Daniel Wesangula Nairobi There is a new religion in town. It recognises no sin, pays homage to no one, has neither angels in heaven nor fire and brimstone in hell and whose members say they can create miracles at will. Its head office in Hollywood, California is set in a white, seven-storey modern building that resembles a castle set among palm trees. To most Kenyans, it is a religion practised in the distant USA by Hollywood celebrities. It is called Scientology. ...

THE CHURCH of Scientology in Ireland says it hopes to expand its membership by opening new missions outside Dublin and attracting more immigrants. The church has an estimated 400 members in Ireland, but spokesman Gerard Ryan believes more people across the country could look to Scientology for their faith in the coming years. “Ireland is a much more multi-faith society these days. People are looking for something a bit more unusual. There are two trends at the moment: there is a ...

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Masked protesters are taking to Seattle streets as the church eyes new facilities downtown and in lower Queen Anne. Motorists stuck on Mercer Street this summer have been treated to an odd overhead sight as they crawl under Aurora Avenue toward I-5. Wielding banners and signs, a small band of protesters has appeared on certain evenings, waving at drivers below and encouraging them to honk if they hate Xenu. On other nights, farther west in the Uptown neighborhood, the same merry ...

An ex-Scientologist and an army of online pranksters attempt to bring down the controversial religion. Maybe it's his badass black outfit with blood-red letters screaming "Scientology Kills." Or possibly it's his crew cut, or his nose slammed 45 degrees left after catching one too many right hooks. Maybe it's the hardcore cell-phone earpiece or the camcorder strapped to his palm to record confrontations. Whatever it is, when Tommy Gorman stands at a man's door demanding he get his "chicken-shit ass out ...

Eric Szulczewski has taken off his mask. A month ago, the 43-year-old food safety consultant from Clarendon Hills gave his name to the media, revealing that he's a member of Anonymous, a group dedicated to exposing alleged misdeeds by the Church of Scientology. "Calling them a criminal cult doesn't cover it," said Szulczewski, one of the few members in Chicago willing to reveal his identity. An Internet-based group with members across the world, Anonymous says it does not protest Scientology as ...

Scientology defines itself as the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life. Members of the church believe man is an immortal, spiritual being whose experiences extend beyond a single lifetime. Man cannot only solve his own problems and reach his own goals, but he can gain a higher status of awareness and ability through Scientology. Karin Pouw, public affairs director for the Church of Scientology International, said the religion has more than 7,500 ...

My friend, Isaac Hayes, died on Sunday, and his passing leaves many unanswered questions. The great R&B star, actor, DJ, performer and family man, the composer of “Soul Man,” “Hold On I’m Coming” and other hits by Sam Moore and Dave Prater like “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby,” also was a member of the Church of Scientology. Isaac was found dead by his treadmill, but conveniently missing from the wire stories was a significant fact: in January 2006, Isaac ...

Thank goodness Isaac Hayes wrote "Soul Man" before he became a Scientologist. Whatever would have become of Sam and Dave or the Blues Brothers if they had belted out a song called "Thetan Man"? According to beliefs promoted by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, the immortal soul – or "thetan" – passes from one body to the next through reincarnations over trillions of years. When a person dies, Hubbard said, the thetan goes to a landing station on Venus where it ...

IN the months before a psychotic 25-year-old woman stabbed her father and sister to death and seriously wounded her mother, her psychiatrist, Yolande Lucire, had prescribed 25ml of Largactil a day – a dose so small it used to be recommended as a treatment for hiccups. Last week in the NSW Supreme Court, judge Michael Grove found Pamela Willings (not her real name) not guilty by reason of mental illness. But the treatment she received has created a furore in psychiatric ...

CLEARWATER — In one of its biggest purchases in years, the Church of Scientology has added 5 acres to its already defining downtown presence. The $10-million cash purchase signals the demise of an ambitious waterfront condominium project proposed by a group of Scientology parishioners who assembled parcels immediately north of downtown four years ago and shared visions of turning downtown Clearwater into another Naples. Despite having no experience in condo development, Triangle Development partners Ben Kugler and Ron Pollack hoped to ...

In the mid-1980s, more than ever before, television advertising was about big budgets and excess. Bucking that trend was Scientologist and marketing whiz Jeff Hawkins, whose understated, minimalist TV ads for L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics helped launch the book onto the best-seller list—and arguably sparked a worldwide interest in the religion. Hawkins' ads featured simple questions like, "Why are you unhappy?" in white print against a black background, backed by edgy music supplied by Hawkins' friends, and finally, a shot of ...

