ECLJ Welcomes European Parliament Resolution in Defense of Religious Freedom for Minority Christian Communities in Egypt and Malaysia

(Strasbourg, France)  - The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) - an international affiliate of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) - said today it welcomes the resolution adopted January 21st by the European Parliament (EP) expressing its concern about recent attacks on Christian communities in the countries of Egypt and Malaysia.  The ECLJ had been actively advocating that the EP adopt the resolution.

The European Parliament expressed its extreme concern at recent episodes of violent repression and discrimination directed against Christian communities in the countries of Egypt and Malaysia where Christianity is a minority religion.  The resolution, adopted with a simple majority, is a reaction to the recent attacks against Coptic Christians in Egypt "who represent around 10% of the Egyptian population" and of Catholics in Malaysia. The European Parliament "strongly condemns all kinds of violence, discrimination and intolerance, based on religion and belief, against religious people, apostates and non-believers."

The EP highlighted a shooting that occurred January 6th that killed seven people - six Coptic Christians and a policeman and injured others when worshipers were leaving a church after midnight mass on Coptic Christmas Eve in the city of Nagaa Hammadi in Upper Egypt. Furthermore, in the weeks that followed, there were other clashes involving Coptic Christians and Muslims. There have been recurrent acts of violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt in recent years.

The EP also highlighted the nine attacks on Christian Churches following the December 31, 2009 ruling of the Malaysian High Court that Christians in Malaysia have the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" to refer to God and that the word is not exclusive to Islam. The Malaysian Church had filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian Government in 2007 after the Government threatened to prohibit publication of the Herald newspaper on grounds of national security if it did not stop using the word "Allah", commonly used by the Bahasa-Malaysia-speaking community, of Christian faith, as a translation of "God."

Other episodes of discrimination include the confiscation by the Government in 2009 of more than 15,000 copies of the Bible in the Malay language, in which the word "Allah" was used to refer to God. The Malaysian Government accepts the use of the word "Allah" by the Christian communities in Sahah and Sarawak states, while questioning it in other regions of the country, thus generating additional discrimination among the whole Christian community in Malaysia.

After reaffirming the "right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a fundamental human right" the European Parliament also calls the Commission and the Council "within the framework of EU relations and cooperation with the countries concerned, to pay particular attention to the situation of religious minorities, including Christian, communities."
 
"This demand is very important, because it means that the European Union will have to include the protection of the Christian minorities in its foreign policy," said Dr. Grgor Puppinck, director of the ECLJ.  "We consider this resolution to be a very good step by the EU towards promoting religious freedom internationally."

The European Parliament resolution can be viewed here.

The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is an international law firm focusing on the protection of human rights and religious freedom in Europe and worldwide.  The ECLJ is affiliated with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) which focuses on protecting religious freedom in the United States. Attorneys for the ECLJ have served as counsel in numerous cases before the European Court of Human Rights.  Additionally, the ECLJ has special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations, and is accredited to the European Parliament.