Religious segregation

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Religious segregation involves the separation of people on the basis of religion.

[edit] Bosnia and Herzegovina

From education to sports, from municipalities^[1] to cantons and entities, from language policy to regional flags and coat of arms, the strict and sometimes unpeaceful separation between Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Roman Catholic Croats is present in most of BiH’s territory.

Jonathan Steele of The Guardian has argued that Bosnia and Herzegovina is "a dependent, stifled, apartheid regime". In his view, the U.N. control of Bosnia under the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he described as "UN-sanctioned liberal imperialism", creates "dependency, stifles civil society, and produces a highly visible financial apartheid in which an international salariat lords it over a war-wounded and jobless local population." ^[2]

[edit] India

Indian society is divided into several thousands of caste and sub-caste. In the Indian caste system, a Dalit, often called an untouchable, or an outcaste, is a person who according to traditional Hindu belief does not have any "varnas". In the context of traditional Hindu society, Dalit status has often been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as any occupation involving killing, handling of animal cadavers or night soil (human feces). As a result, Dalits were commonly banned and segregated from full participation in Hindu social life (they could not enter the premises of a temple), while elaborate precautions were observed to prevent incidental contact between Dalits and other Hindus.^[3]. Although generally identified with Hinduism, the caste system was also observed among followers of other religions in the Indian subcontinent, including some groups of Muslims and Christians^[4]. The Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, in keeping with the socialist, secular, democratic principles that founded the nation.^[5]. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities^[6], though persist in rural areas of the country. The caste system, in various forms, does continue to play a major role in the Indian society and politics.^[7][8]With the prominence of Hindu reform movements in the 19th century, as well as the rising political power of Dalits in Independent India, Constitutional Laws have been passed banning the practice of segregation of Dalits, and affirmative action has been implemented to equalize the historical imbalance and underrepresentation of Dalits in society.

[edit] Northern Ireland

Main article: Segregation in Northern Ireland

Many Irish nationalists and republicans have described Northern Ireland as being a gerrymandered or even apartheid state, on the grounds that it was created to ensure a built-in Protestant majority, resulting in discrimination against Catholics in government, education, housing and employment. One legacy of this has been that most state schools in Northern Ireland are predominantly Protestant while the majority of Catholic children attend schools maintained by the Catholic Church, although there are now also a number of integrated schools. This has often exacerbated religious, political and cultural differences between the two communities.

Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland was governed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which was Protestant-dominated, while at local government level, electoral boundaries were devised to create Protestant majorities. The outbreak of the Troubles led to the imposition of direct rule by the British government, which has since sought to introduce power sharing between unionists and nationalists.

[edit] Muslim world

"Non-Muslim Bypass:" Non-Muslims are barred from entering Mecca. An example of religious segregation according to critics.^[who?]

Religious segregation occurs throughout the Muslim world, where nations such as Saudi Arabia deny non-Muslims some of the civil rights and voting privileges they grant to Muslims.^[9] Many Muslim countries consign non-Muslim monotheists to the status of dhimmis, both officially and by custom.^[10] There have been reports of imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs.^[11]In fact until March 1, 2004, the official Saudi government website stated that Jews were forbidden from even entering the country.^[12] Saudi Arabia in particular is notorious for very stringent religious laws banning the practice of non-Muslim religions, even prescribing imprisonment and the death penalty for attempting to convert Muslims to other religions.^[13] The city of Mecca has been ethnically cleansed of non-Muslims centuries ago and even today today, non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the city.^[14] Such practices are called a "religious apartheid" by the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights.^[15]

[edit] See also

• Caste
• Devşirme system
• Dhimmi laws
• Ghetto
• Jim Crow laws
• Jizyah tax
• Judenhut
• Mellah
• Ottoman Millet system
• Minority religion
• Nuremberg laws
• Racial segregation
• Religious stratification
• Second-class citizen
• Yellow badge

[edit] References

1. ^ A Tale of Two Cities: The Struggle to Return Continues in Bosnia, Peter Lippman, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2007, pages 38-39
2. ^ Steele, Jonathan. Today's Bosnia: a dependent, stifled, apartheid regime. The Guardian, November 11, 2005.
3. ^ India: ‘Hidden Apartheid’ of Discrimination Against Dalits (Human Rights Watch, 13-2-2007)
4. ^ Francis Buchanan, Indian Census Record, 1883
5. ^ BBC profile, India
6. ^ BBC, Religion and ethics, Hinduism
7. ^ Bayly, Susan (July 1999). Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.2277/0521264340. ISBN-13: 9780521264341. 
8. ^ Caste-Based Parties. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
9. ^ Saudi Arabia - International Religious Freedom Report 2006. U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
10. ^ International Federation for Human Rights (2003-08-01). Discrimination against religious minorities in Iran. fdih.org. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
11. ^ U.S. Department of State (2005-09-15). International Religious Freedom Report 2006 - Iran. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
12. ^ United States Department of State. Saudi Arabia, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004, February 28, 2005.
13. ^ Saudi Arabia - An upsurge in public executions. Amnesty Intarnational. Retrieved on 2007-05-08. “On 3 September 1992 Sadiq 'Abdul-Karim Malallah was publicly beheaded in al-Qatif in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province after being convicted of apostasy and blasphemy.”
14. ^ "The Pilgrimage to Mecca is Dangerous but Exhilarating", U.S. News & World Report, April 7, 2008
15. ^ "Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights - DHIMMI