Persecution is the mistreatment specifically directed at individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, imprisonment, internment, fear or pain are all factors that may establish persecution, but not all suffering will necessarily establish persecution. The threshold of severity has been a topic of much debate. Jeremy Adler has proposed the radical view that the West can be understood as a "persecutory civilization" in his article in The London Journal of Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 24 Issue 8 Compilation 10.
International law As part of the Nuremberg Principles, crimes against humanity are part of international law. Principle VI of the Nuremberg Principles states that
Telford Taylor, who was Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials wrote "[at] the Nuremberg war crimes trials, the tribunals rebuffed several efforts by the prosecution to bring such 'domestic' atrocities within the scope of international law as 'crimes against humanity".Telford Taylor "When people kill a people", The New York Times, March 28, 1982. Several subsequent international treaties incorporate this principle, but some have dropped the restriction "in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime" that is in Nuremberg Principles.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is binding on 111 states, defines crimes against humanity in Article 7.1. The article criminalizes certain acts "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack". These include:
Religious
Baháʼís
The persecution of Baháʼís refers to the religious persecution of Baháʼís in various countries, especially in Iran, which has the seventh largest Baháʼí population in the world, with just over 251,100 as of 2010. The Baháʼí Faith originated in Iran, and it represents the largest religious minority in that country.
Buddhists
The persecution of Buddhists has been a widespread phenomenon throughout the history of Buddhism, a phenomenon which is continuing today. As early as the 3rd century AD, Buddhists were persecuted by Kirder, the Zoroastrian high priest of the Sasanian Empire.
Anti-Buddhist sentiment in Imperial China between the 5th and 10th century led to the Four Buddhist Persecutions in China of which the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution of 845 was probably the most severe. However, Buddhism managed to survive in China, but it was greatly weakened. During the Northern Expedition, in 1926 in Guangxi, the Kuomintang Muslim General Bai Chongxi led his troops on a campaign to destroy Buddhist temples and smash idols, they turned the temples into schools and Kuomintang party headquarters. During the Kuomintang Pacification of Qinghai, the Muslim General Ma Bufang and his army wiped out many Tibetan Buddhists in the northeast and eastern Qinghai, and destroyed Tibetan Buddhist temples.
The Muslim invasion of the Indian subcontinent was the first great iconoclastic invasion of the Indian subcontinent.Levy, Robert I. Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990. According to William Johnston, hundreds of Buddhist monasteries and shrines were destroyed, Buddhist texts were burnt by the Muslim armies, monks and nuns were killed on the Indo-Gangetic Plain during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Buddhist university of Nalanda was mistaken for a fort because of its walled campus. The Buddhist monks who had been slaughtered were mistaken for Brahmins according to Minhaj-i-Siraj. The walled town, the Odantapuri monastery, was also destroyed by his forces. Sumpa based his account on that of Śākyaśribhadra who was at Magadha in 1200, states that the Buddhist university complexes of Odantapuri and Vikramshila were also destroyed and the monks were massacred.A Comprehensive History Of India, Vol. 4, Part 1, pp. 600 & 601. Muslim forces attacked the north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent many times.Historia Religionum: Handbook for the History of Religions By C. J. Bleeker, G. Widengren p. 381. Many places were destroyed and renamed. For example, Odantapuri's monasteries were destroyed in 1197 by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji and the town was renamed. Likewise, Vikramashila was destroyed by the forces of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200.Sanderson, Alexis. "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period." In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, pp. 89. The sacred Mahabodhi Temple was almost completely destroyed by the Muslim invaders.The Maha-Bodhi by Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 8)The Maha-Bodhi by Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205) Many Buddhist monks fled to Nepal, Tibet, and South India to avoid the consequences of war.Islam at War: A History By Mark W. Walton, George F. Nafziger, Laurent W. Mbanda (p. 226) Tibetan pilgrim Chöjepal (1179-1264), who arrived in India in 1234, had to flee advancing Muslim troops multiple times, as they were sacking Buddhist sites.Roerich, G. 1959. Biography of Dharmasvamin (Chag lo tsa-ba Chos-rje-dpal): A Tibetan Monk Pilgrim. Patna: K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute. pp. 61–62, 64, 98.
