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British Muslims lean toward Islamic courts
Shariah judges handle divorces, business disputes
By Tom Hundley
Chicago Tribune (01.10.2003)/ HRWF Int. (07.10.2003) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net/ - Email: info@hrwf.net - Two years ago, Mahmood Khawel, a 34-year-old financial consultant and devout Muslim from the Midlands city of Peterborough, wanted a quickie divorce.
So he went to an Islamic court in London where he performed the divorce ritual known as talaq. Standing before a judge, he declared three times in succession that he was repudiating his wife. Judge Omar Bakri Muhammad, an expert in Shariah, the sacred law of Islam, granted the divorce on the spot.
But now Khawel and his wife have changed their minds. They want to reconcile. Last week, Khawel was back in Muhammad's courtroom, asking for an annulment of the talaq.
"OK, brother, don't worry," Muhammad told him. The judge explained that while some schools of Islamic law accepted a triple repudiation performed all at once, most preferred that the repudiations be spread over two or three menstrual periods. On that technicality, Muhammad said he could release Khawel from the original talaq.
None of this would be recognized in any British civil court, according to legal experts, but for growing numbers of Britain's 1.6 million Muslims, Shariah is the law.
During the past decade, a parallel universe of Islamic jurisprudence has sprouted across Britain. Shariah courts can be found in almost every large city. In London, different Muslim immigrant groups--the Somalis in Woolwich, for example--have established ad hoc courts that cater to their community's needs.
Most operate quietly
No one knows how many of these courts are operating in Britain. Because of their informal nature, reliable statistics do not exist.
Most of the Shariah courts go about their business quietly. But Muhammad, 44, a native of Syria who studied Islamic law in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, does not shy from controversy.
His outspoken support for Osama bin Laden and his praise for the Sept. 11 hijackers--"the magnificent 19," he calls them--have landed him in trouble with British anti-terrorism authorities. Earlier this year, police closed his north London office, and last month they seized all his legal files.
But the faithful who fill the makeshift courtroom above a North London sweatshop care little about Muhammad's politics. They come here because they believe he is uniquely qualified to settle their marital disputes, sort out their business partnerships and decide the amount of blood money that should be paid to compensate the victim of a crime.
In his white gown, white skullcap and beard, Muhammad is an imposing figure behind the cluttered table that serves as his bench. Justice is rendered with swift certainty, and many pleadings are handled via the Internet.
Divorces form the bulk of his caseload. For men, getting a divorce is simple. For women, it can be more problematic. Usually, women have to buy their way out of an unhappy marriage. They also have to give up custody of their children and forfeit their property rights.
Muhammad said he tries to be lenient with women who are the victims of physical or psychological abuse by their husbands. These women are not required to pay off their husbands, and they also get to keep their jewelry and dowry, which are considered the bride's property under Islamic law.
He also said he gives the benefit of the doubt to women in cases where they married against their will. In these instances, he said, he simply annuls the marriage contract.
But if a woman wants a divorce "because her husband is impotent or he smells bad or he is ugly," the woman has to pay her husband double the value of her dowry, he said. In all cases, community property and custody of the children go to the husband. In the case of very young children, there is joint custody until age 7. Then the father gets full custody.
The custody laws are "quite logical," Muhammad said. "A child comes from the seed of a man. The woman is the soil in which the seed is planted. A man is fully entitled to the fruit of his seed."
British civil law would disagree, but Muhammad shrugs.
"I can't change God's law," he said.
As a qadi--judge--Muhammad in theory would have authority to order the amputation of a thief's hand or the stoning of an adulterer. He indicated that he has imposed sentences of this type but that they were "suspended" until such time as Britain embraces Shariah.
Separate realms
Anjem Choudary, a lawyer with a degree from a British university, represents clients in Shariah court as well as in Britain's civil court system. He often hears the argument that when Muslims choose to live in Britain, they should obey British law.
"They do obey British law," he said. "But the Shariah is God's law. It is a fundamental part of being a Muslim. If you call yourself a Muslim you must put God's law ahead of man's law."
When the two are in conflict, as in the case of child custody laws, God's law prevails, he said. But why would a woman give up custody and surrender her property rights when she could easily obtain a no-fault civil divorce? The answer is usually family pressure.
A Muslim woman who ignored Islamic strictures and obtained a civil divorce would immediately be declared an apostate. In the insular and tightly knit immigrant communities of Britain, this would disgrace her entire family.
