State Dept. Religious Freedom Report Finds Old Problems, New Concerns
by Jenni Parker and Chad Groening
September 17, 2004
(AgapePress) - The U.S. Department of State has released its sixth Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom. This year, new names have been added to the list known as "Countries of Particular Concern."John Hanford, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, heads the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom, which promotes religious liberty worldwide as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy. And, according to the government official, this year's International Religious Freedom report makes it clear that too many people in the world are still being denied their basic human right of religious liberty.
Hanford says currently eight national governments are designated as being of particular concern as violators of internationally acknowledged religious freedom rights. "We added three countries to the list this year," he says, "and we also brought back five countries that have been on the list for several years."
The U.S. diplomat notes that the five long-time members on the list of offending nations are North Korea, China, Burma, Iran, and Sudan. "The three countries we added this year," he says, "were Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Eritrea."
Saudi Arabia's addition to the list may be particularly troubling to the Bush administration, considering that Secretary of State Colin Powell recently paid tribute to the Saudi leadership in an interview broadcast on Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya. That government was determined in the State Department's report to be responsible for "particularly severe violations" of religious freedom; however, Powell says the findings of the annual international religious freedom review do not mean Washington will sanction or punish Saudi Arabia.
According to an Associated Press report, Powell says he hopes the U.S. can, through dialogue, find a way to get Saudi Arabia off the State Department's list of "countries of particular concern" and eventually remove it from the roll of the world's most religiously intolerant nations.
Religious Intolerance Hotspots
The State Department's 2004 report on religious freedom highlights problems among several nations of the Middle East. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are listed under the "State Hostility Toward Minority or Non-approved Religions" category. According to the U.S. government's investigation, religious freedom in Saudi Arabia simply does not exist -- all citizens must follow the official religion, Islam.
Also, the report on Saudi Arabia notes that even Muslims who do not adhere to the officially sanctioned Wahhabi tradition can face discrimination, limited economic opportunity, and "severe repercussions" at the hands of the Saudi Mutawwa'in, or religious police. Meanwhile Wahhabi clerics, those mosque preachers whose salaries are paid by the state, reportedly use violent anti-Christian and anti-Jewish rhetoric in their sermons.
Israel was written up as well for "discriminatory legislation or policies prejudicial to certain religions," as non-Jews reported experiencing housing, employment, and education discrimination. Also, the State Department noted the Israeli government's seizure of land belonging to several religious institutions to build its security fence between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. At the same time, the report mentioned what it calls "credible reports" that Palestinian Authority security forces and judicial officials colluded to extort property from Christian landowners in the region.
Egypt was cited too, as being guilty of "State Neglect of Societal Discrimination Against or Persecution of Minority Religions." The report alludes to Egyptian Christians being harassed, denied assistance from law enforcement, and denied opportunity in the public sector and in staff appointments to public universities. Other minority religious groups in Egypt were said to be denied birth certificates, identity papers, and even marriage licenses.
Singled out, however, was the nation of Iran. That government was underscored as having "engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom," with Christians, Jews, Sunni Muslims, and members of other religious minorities in Iran reporting religious discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and even imprisonment. Meanwhile, the small Jewish community in Iran exists in a threatening environment created by the state's anti-Israel policies and anti-Semitic perceptions among the radical Muslim population.
Diplomatic Religious Freedom Initiatives
The International Religious Freedom report states that the U.S. has taken actions regarding Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Iran in efforts to advance religious freedom. The American government has been working to foster ongoing dialogue between U.S. embassy representatives and leaders of offending nations, and wherever possible has "urged those governments to raise the issue of religious freedom."
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Hanford says he has personally traveled to several of the problem countries, including China and Vietnam, and has tried to encourage their leaders to put an end to the egregious assaults on human rights and freedom that are occurring. He believes most world leaders are willing at least to talk about addressing these issues.
"Almost every country cares about their image in the world and wishes to remove problems between nations," the ambassador says, "and so, in doing diplomacy on the issue of religious freedom, ... I'm simply appealing to them to quit doing these actions which are so heinous and so vicious against religious believers and to follow internationally recognized human rights."
Still, Hanford admits, despite all the effort the U.S. has invested in international religious freedom, considerable challenges remain. Far too many people around the world continue to suffer for the belief or practice of their faith, he says, and far too many governments still refuse to recognize or protect the universal human right of all their citizens to enjoy religious liberty.
