A/HRC/6/6 page 14 C. Christianophobia 45. There has been an undeniable increase in acts of Christianophobia in the past years, which has been particularly apparent in the context of the complex relations between Christians and Muslims and the aggressive proselytism of certain evangelical groups. Christianophobia has also been fuelled in certain regions by dogmatic secularism and dominant anti-religious ideology. 46. On the one hand, the identification of the West with Christianity, owing to their historical closeness during the era of European colonization and the current political and intellectual rhetoric about the Christian identity of Europe - reflected in the rhetoric against Turkey’s admission to the European Union and the debates regarding the reference to the Christian roots of Europe in the stalled project for a European Constitution - have fostered anti-Christian sentiments in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 47. Such feelings have increased in the context of the war against terrorism and the increasing acceptance of the theory of a clash of civilizations between the West and the Islamic world, implicitly equating the West with Christianity and the Middle East with Islam. The irrationality of the amalgams that give grounds to violence and the adverse effects of the theory of the clash of civilizations have resulted in a number of cases of Christianophobia, such as the assassination in Kenya of a Catholic nun following the publication of the Danish cartoons on the Prophet Muhammad. 48. On the other hand, the aggressive proselytism of certain evangelical groups, particularly from North America, has resulted in reactions of resistance and hostility towards Christianity in South America, Africa and Asia. In India, in particular, the instrumentalization by such evangelical groups of freedom of expression to openly disseminate literature against Hinduism, denigrating its values and traditions, and inciting the destruction of symbols of Hinduism, has favoured the emergence of an identity resistance towards this foreign influence which, in turn, is viewed as a threat to the ancestral identity of India as an Hindu nation. The conversion of Dalits to Christianity to escape their deeply rooted discrimination is to be analysed in this context. 49. Christianophobia is also a common phenomenon in Europe, where the cultural pervasiveness of dogmatic secularism, under the guise of defending the historic conquest of the separation of Church and State and the amalgamation between modernity and the rejection of religion, leads not only to the emergence of an anti-religious culture, but also to intolerance towards any religious practice, expression or sign. Recent illustrations of this phenomenon are the decline in religious practices and the reluctance to accept the legitimacy of a religious ethic in the fundamental choices and discussions of a democratic society. 50. Expressions of Christianophobia have also become frequent in certain groups of some predominantly Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Iraq, Indonesia, Nigeria or Pakistan. They take the forms of discourses inciting to religious hatred, attacks against places of residence and worship, persecutions and killings. In Myanmar, the difficulties imposed on the practice of non-Buddhist religions in the country have had serious consequences for Christians, including policies such as the prohibition to translate the Bible into local language. In the Sudan, in particular, the situation of Christian minorities has been critical for many years. The Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction the improvements brought about by the peace agreement and the new Interim National Constitution, including the granting of religious autonomy to the South,