Sekulerisme: Ritual abuse of children: a hidden and under-reported crime

Jumat, 20 September 2013

Witchcraft-based abuse first came to national consciousness with the murder 12 years ago of Victoria Climbié by her guardians. After her death it emerged that the police and other authorities had missed several opportunities to step in and save the eight-year-old. Her death led to a public inquiry and produced major changes in child protection policies in England.

Since Climbié's murder, agencies have learned a great deal more about the ritualised abuse and torture of children. But figures collated by the Metropolitan police merely scratch the surface, detectives believe, of a hidden crime that is still under-reported.

In the past 10 years police in greater London have investigated 83 incidents of child abuse and torture linked to witchcraft and other religious rituals. Of these children, four – including Kristy Bamu – were murdered during ritualised violence. One police source said more cases of this kind were coming to light – either because the problem was increasing or because the light shone on the issue had led to increased reporting of incidents.

The horrific cases of child abuse are often familial and often emerge from within the African diaspora. While most of the child killings have led to perpetrators being brought to justice, others remain mysteries.

One of those murdered was "Adam", a boy aged between four and eight whose torso was found in the Thames in 2001. His killers have never been found and, after lengthy inquiries, detectives are convinced he was killed in some kind of religious ritual.

In 2005, four years after Adam's body was found, two women and a man were convicted of child cruelty for torturing and threatening to kill an orphaned refugee who they claimed was a witch.

Known as Child B to protect her identity, the young Angolan girl was cut with a knife, beaten with a belt and shoe and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes to drive the devil out of her. The eight-year-old was also sealed in a laundry bag and told she would be thrown away into a river.

The child, who had been brought to Britain in 2002 after her parents were killed in Angola, was found shivering in her bare feet on the steps outside a council flat in Hackney, east London, where she suffered her ordeal. She later told police that she had been surviving on tea and bread.

Ritualised abuse involves witchcraft-style exorcisms within many different cultures, including Caribbean, Congolese and Asian communities, according to the Met.

The police set up Project Violet seven years ago to target the problem and work with other agencies to raise awareness of children at risk.

But detectives know that Kristy Bamu will not be the last child to suffer this kind of torture and abuse.

"We know this is an under-reported crime, we know this is a hidden crime," said Det Supt Terry Sharpe, head of Scotland Yard's child abuse investigation command.

"That is why Project Violet is working with communities to try to raise the awareness within the community and among professionals so people can see the danger signs."

The task is challenging. Only a few days before Kristy Bamu's murder another young child lost her life as a result of ritualised abuse. The four-year-old girl was found stabbed to death in the kitchen of her east London home a few days before Christmas 2010. Her heart and other organs had been cut out and strewn around the flat and her mother, Shayma Ali, was found chanting by her daughter's body. Ali later pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Istilah Baru Dalam Politik Agama: Jihad Seks

Berita ini sebenarnya sudah merupakan berita lama lihat di sini.  Lalu menurut media ini dibicarakan langsung oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri Tunisia. Berita ini dapat dikatagorikan berita politik agama, karena saat ini Tunia sedang dipimpin oleh kalangan islamisme yang sedang berhadapan dengan islamisme yang lain. Walaupun berita ini mungkin saja berasal dari isme yang lain.


Wanita Tunisia Ber-'Jihad Seks' di Suriah

Sejumlah wanita Tunisia melakukan "jihad" tak biasa. Menurut Menteri Dalam Negeri Lotfi Ben Jeddou, para wanita ini pergi ke Suriah untuk menghibur pejuang oposisi yang tengah bertempur menggempur rezim Bashar Al-Assad.

Di sana, mereka mengobarkan "jihad seksual" dengan  melakukan hubungan badan dengan 20, 30, atau 100 laki-laki. "Setelah itu, mereka kembali ke Tunisia dalam keadaan hamil," katanya.

Ben Jeddou membeberkan fakta ini di Majelis Konstituante Nasional pada hari Kamis. Namun, ia tidak merinci jumlah wanita yang kembali dalam kondisi ini. "Yang jelas mereka menyatakan langkah mereka sebagai jihad al- nikah dan pulang dengan berbadan dua," katanya.

Jihad al-nikah, yang memungkinkan hubungan seksual di luar nikah dengan banyak pasangan, dianggap oleh beberapa aliran Sunni Salafi garis keras sebagai bentuk sah dari perang suci. Media France 24 menyatakan jumlah perempuan Tunisia yang berjihad dengan cara ini mencapai ratusan orang.

Ben Jeddou juga mengatakan bahwa sejak ia memangku jabatan pada bulan Maret, dia telah berhasil mencegah enam ribu dari mereka untuk pergi ke Suriah. Yang terakhir, sekelompok gadis Tunisia dicegah saat hendak melakukan perjalanan ke daerah yang dikuasai pemberontak di Suriah Utara untuk menawarkan diri "menghibur" pejuang oposisi.

Dominionisme dan Politik Agama di AS

The term "dominionism" is used different ways by different people. When new terms are developed, that is to be expected. If we are to use words and phrases to discuss ideas, however, it pays to be on the same page concerning how we define those terms. This is especially true in public debates.

In her 1989 book Spiritual Warfare, sociologist Sara Diamond discussed how dominionism as an ideological tendency in the Christian Right had been significantly influenced by Christian Reconstructionism. Over the past 20 years the leading proponents of Christian Reconstructionism and dominion theology have included Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, Gary North, Greg Bahnsen, David Chilton, Gary DeMar, and Andrew Sandlin.