"The Shariah is what we live and die by," said Khawel, the man who was seeking to annul his divorce. Khawel and many others in the Muslim community have little faith in Britain's "manmade laws." This is especially true when their main source of information about it is the tabloid press, which tends to highlight cases of rapists escaping punishment while homeowners go to jail for defending their property against burglars.
There also is a belief--heightened since the attacks of Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq--that there is little justice for Muslims in Britain's judicial system.
"I came here when I was 8 years old," said Khawel, a native of Pakistan. "I have a good job and I consider myself completely acclimated to Western culture.
"But let's face it, in this country, at the end of the day, I am just another Paki."
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Hundreds in fear of religious persecution take their case to the House of Lords
By Robert Verkaik
The Independent (30.09.2003)/HRWF Int. (1.10.2003) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net/ - Email: info@hrwf.net Hundreds of people seeking asylum because of religious persecution have had their cases adjourned pending a House of Lords ruling on the legality of a government policy to refuse them entry to the United Kingdom.
A Roman Catholic teacher from Vietnam and an Ahmadi preacher from Pakistan have both been granted permission to appeal directly to the law lords to overturn the Home Secretary's decision to send them back to their own countries.
Thi Lien Do, 24, a teacher, says she came to the UK in 2000 because she was prevented from teaching children about the Catholic faith in Vietnam. Ahsan Ullah is an Ahmadi preacher who says he will be persecuted for his religious beliefs if he returns to Pakistan.
Both cases are challenges under the Human Rights Act 1998 and are being supported by the civil rights groups Justice and Liberty.
It is understood the cases will be heard together at a hearing next year before a panel of five law lords. Justice's director, Roger Smith, said the House of Lords had granted Justice special permission to intervene in the case of Mr Ullah because it raised important issues about the rights of individuals who are asking for asylum in this country.
Justice and Liberty want to challenge the Government's policy to refuse entry to asylum-seekers who fear persecution because they can't freely practise their respective religions in their own countries.
The case is the latest in a series of human rights challenges over the Government's policies on immigration that have pitted the judiciary against the executive.
Last week, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that found the Government had acted illegally by refusing benefits to asylum-seekers who made late claims.
Under the current policy, the Home Secretary only grants asylum to those who can show they are in fear of persecution in their own country under the international convention on refugees. But applicants are also allowed to stay if they can show they will suffer ill-treatment or torture in their own countries. Lawyers for both Miss Do and Mr Ullah argue that the Home Secretary must also consider an applicant's rights to a fair trial or family life, as well as their right to practise their chosen religion.
Liberty's director, Shami Chakrabarti, said the challenge will have "wide implications".
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Home Office's outdated definition of religion clashes with Blair's Strategy Unit and 1998 Human Rights Act
A debate concerning charities
HRWF Int. (01.09.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The UK Human Rights Act of 1998 represents paramount national policy that: 1) all government proposals must meet international human rights standards, and 2) all public authorities must act in compliance with the rights articulated in the European Convention on Human Rights given the importance [the government] attaches to the maintenance of basic human rights in this country and that the time has come to bring rights home. [1]
As a definitive report to the Home Office on the subject finds, the incorporation into domestic law of the international norms and standards in the European Convention on Human Rights creates a major contextual shift for the consideration of policy responses to the issues of discrimination on the basis of religion. [2] With the passage of the Act, all future proposals for legislation, including any proposal to clarify or widen the interpretation of religion, must conform to the international human rights standards incorporated by the Act.
These practical policy concerns for all legislative proposals are inherent in section 19 of the Act, which requires Ministers to certify that government Bills laid before Parliament comply with the Convention.
In September 2002, Prime Minister Blairs Strategy Unit made recommendations to put these concepts into practice in the context of reforms proposed for the charity sector. In its consultation report, Private Action, Public Benefit, the Strategy Unit proposed that the current interpretation of religion be widened.
In its current practice, the Charity Commission defines a religion for purposes of charity law as requiring a belief in, and Judeo-Christian-style worship of, a Supreme Being, and has denied charity status to minority religious groups on the ground that they do not meet the Judeo-Christian worship standard. At the same time the Charity register includes as charities 144 Buddhist and Jain organizations which have no belief in a Supreme Being at all as well as numerous other groups that do not satisfy the current charity law definition of religion. It was precisely this inequity that the Strategy Unit sought to rectify by proposing to clarify that faiths that are multi-deity (such as Hinduism) or non-deity (such as some types of Buddhism) should also qualify. . ..
