists, Its the people from the movement that want to see me race. Its really separate. Its not the organisations money. There are about a thousand people that finance my racing. In other words, Rael is sponsored to drive a car carrying his name as publicity for the movement. Is this luxurious lifestyle being carried on at the expense of the other Raelians? The scene cuts to a sequence showing Rael with tens of followers in a four-star hotel at Spa. The followers are beside themselves with excitement. A fan club which would outshine even Michael Schuhmachers, comments the journalist.
The groups headquarters and their luxurious apartments: Nothing is too exquisite for the last of the prophets. With the donations of his followers, he has had an exact copy of the Elohims flying saucer made. We are in UFO-land, the headquarters of the sect. Situated in Valcourt, right in the middle of the Canadian forests, UFO-land contains a museum as well as the luxurious apartments of the prophet, and lies between two race-tracks or two interplanetary voyages. In fact, the UFO is a rather rudimentary construction made out of pasteboard and there were no pictures used to back up the statements about the luxury of Raels apartment (6).
Legacies: Members are also advised to make Rael, and not their children, the beneficiary of their wills. Or better still to make a gift of all their belongings to the Guide of Guides whilst they are still alive, the documentary stated. No legal decisions on this point were mentioned, nor any proof of the veracity of that allegation. The origin of the statement or the point of view of the parties concerned was also not mentioned.
To sum up, none of the evidence provided withstood analysis and the programme was not able to prove the allegation of abusive collection of funds, nor the financial exploitation of its members, made by the French and Belgian parliamentary commissions. However the Belgian journalists drew no conclusion on this point of their enquiry, which only served to substantiate the stereotypical accusations against this movement.
- 2. Sexual abuse of children?
Raelian dignitaries have been prosecuted in France for the corruption of minors of less than 15 years of age. This part of the documentary was backed up by an unidentified press cutting bearing the heading St Etienne: Return to Earth for the Raelians (Saint-Etienne : retour sur terre pour les ra?liens). It was reinforced by another title added by the Belgian journalists: The Accused under Influence (Des prvenus sous influence) (7). An individual called Hubert, presented as the spokesman for Raelians in Europe was invited to respond. He highlighted that those accused have appealed and that the appeal was suspensive. He acknowledged that slip-ups had been made in the past and minimised this type of error. Other Raelians told Human Rights Without Frontiers that they did not consider such acts to be slip-ups and that they condemned sexual acts with minor children. Strangely, the documentary makers remained hazy on this legal issue. There was no source of information quoted, nor any names of guilty parties, dates or places.
At Carpentras in 1997, some Raelians were sentenced to 5 years in prison for raping a young girl who belonged to the movement. A newspaper cutting used to back up this allegation was not identified, however the title was clearly shown, Raelians judged for the rape of a young girl (Des ra?liens jugs pour le viol dune fillette). Several television subtitles were also shown, notably Cosmic orgasm and When sects debase children(Orgasme cosmique et Quand les sectes avilissent les enfants.) The documentary did not allow any French Raelian an opportunity to clarify this matter. According to the enquiry carried out by Human Rights Without Frontiers, the facts are allegedly different. In reality, when the case went to court, two men, a Raelian and a Catholic were accused of rape. However in the judgement, the only crime that was upheld was touching (attouchements). In addition, the young girl could not have belonged to the movement, as minors are not allowed to join. Human Rights Without Frontiers learnt that the Raelian was subsequently excluded from the movement. The Catholic church does not take such measures.
Rael commented on the general theme of paedophilia in the following terms, ? I have always been very clear in saying that paedophilia is a mental illness and that paedophiles should be treated. They are a danger to society and they are a danger to children. Our position is very clearly explained on our internet site. We are only in favour of sexual freedom for adults ?.
Was Rael sincerely telling the truth? The Belgian journalists doubted it and quoted Hayat El Mountacir, an employee of the Centre against Mental Manipulation who maintained that Rael had, in a number of old writings, encouraged incest and sexual relations with children.
The documentary followed in the same vein by focusing on a Raelian bulletin (no 105 from 1986). The cover of the brochure was pictured, featuring a picture of Rael with a microphone, and alongside a quote read by a journalist, Its a different kind of sensuality, a marginal one certainly, but nevertheless enriching and fulfilling for the child as well as for the adult. It must be said however that this text is not a statement by Rael. In fact the name of its author appears underneath, (Pierre Deslauriers, Laval, Qubec) and funnily enough this was not read. Rael had already clearly explained his current position with regards to this kind of accusation, but he was not asked to comment on this 15-year old text which has often been used by anti-sect movements. No doubt he should have been, as the editor in charge. Human Rights Without Frontiers asked the opinion of one of the spokesmen for the Belgian Raelians: Fifteen years ago there was no reading committee for the movements journal, and some of the points of view of members were published even though they didnt agree with our teaching. However the journal did state that the views expressed were those of the authors only C something that the programme did not mention. Currently such errors are practically no longer possible. We are against paedophilia.
Recently a case of incest which implicated a Raelian has relaunched the debate. A mother from the East of France discovered that her husband had become a Raelian.
Corinne F. spoke with her face obscured and accused her ex-husband of having abused her oldest daughter when he became a Raelian. There was nothing to support this statement, not even any evidence from the father or the daughters. Corinne explained that she had only found out about it from her daughters boyfriend, just a short time after divorcing her husband in 1998. There was no indication as to when this had gone on. After a difficult enquiry, it was confirmed to Human Rights Without Frontiers that a case had in fact been undertaken, but at the time of the programme being shown, no judgement had been obtained.
The extremely biased treatment of all these serious allegations poses a problem. The documentary by In the Name of the Law does not seem to have read the judgements or followed up its enquiries, and the impression could be that its information came from an anti-sect movement that was not too concerned about backing up its allegations.
Curiously, the documentarys conclusion was quite restrained, and not in keeping with the sentiments expressed previously. In the final analysis, it would appear in fact that the film even contradicted the conclusions of the French and Belgian parliamentary commissions on the very serious point of paedophilia and incest, two recurring allegations made against the Raelians: In recent years, all writings from the sect forbid Raelians from having sexual intercourse with children or adolescents. A reservation though went along with this positive commentary: Fear of the police and the legal consequences, the ban on sexual relations between adults and children would appear more like a precaution than a deep conviction. The documentary therefore implicitly suggested that there had been illegal sexual practices carried out by some Raelians, but that the movement had evolved and corrected itself. The Raelian movement also found itself in the wake of the sexual revolution of the late sixties and its slip-ups. The sociological context significantly changed in the Nineties, and the movement has adapted or clarified its doctrine on the matter.
In this part of the programme, it should be particularly noted that the Belgian journalists did not back up the serious allegations of firstly, the encouragement to commit acts of paedophilia and secondly, making it seem less serious than it is. There was no register made of the number of known cases of paedophilia within the Raelian movement. Nor was there any comparative statistical analysis with other well-known and well-respected religions or with the population as a whole. Three cases were cited over a period of 25 years, and these cases were extremely poorly backed up. And again, the journalists did not explicitly draw conclusions from their enquiry.
3. Sexual orgies?
The programme focused in on the sexual codes of the Raelians, (for example, wearing differently coloured bracelets to indicate sexual preference) and recognised that these practices only involved adults.
The sensual or sensory awakening courses were an ideal opportunity to feed the viewers fantasies of sexual orgies. In the Name of the Law stated that they had been banned from filming and stated ? The prophet and his pupils prefer to operate in an intimate environment. But what goes on is no secret. It is known that Rael uses these sessions to develop a limitless sexual freedom. A freedom that his pupils use to the full. The events are no secret because, although the journalists didnt admit it, they were invited to participate along with the other people (8), and there were no sexual frolics going on that could have prevented them from taking part on moral grounds.
What about young women, potential and consenting sex objects of Rael? The programme claims to prove this. The women wearing a pink feather around their neck indicate that they are reserving sexual pleasure for the Elohim when they return to the earth, or Rael, and in default of these two options, they masturbate. They have to have passed tests for sexually transmitted diseases to be eligible for this honour.
It is not surprising that after such programmes, despite their critical angle, the Raelians receive many calls from people who claim to be interested in their movement (perhaps more so that their doctrine), but who could not always be recommended? Is not this kind of reporting ultimately achieving the opposite of what it sets out to do?
To sum up, everything that the programme led viewers to believe went on only concerned consenting adults, and their diverse forms of sexual practices did not constitute illegal infractions. The journalists did not reach any clear conclusion on this point of their enquiry.