In Japan, the haibutsu kishaku during the Meiji Restoration (starting in 1868) was an event which was triggered by the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (or shinbutsu bunri). This policy caused great destruction to Buddhism in Japan, the destruction of Buddhist temples, images and texts took place on a large scale all over the country and Buddhist monks were forced to return to secular life.
During the 2012 Ramu violence in Bangladesh, a 25,000-strong Muslim mob set fire to at least five Buddhist temples and dozens of homes throughout the town and throughout the surrounding villages after they saw a picture of an allegedly desecrated Quran, which they claimed had been posted on Facebook by Uttam Barua, a local Buddhist man.
Christians
The persecution of Christians is religious persecution that Christians may be subjected to as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the modern era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land across which early Christianity was distributed. Early in the fourth century, the religion was legalized by the Edict of Milan, and it eventually became the State church of the Roman Empire.
Christian missionaries, as well as the people that they converted to Christianity, have been the target of persecution, many times to the point of being martyred for their faith.
There is also a history of individual Christian denominations suffering persecution at the hands of other Christians under the charge of heresy, particularly during the 16th century Protestant Reformation as well as throughout the Middle Ages when various Christian groups deemed heretical were persecuted by the Papacy.
In the 20th century, Christians have been persecuted by various groups, and by atheistic states such as the USSR and North Korea. During the Second World War members of many Christian churches were persecuted in Germany for resisting the Nazi ideology.
In more recent times the Christian missionary organization Open Doors (UK) estimates 100 million Christians face persecution, particularly in Muslim-dominated countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.Open Doors: The worst 50 countries for persecution of Christians Open Doors: Weltverfolgungsindex 2012 , p. 2 According to the International Society for Human Rights, up to 80% of all acts of persecution are directed against people of the Christian faith.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)
During the 1838 conflict in Missouri known as the Mormon War, tensions between members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints and non‑Mormon settlers and militia escalated into open violence. Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri issued what became known as the "Extermination Order" on October 27, 1838. The Missouri extermination order forced Mormons to move to Illinois.
The founder of the church, Joseph Smith, was killed in Carthage, Illinois by a mob of about 200 men, almost all of whom were members of the Illinois state militia including some members of the militia who were assigned to guard him. He was shot multiple times before falling out of a window, crying, "Oh Lord my God!" He died shortly after hitting the ground, but was shot several more times by an improvised firing squad before the mob dispersed.; Smith was the first U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated.
Jehovah's Witnesses
During the Nazi rule from 1933, Jehovah's Witnesses faced great persecution in Germany. Their refusal to give the Nazi salute, join Nazi organizations, perform compulsory military service, or display loyalty to the regime marked them out as nonconformists and opponents to the state ideology. They were banned from preaching and distributing literature, their homes were raided, and many members were dismissed from employment, arrested, or sent to concentration camps.
The Supreme Court of Russia has declared the organization "extremist," banned its activities, liquidated its legal entities, and ordered confiscation of property.
Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the religious groups most frequently banned worldwide, with official prohibitions or restrictions in several countries spanning Asia‑Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East–North Africa region.
Copts
The persecution of Copts is a historical and ongoing issue in Egypt against Coptic Orthodox Christianity and its followers. It is also a prominent example of the poor status of Christians in the Middle East despite the religion being native to the region. Copts are the Christ followers in Egypt, usually Oriental Orthodox, who currently make up around 10% of the population of Egypt — the largest religious minority of that country. Copts have cited instances of persecution throughout their history and Human Rights Watch has noted "growing religious intolerance" and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, as well as a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible.Egypt and Libya: A Year of Serious Abuses , hrw.org, January 24, 2010