CultNEWS101 Articles: 1/3/2022 (Transcendental Meditation, Podcast, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Legal, Korea, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kyrgyzstan)

Transcendental Meditation, Podcast, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Legal, Korea, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kyrgyzstan

A Little Bit CULTY: Episode Eleven - Master of the Cultiverse: Patrick Ryan on Transcendental Meditation

"What do Pete Rose, Grandma Walton, skin boys, Dear Prudence, Brooks Brothers suits, David Lynch, Mary Tyler Moore, Merv Griffin, Mary Tyler Moore, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and Margaret Singer have in common? They're all mentioned in this episode, and you'll have to listen to find out why. There's just not enough room in these show notes to tell you. But don't worry, you'll be glad you listened, because Patrick Ryan can tell a culty oral history with the best of them. He joins Sarah and Nippy for the penultimate episode of Season 2, and it's a doozy that just might make you take a second look at your meditation practice. As Stefon on SNL would say, "This one has something for everyone: Yogic flying, off-brand incense, and fake CIA operatives." It's been a batshit year, kids, so enjoy 2021's last A Little Bit Culty episode drop.

More about today's guest: Patrick Ryan is a graduate of Maharishi International University. He has been a cult intervention specialist since 1984. He's the co-founder of TM-EX, the organization of ex-members of Transcendental Meditation, established ICSA's online resource (1995-2013), and has presented 50 programs about hypnosis, inner-experience, trance-induction techniques, communicating with cult members, conversion, cult intervention, exit counseling, intervention assessment, mediation, religious conflict resolution, thought reform consultation, eastern groups, transcendental meditation and workshops for educators, families, former members and mental health professionals at ICSA workshops/conferences. Mr. Ryan received the AFF Achievement Award (1997) from AFF, the Leo J. Ryan Foundation, and a Lifetime Achievement Award (2011) from ICSA. Along with fellow intervention specialist Joseph Kelly, Patrick publishes several cult news sites that are an indispensable resource for all things cult-related."

Yonhap News Agency: Appellate court upholds acquittal of Shincheonji leader

"An appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling and acquitted a religious sect leader of charges that he obstructed the government's response to COVID-19 outbreaks last year.

Lee Man-hee, the 90-year-old founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was indicted last year for allegedly underreporting the number of Shincheonji followers and church locations to the government when the virus was fast spreading among the followers.

However, both the district and the appellate courts found that submission of such information pertains to the data acquisition process, not the government's epidemiological investigation process, concluding Lee's act is not punishable under the infectious disease prevention act.

"It is also difficult to conclude the accused deliberately omitted requested data," the Suwon High Court said, noting that the church later submitted all requested data to the government.

The court, however, found Lee partly guilty of charges of embezzling 5.6 billion won (US$4.7 million) from church funds to build a new church facility and holding unauthorized religious events at local government facilities from 2015 to 2019.

RFE/RL: Kyrgyz Court Refuses To Recognize Books Used By Jehovah's Witnesses As 'Extremist'

"A court in Bishkek has refused to deem publications from the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist, rejecting a step by authorities toward completely outlawing the religious group.

The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital on December 3 rejected a request by the Prosecutor-General's Office to recognize 11 books, two brochures, and six videotapes belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan as extremist.

The materials in question were confiscated in 2019 from the religious group, which has operated in the Central Asian nation for more than 23 years, by the State Committee for National Security (UKMK)."

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

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Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

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Please forward articles that you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

CultNEWS101 Articles: 12/27/2021 (Shincheonji, Legal, Korea, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kyrgyzstan, Religious Freedom, France, Miviludes)

Shincheonji, Legal, Korea, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kyrgyzstan, Religious Freedom, France, Miviludes

Yonhap News Agency: Appellate court upholds acquittal of Shincheonji leader

"An appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling and acquitted a religious sect leader of charges that he obstructed the government's response to COVID-19 outbreaks last year.

