Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 60
open for other cases,‖ said lawyer Olivier Morice. ―UNADFI has an appointment with
Scientology in other courts.‖
A Scientology spokesman said that the conviction was ―evidence of the political and judicial
conspiracy which sets out to destroy those who dare to think differently.‖ (AFP, Internet,
5/18/02)
Court Fines Scientology Leader for Defamation of Critics
A Paris court has ordered the head of France‘s Church of Scientology to pay $19,400 in
damages for publishing articles that compared the practices of an anti-sect group to those
―practiced under the [Nazi] Third Reich.‖ Daniele Gounord was found guilty of defamation
and ordered to pay damages and court costs to the National Union of Associations for the
Defense of the Family and the Individual (UNADFI). (Washington Times, Internet, 6/23/02.
The Washington Times is owned by the Unification Church.)
Tent of the Living God
Sect Denies It Plans Forced Circumcision
Members of the controversial Tent of the Living God sect have denied claims that they
plan to circumcise women by force, terming the allegations malicious. At the same time,
hundreds of the sect members gathered for worship at Nairobi‘s Kariokor roundabout in the
absence of their spiritual leader, Mr. Ngonya wa Gakonya, who along with 38 sect members,
is in police custody after being charged with holding an illegal meeting.
Last month, handwritten leaflets alleged to have been authored by the sect were circulated
in parts of Kiambaa and Kikuyu divisions of Kiambu, warning women aged between 13 and
65 years to undergo the rite or be forcibly circumcised. But a sect representative said that
despite their stand on the issue, female genital mutilation remained a women‘s affair, and
men in the sect had nothing to do with it. ―The government has enough security machinery
to investigate such claims,‖ he said. ―All we want is our freedom to worship which is
guaranteed all Kenyans,‖ he told the Nation.
The sect requires its members to worship the traditional God of the Gikuyu and to perform
religious rituals. Tent of The Living God followers also distanced themselves from the
controversial Mungiki sect, saying that the two were only similar in their religious regalia
and certain other characteristics. (Wahome Thuku, Daily Nation, Internet, 5/6/02)
Twelve Tribes
Twelve Tribes Says It Won’t Recruit in Florida
The controversial religious sect Twelve Tribes has no plans to recruit in Fort Myers,
although members bought the former American Legion Hall before fire gutted it earlier this
month. The Tribes, who practice a hybrid of Christian and Hebrew beliefs and rituals
intended literally to reflect Scripture, follow a leader who is unaccountable to anyone and
believes he has the ear of God, according to Bob Pardon, a congregational minister and
director of the nonprofit Institute for Religious Research in Michigan. As for their Fort Myers
presence, Pardon speculated that the Tribes were looking for a group home or business
location.
In the 1960s, they might have been dismissed as Jesus freaks. Now, post-Waco, post-
Heaven's Gate, suspicions arise about cultish followings. "Certainly we get that comparison
all the time. We expect it," said Ed Wiseman, 54. "If we're really radically different and
distinct, we don't expect people to swallow us hook, line and sinker. It's human nature to
mistrust what you don't understand."
open for other cases,‖ said lawyer Olivier Morice. ―UNADFI has an appointment with
Scientology in other courts.‖
A Scientology spokesman said that the conviction was ―evidence of the political and judicial
conspiracy which sets out to destroy those who dare to think differently.‖ (AFP, Internet,
5/18/02)
Court Fines Scientology Leader for Defamation of Critics
A Paris court has ordered the head of France‘s Church of Scientology to pay $19,400 in
damages for publishing articles that compared the practices of an anti-sect group to those
―practiced under the [Nazi] Third Reich.‖ Daniele Gounord was found guilty of defamation
and ordered to pay damages and court costs to the National Union of Associations for the
Defense of the Family and the Individual (UNADFI). (Washington Times, Internet, 6/23/02.
The Washington Times is owned by the Unification Church.)
Tent of the Living God
Sect Denies It Plans Forced Circumcision
Members of the controversial Tent of the Living God sect have denied claims that they
plan to circumcise women by force, terming the allegations malicious. At the same time,
hundreds of the sect members gathered for worship at Nairobi‘s Kariokor roundabout in the
absence of their spiritual leader, Mr. Ngonya wa Gakonya, who along with 38 sect members,
is in police custody after being charged with holding an illegal meeting.
Last month, handwritten leaflets alleged to have been authored by the sect were circulated
in parts of Kiambaa and Kikuyu divisions of Kiambu, warning women aged between 13 and
65 years to undergo the rite or be forcibly circumcised. But a sect representative said that
despite their stand on the issue, female genital mutilation remained a women‘s affair, and
men in the sect had nothing to do with it. ―The government has enough security machinery
to investigate such claims,‖ he said. ―All we want is our freedom to worship which is
guaranteed all Kenyans,‖ he told the Nation.
The sect requires its members to worship the traditional God of the Gikuyu and to perform
religious rituals. Tent of The Living God followers also distanced themselves from the
controversial Mungiki sect, saying that the two were only similar in their religious regalia
and certain other characteristics. (Wahome Thuku, Daily Nation, Internet, 5/6/02)
Twelve Tribes
Twelve Tribes Says It Won’t Recruit in Florida
The controversial religious sect Twelve Tribes has no plans to recruit in Fort Myers,
although members bought the former American Legion Hall before fire gutted it earlier this
month. The Tribes, who practice a hybrid of Christian and Hebrew beliefs and rituals
intended literally to reflect Scripture, follow a leader who is unaccountable to anyone and
believes he has the ear of God, according to Bob Pardon, a congregational minister and
director of the nonprofit Institute for Religious Research in Michigan. As for their Fort Myers
presence, Pardon speculated that the Tribes were looking for a group home or business
location.
In the 1960s, they might have been dismissed as Jesus freaks. Now, post-Waco, post-
Heaven's Gate, suspicions arise about cultish followings. "Certainly we get that comparison
all the time. We expect it," said Ed Wiseman, 54. "If we're really radically different and
distinct, we don't expect people to swallow us hook, line and sinker. It's human nature to
mistrust what you don't understand."
