Albania Christian In Missionary

The LT is the armed wing of the Pakistan-based religious organization, Markaz-ud- Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI)—a Sunni anti-US missionary organization formed in 1989. The LT is led by Hafi z Muhammad Saeed and is one of the three-largest and besttrained groups fighting in Kashmir against India; it is not connected to a political party. The United States in October 2001 announced the addition of the LT to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) list—which includes organizations that are believed to support terrorist groups and have assets in US jurisdiction that can be frozen or controlled. The group was banned, and the Pakistani Government froze its assets in January 2002. The LT is also known by the name of its associated organization, Jamaat ud-Dawa (JUD). Musharraf placed JUD on a watchlist in November 2003. First designated in December 2001. ... [Read More]

Romania

The centuries-long domination of the Orthodox Church, and its status as the majority religion, has resulted in the Orthodox Church's reluctance (in particular at the local level and with the support of low-level officials) to accept the existence of other religions.  Consequently, actions by other religious groups to attract members are perceived by the Orthodox Church as attempts to diminish the number of its members.  Due to its substantial influence, few politicians dare to sponsor bills and measures that would oppose the Orthodox Church.  According to minority religious groups, the population is receptive to minority Christian confessions, and local officials tend to be tolerant but often are pressured and intimidated by the Orthodox clergy.  Minority religious groups allege that the Orthodox clergy have provoked isolated mob incidents.  The Romanian Orthodox Church has attacked the "aggressive proselytizing" of Protestant, neo-Protestant, and other religio ... [Read More]

Belgium

In its 1999 report, the ILO's Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations reiterated its criticism that the Government should adopt legislation establishing "objective, predetermined, and detailed criteria" to enable employers' organizations and trade unions to have access to the National Labor Council. Because of restrictive interpretation of the legislation in force, only the Christian, Socialist, and Liberal trade union confederations have access to the National Labor Council. The Government has taken no action on the issue. ... [Read More]

Greece

Significant numbers of Greek citizens identify themselves as Turks, Pomaks, Vlachs, Roma, Arvanites (Orthodox Christians who speak a dialect of Albanian), or "Macedonians" or "Slavomacedonians. Most are integrated fully into society. The Government formally recognizes only the "Muslim minority" specified in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne (see Section 2.c.), although it stated publicly in 1999 that members of that minority could identify themselves individually as belonging to different ethnic groups. Most of the Muslim minority (officially estimated to number 130,000) are ethnically Turkish or Turcophone and live in Thrace. The Muslim minority also includes Pomaks and Roma. Many Greek Muslims, including Pomaks, identified themselves as Turks and say that the Muslim minority as a whole has a Turkish cultural consciousness. ... [Read More]

M - Appendix B: Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations

LJ specializes in armed attacks and bombings. The group attempted to assassinate former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shabaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab Province, in January 1999. Pakistani authorities have publicly linked LJ members to the kidnap and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in early 2002. Police officials initially suspected LJ members were involved in the two suicide car bombings in Karachi in 2002—against a French shuttle bus in May and the US Consulate in June—but their subsequent investigations have not led to any LJ members being charged in the attacks. Similarly, press reports have linked LJ to attacks on Christian targets in Pakistan, including a grenade assault on the Protestant International Church in Islamabad in March 2002 that killed two US citizens, but no formal charges have been filed against the group. ... [Read More]

Greece

Ethnic Greeks tend to link religious affiliation very closely to ethnicity.  In the minds of many, an ethnic Greek is also Orthodox Christian.  Non-Orthodox citizens have complained of being treated with suspicion or told that they were not truly Greek when they revealed their religious affiliation.  Non-Orthodox citizens also have claimed that they face career limits in the military and the civil service due to their religions (see Section 2.c.). ... [Read More]

Albania

The majority of citizens are secular in orientation after decades of rigidly enforced atheism under the Communist regime, which ended in 1990. Despite such secularism, most citizens traditionally associate themselves with a religious group. Citizens of Muslim background make up the largest traditional religious group (estimated at 65 to 70 percent of the population) and are divided into two communities: those associated with a moderate form of Sunni Islam and those associated with the Bektashi school (a particularly liberal form of Shi'a Sufism). In 1925 after the revolution of Ataturk, the country became the world center of Bektashism, although it has not been recognized as such by the Government. Bektashis are concentrated mainly in the central and southern regions and are estimated to represent approximately one quarter of the country's Muslim population. The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania (referred to as Orthodox) and the R ... [Read More]