- 4. Are the Raelians fascists?
? The best possible world according to Rael would be one where only geniuses of an elevated intellectual level would rule. Lesser intelligent beings would not be given the right to vote. Rael also proposes to create a perfect race by controlling reproduction. Sub-humans made by cloning would work for the elect and act as sexual objects for them. Happiness is for the future?. The documentary ended on these words C the journalists closing the file on the Raelians without allowing them opportunity to reply to these final allegations. A final verdict without appeal. A media dramatisation of the Raelian utopia that will never be more than a utopia. Dramatising these visions without any hope of them being realised, except in the Raelians imagination, seems manifestly excessive and rather facile (9).
Conclusion
At the beginning of the programme, two major allegations of illegal activities had been dealt out to the Raelian movement to prove that it was in fact a dangerous sect; abusive gathering of funds and sexual abuse of minors forming a integral part of the movements doctrine. This report has demonstrated that at the end of the programme there was hardly anything left of these allegations. Other issues added to the case by the journalists were also poorly backed up. And however, it must be said that a viewer leaves the programme with the impression that the movement is in fact, in the year 2001, a dangerous sect.
This feeling can be explained by the techniques used by the journalists throughout the programme:
- - The systematic accumulation of pieces of evidence that constantly put the Raelians on the defensive;
- - Complaisance and even endorsement, of the allegations ;
- - A lack of rigorous control of the sensational statements by the movements detractors ;
- - The casting doubt on statements made by Raelians to stereotypical allegations and corrections in the form of counter-interviews and gratuitously negative and even ironic commentaries ;
- - Presentation of incomplete information against the movement which had not been checked or were impossible to be checked;
- - Commentaries designed to arouse moral reprobation on the part of right-thinking people and negative emotional reactions towards the movement, especially at the end of the programme where serious accusations had been made against the movement without allowing them opportunity to react ;
- - Recourse to media dramatisation ;
- - Absence of clearly expressed intermediary and final conclusions.
In conclusion, the programme simply rehashed the stereotypes already existing in France and French-speaking countries C by definition if a sect is dangerous or potentially dangerous, the media is under an obligation to courageously denounce it. In fact, the media falls into conformity and takes no risk at all, as they only reinforce current thought and whatever is religiously correct. Along with the logic of the debate currently surrounding sects, there is also a media logic that needs events to produce headlines and only the problematic or controversial enters into this logic. The door is therefore open for everything to go downhill.
Notes
This study was submitted before publication to Massimo Introvigne, J.F. Mayer, Alain Bouchard and Susan Palmer. Their observations have been taken into consideration.
(1) This documentary was shown several times on the television channels RTBF and TV 5.
(2) Concerning the work of the parliamentary commissions, the serious deficiencies in the methodology and enquiries have been widely denounced by notably the European academic world.
(3) The Centre against Mental Manipulation (CCMM) is an anti-sect movement whose president, Alain Vivien, was named head of the Interministerial Mission to combat sects, set up by the French government as a result of the report by the parliamentary sect enquiry commission.
(4) In Belgium the Raelian movement has no more than 300 members, and sells around 200 books per year. (Source : Additional enquiry by Human Rights Without Frontiers).
(5) In fact, a new member has no financial obligation.
National members are invited to pay contributions to the Raelian movement, and the recommended amount is 3% of their income after payment of tax. None of the members incomes are ever checked by a member of the hierarchy.
Members of structures, along with regional, national and continental heads including Rael are invited to pay a recommended amount of 10% (3+7%) of their income after payment of tax, with an additional 1% added for Rael. These fees are optional. None of the members incomes are ever checked by a member of the hierarchy.
According to an study made in Quebec by Susan Palmer, Professor of Religious Science at Dawson College, Montreal, only 15% paid 10% of their income.
(6) A Belgian Raelian interviewed in the programme told Human Rights Without Frontiers that Rael lived comfortably but that his apartment had nothing luxurious about it. Susan Palmers and Alain Bouchards opinion on this point are the same.
(7) Additional enquiry by Human Rights Without Frontiers: at the time of the programme, a final judgement had not yet been given, the case was still in appeal
(8) Two other journalists who worked for the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo C Antonio Fischetti and the cartoonist Tignous C were present for the course at the same time as the documentary-makers and enrolled as participants. On the 11th July 2001, Charlie Hebdo published an article entitled The Official Extra-terrestrial Sect (La secte officielle des extraterrestres) which presented this course as a quite different day to the one suggested by In the Name of the Law. Here is what they said about it: "The course started by a day of abstinence: for 24 hours no food and no speech. We are eagerly awaiting the ? sensory explosion ? promised for the following day. However, in guise of an orgy we find ourselves in rows, face to face with an apricot and an unripe peach on our knees. The idea is that you taste apricot and you become the apricot. Then you awaken as you feel the person next to you.
(9) More information on these allegations can be found in the study carried out into the movement by Human Rights Without Frontiers (http://www.hrwf.net). Human Rights Without Frontiers refuses to take any position on the doctrines or movements it studies. However it defends the principal of universal suffrage as fundamental to the state of right and it is opposed to the cloning of humans.
Back to the Table of Contents
By Willy Fautr, Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (21.12.2001) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - On 9 December, a prominent socialist minister and a Catholic member of the Federal Parliament surprisingly attended the inauguration of a church building bought (409,000 EURO) from the Franciscans by the community of a dissident priest of the Catholic Church, listed as a possible harmful sectarian organization by the Belgian parliamentary commission. On that occasion, Father Samuel also announced the creation of a religious order.
In the said list, it is stressed that Father Samuel is a traditionalist and a fundamentalist, an exorcist and a healer. He was accused by direct and indirect witnesses and his movement, and mentioned as potentially dangerous during the hearing of a single expert, Dr Berliner, director of the Association of victims of illegal medical practices and a deputy member of the Information and Advice Centre on Harmful Sectarian Organizations, behind closed doors. Dr Berliner also testified against other movements such as the Anthroposophic Society.
Since his expulsion from the Catholic Church, Father Samuel had celebrated mass in a former discotheque and then in a huge industrial shelter in Gosselies (Walloon region) on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thousands of people attend his religious services while most Catholic churches are empty in the region. Masses, visits to sick people, baptisms, marriages, blessings (of houses, cars, fields, farms, factories) are free of charge. The Belgian parliamentary report says a number of things about the movement of Father Samuel:
He seems to receive many anonymous donations that he claims to fully redistribute.
In January 1996, he allegedly redistributed envelopes containing 2,000 BEF (about 50 EURO) to each participant in his one of his masses. He allegedly offered 100,000 BEF (about 2,500 EURO) to the Restos du Coeur in Lige (1). ()
Father Samuel practices the laying on of hands as a healing method. It also seems that he promises to heal genetic diseases if he has weekly contacts with the sick person.
According to a witness, it seems that the regular attendance of Father Samuels activities may have some repercussions on family life of his followers, in particular in married couples. Children are also rather isolated from the outside world and some must even wear a rosary around their necks.
Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, minister-president of the Walloon region, said at the inauguration : If my presence near Father Samuel can raise some questions, you all know my beliefs. I am a free thinker who only recognizes one church: human society. I think that for a good man, there are several ways of showing love to man and of showing universal solidarity. I want to greet the extraordinary availability of Father Samuel who listens to the needs of the people, tries to relieve human woes and opens his heart to others. And he added As a humanist and an open-minded man, I respect everyones beliefs. I am for tolerance. Ignorance and intolerance are a drama that unfortunately does not belong to the past.
His speech confirmed his personal friendship with Father Samuel.
The Socialist mayor of Charleroi, a nearby city, was also present in the first rows of the church.
The PSC (2) member of the Federal Parliament declared that he had just accompanied a group of his town out of curiosity and that he had not attended mass (3) but had left just after Van Cauwenberghes speech. He said that he did not share the extreme or conservative positions of Father Samuel but that the presence of the minister of the Walloon region and of the mayor of Charleroi was the proof that his activities were neither sectarian nor harmful. And he concluded I have recognized many people from all social and professional sectors.