Lee Man-hee, the 90-year-old founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was indicted last year for allegedly underreporting the number of Shincheonji followers and church locations to the government when the virus was fast spreading among the followers.

However, both the district and the appellate courts found that submission of such information pertains to the data acquisition process, not the government's epidemiological investigation process, concluding Lee's act is not punishable under the infectious disease prevention act.

"It is also difficult to conclude the accused deliberately omitted requested data," the Suwon High Court said, noting that the church later submitted all requested data to the government.

The court, however, found Lee partly guilty of charges of embezzling 5.6 billion won (US$4.7 million) from church funds to build a new church facility and holding unauthorized religious events at local government facilities from 2015 to 2019.

The high court gave Lee a three-year prison term, suspended for five years, for the offenses, a sentence slightly heavier than the three-year term, suspended for four years, handed by the lower court."

Religion News Service: Kyrgyzstan is expected to ban Jehovah's Witnesses publications for 'extremism'

"A criminal case initiated in 2019 accuses the Jehovah's Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan of inciting "racial, ethnic, national, religious or interregional hatred" and resulted in a March 2021 raid of the Witnesses' national center in Bishkek, the country's capital. The raid led authorities to file a civil claim asking for the publications to be banned. The Jehovah's Witnesses don't have any additional info on the status of the criminal case, but it has not gone to trial yet.

Jehovah's Witnesses have appealed to Kyrgyzstan's president in two letters advocating for the right to peacefully practice their beliefs.

"The international community has repeatedly condemned Russia in the strongest terms for such violations of religious freedom and fundamental human rights. Therefore, we respectfully ask that your esteemed government urgently direct that the criminal case be terminated and the court application be removed," Jehovah's Witnesses wrote in a Nov. 24 letter.

In July, Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security characterized Jehovah's Witnesses as "totalitarian in nature" and asked the the prosecutor general to ban the group's materials and consider a possible ban on the group's activity.

"Its practices and precepts contravene the basic provisions of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and legal norms by forcing its members to renounce personal opinions and beliefs, to limit their freedom, to make regular payments as well as to forfeit material assets for their community," the letter said.

Today, there are more than 5,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan, where the group has been present since the 1950s. The group's publications have been available in the Kyrgyz language since 1994, and the faith's national administrative office was built in 2004. Lopes said that if the publications are banned Thursday, raids and imprisonments will likely follow.

Jehovah's Witnesses are currently banned in Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan."

The Local:  How the pandemic in France has led to an explosion in number of sects

" ... The main missions of Miviludes today is to investigate cults, coordinate law enforcement action against them, train and inform law enforcement on sects, educate the public about the dangers and put victims in touch with support services.

Miviludes received more than 3,000 referrals in 2020 – a 40 percent increase over five years. Alerts of cult activity linked Covid-19 were among the most common.

In an interview with Le Monde, Schiappa revealed that around 140,000 adults are currently involved in cults in France.

Minors are by far the most targeted population group when it comes to cults.

It operates under the direct supervision of the Interior Ministry and is seeing a resurgence after years of budget cuts.

The most recent nationwide report from Miviludes, published in July, revealed a number of findings.

The organization recognised Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientologists, Neo-Shamans, some evangelist protestant groups, some Christian groups, a selection of Christian and Islamic groups, mediums, personal development specialists, multi-level marketers, and even alternative medicine practitioners as belonging to sects.

The report found that yoga and meditation were the fastest growing ways through which the public were being lured into 'sectarian aberrations'."

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

CultEducationEvents.com

CultMediation.com   

Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.

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Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.

Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.

Please forward articles that you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

CultNEWS101 Articles: 12/9/2021 (Jehovah's Witnesses, Religious Freedom, Kyrgyzstan, Legal, Amma, Book Review, Love Has Won)

Jehovah's Witnesses, Religious Freedom, Kyrgyzstan, Legal, Amma, Book Review, Love Has Won

RFE/RL: Kyrgyz Court Refuses To Recognize Books Used By Jehovah's Witnesses As 'Extremist'

"A court in Bishkek has refused to deem publications from the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist, rejecting a step by authorities toward completely outlawing the religious group.