Such a renaissance spirit, however, was apparently not welcome in the stodgy halls of the Home Office. After receiving public comment on its consultation paper the Strategy Unit turned its report and recommendations C including the recommendation to broaden the definition of religion -- over to the Home Office to study, respond to and propose the actual legislation to put the recommendations into effect. The Home Office response and outline of legislation omits altogether even a mention of the definition of religion issue.
The Home Office opting to leave the out-moded definition of religion in place sanctions and continues discrimination against minority religions. It is a serious human rights issue the UK government needs to confront if the Human Rights Act is going to be more than just words. While the Strategy Units recommendation was in the context of charity law, the need for a broader and more modern definition of religion also concerns the areas of immigration and naturalization, UK Prison Service policies and anti-terrorism and anti-crime legislation and policies as well as procedures for numerous agencies and bodies.
It is important to note that the right to freedom of religion includes more than the right to practice ones religion freely. As a practical matter, the enjoyment of basic religious freedoms is dependent upon access to legal structures in order to carry out religious affairs. As the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has noted, history is replete with examples of laws which constrain individual religious practice by denying legal recognition to certain religious organizations and serve as a means of establishing favoured religious bodies. In these cases individual religious freedom suffered because religious communities were denied access to legal structures which facilitated genuine religious freedom, or because available legal structures condemned some religious communities to unequal status in the political community as a whole.[3] Likewise, the European Court of Human Rights holds that governments must not discriminate in the recognition process, as the autonomous existence of religious communities is indispensable for pluralism in a democratic society and is thus an issue at the very heart of the protection which Article 9 affords.[4]
By failing to address the definition of religion issue when the problems with it have been specifically brought to their attention by the Strategy Unit, the Home Office is in violation of the Human Rights Act mandate that public authorities act in compliance with the rights articulated in the European Convention on Human Rights. It is incumbant upon the Home Office to correct this ommission.
And in light of the practical policy directive that any proposed legislation conforms to the international norms incorporated into the Act, any such legislation from the Home Office to widen the interpretation of religion must include new religious movements along with older religious traditions.
This point was specifically brought to the attention of the Home Office by the University of Derby Religious Resource and Research Centre in its January 2000 Interim Report to the Home Office on policy proposals to Religious Discrimination:
For example, in dealing with religions there are those who wish to separate out acceptable world religious traditions from those religious groups known popularly as sects and cults, or in less prejudicial academic terminology, as New Religious Movements. However, the rights which the Convention and the Act convey apply equally to the beliefs of those within the so-called New Religious Movements.[5]
The Report also notes that any definition of religion that does not take account of the non-theistic traditional world religions of Buddhism or Jainism, let alone the newer religious movements such as Scientology would be problematic. [6]
Likewise, Justice, the British section of the International Commission of Jurists, in a Briefing to Parliament on the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Bill, provided its opinion that the definition of religion needed to be widened in the United Kingdom to bring it in line with Article 9 of the European Convention.
The term religious hatred may not be open to such a wide interpretation, as within the UK, the definition of religion has been more narrowly interpreted, mainly in the context of charity law. It has been used to exclude Scientologists and some other new religious movements. We would propose that the provision be amended to bring it into line both with Article 9 and the new obligations under the EC Employment Framework Directive.[7]
The most important feature of a definition of religion is that it not be discriminatory and that it treat all religions equally. The government has an obligation under the Act to eradicate discrimination between religions. In order to remove the anomalies created by the narrow interpretation of religion in the United Kingdom, new legislative language must be broad and flexible enough to encompass all religions and all forms of worship. It also must establish objective criteria for the definition of religion so that the personal opinions, prejudices and predilections of those who apply it are not permitted to undermine the principles of equality and non-discrimination at the heart of international human rights standards.
[1] (Rights Brought Home: the Human Rights Bill, page 2). As the Labor Position Paper on the Act noted, failure to follow international human rights standards does little for the reputation of Parliament, government or the Courts. It affects the UKs international standing on human rights as well as weakening the position of individual UK citizens.
[2] Research Project on Religious Discrimination, An Interim Report for the Home Office, Religious Resource and Research Centre, University of Derby, at 62 (hereinafter Derby Report).
[3] Freedom of Religion or Belief: Laws Affecting The Structuring of Religious Communities (OSCE Review Conference 1999), at 1.