(1) A humanitarian movement created by late French actor Coluche who wanted to feed homeless people in need in France
(2) Parti social Chrtien
(3) Mass in Latin
Back to the Table of Contents
The Information and Advice Centre on Harmful Sectarian Organizations answers
By Willy Fautr, Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (19.12.2001) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - The access to the Belgian territory is scrutinized according to a number of criteria. In April 2000, the Belgian Consulate refused to issue visas for Mormon missionaries to enter the country for missionary work although similar visas had been issued for decades without problems. The Belgian Government explained that this change of policy was an unintended result of the Foreign Workers Act of 1999 that required religious workers to obtain work permits before applying for a visa to enter the country for religious work. However, the Act specifically exempted workers for the six recognized religions from this requirement. Mormon missionaries were told that they should reapply for visas after obtaining the appropriate work permits. However, since Mormon missionaries are strictly volunteers who pay their own way and receive no salary or subsidy from the Church, they do not qualify for the required work permit. Negotiations between representatives of the Mormons and the Ministry of Interior, facilitated by the U.S. Embassy, led to a resumption of the issuance of visas in July 2000 under special temporary procedures. Visas are now being issued on a regular basis, although at a much slower pace than in the past. (1)
On 24 October 2000, Mr E. Schewebach, director of the Office for Foreigners, asked the Centre if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was a harmful sectarian organization. Here is the answer that was provided by the Centre on 31 May 2001 (2):
Considering generally that
- official reports of the enquiry commissions in Belgium, France, Switzerland (Germany, Canada) do not contain negative elements against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints;
- in European countries, so far as the Centre knows, there are no court decisions which condemned the movement on the basis of an offence against the law;
Considering that on some controversial points debated in public
- the social and religious control does not seem to be such that all the young members of the Church are obliged to perform a missionary internship during two years. Statistics show that only 33% of the young men and 5% of the young women carry out such a work. According to Mormon internet websites, it is a free choice;
- the founding texts of the Church contain statements that can be described as racist but practice shows that these remarks are no longer used (i.e. the attitude towards the blacks);
- the attitude towards woman does not come within the scope of the European and international trend regarding equality between men and women;
- on the issue of polygamy, in its early days, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints accepted and promoted its practice and after (sometimes violent) conflicts with the American states, the Church banned polygamy (and its practice) and made it a reason for excommunication. Nevertheless, individuals or dissident movements remain attached to this practice condemned by the Church;
- Although in its early days the movement has promoted a clearly theocratic model, the movement has with the time adapted to and fitted into the democratic system of the United States, and other democratic countries;
- the official doctrine practises a fundamentalist reading of the founding texts and does not allow historical criticism of the sources (i.e. their opinions on the origin of the world, the rejection of evolutionism, the origin of the movement, the expulsion of some historians from the movement).
On the basis of these findings, the Information and Advice Centre on Harmful Sectarian Organizations believes that, in the present circumstances, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not present a particular risk with regard to article 2 of the 2 June 1998 law creating an Information and Advice Centre on Harmful Sectarian Organizations and an Administrative Agency Coordinating the Fight against Harmful Sectarian Organizations (Moniteur belge/ Official Journal, 25 November 1998).
- (1) U.S. Department of State Report 2001
- (2) HRWF translation of the advice joined to the Centre Biennial Report 1999-2000
Back to the Table of Contents
1999-2000
Willy Fautr, Human Rights Without Frontiers
Between July 2000 and September 2001, the Information and Advice Centre on Harmful Sectarian Organisations has received 2-3 enquiries a day about 154 religious movements. On the request of public authorities, it has also issued positive advices on the FECRIS (European Federation of Research and Information Centres on Sectarianism) and on Mormons. Its main recommendation is the introduction of the concept of abuse of the state of weakness in the Penal Code.
HRWF (17.12.2001) C Website http://www.hrwf.net C Email info@hrwf.net - The 35-page report (*) opens with a summary of the legal framework of the Centre. The next parts deal with the report of activities, the functioning of the Centre and the perspectives.
In the introduction, the Centre report recalls the 1997 recommendations of the Parliamentary Commission on Sects (the only part of the 660-page parliamentary report voted by the Parliament), the missions of the Centre as they are described in the 2 June 1998 law creating the Centre and the decision of the Court of Arbitration against the Anthroposophic Society which had tried to get the nullification of the 1998 law on the grounds that it was discriminatory and inconsistent with the freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom to manifest ones opinions, freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The report of activities presents
- - a list of meetings and a small summary of the topics treated by the Centre
- - the research work of the Centre on an operational definition of the concept harmful sectarian organisation
- - a list of harmfulness criteria and the role of that instrument in the elaboration of an advice on a movement
- - a list of events in which the Centre took part in Belgium and abroad
- - the functioning of the library
- - the information of the public
- - the texts of the two advices on the FECRIS and the Mormons
- - the collaboration with the Administrative Agency of Fight Against Harmful Sectarian Organisations
- - a recommendation to introduce in the Penal Code the concept of abuse of the state of weakness
The report of the Centre recalls that the concept of abuse of the state of weakness was one of the proposals of the Parliamentary Commission on Sects and recommends to the Minister of Justice to present a draft law to the government.
The report remains silent about the misuse of the parliamentary list of 189 movements presented as a list of active sects by the French Community of Belgium in the brochure Gourou, gare toi (Guru, beware of you!), by municipal councils, in courts, in the media, etc.
The second part of the report which is devoted to the functioning of the Centre describes the selection procedure used for the appointment of the members of the Centre, explains the problems regarding the recruitment of permanent competent staff and the delays in the installation of the Centre in adequate premises (August-September 2000).
In the third part (1 page), the reports details the perspectives of the Centre at the national and international levels.
(*) The report can be ordered at CIAOSN, 139 rue Haute, 3rd floor, 1000 Brussels.
Phone: 32 2 504 91 68 C Fax: 32 2 513 83 94 C Email CIAOSN@just.fgov.be
Back to the Table of Contents
(Second episode)
By Willy Fautr, Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF International Secretariat (17.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - On 29 November 2001, the Court of First Instance heard the case opposing C.V. (mother) to D.V. (father) on the custody of their son (aged 4 and one-half) and issued its judgment. An option open to the judge was to allow the child to spend equal time with both parents (usually one week alternatively). However in this case, the judge ordered that, although, both parents may carry out their authority jointly, the childs residence is to be fixed at his mothers. Consequently, D.V. will not be permitted to see his son any more than a father who has been denied custody and granted only visitation rights[kwa1] : a weekend every other week and half of the school holidays. The fathers affiliation to a sect was considered by the judge in his decision.
In the year 2000, an expert stated on two occasions that the mother was psychologically unable to take care of her child, or even of herself (page 3-4), and that the mother had given over her sons education to her parents. Additionally, the expert concluded that granting custody to the mother is not the best solution for the child. In his consideration, the judge recognized that the defendant seems to offer an adequate environment to his son; whether at a practical level or a affective level, Mr. V. can provide for the needs of his child (page 5).
The plaintiff stressed that the only thing she can reproach her husband with is his being indoctrinated by a sect, the (name of the movement); she is afraid of her child being indoctrinated and fears that, like her husband[kwa2] , he will lose his reason[kwa3] and his freedom of thought, the judgment says.
The judge looked at the fathers religious affiliation: It is not the right place here to put the .. (name of the movement) on trial, he says, but we have to examine the risks that [the son] could incur as far as his personal, social and philosophical development is concerned if the primary or secondary residence were to be granted to the father, a follower of the said sectarian organisation. The experts opinion in this matter was that the very young age of the child (now four and a half years) protects him, for some time, against sectarian indoctrination.
The defendant does not seem to be sectarian, the judges admits, and there is now no sign that the defendant would not be honest[kwa4] , that he would hide his game.
The judge recognizes that the psychological progress of the mother is slower than expected but as soon as it is achieved, she will be able to accommodate, support and educate Mathieu.
This presumptionthis bet on the futurewere, in the end, sufficient for the judge to confirm the former judgment, maintaining the childs residence at his mothers and limiting the childs contact with his father to periodic visitation[kwa5] .
Back to the Table of Contents
Cult membership, divorce and child custody
Episode 1
HRWF International Secretariat (31.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A court custody battle between a mother under psychiatric treatment and a father, a member of a cult
During 2000-2001, the Belgian anti-cult policy remained static to the point where some observers in Belgium and abroad came to the rather hasty and incorrect conclusion that the cult issue in Belgium was no longer of much interest. Although the situation seemed calm on the surface, several court cases, which referred to cults using the parliamentary report on cults, were taking place. The problem of deciding child custody in religiously mixed couples is the most widespread.