The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital on December 3 rejected a request by the Prosecutor-General's Office to recognize 11 books, two brochures, and six videotapes belonging to the Jehovah's Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan as extremist.

The materials in question were confiscated in 2019 from the religious group, which has operated in the Central Asian nation for more than 23 years, by the State Committee for National Security (UKMK).

Investigators then concluded that the materials "instigate religious hatred," while the Prosecutor-General's Office asked the court last month to recognize the literature and videotapes as extremist and ban the group's activities in the country."

The Jehovah's Witnesses were officially registered in Kyrgyzstan in 1998. Currently, there are some 5,000 followers of the religious teaching.

The Amma Empire

"Amma, "The Hugging Saint", Mata Amritanandamayi or Amrita, went from a simple Indian fisherman's daughter in the late seventies to an international phenomenon worshiped by millions worldwide.

Jacques Albohair (aka Sarvatma), who belonged to the initial inner circle of disciples in the early eighties, contributed to her early reputation as her first European representative and translator until he quit more than a decade later. He provides a captivating insider testimony of his life as an early disciple and of the development of the organization from the simple "family business" to the "global empire" it has become today.

He delivers a detailed investigative analysis of the philosophy, the ethics, the communication, the practices and the reality of this sprawling organization . He reveals the corruption and deception at the heart of the Amrita-system covering a wide range of fields: economic, fiscal, charitable, educational, sanitary, land and real-estate, ethical and spiritual, in words and deeds. He demonstrates how the guru herself is at the origin of the omnipresent ambiguities and doublespeak. The author's close and intimate personal experience combined with quality testimony, documented evidence and a wealth of sources is nothing short of an eye-opener.

His critical review of the official biography , thanks to his hindsight and experience, is especially enlightening as it lays bare in simple and clear terms the reality of the person, her evolution and realizations.

As a lover of India and a believer of its ancient wisdom, he broadens the debate by clarifying common misunderstandings on some of the founding principles of Hinduism , and explores the criteria of the real spiritual master , of a healthy master-disciple relationship and the means to empower oneself when regaining one's autonomy .

His book caters as well to admirers of India, to cult critics and to devotees in search of answers. In the wake of Gail Tredwell's testimony , Amma's former personal assistant for twenty years, "Holy Hell - A Memoir of Faith, Devotion and Pure Madness" published in 2013, this is the second major critical insider testimony on Amma and her movement .

430 pages, printed and electronic versions available at amazon.com,  amazon.in and other international sites."

The Denver Post: Love Has Won cult leader died from anorexia, substance abuse and colloidal silver use, autopsy report says

"Love Has Won cult leader Amy Carlson died of natural causes after years of alcohol abuse, opioid use, anorexia and chronic ingestion of colloidal silver, a substance that some believe can boost the body's immune system, according to an autopsy report prepared by the El Paso County Coroner's Office.

The report, which was finalized last month, found alcohol, narcotics, marijuana and high levels of silver in the 45-year-old's body. Carlson, who was 5-feet-4-inches tall, weighed 75 pounds when she died, the report said.

The autopsy results were first reported by Guru Mag, an online publication that reports on cults, and were confirmed to The Denver Post by Rising Above Love Has Won, a group that tries to rescue the group's followers.

The autopsy also reported that there were no signs of cancer, despite Carlson's followers saying that she was suffering from it. Her followers, who called Carlson "Mother God," also had said she was paralyzed. Those who follow the cult said there was no sign that she was paralyzed, although the autopsy report does not address that condition."

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

CultEducationEvents.com

CultMediation.com   

Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.

Facebook

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Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.

Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.

Please forward articles that you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

Kyrgyz Court Refuses To Recognize Books Used By Jehovah's Witnesses As 'Extremist'

RFE/RL
December 03, 2021


BISHKEK -- A court in Bishkek has refused to deem publications from the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist, rejecting a step by authorities toward completely outlawing the religious group.