[4] Metropolitan Church v. Moldova (44701/99) (13 December 2001), paragraph 118.
[5] Derby Report, section 1.16, at 12. The OSCE and the Human Rights Commissioner for the Commission on the Baltic Sea States have also published definitive studies with identical findings.
[6] Derby Report, section 1.4 at 7.
[7] Justice, Briefing on the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Bill, House of Lords Second Reading, November 2001, at 14
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'Cult man 'murdered 11 children
The Advertiser (04.08.2003)/ HRWF Int. (05.08.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email info@hrwf.net - A Nigerian man arrested by police is responsible for the deaths of 11 children, his wife told detectives yesterday.
Sam Onojhighovie, 37, is being questioned in connection with the suspected ritual murder of a boy whose torso was found in the River Thames nearly two years ago.
Onojhighovie is one of 21 people arrested in connection with the "Adam" case C the nickname given to the boy found dead in 2001.
His wife, Joyce Osagiede, said he had been forming branches of a demonic cult in Germany and London and had killed 11 children, including their eldest daughter.
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Watchdog Clears BBC Over 'Islamophobic' Show
Reuters (30.07.2003)/ HRWF Int. (04.08.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email info@hrwf.net - Britain's television watchdog on Thursday cleared a BBC spy drama of being Islamophobic over a storyline centering on a suicide bomb school at a mosque that sparked protests from the country's Muslims.
The episode of "Spooks," a thriller about British MI5 secret agents, focused on a mosque in Birmingham, central England, which had been taken over by extremists planning suicide attacks.
British Muslim groups appealed in vain for the BBC not to show the program which was aired in June, saying they feared it would encourage attacks on Muslims.
The Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) said it had received 43 complaints from viewers who said it contained racial stereotypes and was likely to incite violence and racial hatred.
The BBC said it had consulted with the Muslim community and had carried out extensive research before making the episode.
The BSC ruled that for some Muslims the program would appear to be "an affront to their faith and dignity." However it dismissed the complaints, saying the show was clearly a drama and not a factual account.
"The commission accordingly did not consider that the program was calculated to encourage Islamophobia, or suggested that followers of Islam were prepared to resort to violence to further their own ends," the BSC said.
In a separate ruling the watchdog did uphold complaints against cult drama "Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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Islamic sect gathers in Surrey
by Barnie Choudhury
BBC News (26.07.2003)/ HRWF Int. (29.07.2003) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email info@hrwf.net - Here is a small fact to bore the guests at your next dinner party. Did you know that there is a small part of Surrey called Islamabad?
It is in Tilford and is owned by a little known Muslim group called the Ahmadiyyas.
They may call themselves Muslims but they are ostracised by mainstream Islam for being impostors.
This difference goes beyond mere name-calling.
According to the human rights group Amnesty International, Ahmadiyyas are being persecuted and killed.
Sharif Ahmed Abro, a thirty-five-year old from Pakistan, says he fled his home and is seeking asylum in Britain.
"I'm an Ahmadiyya and when I was in Pakistan my brother was murdered. I'm really scared because I know if I go back they'll kill me."
Prophet dispute
And the reason for this bitterness and hatred?
Most Muslims believe there can be no prophets after Mohammed. But Ahmadiyyas disagree.
They say there can be other subordinate prophets after Mohammed, whom they say was the last "law-bearing prophet".
To many this will seem like angels dancing on the head of a pin. But it has led to decades of dispute.
This weekend 30,000 Ahmadiyyas are meeting for their annual convention.
Travel down to Tilford and you think you have stumbled on a rock concert.
There are muddy fields and where they are you can guarantee a city of tents.
There are dozens of them as far as the eye can see, fluttering precariously next to various flags of the many countries where people have travelled from.
The Ahmadiyyas also have their own television station which they fund. They use it to pump out their brand of Islam to around 100 countries.
This weekend they will hear from their new spiritual leader Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
He has, say the Ahmadiyyas, 200 million followers or a fifth of the world's Muslims. Mainstream Islam disputes this figure.
Clerics' agitation
So far the reports of persecution have been outside Britain. But the fear among many, says the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, Rafiq Ahmed Hyat, is that the hatred is spreading to these shores.
"You find that people outside Britain are trying to urge people to rise against us. The clerics would love them to create trouble in this country as well."
The Muslim Council of Britain, which says it has 400 Islamic organisations affiliated to it, urges that there should be no persecution or violence towards Ahmadiyyas.