D.V. and C.V. got married in 1991. On the 17th March 1997 they became parents to a baby boy, Mathieu. After the birth, the mother became seriously depressed. She was hospitalised and put under observation at the request of the Public Prosecutor. In 1999 she was treated at a psychiatric centre for six months. The couple separated in March 1999, and are now divorced but custody of Mathieu remains under litigation. The father (D.V.) had custody of the child for the first ten months of the separation and the mother would see the child sometimes at the weekend.
The effect of cult membership on the first instance courts decision
On the 27th January 2000, the case came before the court of first instance Verviers. The father is an active member of a group listed as a cult in the parliamentary report.
The judgement stated that both parents conjointly exercised parental authority over their child, that custody would go to the mother (with the help of her parents) and that the father would have the right to classic contact visits.
The courts decision was motivated by the following reasons:
- Whereas the plaintiff () denounces the choices and attitudes of the defendant due to his belonging to . (name of the movement), even a more serious involvement in the movement (being, according to her, on the point of being charged) ;
- Whereas she highlights the negative influence that belonging to this cult could ultimately have on the personal and social equilibrium of Mathieu ;
- Whereas the defendant admits to being a member of (name of the movement) but formally contests that he plays a leading role in the movement, devotes the majority of his time to it, or that he is about to be charged, and on this point, he states that the plaintiff has submitted no proof that this is the case.
- Whereas the defendant highlights, in contrast, that he has looked after the child since the separation (in March 1999) and that with the help of his new partner, the child has been raised in a completely balanced way, in good health and in a harmonious context ().
The First Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Liege confirmed the judgement of the Verviers court. Some of the reasons for its decision should be highlighted, and they are mentioned here as they appeared in the judgement :
- Whereas to decide on this delicate question of the principal residence of the child, the fact that the appellant belongs to (name of the movement) cannot be ignored ; and whereas in fact, on one hand the wifes health problems appear to be linked to this ; whereas Doctor (name), GP, who has known the appellee well since her childhood attests (1) to, the psychiatric problem posed finds its source in her participation in, and then in her efforts to distance herself from the sectarian activity of (name of the movement) (exhibits 9 and 10) ; and whereas on the other hand, the appellant carries out a significant role within this group, as during the parliamentary enquiry into cults, he was interviewed as a witness, and he also appears in the organization chart of (name of the movement), what he did not deny, and as during the judges enquiry searches were carried out at the headquarters of (name of his business) ; and as finally (name of the movement) is not only considered as a cult, but incidentally described as dangerous for minors by the parliamentary enquiry (2); and as the underlying threat of indoctrination, whether by the appellant or his circle of acquaintances, should not be ruled out ;
- Whereas it arises that the problem between the parents is not without influence on their relations with the child as to his personal, social and philosophical development () ;
- Whereas the choice rests between a mother whose health is certainly still fragile, but progressing, and a father who belongs to a cult with a worrying ideology ().
Psychological experts and the fathers religious convictions
On the 27th January 2000 the first instance court of Verviers arranged for an expert in psychology to examine the child, his parents and their family circle.
The expert submitted his report on the 3rd July 2001.
Mathieu is a well-balanced and happy child, stated the expert. Referring to the mother-in-law of D.V., he stressed that, he is the son-in-law that most mothers-in-law dream of, but that she reproached him for belonging to (name of the movement) and by doing so, for risking disturbing the evolution of Mathieu.
On the subject of the fathers cult membership : Considerations relating to whether or not (name of the movement) is a religion certainly do not enter into this examination, which is centered on the child:
The principal fear of Mrs C.V. and the maternal grandparents is the risk of sectarian conditioning. In our democratic society, freedom of thought, action, movement and social integration are important values. A major role of education is to develop discernment, a critical mind and independence.
Given his young age, it would seem that Mathieu is currently able to avoid any sectarian indoctrination of thought, and no serious breach could be detected in the way in which D.V. cared for his child.
At the end of this examination, my proposals are the following : restore the principal residence of Mathieu to the father ().
The Kings Attorney subsequently raises the issue of the fathers cult membership
On the 27th September 2001, the Verviers Kings attorney (3) brought into question the experts report relating to the religious affiliation of D.V. and requested an addendum to the report in the following terms :
The expert should carry out an examination and an analysis of the impact or the possible impact of the teachings of (name of the movement), of which the father is a confirmed and efficient member, on the personal, social and philosophical development of the child.
Notes of Human Rights Without Frontiers
- (1) This statement strongly resembles a doctors certificate issued for non-genuine illness to oblige a patient, in this case issued by the family doctor with the sole aim of having the custody awarded to her client.
- (2) The parliamentary report on cults : Parliament only adopted the conclusions and recommendations of this report (only 19 pages out of 660). No decision was made on the interview transcripts and the list of movements suspected to be dangerous and harmful cults, which the mother referred to.
- (3) Belgium is a parliamentary monarchy. The post of Procureur du Roi (Kings Attorney) corresponds in other countries to Public Prosecutor or Crown Attorney.
Back to the Table of Contents
HRWF International Secretariat (14.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The Court of First Instance of Lige has nonsuited the Catholic bishop of that town who had sued a non-profit making organisation called NOPEDO C Dont touch my children (NOPEDO Touche Pas Mes Enfants), along with the Raelian movement through its representative body in Belgium Raelian Religion of Belgium and the Internet site administrator, Mr Marc Lavoie, following the distribution of leaflets and the creation of an Internet site denouncing acts of paedophilia practised by Catholic priests.
The Catholic Church had demanded a ban on any subsequent new distribution in Belgium of the leaflets at issue, or similar ones, and the removal of the contents of the Internet site in Belgium, http://www.nopedo.org), (a site that reports on paedophilia and denounces the involvement of some Catholic priests) and a ban on the creation of any other Internet site with a different name but similar content. The Church had asked a condemnation to a fine of a thousand Belgian francs (*) per new tract distributed, one million Belgian franks for each day that the Internet site would be left open, and ten million Belgian francs if a new site was created with the same content.
The lawyer representing the Raelians, Ms Ins Wouters, told Human Rights Without Frontiers that denouncing paedophilia committed by priests belonged in the public domain and that the policy of silence so long practised by the Church had repeatedly been criticised in the media and on several Internet sites. She considered that this court case had restricted her clients freedom of expression and cited a decision of the Tribunal of First Instance dated 23 April 1999 which highlighted that any publication can been the object of even severe criticism, without the cessation of its distribution being justified.
The case was pleaded at the Tribunal of First Instance of Lige on 7 August and the judgment was made public two weeks later.
(*) 1 USD = 40-45 Belgian franks
Back to the Table of Contents
Guru, youd better watch out!
Anthroposophic Society v. French Community of Belgium
Act 3
By Willy Fautr
HRWF (07.09.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (07.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A decision has finally been reached on a case, which for more than two years has set the Belgian Anthroposophical Society against the French Community of Belgium in a dispute over the brochure ? Guru, youd better watch out! ? which presents anthroposophy as a dangerous esoteric sect. The 14th Civil Chamber of Brussels decided that the grievances of the Anthroposophical Society were unfounded and that no fault could be imputed to the French Community.
On 28 April 1997, the House of Representatives presented its Parliamentary inquiry commission aiming at working out a policy to fight against the illegal practices of sects and the dangers that they pose to society, persons, and particularly to minors. However the Belgian parliament only voted in the conclusions and recommendations of this report, just 19 pages out of 670 pages in total.
In the recommendations, the commission draws the attention of the authorities to the necessity of a ? complete public information campaign, aimed particularly at young people, as regards the sectarian phenomenon ?. It also advocates ? systematic media campaigns ?.
On 5 March 1999, the minister-president of the government of the French Community (a federated entity of the federal state), Mrs Laurette Onckelinkx (PS), held a press conference during which she announced the publication of leaflets which would be available in all post offices across French-speaking Belgium, advertisements on radio, television and in cinemas, along with the distribution in French-speaking schools and associations of a 38-page brochure entitled ? Gurus, youd better watch out! Im free to think for myself ?.
On page 7 of the brochure, the French Community wrongly stated that ? the Enquiry Commissions report took an inventory of 189 active sects ?. In fact, the report indicated about the synoptic table, which cited 189 movements targeted by the Commission, ? Therefore, the fact that a movement appears here (...) does not signify that for the Commission it is a sect, and a fortiori that it is dangerous ? (Volume II, page 227 of the second volume). The French Community however conceded that all the sects were not harmful, but irreparable harm had been done because a public authority had given its backing to an error which had already been widely spread in public opinion by the Belgian media, i.e. that the Parliamentary Commission had listed 189 sects. And the precision that stated that all the sects were not necessarily dangerous would quickly dissolve in the general prejudice ? sect = danger ? and disappear from the public debate.