The Anonymous group is calling for disillusioned former members to return to the fold ahead of a new phase in its battle against the Church of Scientology. A video posted on YouTube on Friday said it was time for the original founders of the protest movement to return in time for a "shift to more subtle and shocking tactics". Anonymous has staged demonstrations against Scientology around the world over the last six months as part of Project Chanology. Members of the ...

All acknowledgement to Poynter's Jim Romenesko, whose blog [http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45] alerted me to the Reporter's Notebook Web site [http://www.reportersnotebook.net/article.php3?id_article=57], which contains a compelling collection of memories by alums of the long gone Clearwater Sun newspaper. While I'm not so sure about the contention that a newspaper 25 miles away can't provide comprehensive coverage of a community, it is illuminating and sobering to read about the Sun's glory days. A particular standout is the essay crafted by Mike Pride [http://nenews.org/stories/639.html], a well-regarded, recently-retired ...

Among the 'garbage' that was washed ashore in Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami were a number of foreign-funded, unscrupulous evangelist groups. Among these were the 'Scientologists' trying to fish in troubled waters. After exposure by several foreigners including some German journalists as well as the Venerable Medagama Dhammananda of the Asgiriya Buddhist Chapter Sri Lanka, the group kept a low-profile, while 'helping' in the tsunami relief operations for sometime. It now appears that these nefarious crusaders are ...

Reacting to a DW-WORLD.DE report on German film projects about Scientology, the organization's press spokesperson in Berlin said she doesn't like the way Scientology is portrayed. A DVD film for schools showing statements by Scientology leaders in the United States and drop-outs in Europe is anything but objective, said Sabine Weber, the spokeswoman of Scientology in Berlin. She added she feels that young people get indoctrinated by the Lutheran church in Germany which had no small share in the film coming ...

Film companies in Germany are now making attempts to look behind what they believe is the true nature of Scientology. The movies are primarily aimed at young people, who are most likely to fall for the organization. Young people tend to be the first to fall for Scientology and are therefore much courted by the group's scouts across the nation. This is where a new, 25-minute film by the Matthias Film company comes in. It shows interviews with Scientology leaders, former ...

A Sydney judge has found a father's association with Scientology did not affect the treatment of his daughter's mental illness before she stabbed him and her sister to death. The 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with killing her father and sister in July last year and inflicting grievous bodily harm on her mother. Justice Michael Grove today found her not guilty by reason of mental illness. The court had previously been told the woman was denied ...

29 July 2008, 13:00 Kazakhstan authorities oust foreign missionaries Astana, July 29, Interfax - Foreign missionaries have been expelled from Kazakhstan, country's Justice Minister Zagipa Baliyeva said. "A large number of foreigners from the United States, Georgia, South Korea and Japan were expelled from the country by law enforcement authorities following court decisions for violating regulations while working as missionaries without the required registration," the minister said at a government session on Tuesday. In particular, "head of Narconon, an organization associated ...

A Sydney woman charged with the stabbing murder of her father and sister has pleaded not guilty due to mental illness. The 26-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with murdering her father and younger sister at their Revesby home in Sydney's south-west in July 2007. She has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder her mother. The court previously heard the woman was diagnosed with a mental ...

The Church of Scientology says it is considering proposals to sell its headquarters in the central business district, in its move to the suburbs. The controversial religious denomination can expect to make about $8 million in today's market for the historic four-level building, on the corner of Russell Street and Flinders Lane. The building occupies a tiny slice of the city block, dominated by the Grand Hyatt hotel and near the 101 Collins Street office building. The Church of Scientology recently ...

Washington, USA — With their dark suits, leering masks and signs warning of what they call the "cult" of Scientology, the protest group Anonymous may startle a few visitors to Millennium Park on Saturday. But that's what the participants are hoping for. "Outfits and the outrageous help get people's attention," said Eric Szulczewski of Clarendon Hills, one of a few members of Anonymous willing to give his name. An Internet-based group that claims more than 10,000 members worldwide, Anonymous has assembled ...

The Scientology cult loudly boasts that after 9/11, its "Volunteer Ministers" were awarded the Fire Department of New York's highest honor, the "Medal of Valor." This is not only a lie, but an insult to the memory all the brave firefighters who died in the line of duty and were awarded this Medal posthumously. Dozens of Scientology web site and blogs brazenly make this claim, in a continuing effort to legitimize their cult. Scientology's "Volunteer Ministers," or more accurately, "Vulture Ministers," ...

The Cook Islands High Court will hear an application today (Friday local time) for the demolition of a tent set up by the Church of Scientology in the middle of the capital, Avarua. The writ was filed in court by Reverend Alfred Morris, who leads a local Apostolic church in Rarotonga. Last week the Cook Islands government gave the green light to visiting Church of Scientology representatives Mathew Andrews and Winnie Lawrence to put up posters. However, they were advised the ...