The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital on December 3 rejected a request by the Prosecutor-General’s Office to recognize 11 books, two brochures, and six videotapes belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan as extremist.

The materials in question were confiscated in 2019 from the religious group, which has operated in the Central Asian nation for more than 23 years, by the State Committee for National Security (UKMK).

Investigators then concluded that the materials "instigate religious hatred," while the Prosecutor-General’s Office asked the court last month to recognize the literature and videotapes as extremist and ban the group's activities in the country.

The Jehovah's Witnesses was officially registered in Kyrgyzstan in 1998. Currently, there are some 5,000 followers of the religious teaching.

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are the only Central Asian nations where Jehovah’s Witnesses are not officially outlawed.

In Russia, a large-scale crackdown on the religious denomination has been conducted since it was labeled as extremist and banned there in 2017.



https://www.rferl.org/a/kyrgyzstan-jehovahs-witnesses-extremist/31592362.html

Kyrgyzstan is expected to ban Jehovah's Witnesses publications for 'extremism'

The ban would mark the first time that the country has taken an official stance against the religious group.

Kathryn Post
Religion News Service
November 30, 2021

(RNS) — Kyrgyzstan is expected to ban 13 Jehovah’s Witnesses publications on Thursday (Dec. 2) for extremism, marking the first time the country has taken an official stance against the religious group since the former Soviet republic granted the church national registration in 1998.

Jarrod Lopes, spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said the move echoes the tactics employed against the group in Russia, Kyrgyzstan’s historic ally. According to Lopes, the Russian government, which has put several dozen Jehovah’s Witnesses on trial for proselytizing, often takes a first step of declaring any religious group’s literature as extremist before declaring group members extremist themselves.

“Kyrgyzstan is simply following Russia’s model of repression — ban the Witnesses’ literature with the ultimate goal of banning their organization,” said Lopes, who noted that Russia has more than 60 cases pending at the European Court of Human Rights concerning Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“We hope that the court will hold Russia accountable for violating international human rights law, putting other lands on notice that they will also face consequences if they continue to persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses for peacefully practicing their faith,” Lopes said.

A criminal case initiated in 2019 accuses the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan of inciting “racial, ethnic, national, religious or interregional hatred” and resulted in a March 2021 raid of the Witnesses’ national center in Bishkek, the country’s capital. The raid led authorities to file a civil claim asking for the publications to be banned. The Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t have any additional info on the status of the criminal case, but it has not gone to trial yet.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have appealed to Kyrgyzstan’s president in two letters advocating for the right to peacefully practice their beliefs.

“The international community has repeatedly condemned Russia in the strongest terms for such violations of religious freedom and fundamental human rights. Therefore, we respectfully ask that your esteemed government urgently direct that the criminal case be terminated and the court application be removed,” Jehovah’s Witnesses wrote in a Nov. 24 letter.

In July, Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security characterized Jehovah’s Witnesses as “totalitarian in nature” and asked the the prosecutor general to ban the group’s materials and consider a possible ban on the group’s activity.

“Its practices and precepts contravene the basic provisions of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and legal norms by forcing its members to renounce personal opinions and beliefs, to limit their freedom, to make regular payments as well as to forfeit material assets for their community,” the letter said.

Today, there are more than 5,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kyrgyzstan, where the group has been present since the 1950s. The group’s publications have been available in the Kyrgyz language since 1994, and the faith’s national administrative office was built in 2004. Lopes said that if the publications are banned Thursday, raids and imprisonments will likely follow.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently banned in Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

https://religionnews.com/2021/11/30/kyrgyzstan-is-expected-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-publications-as-extremist/

RUSSIA'S JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BAN IS FAR FROM THE ONLY OPPRESSION THE GROUP FACES AROUND THE WORLD

JASON LE MIERE
Newsweek
May 5, 2017

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia are still reeling from a decision by the country’s Supreme Court last month to ban all activity of the Christian denomination under an anti-extremism law. But, while that decision has garnered much attention and condemnation around the world, Russia is far from the only country guilty of oppressing the U.S.-founded religion.