Amongst these 189 sects, the French Community cited anthroposophy, warning its readers ? A child, little Anna?lle, died after having been treated for cancer according to the precepts of the sect. The sect however denies that the person who administered the treatment belonged to the group ? (page 12). The juxtaposition of both an argument and a counter-argument without synthesis shows a lack of investigation on the part of the parliamentary commission. A federal public authority has therefore backed a rumour and other public authorities, such as the French Community, have taken it up and distributed it with complete impunity. Even more serious is that this rumour is spread in schools through the classes of ethics and religion where the brochure ? Guru, youd better watch out! ? is used as teaching material, therefore encouraging intolerance.
On 2 April 1999, the Belgian Anthroposophical Society lodged a complaint in emergency against the French Community in front of Brussels Court of First Instance to demand the distribution of the brochure ? Guru, youd better watch out! ? to be stopped, with financial penalties for non-compliance, until the references to the ? sect Anthroposophy ? had been removed from pages 7 and 12. The case also concerned the deleting of the same comments on the French Communitys Internet site (www.cfwb.be), with financial penalties for non-compliance, as well as the publication of the judgement in three French-speaking newspapers at the cost of the French Community. On 23 April 1999, the Court agreed to the Anthroposophical Societys first two demands, but did not agree to the third. The French Community took the case to appeal.
On 20 January 2000, the 9th Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Brussels stated that there was ? no urgency to maintain the requested measures that uselessly infringes on the freedom of expression of the French Community ?, as ? the litigious brochure has already been widely distributed to schools and the French-speaking press, and only a small number of brochures remains to be distributed ?. As for the Internet site, the Court stated that ? the case is no longer applicable as the publication of the brochure via the Internet has already stopped ?.
On 20 July 2000, the Anthroposophical Society returned to court to fight the foundation of the case. The two parties exchanged conclusions until the end of February 2001. The defence speeches were held in public court on 17 April 2001 and the 14th Civil Chamber of Brussels passed judgement at the beginning of July.
The court reaffirmed the principle of freedom of expression is to be exercised within the limits of not causing harm to another individual. The court also noted that a journalist is required to report accurate truth ? within his reasonable means ?. Additionally, the court highlighted that the French Community could not be asked to recommence the enquiry work that had been carried out by parliamentarians, and that it had shown ? prudence to state in the brochure in clear and unequivocal terms that the anthroposophical sect denied that the individual administering the treatment was a member of their group ?. The court added that in 1994, the Anthroposophical Society did not manage to obtain from the Court of First Instance of Ghent the removal of a number of pages from the book ? Les sectes en Belgique et au Luxembourg ? (Sects in Belgium and Luxembourg) by Alain Lallemand). Those pages were dealing with the case of Anna?lle. Subsequently, no action on the substance of the case had been taken to obtain reparations for the moral prejudice that it claimed for in its case against the French Community. The court concluded that no fault could be imputed to the French Community ? from the fact that it quoted its sources and that they had appeared to be reliable ?.
Back to the Table of Contents
Request for legal dissolution of a sect C a first in Belgium
By Willy Fautr
HRWF International Secretariat (06.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - In the case of a unilateral breaking of a rental contract for premises opposing the association Sahaja Yoga to the Cultural and Congress Centre of Woluw-Saint-Pierre (Brussels), the Centres lawyer demanded that the ? sect ? be legally dissolved on the basis that its activities were allegedly damaging to public order and contrary to standards of behaviour. No hearing date has yet been fixed.
On the 28th September 2000, Mr Anthony Headlam sent a fax to the Centre reserving a hall for the 26th October. On the 2nd October both parties signed a rental contract for the auditorium. However a denunciation from an anti-sect group was to hinder the normal process of exercise of freedom of expression of this group, which at that time, had not been the object of any court case in Belgium.
Denounced by an anti-sect group
On the 26th October, date of the conference, the Cultural Centre received a copy of a letter sent the same day to the mayor by the CIGS (Contacts and Information on Sectarian Groups). This letter recalled the inclusion of the group Sahaja Yoga as a sect in the French parliamentary report entitled ? Sects in France ? and also referred to its mention in the list of 189 religious movements targeted by the parliamentary commission on sects in Belgium.
In this letter, various accusations were set out against Sahaja Yoga: influence of the guru on the groups members close to hypnotism, problems with child custody, court cases in various European countries (without mentioning any decision in these cases), etc.
The Cultural Centre immediately contacted Mr Headlam and unilaterally terminated the rental contract, just a few hours before the conference, on the basis that the conference was to be organised by a sect. The decision was immediately confirmed in writing and justified on the basis that ? the activity that you intend to organise within our building is a recruitment method by an organisation whose practices might harm individuals and children in particular (see the judgement of Rennes/France of 16 July 1992 and confirmed by the appeal of February 1993) ?.
On the evening of 26th October the municipality police were called to the Cultural Centre and physically prevented access to individuals wishing to attend the conference that had been advertised by posters and advertisements.
As a consequence, the association represented by its attorney Ins Wouters, decided to take the Centre to court for defaulting on a rental contract.
Request for Sahaja Yoga to be dissolved
Basing himself on the parliamentary report on sects of 28th April 1997 - a report which has not been approved by Belgiums House of Representatives - the attorney of the Cultural Centre concluded that the unilateral default of the rental contract was justified by the fact that the activities of Sahaja Yoga are allegedly damaging to public order and contrary to accepted standards of behaviour. He went on to quote a four-page witness statement. This testimony was delivered behind closed doors and was not checked but was published in the parliamentary report on sects. The witness was accusing the movement of practicing self-hypnosis, mental conditioning of members, illegal exercise of medicine, educating children in ashrams, proselytising, arranging mass marriages, etc.
He went on to add C wrongly C that the Belgian parliamentary report had allegedly ranked this ? sect ? as the most dangerous.
In his conclusion, he requested the legal dissolution of the association Sahaja Yoga.
Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly for ? sects ?
It has often been said and written in Belgium and France that freedom of worship is completely guaranteed to religious sects and that therefore they have no legitimate reason to complain. However when these groups are occasionally refused the exercising of their freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, it is silently passed over. The recent and previous problems experienced by Sahaja Yoga are just one example among many that a number of ? sects ? experience, although never having been convicted of any illegal activities.
In 1992, the rental contact for two public conference halls in Brussels where Shri Mataji, the founder of the Sahaja Yoga movement, was to hold a conference, was unilaterally broken one week before the event. An alternative location was found, however.
In 1994, the association had to change hall three times to be able to arrange a conference for their spiritual leader. In a letter dated 25th July 1994 the Royal Crown Hotel in Brussels notified one of the conference organisers that the Belgian Brigade of Surveillance and Research (BSR/ BOB) had visited them to warn them against the activities of the Sahaja Yoga. On the third time, the association decided not to publicise the address of the conference to avoid one more rental contract cancellation and organised transport from a rendezvous point advertised on posters and invitations.
In 1996 the mayor denied the Sahaja Yoga the use of a public hall which he had previously granted.
In September 1996 the association was refused halls for yoga lessons because of negative articles in the Flemish press.
In March 1997 there were new hindrances in obtaining a public hall at Kalmthout. In the same year, the association was refused a hall at Mechelen.
Other halls that Sahaja Yoga had rented for years for courses in Brussels were refused to the movement over the past few years.
Behind these constraints on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression that date back to well before the creation of an enquiry commission on sects, there are often interventions from anti-sect groups or the Belgian Brigade of Surveillance and Research, one of the official sources of information of the Belgian parliamentary report on sects. In 1993, the Greek press denounced the surveillance by the Greek intelligence services of around 60 groups designated as sects (Eleftherotypia, 5th August 1993*). In Belgium and France, nobody reacted against similar practices.
(*) For more information, see the magazine Religious Discrimination and Intolerance in Greece (Issue 1-2/ 1994) published by Human Rights Without Frontiers.
Back to the Table of Contents
Spirituality: The triumph of the individual and the Spiritual Supermarket phenomenon.
How can violence be avoided without adding to it?