But they will always remain outsiders says its spokesman Inayat Bunglawala.
"We would welcome them back into the mainstream. To do that they'd have to reject and discard their belief and agree with other Muslims that there is no prophet after the final prophet Mohammed. "
All the while there is this fundamental difference of opinion the Ahmadiyyas will never be accepted as proper Muslims. That means there will always be discord among certain quarters of Islam.
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Peers' alarm over religious law reforms
by Jonathan Petre
The Telegraph (10.06.2003)/ HRWF Int. (11.06.2003) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Any attempt to reform the laws on religious offences could result in "profound controversy", an all-party committee of peers warned yesterday.
Old common law offences, including blasphemy, were examined by the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences to see if they should be scrapped or updated.
The committee's deliberations followed attempts by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, to create an offence of incitement to religious hatred in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill in 2001 and in the Religious Offences Bill in 2002.
But the committee said it was concerned about the potential threat to freedom of expression and the risk that the standards of proof required would make it a difficult offence to prosecute.
Viscount Colville of Culross, the chairman of the inquiry, said: "A Bill to deal with these issues is likely to run into profound controversy, despite the pressure to take action on incitement to religious hatred."
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Faiths win exemption from employment laws
by Pat Ashworth
Church Times (16.05.2003)/ HRWF Int. (19.05.2003) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The Bishop of Southwark, Dr Tom Butler, says the Governments proposed new employement regulations lack clarity. The regulations are intended to combat discrimination and victimisation on grounds of sexuality or religious belief.
Faith groups had been alarmed by an original draft of the regulations, fearing that the freedom of religious bodies to employ staff who were practising believers would be restricted.
The Independent on Sunday hinted this week that there had been direct intervention from Downing Street, overruling the Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry, Barbara Roche.
The Archbishops Councils request for an opt-out clause for organised religions appears to have been wholly acceded to. A new clause exempts employers who act to comply with the religious ethos of the company or to avoid conflict with the strongly held beliefs of a significant number of its followers.
Dr Butler said the new regulations were a considerable improvement on the original document, but he remained concerned about the amount of litigation that the new regulations were likely to generate: we regret that the Government has not introduced as much clarity in them as we had sought. We shall be closely monitoring their implementation.
The proper legal protection of individual rights, which we support, needs to be consistent with the rights of the Churches and other faith groups to religious freedom, he said. That must include the ability to set our own requirements about belief and conduct in respect of those who serve and represent us. We shall be closely monitoring the implementation of the regulations.
Under the new regulations, employers can dismiss or fail to hire an individual if they are not satisfied that they fit their ethos based on religion or belief. The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) this week accused the Government of capitulating to right-wing fundamentalists: the concessions won now allowed them to discriminate against lesbian and gay people.
The LGCM general secretary, the Revd Richard Kirker, said government ministers had allowed themselves to become apologists for the most intolerant religious bigots.
The Sexual Orientation regulations did not require the employees to establish that being of a different sexual orientation was contrary to the doctrines of the relevant religion, said Mr Kirker.
It was enough if a sufficiently vocal and homophobic minority held that view. The Religion and Belief regulations appeared to allow any employer to declare his or her business faith-based.
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Charity Commission publishes report on the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
Government News Network (12.15.2003)/ HRWF Int. (14.05.2003) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The Charity Commission, the charity watchdog, has today published the results of its investigation into the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a North London church. The report outlines how the Commission has investigated the charity to resolve a number of concerns about its management and finances.
The investigation established that the charity did not have a close relationship with Victoria (Anna) Climbie, the eight-year old Nigerian girl who died whilst in the care of relatives. Although it did appear that she attended the church three times in the period immediately prior to her death. The seriousness of her condition was not fully realised or reported to the relevant authorities. Representatives of the charity who saw her initially offered her spiritual help in prayer. The report recognises that, on the last occasion when Victoria attended, her aunt was advised to take her to a doctor.
The Commission was concerned to find that the charity did not have a formal child protection policy. It has advised the charity and a national level policy is now in place, which will be reviewed by the charity on a regular basis.
Concerns had also been raised that the charity was claiming to cure cancer and perform miracles and exorcisms. Investigators did not find any evidence that the church was claiming to be able actually to perform miracles or exorcisms or cure ailments. The church instead encourages individuals to attend meetings where they believe the general power of prayer might ease their suffering.
