Topic 1 Religious communities suffering security threats
An example of a religious community that is under threat is the Muslims. In particular, according to a report of the human rights council of the United Nations (2021) (Shaheed, 2021):
- The hatred against Muslims has been growing in the latest years.
- Muslims, have been considered from the West as the ‘other’ and a distant enemy, while ‘good’ Muslims are viewed as exceptions.
- According to research in the European continent, 37% of Europeans between 2018 – 2019 did not describe Muslims in a favorable way.
Additionally, about the Muslim community, according to Bayrakli & Hafez (2018) report in Europe:
- The year of 2017, there were 903 violent incidents against German Muslims in Germany.
- In Italy, Muslims were the most hated group on Twitter.
- Far right parties with anti-Muslim beliefs gain popularity.
- In Greece, mosques did not get permissions to open.
Activity
Based on what you read in the previous section, please choose the answer that you think is correct:
- It is reasonable that Muslim cummunities are under threat.
- The information provided in the previous section indicates a severe issue that needs to be resolved.
- Discriminating and threating against some religious communities can protect people from terrorism.
Please justify your choice in a few words.
Judaism is also a religious community under threat. According to the European Commission (2021), there is a modern antisemitism that has been observed in Europe:
- Through the use of online media and platforms spreading antisemitism and hatred-based ideas.
- Dangerous attacks happen in relevant places, such as the Jewish museum in Brussels (2014) or schools in France (2012).
- The Jewish community suffered during the coronavirus pandemic, since people blamed them for the virus itself, or for-profit hunger through vaccine companies.
Is antisemitism still a problem in Europe? According to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2018), high percentages of the Jewish Europeans confess that:
- They have experienced an attack with physical violence
- They have experienced fear that they will experience an attack
- They have experienced verbal attack
- They have experienced antisemitic behaviors
Almost 90% of the European Union’s citizens believe that antisemitism is in the rise in their State.
Activity
Based on the information provided in the previous section, please choose the answer you believe is correct:
‘Online antisemitism is not a serious threat compared to other forms of antisemitism’
a)True
b)False
Please justify your answer in a few words.
Another community under threat is Christianity in Asia, and especially China.
- The persecution of Christians in China is the worst it has been for more than a decade, with at least 50 million people expected to experience some form of repression the coming years as the government tightens its controls over religious worship.
- The crackdown on religion in China is part of a pattern of increasing Christian persecution across Asia over the past seven years which ranks 50 countries.
- One in three Christians face high levels of persecution in Asia, with India entering the top 10 for the first time.
- An estimated 245 million Christians worldwide face high levels of persecution this year, up from 215 million last year.
- Religious persecution in China intensifies with brainwashing camps for Christians.
Persecution against Christians is rising across Asia, with India and Pakistan among countries with extreme levels of repression
Activity
Based on what you re in the previous section, please choose the answer that you think is correct:
- It is reasonable that Christian communities are under threat.
- The information provided in the previous section indicates a severe issue that needs to be resolved.
- Discriminating and threating against some religious communities can protect people from terrorism.
Please justify your choice in a few words.
