Growing authoritarianism and surveillance

The pandemic has seen a dangerous expansion of power by autocratic governments and excessive use of force by law enforcement authorities to administer preventive measures. As stated by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, countries disregarding the rule of law to combat the crisis in the guise of exceptional or emergency measures could spark a human rights disaster. Governments are also increasingly using surveillance technology to gather information, trace movement and track individuals. This is a cause for concern as there are serious questions whether such measures could meet international human rights standards of necessity and proportionality. In some countries such as Sri Lanka and Israel, military intelligence is used for contact tracing. In the hands of restrictive governments, intrusive surveillance could lead to increased restrictions on minorities and pose serious challenges to human rights.

Rising Islamophobia and hate speech

In Sri Lanka, compulsory cremations in violation of WHO guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic have hurt the religious feelings of Muslims, who are a minority in the country.  In one example, the death of a Muslim woman was wrongfully identified as caused by COVID-19 by the authorities. The family was then compelled to cremate the body against their religious sentiments. Moreover, hate speech against Muslims in the country has also been on the rise, after there was severe religious profiling of victims in mainstream media. Similarly, in the UK, far-right groups have used the Coronavirus crisis to fuel anti-Muslim sentiment. According to monitoring groups, fake news has circulated on social media that Muslims were breaching the lockdown by continuing to attend mosques.

Discrimination of religious minorities in the provision of relief

In Myanmar, the Burmese military has been accused of denying Rohingya Muslims access to medical care during the COVID-19 crisis. In Pakistan, a Muslim cleric faced criticism from Christian leaders and human rights activists after he claimed that his organization, Dawat-e-Islami was converting non-Muslims to Islam using COVID-19 aid. According to reports, Christian minorities in the country have also been discriminated in the provision of emergency relief. In Bangladesh, too, there have been reports that the government has provided relief to only Muslims from the Prime Minister’s relief fund. In the Philippines, since pastors are not categorised as self-employed, they have been left out of government welfare schemes.

Inconsistent measures concerning the reopening of religious places of worship

In New Zealand, the government has faced criticism that it had failed to consider the rights to freedom of religion when it drafted the COVID-19 Public Health Response Bill, after concerns were raised that places of religious worship were ordered to remain closed while malls, bars, and other public places were deemed safe to reopen.

A cover for Islamist extremism

Arrests of leaders of minority faiths

In India, a pastor and 7 others including 3 Christians were arrested while they were preparing relief packs. The authorities accused them of illegally gathering to worship during the COVID-19 lockdown. While in detention they were questioned on whether they were receiving money to convert people. Also, in Nepal, a pastor was arrested on charges of misinformation for stating that prayer could heal COVID-19. He was released and then rearrested on trumped-up charges of outraging religious feelings and proselytism.

A positive development

Conclusion

Religious minorities are facing new challenges and increased vulnerability owing to COVID-19. This requires urgent attention and action on the part of governments and the health authorities battling this crisis. Preventive measures followed by governments must be adequate, proportionate, and guarantee equal treatment. While exercising patience and goodwill during this global pandemic and continuing to follow health regulations as deemed necessary by the authorities, it is also important that human rights agencies, civil society actors and faith groups, where necessary, proactively question the legality of preventive measures and advocate for the rights of religious minorities to ensure their protection and halt governmental overreach. The rights and well-being of religious minorities should not be neglected or undermined in the pursuit of a safer world.

WEA-RLC Research and Analysis Report
June 18, 2020

World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) sponsors the WEA-RLC Research & Analysis Report to help individuals and groups pray for and act on religious liberty issues around the world. WEA has a consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. This report was researched and written by Jose Henriques, and moderated by the WEA-RLC Executive Director, Godfrey Yogarajah.

What can the Reformer teach us about revival?

The emphasis by Martin Luther and other Reformers on the ultimate authority of Scripture and the priesthood of all believers opened the way for all the great revivals of the modern era. Luther’s work broke the paralyzing hold of a religious hierarchy that claimed final authority over the people, quenched the work of the Holy Spirit in their midst, and confined Biblical knowledge to the priesthood. His emphasis on the priesthood of all believers unleashed the masses to pray and expect answers from God. If there had been no Luther, there would have been no Methodist revival, no Great Awakenings, no Cane Ridge, and no Pentecostal-Charismatic revival.

Luther’s Early Life

One of the monastic cells at the Augustinian Cloister in Erfurt, Germany where Luther lived from September 1505, until he left to take up his position as a professor at the University of Wittenberg in 1511. Few monks lived in such a cell permanently. Image: Paul T. McCain June 2006

Luther was born into a poor, peasant German family where he was taught to pray to God and the saints, to revere the church and the priests, and was told frightful stories about the devil and witches. One day, at the age of 22, he was caught outdoors in a terrible thunderstorm and feared for his life. In a state of panic, he made a vow to become a monk if his life was spared. True to his vow he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt that same year of 1505.

As a monk, Luther’s chief concern was to become a saint and earn a place in heaven. He, therefore, observed the minutest details of discipline, living a very austere life and learning the principles of mystical prayer and meditation. His days were spent in reading and studying, prayer and fastings, night watches, and self-mortifications. His fellow monks held him up as a model of sanctity and envied his self-denial. He later said, “If ever a monk got to heaven by monkery, I would have gotten there.” However, in spite his austere lifestyle and many religious works he found no peace with God.

While a monk, Luther continued his studies and in 1507 he was ordained to the priesthood and celebrated his first mass. In 1511 he was sent to Wittenberg to be the professor of Bible at the newly formed university there, and, in the same year, he received his doctor of theology degree. He began to lecture in the vernacular on the books of the Bible and, to do so intelligently, he began to study the Bible in the original languages. It was while teaching through the New Testament, particularly Romans and Galatians, that Luther began to see the truth of justification through faith in Jesus alone.