Diamond explained that "the primary importance of the [Christian Reconstructionist] ideology is its role as a catalyst for what is loosely called 'dominion theology.'" According to Diamond, "Largely through the impact of Rushdoony's and North's writings, the concept that Christians are Biblically mandated to 'occupy' all secular institutions has become the central unifying ideology for the Christian Right." (italics in the original).

In a series of articles and book chapters Diamond expanded on her thesis. She called Reconstructionism "the most intellectually grounded, though esoteric, brand of dominion theology," and observed that "promoters of Reconstructionism see their role as ideological entrepreneurs committed to a long-term struggle."

So Christian Reconstructionism was the most influential form of dominion theology, and it influenced both the theological concepts and political activism of white Protestant conservative evangelicals mobilized by the Christian Right.

But very few evangelicals have even heard of dominion theology, and fewer still embrace Christian Reconstructionism. How do we explain this, especially since our critics are quick to point it out?
The answer lies in teasing apart the terminology and how it is used.

Christian Reconstructionism is a form of theocratic dominion theology. Its leaders challenged evangelicals across a wide swath of theological beliefs to engage in a more muscular and activist form of political participation. The core theme of dominion theology is that the Bible mandates Christians to take over and "occupy" secular institutions.

A number of Christian Right leaders read what the Christian Reconstructionists were writing, and they adopted the idea of taking dominion over the secular institutions of the United States as the "central unifying ideology" of their social movement. They decided to gain political power through the Republican Party.

This does not mean most Christian Right leaders became Christian Reconstructionists. It does mean they were influenced by dominion theology. But they were influenced in a number of different ways, and some promote the theocratic aspects more militantly than others.

It helps to see the terms dominionism, dominion theology, and Christian Reconstructionism as distinct and not interchangeable. While all Christian Reconstructionists are dominionists, not all dominionists are Christian Reconstructionists.

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Religion and Intolerance in Contemporary American Politics

In a 2008 report from the Pew Research Center on religion in American life, one of the principal findings had to do with the tolerance believers extend to those affiliated with other religious denominations and sects. The New York Times hailed these findings with the headline, “Survey Shows U.S. Religious Tolerance.” The article goes on to note that 70 percent of Americans affiliated with a religion agree that “many religions can lead to eternal life.” From this frame of reference, tolerance seems to predominate in the contemporary United States.

While the conclusions of that study are on their own terms believable, they ought not be taken to mean that religionists have a propensity toward tolerance more generally.

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Islamisme Jepang: Politik Agama Islam oleh Penjajah Jepang di Indonesia

Jepang muncul sebagai negara kuat di Asia. Bangsa Jepang bercita-cita besar, menjadi pemimpin Asia Timur Raya. Hal ini sudah direncanakan Jepang sejak tahun 1940 untuk mendirikan kemakmuran bersama Asia Raya.

Menurut rencana tersebut Jepang menginginkan menjadi pusat suatu lingkungan yang berpengaruh atas daerah-daerah Mansyuria, daratan Cina, kepulauan Filipina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indo Cina dan Rusia.

Perkembangan ekonomi dan industri Jepang memberi gambaran bahwa tampaknya perluasan daerah itu mutlak diperlukan. Oleh karena itu rencana kemakmuran bersama Asia Raya dianggap sebagai suatu keharusan, dan oleh kalangan militer diterima dan disambut dengan hangat karena menjanjikan adanya prestise kepahlawanan dan dedikasi.

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Testimony: My Problem with Christianism

Are you a Christian who doesn't feel represented by the religious right? I know the feeling. When the discourse about faith is dominated by political fundamentalists and social conservatives, many others begin to feel as if their religion has been taken away from them.

The number of Christians misrepresented by the Christian right is many. There are evangelical Protestants who believe strongly that Christianity should not get too close to the corrupting allure of government power. There are lay Catholics who, while personally devout, are socially liberal on issues like contraception, gay rights, women's equality and a multi-faith society.

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Majelis Zikir SBY: Politik Agama dan Islamisme Partai Demokrat

Selasa, 21 September 2010

14 Majelis Dzikir Akan Menangkan SBY-Boediono

Sebanyak 14 organisasi Islam yang tergabung dalam Majelis Dzikir SBY Nurussalam mendukung pasangan SBY-Boediono sebagai capres dan cawapres. Mereka bertekad untuk berjuang memenangkan pasangan itu di Pilpres.

"Kami siap berjuang memenangkan pasang SBY-Boediono sebagai capres dan cawapres," kata Ketua Umum Dewan Pimpinan Pusat Majelis Dzikir SBY Nurussalam Haris Thahir saat deklarasi MDZ SBY Nurussalam di Hotel Sahid Jl Sudirman, Jakarta, Senin (25/5) malam.

Menurut Haris, selama pemerintahan dipimpin oleh Presiden SBY, bangsa ini telah mengalami kemajuan di berbagai bidang. Termasuk semakin kondusifnya keamanan di Aceh, Poso, Ambon dan Papua.

Di bidang ekonomi, pertumbuhan ekonomi sangat baik dan mampu meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi hingga 6 persen. "Masih banyak yang telah dicapai soal pemberantasan korupsi, pendidikan 20 persen, hubungan dengan negara Islam semakin berkembang, baik di dalam dan diluar negeri," jelasnya.

Guna memenangkan pasangan SBY-Boediono, MDZ SBY Nurussalam jajaran pengurusnya mulai tingkat daerah hingga pusat untuk mendukungnya. MDZ SBY Nurussalam juga akan menyiapkan sejumlah saksi di setiap TPS di seluruh Indonesia.

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