Interview with Professor Denaux (KUL)
Louvain, 29 May 2001 (CIP)/ HRWF International Secretariat (14.06.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net
All kinds of spiritualities have blossomed into life in the public sphere, rather like a supermarket of beliefs. Newly arrived spiritualities have aroused suspicion, in churches as well as society in general. Are they sects? The term is far from neutral, and is thrown into the debate to stand in the way of possible violence. But where does this violence originate? A question that each one must ask themselves, stated Professor Adelbert Denaux (from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) in his capacity as a theologian, interviewed by the CIP agency on his return from an international conference held in London.
The Spiritual Supermarket was the theme of the London conference held from 19 to 21 April, where some 130 experts gathered to discuss new religious movements. The conference was organised by Inform (1), an information network on new religious movements founded in 1988 by the sociologist Eileen Barker, attached to the London School of Economics. On this occasion, Inform was associated with other centres, one of which was Cesnur, set up in 1998 in Turin, Italy (2).
Most of the participants had come in their capacity as sociologists or religious historians. There were also several theologians present, one of whom was Professor Adelbert Denaux. Professor Denaux is the Belgium representative for religious phenomenons. He is the president of the Centre for Information and Opinion on harmful sectarian organisations(3), set up in Belgium following the Parliamentary Commission enquiry into sects (1996-1997). On a religious level, he also presides over a interdiocesan workgroup on sects and new beliefs(4).
Professor Denaux, who was the conference at London aimed at?
? It wasnt especially conceived for the attention of civil or religious decision-makers. Rather, the conference had the objective of an exchange of information and scientific approaches to new religious movements. This is in fact what interested me. I didnt go to London in the name of the Information and Opinion Centre or of the interdiocesan group I lead, but as an academic interested to hear points of view from other colleagues and other disciplines. Theologians also have to learn from sociologists.
Sociologists are reluctant to baptise sects as new religious movements
? Yes, and more now than ever. The word sect is loaded with negative prejudice which makes any any new or minority religious group appear suspicious from the start. This is a priori unacceptable: it opens the door to intolerance and therefore to the violence that we are supposed to combat.
?This is what Eileen Barker remarkably showed in her introductory discourse in London. She dealt with the issue not only of religious movements, but also as regards those who observe them. No observer is neutral. Any observer is oriented by a typical preoccupation, which has already characterised their position in relation to the phenomen observed.
? Mrs Barker defined five main types of attitudes towards new religious movements. Some might perhaps ask : what danger could these movements represent for society? This is a typical preoccupation of the committees and vigilance centres, either with or without official mandate. She added that within the main Churches, observation is mainly guided by the desire to defend the orthodoxy, ie to oppose a divergent or adverse religious position. Scientists are preoccupied with objectively examining the beliefs of a group and how it relates to society, without taking a position for or against. Other observers site themselves on more legal terrain : defenders of human rights rise up against discrimination that some groups find themselves victims of. Finally the partisans of the groups are typically concerned to show the positive aspects, often to counter perceptions that they feel to be incorrect.?
Observers : never neutral
When a sect is denounced for abuse, are the observers to blame ?
? It was not Eileen Barkers aim to place the responsibility for some tragedies, such as the deaths of the followers of the Order of the Solar Temple, on the shoulders of the observers. But she warned against simplisms. She explained that when the violence of a group is denounced, it never explodes in a vacuum, but rather in a social context where everyone plays a role, the observers included. The example of Waco in Texas where 86 members of a group of Davidians (including several infants), perished in 1993 during an assault launched by the FBI on their farm was mentioned. The FBI had at first reported collective suicide in the burning farm. An enquiry later showed that the approach of the FBI and the Bush Administration at the time had contributed to starting the fire at the farm from the exterior. In such a case, where does the violence come from, asked Mrs Barker. Is it from the religious group or from society ? There is even a kind of violence from the state that could push a minority group to commit collective suicide!
? We often speak about the threat that sects pose. But these threats do not only originate from that side. There are many other sources of intolerance in society. The issue of violence and the complicity that goes with it cannot be avoided. This is an issue to be taken extremely seriously, and concerns us all, you as well as me.
Are the varied positions taken towards religious phenomenons reconcilable ?
? The appearance of new religious movements has evidently aroused a tension which has made the authorities and civic associations edgy along with the followers of the new group. But it was also shown at the London conference that a series of actors can play important mediation roles. This is the case with various experts as well as religious leaders, provided that they are open to dialogue. The role of the media is also not a neutral one : it can make approaches more favourable or, on the other hand, toughen the opposition. The problem often lies in a lack of direct communication : the other side is simply talked about behind their back instead of a meeting being set up Sometimes, direct communication with some poses a problem in itself.
You spoke about Waco. Are there significant differences between the American and European approach ?
? The Waco tragedy should not be labelled as typically American. On the contrary, most of the States of America are markedly more open than European countries to religious movements, whatever they may be. This can be explained firstly by looking at the history of the United States where many of the leading figures were religious dissidents. What is more, this country has developed a very liberal tradition towards deviances ?
? In Western Europe, France has taken a rather more specific position. Last May 3rd, the Senate adopted at the second reading a bill intending to reinforce the prevention and repression of sectarian movements infringing human rights and fundamental freedoms. In a parallel manner, the senators had beforehand adopted a new law creating the offence of mental manipulation. A society must protect its members against abuse. But the problem, evoked by several legal experts, is that the law should be the same for everyone and authorities should not use the law to exclude certain groups from their freedom of expression, association or worship. Currently, it is the notion of mental manipulation that remains delicate to handle, according to the legal experts. And on the 3rd May, during the voting of the final amendments of the bill proposed by Nicolas About et Catherine Picard, one senator explained that he could not vote in a text that aimed to combat the abuses from an organisation that he would never be able to define : the sectarian movement!
? The position France has taken, that some in Belgium and Germany would like to see followed, is a typical position of a laicist State that tends to take over from the Catholic Church in pronouncing what is good and what is not good for its followers. Taken to the farthest degree, this logic leads to the restoration of a sort of Holy-Office : a censorship organ that directs which are the good or bad religious organisations The Belgian parliamentary commission on sects was not far from this with its list of harmful sectarian organisations But Parliament approved the Commissions report, without the list.
?As for Eastern Europe, the situation of minority religious organisations remains difficult. For example, in Russia, where the State and the Orthodox Church are giving each other a helping hand in refusing freedom of expression and worship to minority religious associations. Also in Poland who are taking their lead from the French example to as it were hunt down new religious movements.
Pluralism and individualism
The London conference explicitly dealt with religious pluralism in the era of globalisation(5). Is this a battle for pluralism ?
? The title of the meeting effectively related to religious pluralism, but it in fact referred to an area of affirmation and observation which is growing more and more visible in this plurality : the Internet. Within a decade, sites of religious groups themselves have multiplied, as have the sites of their critics, nuanced to greater or lesser degrees towards them. The Cesnur site is characteristic ; launched in Turin on the initiative of a man who claims to go back to the historical and sociological approach, Massimo Introvigne, it takes care to proclaim its independence as regards any religious organisation. This independence, of course, must be proved in practice. Cesnurs Turin centre is at the heart of a worldwide network of specialists and prides itself on being able to provide abundant and quality documentation to all, the first library of its kind in Europe and the second in the world, according to them. Whatever arises from this however, independence must also be on an intellectual level.
? All this is interesting, but it also reveals popular culture : the Internet, the reign of the consumer society. Each individual can choose the contents of his own basket, select sites on the basis of how attractive they are and their own centres of interest. And of course, everything is found next to everything else. This is the origin of the impression, from a religious angle, of a vast supermarket of spiritualities. I found this right at the heart of the London conference, where members of the new religious movements were just as welcome as the experts. Additionally, opportunity was given to some of them to express themselves, even ex-members who have cut ties with their organisations. These testimonies revealed that movements often catalogued as sectarian have ex-members who dont regret in the slightest having been a member ! Some of them said that their experience had left a positive stamp on their personal journey through life. In contrast, other ex-members of a well-established Church, come now to express their relief to have left somewhere which still remains completely stifling for them. ?
Would you go to that extend to plead the cause of the new movements?
? Dont misunderstand me. I am not pleading the cause of new movements against the Churches and institutions, but I will plead the cause for respect, tolerance, openness and dialogue, on both sides.
Did the experts gathered in London see the future of religions in the sense of a greater explosion of age-old religious traditions?
? Can the current pluralism be explained by a more advanced secularisation ? This was the question raised at the London conference by three sociologists from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Dick Houtman, Peter Mascini and Marieke Gels. They asked how it was that for forty years in the Netherlands the Churches have been emptying whereas the New Age is progressing ?