The investigation also examined areas of potential financial concern. The Commission's scrutiny of the charity's finances revealed that 900,000 and 1.36m had been donated to sister churches in Brazil and Portugal respectively. The trustees were able to show that these funds had been spent on charitable activities. Formal procedures now exist to ensure the trustees have control over where and how the church's funds are spent, especially funds donated to sister churches overseas. They have also made a commitment to better manage their relationship with these churches.
Commission investigators also found that trustees were being paid in their roles of pastors and deacons without proper authorisation. These trustees, acting on the advice of the Commission, resigned at the last annual general meeting in 2002. Charity Commission Director of Operations Simon Gillespie said:"The trustees of UCKG have co-operated fully with the Commission during this investigation. I am happy the charity can continue to carry out its work, following the advice we have given. All charities must be aware of their responsibilities to have effective protection measures in place where a charity provides services to children."
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Secretive sect softens ban on outside contact
Brethren priests admit 'hasty' decisions split families
by Stephen Bates
The Guardian (15.03.2003)/ HRWF Int. (18.03.2003) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - One of the world's most reclusive Christian sects, the Exclusive Brethren, may be thawing towards the world after the appointment of a new worldwide leader.
The Brethren, founded in the 19th century, cut themselves off from outsiders to the extent of refusing even to eat with them. But the new leader, an Australian called Bruce Hales, may be about to change all that.
A BBC Everyman film about the sect on Tuesday interviews local leaders for the first time. They admit to making mistakes and taking "hasty" decisions in splitting British families when members wished to leave the sect.
The film's producer, Nick Gray, was surprised to be offered an opportunity to speak to senior members of the Brethren. But they still accused him of bringing the devil with him.
He said: "They told me: 'Christ had to face Pontius Pilate. We have to face you.' I know that puts me among the villains of history, but it made me think that they obviously believe themselves right up there with Jesus Christ."
On another occasion, Gray was told: "We're rich. We'll take you to the cleaners," and "The devil's here. I can see him behind you."
The Brethren are believed to have about 15,000 members in Britain, with 98 meeting centres, and about 42,000 followers worldwide.
Members are not allowed to have televisions or radios and they are forbidden from using the internet, because the book of Revelation tells them that the devil is "the prince with the power of the air". Although some run computer businesses, the technology is frowned upon for private use because it has the power to employ the satanic number 666.
Women members wear headscarves, to signify their submission to man's authority, and men do not wear ties.
In some cases, the belief that they should separate themselves from contamination by outsiders means they will refuse to live in semi-detached houses, where they might have to share utilities with non-believers.
Not surprisingly, the Brethren stick together, to the extent of employing each other and lending money to other members to buy acceptable accommodation.
The Victorian writer Edmund Gosse wrote about the sect in his memoir Father and Son, and a similar group is described in Jeanette Winterson's debut novel, Oranges are not the Only Fruit.
Like other exclusive sects, the Brethren have had a history of dictatorial and dogmatic leaders with a firm belief that only sect members will be saved at the end of the world.
If members are expelled for excessive contact with outsiders, they are routinely refused all contact with their families and, if they return, they may be shut away in isolation until the Lord decides they have truly repented.
The programme makers interviewed a number of former Brethren who had lost contact with their families as a result of leaving the sect.
A young woman is filmed taking her children to visit her parents for the first time and, during a meeting lasting only a few moments, being refused admission to the house.
In another case, a man who had been denied access to his children for four years is filmed being told by local priests: "We want to protect these dear children. You see, the devil's got hold of you ... I think you will find your position is absolutely untenable."
But the appointment of Bruce Hales, who succeeded his father to the job of universal leader or "Man of God" last year, appears to have brought about a slight thawing in the rules on accessibility.
The three priests who put themselves forward for interview for the programme said the leadership had been too hasty in its treatment of the excluded former members highlighted in the programme. Those members have since been told they may be allowed to see their relatives again.
Minority beliefs
Mormons Derived from Joe Smith Jr and the Book of Mormon. In a dream in 1822 the angel Moroni revealed to Smith where gold tablets were to be found on which were written God's words. They believe that whatever gods there are have evolved from man and that man may in time evolve into gods. Estimated to have 11 million members.
Christian Scientists Founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy, who claimed to cure herself of a severe injury without the use of medicine. She devoted herself to the healing emphasis in early Christianity using positive thinking, faith healing and belief. Thought to have between 150,000 and 1.5 million members.
