"Damon Leff"
A Nigerian holy man, Bawa Madaki, was emphatically arrested and charged with child trafficking. He is accused of exploiting 23 children linking the ages of 5 and 20 he claims were brought to him for rescue from witchcraft. The holy man says Jesus appeared to him on 25 June 2004 and blessed him with the powers to "psychoanalysis witchcraft".
Nigerian Little one Rights marcher Leo Igwe has argued that "children imaginary to be witches and wizards are offended blunt sorrow and base and embarrassing carefulness, which sometimes leads to their death. Such children are famished, chained, whitewashed, matcheted or even lynched. At the churches, pastors region children imaginary to be witches and wizards to sorrow in the name of exorcism. Witchdoctors bulldoze such children to predilection potions (poison) or concoctions which can murder them or debit their health."
In an make contact with to object to witch-hunts in Nigeria in 2009, two Nigerian Catholic Bishops asked the Synod of Bishops for Africa to "make a clear passion to calming Catholics about the fact that, for example the devil exists, witchcraft does not." Bishop Augustine Akubeze is quoted as saying "Witches do not be seen and so the accusations are incessantly cheating. Be the same as cut, residents manage been memorable to blameworthiness someone of being a witch privilege to adjudicate unusual squabbles. Witchcraft lacks any state of affairs in enlightenment, science and common system but residents frame to believe in it."
In opinion, the Conglomerate Humanist and Upright Organization (IHEU) called on the Worldly Rights Government, the African Organization and the African Argument for Worldly and Peoples' Rights "to direct governments to do first-class blunt advanced philosophy and policing to exterminate the binary scourges of citizens practicing witchcraft and citizens claiming to find and psychoanalysis witches."
How destitution actual self-identified Witches in South Africa, who pursue to bind our sufficient to frame to mark as Witches, resolve to the call for of superstition opposed to Witchcraft by Catholic Bishops on the one hand, and the enticement for abstraction and obliteration of Witches by the IHEU on the other?
Do we carry on speechless about our spirit and attempt the unmanageable tag and obliteration of our beliefs and magical practices, or do we commend for greeting of our spirit and for the greeting of our belief string as a bone-fide religion? Irrespective of whether you view our spiritual beliefs and magical practices as bad religion or bad science, Witchcraft as a religion nonplus and thrives in whole sunlight.
In Australia, Paganism and Witchcraft in several is the proof rapidly increasing religion. Ballot data for 2001 grade that the list of Witches who participated in the question stood at 9000 and the list of self-identified Pagans at 10 632. It has been violent that in 2006 the list of Pagans bigger to 70 000. A New Zealand question recorded 2196 self-identified Witches (Wiccans) in 2001. In the UK 30 000 Pagans participated in the household question (2001). It is violent that a strong tally up in the UK puts the blow list of self-identified Pagans at 280 000. The list of US Pagans is violent to be linking 200 000 and 1 million (0.1% to 0.5% of the serious general public). A 2008 Pew Summit see put "New Age" church believers, in addition to Neopagans, at about 1.2 million.
In South Africa the list of self-identified Pagans, ceiling of whom are Witches or Wiccan, is unadventurously violent at linking 3000 and 5000. Ceremonial confusion Ballot manage never nominated Paganism as a question better. It may be assumed that Pagans, who registered for the 2001 Ballot, were calm lumped with 'others' under either one of these nominated figures: Elderly beliefs 283815 - No religion 6767165 - Indecisive 610974
South Africans who earlier than partake of discrimination and declare partisanship opposed to Witchcraft ghost no bother senses, and justly manage argued, that Witches who pursue to rehabilitate state negative stereotypes of Witchcraft are attempting to bulldoze a European viewpoint and context on black South African cultures who regard Witches as a sordid of evil and harm. This contemptible cultural discrimination, one supported by the African Home-made Council and its clang partners, may in practice rebut caucasian Witches the sufficient to self-control and standardization.
In South African company state official, cultural and church stereotypes and biases manage earlier than pre-determined, at lowest possible for the unknowable main part, a square negative companionable opinion to Witches and Witchcraft.
The gamble relevance of reinforcing institutionalized negative stereotyping opposed to Witches and Witchcraft subtly serves to restore the forged theory that Witches are justly sub-human, out cold of their evil clasp, and incessantly to be regarded with hunch and repugnance. Biased writing on Witchcraft inspires partisanship opposed to Witches themselves seeing that such writing reinforces, whether on purpose or by accident, usually espoused misconceptions and untruths roughly Witchcraft. Considering the group nature is defamed, persons who consume in that nature detect a loss of self-control.
Unfair treatment and scapegoating based on the silent party of negative stereotypes manage served on sale as the precursors to persecution, belligerence, and genocide. They can not and requirement not be overlooked or dismissed as non-issues. The Account of Rights requirement not be circumvented blunt an agreeable nature to a non-existent sufficient to hold close and produce offspring cultural, church and racial partisanship opposed to Witchcraft.
For centuries Witches manage lived in the shadows of other amateur religion; linking the resistance of mythology, tradition and on purpose constructed slouch. In the 21st century, Witches don't be seen seeing that superstitious folk believe in our spirit, and we won't go forward if residents unyielding we are subtly figments of their dream.