? Could this be due, as some have believed, to a greater progress in the field of reason and rationality ? Not really, as young people hold to New Age ideas as one would adhere to a religious faith. Additionally, there are young people (and older people) who put their faith in science or technology. The sociologists also noted that amongst the non-believing youths, rationalism is barely stronger than amongst the believing ones. They above all stated that the Dutch youths are markedly less rationalistic than their elders. Therefore the decline of membership of the traditional Churches and the Christian faith cannot be explained by a progress of reasoning abilities.
? So how to explain why young people are deserting the secular religious tradition of Christianity for the gnostic conceptions of the New Age. Precisely because New Age is easily able to accommodate ambient individualism. Everyone is free to make their own choice of religion and ethic, just as one does ones shopping at the supermarket. ?
The theologians role
Of course a theologian would not remain indifferent faced with such an evolution ?
? Besides a closer attention to the issue of violence, I returned from London as a theologian with reinforced preoccupations?.
?First of all, it seems to be essential to take what the sociologists are discovering, describing and analysing seriously. This is certainly not the only point of view to be highlighted. But it should be heard, in particular within the Churches, who have a lot to learn in this field.
? The role of a Christian theologian is not only to record the social facts and suggest an explanation afterwards. It is to suggest channels of discernment to help Christians situate themselves in their faith, hope and charity. This is what the great Christian thinkers have done since the origins of the Church, they have endeavoured to take account of their faith, to show its coherence and to defend it in situations where it risks being disputed, or even directly decried by adversaries.
? It is all the more necessary to provide the same service to followers today as the evolution of society places them in the middle of a supermarket where they immediately have the false impression that everything is worth the same. The theologian needs to find a coherent response to the question of what has become the essence of the Christian faith.
? Take the example of Jehovahs Witnesses, the most widely-spread minority religious movement in Belgium. The Witnesses readily present themselves as Christians. Not only do they give God the name Jehovah on a very questionable basis, but their conception of God has nothing in common with the Christian Creed. The Witnesses do not believe in a God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as the great Christian Churches proclaim. Therefore it is wrong that some Witnesses present themselves as Christians during their door-stepping, whilst their movement has never been recognised by the Ecumenical Council of Churches. The Witnesses have been presented as one of the multiple sub-branches of Christianity, but here again, a distinction is necessary : a distant cousinship is not a filiation! ?
Your preoccupation as a theologian with regards to new religious movements is therefore more as an apologist : to defend Christianity and show it coherence in a positive manner?
? That is only one aspect of a theologians mission. The other is to use the internal coherence of the Christian faith to help the Christian to widen out themselves in that faith. And it is here that, as a theologian, I distinguish myself the most from a sociologists point of view. Often a sociologist will not be interested in the content of what he calls the beliefs. Not because he fails to know or distrusts them, but because he cannot be too proud of them for his observation : a number of Belgians, for example, call themselves Catholics and even practising Catholics, whilst believing that God is not really a person, but rather a force of nature. Amongst this fraction of practising Catholics, it does happen that some hesitate over the importance that should be given to Jesus or to evangelical inspiration in their everyday life. I respect these persons, but I cannot share their position.
?Sociologists often state with irony that the Christians who claim to share the same essential convictions differ in a series of realities in their moral or political valuations. Of course, freedom of conscience has its own rights. But the theologian in me will never be satisfied with the difference that I remark between beliefs and behaviour. To claim to love God whom one cannot see and to fail to love ones brother whom one can see, is a serious incoherence towards which Christs disciples have had their attention drawn since the beginning ?.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
(1) Inform (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), Houghton St., London WC2A 2AE (E-mail : Inform@lse.ac.uk ; no Internet site).
(2) Cesnur (Centro Studi sulle Nuove Religioni), Via Juvarra 20, I C 10122 Torino (tel. 00C39C011/54.19.50 ; fax 00C39C011/54.19.05 ; Internet site : www.cesnur.org ; E-mail address: cesnurto@tin.it).
(3) Centre dinformation et davis sur les organisations sectaires nuisibles, Rue Haute, 139 C 1000 Brussels (tel. 02/504.91.68). The official denomination of the Centre integrates the reference to ? organisations sectaires nuisibles ? (harmful sectarian organisations), as defined in the report published by the Parliamentary enquiry commission : ? a group with a philosophical or religious vocation, or presenting themselves as such which, in its organisation or in practice, carries out harmful illegal activities, damaging to individuals or to society or which undermines human dignity ?. (? un groupement vocation philosophique ou religieuse, ou se prsentant comme tel, qui, dans son organisation ou sa pratique, se livre des activits illgales dommageables, nuit aux individus ou la socit ou porte atteinte la dignit humaine ?.)
(4) Address of the Interdiocesan group : Secrtariat de la Confrence piscopale, rue Guimard, 1 C 1040 Brussels. Information : Professor A. Denaux, Tiensestraat, 112 C 3000 Leuven (tel. 016/32.63.93 ou 32.37.93 ; fax 016/32.38.62 ; E-mail address : Adelbert.Denaux@theo.kuleuven.ac.be). The Brussels Catholic Welcome Centre (next to the Bourse) is also open to the public for information or for Christian advice Contact : Bruxelles Accueil C Porte Ouverte, rue de Tabora, 6 C 1000 Brussels (tel. 02/511.81.78 ; fax 02/502.76.96 ; E-mail : bapo@skynet.be).
- (5) ? The Spiritual Supermarket. Pluralism and Globalization in the 21st Century : the Expanding European Union and Beyond ?. The many conferences and discourses heard at this meeting are available (in English) on the Cesnur Internet site (note 2).
Back to the Table of Contents
"Religious freedom in peril? "
European actions alarming, experts tell Senate panel
by Lee Davidson
WRNS (04.05.2001) / HRWF International Secretariat (08.05.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Belgium considers The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a "dangerous cult." France may this week pass a law some say could jail Sunday School teachers of many sects. Germany and Austria are campaigning against "new religions."
Experts, including some from the State Department, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday those are signs of how, even in Western Europe, religious freedom is under attack. Worse, other countries are copying the examples and tactics.
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., chairman of the panel's Subcommittee on European Affairs, said the examples show "a disturbing trend in a few European countries to actively target (religious) organizations."
He complained, for example, that Belgium had a list of "dangerous cults" that "would shock Americans." He noted that some included on it are the LDS Church, the Amish, Seventh-Day Adventists, the Assemblies of God, other Pentecostal churches and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Smith, who is LDS, said, "I can't imagine such a list existing in any Western country. We remain concerned and feel (constrained) to speak out on behalf of all these faiths." He said Belgium has recently improved treatment of some groups and praised it for that.
Still, "Discrimination is official and often blatant" there, testified Elizabeth A. Clark, associate director of the Brigham Young University International Center for Law and Religion Studies. She prepared the testimony with the center's director, W. Cole Durham Jr.
"Members of listed groups have experienced discrimination in employment and schools, police surveillance, inability to rent facilities for meetings, and loss of child custody and visitation rights," she said.
Meanwhile, Smith said he is even more concerned about a bill the French Senate will consider, and likely pass, later this week. It was previously passed by the lower house. Smith said he fears that bill could "convict Sunday School teachers in a number of churches" because it vaguely outlaws "mental manipulation" by sects. It also allows dissolving groups if leaders commit two or more crimes.
Clark said some other countries are looking to copy that French law. "There are already reports that Hong Kong's chief executive is looking to the French legislation as a model for a law to ban the Falun Gong movement," she said.
Assistant Secretary of State Michael Parmly also said, "Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary are considering similar legislation. In some cases, French officials are actively promoting the 'French model' of regulating religious activity."
Clark said that law is worded so vaguely that it could "potentially cover (and ban) any religious activity such as proselyting or religious education. After all, most education and persuasion, whether secular or religious, could be described as 'techniques designed to alter someone's judgment.' "
Clark said Germany and Austria are also among countries that have officially reacted against so-called new religious movements, creating agencies to investigate and keep tabs on "sects and psychogroups."Parmly said, "We are concerned that such policies are becoming institutionalized in some parts of Europe and may have the effect of appearing to justify restrictive laws elsewhere, such as Russia, central Asia and even China."
Parmly said the United States believes "that a government that fails to honor religious freedom and freedom of conscience is a government in danger of not fully recognizing the priority of the individual over the state."
