http://www.independent.co.uk/n...-court-a7693671.html

Russia has banned Jehovah's Witnesses after the Supreme Court ruled the Christian sect to be an “extremist” group.

“The Supreme Court has ruled to sustain the claim of Russia's ministry of justice and deem the 'Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia' organisation extremist, eliminate it and ban its activity in Russia,” said judge Yuri Ivanenko.

“The property of the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation is to be confiscated to the state revenue.”

A lawyer for the justice ministry, Svetlana Borisova, told the court adherents “pose a threat to the rights of the citizens, public order and public security”.

Judges ordered the closure of the group's Russian headquarters and 395 local chapters, as well as the seizure of its property.

Lawyers for the Jehovah's Witnesses said they would appeal the court's decision, which has not yet come into effect, and could take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

“We will do everything possible,” Sergei Cherepanov, a Jehovah's Witnesses representative, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Knocked on the wrong door, eh?

My paternal grandfather was a Jehovah's Witness. I can affirm that they are extreme.

flashguy

Amazing.

A related article that provides much more information:

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...church-a7667371.html

They may be “extreme” in the sense that they are evidently very uncompromising in regards to their beliefs and went to Nazi concentration camps as a consequence, but in anything close to the sense of extreme Islam—? Ridiculous.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Amazing.

A related article that provides much more information:

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...church-a7667371.html

They may be “extreme” in the sense that they are evidently very uncompromising in regards to their beliefs and went to Nazi concentration camps as a consequence, but in anything close to the sense of extreme Islam—? Ridiculous.

My high school buddy was adopted by JWs. We played varsity football together and they hounded him about the violence of football (didn't prevent him from playing though).

JWs have also squandered fortunes in preparation for the end of the world several times.

To my knowledge, that is as extreme as they get.

Do I like them coming to my door? No, but I certainly wouldn't put them on the same extremist list as Al Qaeda and ISIL/ISIS like Russia just did.

Per the Law on Religion passed in 1996 IIRC, all religions that did not exist in USSR 50 years prior are banned. So Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, maybe Catholicism, and Baptists because there were a few. Other Protestant denominations including orthodox (small "o") Evangelicals could not proselytize. The Orthodox Church folks were very much opposed to Mormons as well as JW's.
In the mid-90's there were western missionaries all over in Russia, and it was easy to get a visa if you were a missionary.
Now no "humanitarian visas", no foreign funding, I believe no open church services but not sure about that.
We still know some American missionaries there, as well as Russians supported by western organizations.

JWs won't swear fealty to a state or serve in the military. In Russia and other authoritarian regimes that would put one on the radar. I'm surprised there are any there. Russia has had a history of religious repression, both under the communists and the tsars, for centuries.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Amazing.

A related article that provides much more information:

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...church-a7667371.html

They may be “extreme” in the sense that they are evidently very uncompromising in regards to their beliefs and went to Nazi concentration camps as a consequence, but in anything close to the sense of extreme Islam—? Ridiculous.

Yes, I was surprised that JW were interred at the Mauthausen concentration camp I visited. Gypsies, Spanish civil war losers, career criminals who had finished their sentence, Russian POW's, prostitutes, along with Jews were there. The Russian POW's were treated the worst, though.

I banned Jehovah's Witnesses from my property, along with the Baptists, 7th Day Adventists, and all the other loons.

If only the other devout groups around the world would follow the examples of the Amish. Quiet, polite, hard working, keep to themselves, do their thing, almost entirely positive relations with others, no army, no political party, no bullshit for the most part. Easy peasy.

Be like the Amish.

I have more respect for Jehovah’s Witnesses than any other religious sect. I agree with virtually none of their beliefs, but they demonstrated more true martyrdom for those beliefs under the Nazis than any other example in modern history that I know of.

They sometimes come to my door, knock politely, I answer (or don’t, if I don’t want to; free will is a wonderful thing), we smile at each other, they give me their current tract and tell me a message, and leave. How I wish that everyone was as easy to get along with.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
Per the Law on Religion passed in 1996 IIRC, all religions that did not exist in USSR 50 years prior are banned. So Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, maybe Catholicism, and Baptists because there were a few. Other Protestant denominations including orthodox (small "o") Evangelicals could not proselytize. The Orthodox Church folks were very much opposed to Mormons as well as JW's.
In the mid-90's there were western missionaries all over in Russia, and it was easy to get a visa if you were a missionary.
Now no "humanitarian visas", no foreign funding, I believe no open church services but not sure about that.
We still know some American missionaries there, as well as Russians supported by western organizations.

This makes sense to me. Who needs the scourge of these evangelical neo-christian mega churches in their country. It sounds like they ban Scientology under those rules. I guess the Russians get some things right.