Dear IOL, I just read this article by you today: "Sin, sedition and Satanism in South Africa".
(Yes, I know the article is from 2008, but I was just made aware of it. LOL. Also, the policeman interviewed is the present head of the reformed SAPS Occult Related Crimes unit - so his views should provide a VERY clear picture of what sort of prejudice and bias this man has. The journalist first points out that there are different forms of Satanism, and makes references to the Church of Satan – but the lengthy quotes from Lamprecht and an evangelicalist drug rehabilitation “expert” speaking out of his field of expertise, tends to off-set this suggestion, making up the bulk of the article, and turning it from an objective piece into a Christian evangelizing soap-box.)
I am sorry to say, this whole article is a perfect example of biased, hysterical SRA propaganda. If is so full of sheer and utter rubbish attributed to Lamprecht and Krige and put out by your paper, that I am beside myself with anger. In fact, there is so much tripe in there about a religion and its adherents who are STILL (clearly only in theory) protected by law in this country from lies and misrepresentations such as this, being presented as "fact" that I'm not even sure where to begin.
Lamprecht and Krige's statements amount to nothing more than a load of slanderous Christo-fascist propaganda dressed in the alleged "expertise" of religious bigotry dressed up as a police "expert" on Satanism and "harmful religious practices" and as a supposed academic - when both are clearly no more than Christian evangelists who would quite naturally, be biased and even hateful, as is clearly the case here.
While Lamprecht makes extensive mention of his own personal beliefs regarding his Christian position on a religion he is clearly maligning and slandering, Lamprecht is also referred to as "Dr." - and I have to say that even if he is "Dr." in some academic field - perhaps even religious studies (which I doubt), his studies are bound to be Christian in nature and so consequently he will know jack about occult religion, EXCEPT through a biased and judgmental Christian perspective - that of prejudice and complete ignorance of the subject. He demonstrates this bias clearly when he says, in a quote in the article:
"Lamprecht said although Satanism is not a crime, it is a belief system that leads to crime."
So what's the difference? Lamprecht is stating - as if it were somehow a PROVABLE fact, that there is no difference between belonging to Satanism as a religion, and belonging to the mafia (or any other criminal organization) - where it is expected of a person who is a Satanist to be a criminal, and that therefore, being a criminal is inevitable and inseparable from that association. This is both hate speech and incitement to hate (in terms of Act No 4 of 2000, Promulgation of Equality Act).
Furthermore, the rest of his statements are prejudicial towards other religions and made clearly out of a biased religious perspective - his own, and by means of this, he attacks the validity and right to exist unhindered by legal harassment of religions and belief systems he disapproves of. Lamprecht - superintendent or academic Dr. or not, he is abusing his appointed position as a public servant as a vantage point to promote his own religion's intolerant values or biases towards these. This is not only unacceptable, unprofessional and unethical - it is also ILLEGAL in terms of the Constitution and the above mentioned Act.
Pagans, Satanists and others who identify with occult religion in South Africa are frequently slandered and maligned in inaccurate and fantastic "news" material and statements issued by unethical tabloid newspapers, Christian "academics" and the SAPS - especially now since they have re-activated their UNconstitutional "Occult Crimes Unit", which views all non-Christians with hostility, contempt and suspicion.
Consequently, all occult and even sometimes non-occult belief systems are conflated with "Satanism" - and the kind of "Satanism" they are conflated with has no basis in fact, but is a creation of sensationalist and hysterical media reporting as well as religious intolerance, paranoia and ignorance.
Refer to this article for clarification:
I note that Lamprecht and Krige provide not a single shred of evidence or so much as a reference to back up these claims. Their statements are just repeated as if they are authorities in their own right. It is just assumed that because they are a policeman or a "Doctor" of something unrelated to occult religious studies, their statements will be taken as factual - even if they are not, and regardless of whether their fields of qualification match the fields they are muck-raking in.
Often, SRA peddlers have NO qualifications, or are not qualified in the fields they claim to be experts in - but because they stick "PHD" or "Dr." after their names, people just assume they do and know what they are talking about.
People who promote propaganda like this rely on their position and authority to enforce their propaganda as "the truth". I scoff at Lamprecht's introduction as "an expert in harmful occult practices". What is his qualification in, that it makes him an expert in a religion he obviously knows nothing about and clearly detests despite his ignorance?
When I addressed accusations about people's sexual orientations and gender identity based upon the statements of so-called "experts" such as Paul Cameron etc., the term "junk-science" described the pseudo-scientific clap-trap used by those people to try to justify their prejudice and hatred of those they worked to destroy - typically because of religious intolerance. In the case of the current, previous (and also any future) hysterias about "Satanist" conspiracies, SRA propaganda and self-proclaimed "experts" leading the attack on civil rights and freedoms, are the 'junk-science' of this battle. And 'junk-science" fits it exactly right.