Back to the Table of Contents
A meeting with Nordin Maloujahmoum,
President of the Executive of Muslims in Belgium
On 13th December 1998, the Muslim community held internal elections to appoint 52 of the 68 members of its constituant assembly, the 16 others having been coopted for their particular abilities. The assembly then selected from its members the 16 individuals which would make up the Executive of Muslims in Belgium (EMB), including its president, Mr Nordin Maloujahmoum, a Belgian from Moroccan origin and inspector at the Ministry of Finance. Human Rights without Frontiers met with him to review the situation two years after the elections.
Elections in the Muslim community
HRWF : The number of Muslims in Belgium is estimated at 450,000 by some sources, and at 300-350,000 by others. The number of registered voters at the 1998 elections was estimated at 72,000 and the constituents at 40,000 C almost 10% of the Muslim population. The media presented this turnout as a great success, but do you not feel it was more of a failure?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : You really have to look at this ballot in its context. In my opinion, the number of potential voters was higher, and would have been more like 90,000-100,000, taking into account that electors had to be over 18 to vote. Additionally, as we only had two months to collate over 70,000 signatures, I consider it to have been a very great success. In actual fact, 40,000 out of 100,000 have gone to the voting places. For me, these 40% are very representative. If we had had another two months, we would have been able to get the maximum possible vote. It should also not be forgotten that we had to work very quickly, with limited resources and volunteer workers.
HRWF : The elections within the Muslim community required by the Belgian State to appoint its representative organisation as a possible interlocutor to the State (1) is hitherto unheard of in Belgium or in the rest of the world.
Nordin Maloujahmoum : For 25 years, it had been impossible to find a solution to the problem of representing Islam to the authorities. It became imperative to find a solution for this diverse multinational Muslim community, both from a sociological as well as an ethnological point of view. This was perhaps not the ideal solution, but it was one that allowed Muslims to have a fair distribution of their different communities according to their demographic distribution. The Muslim community was not overly enthusiastic about the idea of holding elections, but in the interests of pragmatism, it accepted the procedures set out by the Ministry of Justice and the Centre for Equal Opportunities and for Fight against Racism (2). Taking into account the islamophobia and the prevailing climate towards Muslims, I personally feel that the democratic process was, at the time, the only means of giving a solid legitimacy to a representative organisation for the Muslim religion.
HRWF : The second stage of the process was the presentation to the State, for agreement, of the list of the 17 potential members of the future Executive of Muslims chosen from amongst the 67 elected members of the constituent assembly. At this stage, there existed a certain opacity, which was never dispelled. Johan Leman, director of the Centre for Equal Opportunities, stated in an interview with Lagenda interculturel (The Intercultural Agenda, No 179, December 1999): " The president of the old provisional Executive of Muslims, Didier Yacine Beyens, chose the candidates who were playable, that is to say, the ones who had a chance of being accepted by the government, and agreed to respect the decision of the government, i.e. that there would be no protest if the government raised the slightest objection to one or other of the candidates " This was the famously contested " screening " procedure.
Nordin Maloujahmoum : While the EMB was being set up, there were several untimely statements in the press by certain politicians which, in a completely exaggerated and disproportionate way, roused the spectre of fundamentalism and stigmatised the Muslim community. The " screening " procedure that was part of the guidelines set up by the government and the old provisionary Executive of Muslims in Belgium, discouraged a certain amount of candidates. Many people felt they were again being offended. In fact, the confidential list of the candidates for the 17 posts in the EMB was first submitted to the Ministry of Justice for examination by State security and the Public prosecutor. The list of " desirable " and eligible candidates according to the government was then sent back to the president of the provisional Executive, for the 67 elected members to elect the candidates. Finally, 16 individuals were elected to the EMB instead of the 17 anticipated at the start, as the Moroccan quota lacked a candidate who had the necessary qualifications and linguistic knowledge. This was partly our fault, but this experience of democracy within the Muslim community, which was also unprecedented in the history of other religions in Belgium, left us with large numbers of problems to resolve simultaneously, and we did not have time to deal with that particular one adequately.
HRWF : Are there still risks of " screening " in the future?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : At some stage soon we will have to replace individuals in the EMB, either because they have died or have resigned. This will also be an opportunity to solve the problem of the 17th member. But this time, we simply wish to be put on the same footing as other religions. A " screening " procedure applied only to the Muslim community would be unacceptable as it would violate three fundamental principles. The first principle is the equality of religions and belief systems before the law. Second is the neutrality of the state authorities as regards religions. A third principle is the autonomy of religions and therefore the non-interference of the State in the internal organisation of our religion. " Screening " goes contrary to the democratic principle on which the organisation representing Muslim worship is based, as it restricts the free choice of the representatives of the Muslim community. During the 1998 elections, we silently accepted the violations of these fundamental principles, because we had to equip ourselves with a Muslim representative organisation that would be acceptable to the government. At the time, Muslims accepted this with pragmatism, but in the future they will no longer accept such a procedure. When it comes to future changes within the EMB, I will no longer accept " screening " and I will refuse to be the vassal for the public authorities. I would step down rather than try to make Muslims swallow such a bitter pill.
HRWF : What will be the procedure to choose new candidates ?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : Community groups will meet all together and submit names of candidates to the constituent assembly. It will be the assemblys responsibility to choose whether or not to back these candidates and to give them a stamp of democratic legitimacy. Currently these community groups are grouped into nationalities. Added to this must also be converts to Islam. But in 10 years these categories will have disappeared. Many young people from Muslim families were born in Belgium and thus are Belgian. This phenomenon will increase over the years. Not so far in the future thise sort of distinctions will no longer exist as all Muslims in Belgium will be Belgian and will only have a very remote link with the country their ancestors originally came from. Personally, I am second generation, but I feel Belgian most of all, despite being culturally and religiously Muslim.
HRWF : What do you expect from the Belgian State?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : All that we want is that for Muslims to be left to be self-managing. We are a young institution made up of approximately 20 different nationalities, and it is not easy to maintain a balance between all of them, each with their different sensitivities. However, despite all the difficulties, the files are progressing. Yesterday I only left the office at 5 am because a file dealing with the recognition of places of worship had to be urgently submitted to the Ministry of Justice. Pakistanis, Turks, Moroccans and others took part in that meeting and had a list of mosques to be recognised. Everyone that works here is a volunteer. I personally benefit from a secondment from my post of Inspector at the Ministry of Finance. No other religion has to function in such conditions. Our budget of only 24 million Belgian francs (approximately $ 600,000 or 375,000) is ridiculous when taken alongside that of other recognised religions. We cannot go on working in these conditions. Mosques
HRWF: There are around 300 mosques in Belgium. How are they going to be recognised?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : From the 1st January 2002, between 80 and 90 mosques should be recognised. The timing issue has made it impossible to have any more recognised. Running 80 mosques is a huge job, not only in terms of the buildings themselves but also in dealing with an equivalent number of religious ministers. The ministers are paid by the Ministry of Justice. There are also laws which have to be voted in parliament, for example the law which is going to govern Islamic worship on a provincial level, along the same lines as the orthodox. It is in fact the provinces that will take on responsibility for the running costs of the mosques.
Education, Radio and Television
HRWF: What developments have been made in the field of religious education in public schools?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : There is a programme for primary and secondary schools. Unfortunately there is a shortage of Dutch-speaking religion teachers. A French Community ruling dated 8th June 1999 lists recognised qualifications to enable the regularisation of a number of teachers already in positions, and to open up the door for more to be appointed, but there are still obstacles, notably with regard to the recognition of diplomas received overseas, and the absence of inspectors. A French Community decree needs to be put in place to solve the latter problem. The EMB is planning to organise a competitive entry examination and to suggest the appointing of inspectors to the relevant ministries.
HRWF : Do you have state-subsidised schools?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : We only have only one primary school that is recognised by the State, located in Brussels. It has to use premises that belong to the Great Mosque, because for 10 years no one has wanted to rent premises to a Muslim school, even in Brussels and in spite of all the steps I took. We had anticipated buying a building, but we were not given permission to renovate.
HRWF: Are you considering having television and radio programmes?
Nordin Maloujahmoum : In the short term, it is impossible for us to be able to utilise this right, but we are thinking of doing so, as it is important to set up a communication with society, and to present an accurate picture of our community. We are fighting on all fronts to achieve this, despite our laughable resources, and so this project cannot be accomplished straightaway.
The Veil
HRWF: The EMB has an anti-discrimination commission. What does its work consist of?<
