FACTOID #151: The five countries with the highest coffee consumption are also the five countries whose citizens trust one another the most. Coincidence? Probably.
The leader of the Muslims of Crimea is Mufti Emirali Ablayev.
Some religiousleaders allege that local government officials in the east and west favor the predominant confessions, although each of the major religions and many of the smaller ones maintain a presence in all parts of the country.
The March 2002 parliamentary elections, in which some priests of various Orthodox communities were accused of endorsing particular political parties or candidates in their sermons, added to the already tense inter-Orthodox relations, while tensions persisted over the continued presence of crosses at several Jewish burial grounds.
Religiousleaders reportedly cooperated with the Government in limiting nighttime religious meetings and did not view the restriction as an infringement on their religious freedom.
In February 2002, government authorities forbade Pasteur Bizimungu, a former president of the country who organized a political party that was banned by the Government in 2001, from attending public church services; authorities charged that Bizimungu's presence would be "divisive." The Government's action reportedly was politically motivated.
Some religiousleaders were perpetrators of violence and discrimination, and several members of the clergy of various faiths have faced charges of genocide in Rwandan courts, in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, and in foreign courts, notably in Belgium.
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