For nearly half a year now, the SAPS has refused to engage with a legitimate, registered and recognized representative body (SA Pagan Rights Alliance) on the formal objection document sent to the SAPS about the reformation of their ORC unit. This refusal to engage with a religious minority group too is illegal in terms of the Constitution - but what has happened about that? Nothing. And yet they block a legitimate complaint by a registered Pagan community representative body about their (apparently justified) fears regarding persecution (silencing a legitimate complaint is ALSO persecution, Mr. Lamprecht!).
As a matter of correction, IOL and Jacques Breytenbach, "sedition" isn't a crime in South Africa. It is a legal concept used by oppressive and fascist regimes. Are we turning into an oppressive fascist regime? It seems that way, because while shitty conjecture like the contents of this article gets posted as if it is done to do the community a service, Lulu Xingwana stands addressing Parliament this week blaming gender-based violence on "Satanism" - and not one single opposition party - not even the mighty human rights and Constitution-defending DA stands up to object or to correct her. I think for this, the DA should hang its head in shame. What is at stake here is the defense of the constitutional freedom of religion, under attack by a creeping and sinister religious fundamentalism in organs of state - a state which is supposed to be secular by nature of the constitution.
Krige meanwhile, relies on flimsy and academically unsound Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) concepts to assert that music by Eminem turns people into Satanists or anarchists in the classic pattern of the 1980's "Satanic Panic" hysteria (more junk-science). Then he even goes so far as to drop a clanger that exposes exactly the sort of "expert" he is on Satanist religion: "According to Krige, the Satanist movement started in 1967 with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles" - when every serious academic source - AND also authorities on modern Satanism within Satanism recognize that modern Satanism began in 1966 with the foundation of the Church of Satan in San Francisco by Anton Levey! The Beatles experimented with Eastern religions, and had sweet blow-all to do with the beginnings of Satanism, regardless of Kriges attempt to pander to that old mainstay of conservatives that rock music is "satanic". What is your doctorate in, "Dr." Krige - propaganda?
The rest of his so-called "expert" commentary is nothing more than a horse-and-pony show, trying to connect religious Satanism and violence as if he even knows what he is talking about. A person attacks another person, allegedly cuts out his heart and then it is described as an "offering to the devil" - not a sign of mental illness. The tall tale about the little boy in Vryburg as part of "four Satanic sacrifices" is a clear case of the symptomatic ignorance of so called "experts" on occult practices - the (at times deliberate) conflation of African religious practices with Satanism - which is a separate entity altogether. Krige's contribution to the article is nothing less than a meaningless, inaccurate rant in which all he does is evangelize - and reveals that he is obviously out of his field.
On top of that, Dr. Krige and his Extreme Freedom Foundation are little more than a one man show - and yet this unknown evangelizing drug rehabilitation-focused non-profit organization with virtually no internet footprint or media profile, together with Krige, are presented by the journalist as though they were actually some kind of expert organization on occult RELIGION and that his qualification is in a similar related field. The Extreme Freedom Foundation site header reads: "Christian Drug Rehabilitation & Treatment Centre - South Africa", settling the debate on whether Krige or his organization are a proper rehabilitation center, or just a means for him to indulge in indoctrination and proselytizing Christianity.
The truth of the matter is that it is a thinly-disguised Christian "Warfare Ministry" conducting an off-topic assault on the Constitutional right to freedom of religion, instead of dealing with issues related to drug abuse. Krige's field is clearly Christian evangelism, and NOT knowledge of occult religions, and he should stick to things he might know something about, like riding his bike, preaching his gospel, or perhaps getting people off drugs without pushing his religion on them. Tough challenge.
THIS MISREPRESENTATION of this man as an "expert" on any topic other than Christian evangelism and perhaps drug counseling to any degree by your paper is SHODDY JOURNALISM!
I suggest Messrs. Breytenbach, Lamprecht and Krige take a long, hard look at the following articles at the link below:
Further, your site (and your Facebook page) do not allow posting of comments on articles - the media should ALWAYS accept criticism, and corrections - and should not prevent people from engaging them in public ON their articles, if any, which offend. To do so infringes on the right to freedom of speech, to defend oneself against accusations or false statements, and indicates that you will publish whatever you like, regardless of who you will offend, and that you will not enter into debate challenging your methods and reporting ethics. I think that speaks for itself.
Seeing utter TRASH like this Christo-fascist propaganda rubbish appearing in public news as if it is somehow credible or newsworthy just makes me livid.
If Mr. Lamprecht is really concerned about preventing "harmful religious practices" (which to his mind appears to include anything which is not under the umbrella of orthodox Christianity) he should start by paying Dr. Krige a visit, escort them into a cell, close the door, sit down with them, and throw away the key.
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