How has the internet been used to resist or counteract religious persecution and human rights abuse?
In my searches for sites around religious persecutions a good number of sites returned focussed on China. And it seems like religions, or in China's and Russia's cases, state atheism - where the religion governs the country, would be threatened by the internet. Those authorities can control the internet to some extent but savvy users (and bold given the penalties) can risk working around the firewalls.When religious beliefs are made public they can be questioned. China's sensorship of the internet made headlines (Bennett, 2011) earlier this year when Google took the country on, but there are harsh penalties for anyone who breaches the government's internet laws. Therefore, those wanting to speak out about persecution or abuse would generally do so from outside their country. If they choose to use their own name it is knowing that they are unlikely to ever be able to return. The persecuted, those who are close to them or those who oppose human rights abuse such can create websites such as the Falun Dafa Information Centre (2008), which provides background information for those unfamiliar with Falun Dafa and their persecution. This particular website states it is the 'official source' of Falun Dafa information and while it is managed out of the US it does contain reports from inside China.
Scientology has a reasonably high profile due to its celebrity membership: John Travolta and Tom Cruise in the US, Kate Ceberano in Australia. Its website is very well organised and is non-confrontational with plenty of reasoned statements about the foundation of its belief system. There is another side to this church as shown via websites, such as Ex Scientologist and it's message board Ex Scientology Message Board. These sites provide resources and an opportunity for ex-Scientology members or those in that church and questioning it to share their stories, provide resources and create a supportive community for others who might have experienced abuse or intimidation by that church. The two points of view can coexist in the one place.
Bennett, I. (2011). Media Censorship in China. Council on Foreign Relations. http://www.cfr.org/china/media-censorship-china/p11515
Ex Scientologist. http://www.exscn.net/
Ex Scientologist. http://www.exscn.net/
Ex Scientologists Message Board. http://www.forum.exscn.net/forum.php?s=2ea5591c6cff68078e34a4b6bfcf691f
Falun Dafa Information Centre. (2008). http://www.faluninfo.net/
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