Jehovah's Witnesses Derived from Charles Taze Russell in the late 19th century in Pennsylvania. With an emphasis on taking the Bible literally and the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God which will emerge after the battle of Armageddon. The word is spread by distributing the magazine Watchtower. Thought to have 6 million members.
Uproar greets UK Muslim cleric incitement sentence
Reuters (07.03.2003)/ HRWF Int. (11.03.2003) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Supporters of a Muslim cleric created uproar at the Old Bailey court Friday, shouting, "Allah is the only judge" and punching their fists in the air as their leader was imprisoned for nine years for inciting murder.
Judge Peter Beaumont ordered the public gallery at the central criminal court to be cleared after pandemonium broke out when he sentenced Jamaican-born Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal.
Faisal, a former supporter of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, had been convicted of urging his followers to kill nonbelievers in a holy war.
"Instead of calming fears, you fanned the flames of hostility," Beaumont told him before the public gallery outburst. "You blatantly set out to stir up racial hatred."
Faisal, 39, was convicted last month on three charges of incitement to murder.
He was also found guilty of three counts of stirring up racial hatred through the use of threatening and abusive words, both in person and through recordings.
Faisal, who was also ordered deported from Britain on his release, was arrested by British anti-terrorist police last year. He had urged his followers to use chemical and nuclear weapons in an Islamic holy war, the court was told.
During February's trial, prosecutor David Perry said, "He encouraged his audiences to wage war against nonbelievers, in particular Hindus, Jews and any citizen of the United States of America."
Faisal made a series of tapes -- with names such as "Jihad" and "No Peace with Jews" -- which were distributed throughout Britain for sale in Islamic book shops.
One of the tapes included a cover picture and the voice of bin Laden, head of the al Qaeda network that Washington blames for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Faisal said he only preached what he had learned from the Koran. He also said that while he once regarded bin Laden as a hero for the Muslim people, he believed the Saudi-born fugitive had "lost the path" since Sept. 11.
Faisal, a former devout Christian, converted to Islam as a teen-ager and went on to study the faith in Saudi Arabia. He moved to Britain in the 1990s and later became imam of the Brixton Mosque in south London.
Authorities say shoe bomber Richard Reid, imprisoned for life in the United States for attempting to down a transatlantic flight, and accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, now in U.S. custody, met at the mosque. Faisal denied knowing them.
Cleric convicted for soliciting murder in sermons
by Ed Johnson
AP (24.02.2003)/HRWF Int. (26.02.2003) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A Muslim cleric who urged his followers to kill Hindus, Jews and Americans was convicted Monday of inciting others to commit murder and stirring up racial hatred.
Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born convert to Islam, preached across Britain and sold Arabic-language tapes of his speeches in specialist shops.
El-Faisal, 39, who studied religion in Guyana and Saudi Arabia, denied that his recordings were abusive or threatening and insisted he was interpreting and updating the words of the Quran.
But prosecutor David Perry said the preacher was hiding behind a "cloak of religion" to mask his hatred of "nonbelievers."
A jury at London's Old Bailey criminal court found el-Faisal guilty of three charges of soliciting murder and three charges of incitement of racial hatred.
Sentencing was set for March 7, when the father of three could receive a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The case is the first prosecution in more than a century under the 1861 Offenses against the Person Act of soliciting murder against persons unknown.
El-Faisal was arrested in February last year and held in custody for six months before being released on bail. His lawyers argued that he was a respected cleric whose quotations from scripture have been taken out of context.
During the trial, the jury was shown a video of el-Faisal addressing a study group not long after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In it he says it is the duty of Muslim women to bring up their sons "with a Jihad (holy war) mentality ? not to be wimps."
"Boys should train as soldiers for Islam from the age of 15. Is it sensible for you to be soldiers without Kalashnikov training?" he said in the recording. "Even if you are hit by a cruise missile, the pain will feel like that of a mosquito bite."
Prosecutors said el-Faisal addressed young, impressionable Muslims "from a position of authority" and was a "fanatic and extremist." Perry said he encouraged British Muslims to attend terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.
"You have to learn to fly planes, drive tanks and you have to learn how to load your guns and to use missiles," el-Faisal said in one recording. He also promised that those who died during a holy war would not feel pain and would go to heaven, where they would be given 72 virgins.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorist squad, welcomed the verdict.
"This case was nothing to do with freedom of speech, but everything to do with racial hatred and religious bigotry, and encouraging people to commit acts of terrorism," he said outside court.
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