Jehovah's Witnesses began in Pennsylvania toward the end of the 19th century and now count 8.3 million members around the globe. The group headquartered in upstate New York is perhaps best known for going door-to-door to spread their message. as well as refusing military service and blood transfusions. Their stance on blood transfusions was cited by Russia's justice ministry as evidence that they constituted an extremist organization. However. their position has also been credited with encouraging doctors to come up with less risky alternatives to using blood.

Still, their beliefs remain controversial in many parts of the world. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released its annual report last month detailing various abuses committed against almost all religions all over the globe. Numerous abuses involve Jehovah’s Witnesses:

Eritrea
The plight of Jehovah’s Witnesses is particularly serious in Eritrea. The African country officially recognizes just four religious groups—the Coptic Orthodox Church of Eritrea, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of Eritrea—all other groups must register. Many minority faith groups are persecuted, including Jehovah’s Witnesses. A decree from the then- and current-President Isaias Afwerki in 1994 revoked Jehovah’s Witnesses’ citizenship due to their refusal to take part in national service or participate politically. Three Jehovah’s Witnesses remain imprisoned for that time, as part of a total of 54 Jehovah’s Witnesses currently imprisoned without trial.

Tajikistan
A decade before Russia’s ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Central Asian country of Tajikistan did the same thing. With, at the time, a congregation of just 600 in the country of around 8.5 million, Tajikistan’s Culture Ministry in 2007 decreed the group’s activity “illegal” and, again largely citing their refusal to partake in military service, issued a nationwide ban.

Turkmenistan
Also deemed a “Country of Particular Concern” by USCIRF, Turkmenistan, has what Human Rights Watch has called an “atrocious” record when it comes to human rights. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been singled out for some of the worst treatment. Members of the group have been fired from their jobs and even evicted from their homes, according to human rights organization Forum 18. Jehovah’s Witnesses have also reported being imprisoned without charge and tortured.

Kyrgyzstan
In unquestionably the most bizarre form of oppression carried out against Jehovah’s Witnesses, a mother and daughter spent 31 months under house arrest, until their release in October 2015, for alleged witchcraft. Their precise crime was said to be conjuring snakes from eggs and stealing a woman’s life savings, according to Forum 18. Jehovah’s Witnesses allege that the punishment was retribution for their failed applications to register their faith with the state.

Uzbekistan
Central Asia’s most populous country regularly disrupts Jehovah’s Witnesses meetings and, as with those of other religious groups in the country, particularly Muslims, often punishes those in attendance for possessing religious literature.

Azerbaijan
in Azerbaijan, where all religious groups must register with the government, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been subject to raids, arrests, fines and having religious texts confiscated. In 2015, two Jehovah’s Witnesses were jailed for almost a year for sharing the Bible’s message with their neighbors. Jehovah’s Witnesses have also been jailed for refusing to perform military service.

Kazakhstan
Neighboring Russia, constitutionally secular Kazakhstan has repeatedly fined Jehovah’s Witnesses for sharing their faith with others, either verbally or through religious texts, and even inviting people to meetings. Just this week, a Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to five years in prison, accused of propagating ideas that "disrupt interreligious and interethnic concord."

Belarus
Jehovah’s Witnesses in the former Soviet country have been threatened with liquidation for holding religious meetings without permission and distributing religious texts. Last year, a Jehovah’s Witness was fined for refusing to perform military service, even though he offered to perform civilian service.

Egypt
Despite there being an estimated 1,500 in the country, Jehovah’s Witnesses, along with the Baha’I faith, has been banned in Egypt since 1960. Members of the religious group remain prohibited from having places of worship, even if in recent years they have been permitted to meet with fewer than 30 people in private homes, according to the USCIRF report.

http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-oppression-594839