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Goanet mourns the passing of Jorge de Abreu Noronha in Portugal - Nov 27/07
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Ten Indian Churches Asked to Close in Bahrain
By SAR NEWS
ROME/ SHARJAH (SAR NEWS) -- About 10 Indian churches in Bahrain will
face eviction unless they prove their legal status within two weeks.
Out of the 10 churches, half of them are understood to have registered
with the Social Development Ministry.
Manama municipal councillor Abdulmajeed Al Sebea'a claimed at least
seven churches in Segaiya do not have a licence from the municipality,
the Social Development Ministry or the Justice and Islamic Affairs
Ministry.
It is alleged that the authorities swung into action when local people
complained about Kerala Catholic Association's noisy celebration held
November 1.
"Unauthorised exercise of one's religion is forbidden even here in
Sharjah. You have to take an official licence to establish a place of
worship and hold religious functions within your premises, provided
there is no noise pollution beyond the permitted level," says an
Indian Catholic priest who has been ministering in Sharjah for the
last 15 years.
"A couple of years ago, a group of 'born again' Christians were
arrested in Sharjah and deported on charges of causing noise pollution
and being a public nuisance," recalls the priest.
"To my knowledge, there is a lot of religious freedom, these days in
most of the Gulf countries, with the exception of Saudi Arabia," the
priest says, recalling Pope Benedict's appeal to the Saudi King during
his recent visit to the Vatican.
In Sharjah, almost all Christian denominations are represented legally
in an area of some five acres of land freely given by the Sharjah
government. The biggest Church is that of the Catholic Church where we
have about 65,000 Catholics attending weekly services. It is the same
in Abu Dhabi, with about 75,000 and Dubai has 85,000-plus Catholics.
"In the two Emirate Kingdoms of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the churches are
fully sponsored by the rulers. In Sharjah, the rulers do not make us
pay even for electricity and water," he adds.
Indian ambassador to Bahrain, Bal Krishna Shetty, has called a meeting
of the churches to study the issue in detail, Gulf Daily News reported
November 27.
Shetty said he wanted to know whether the main issue relates to
parking problems that the churches are causing, or if it was simply
that they are not registered.
Some of the churches have applied for registration that would legalise
their existence, but are still waiting for a response, said Sharon
Fellowship Church president pastor P.C. Varghese.
Other churches under threat of closure in Segaiya include the Church
of Philadelphia, Church of South India, IPC Immanuel, St. Paul's Mar
Thoma Church and the Church of God.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam's multi-purpose hall nearing
completion in Segaiya has come under scrutiny.
