Albawaba.com
Washington, DC
Religious persecution continue to control the freedom of religious practice in the Middle East and other parts of the world despite improvements regarding this human right in countries in question, according to the Second Annual Religious Report issued September 5th by the US State Department.
The report, mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, was introduced by Secretary Madeleine Albright who said that followers of almost all religions and sects are being persecuted in more than 190 countries.
“The victims it [the report] spotlights are Bahai’s and Buddhists, Christian and Hindus, Jews and Muslims, Sikhs and others,” she said, adding that “the sad truth is that religious intolerance remains far too common in far too many places.”
Oddly enough, 144 countries are signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, according to the report. “All have pledged not to discriminate on the basis of religion,” it said citing the convention.
Following are excerpts from the report that address religious freedom in the region
Iraq
The Government for decades has conducted a brutal campaign of murder, summary execution, and protracted arbitrary detention against the religious leaders and adherents of the majority Shi'a Muslim population. Security forces murdered senior Shi'a clerics, desecrated mosques and holy sites, arrested tens of thousands of Shi'a, and forcibly prevented Shi'a from practicing their religion.
The Government also targeted the country's Christian Assyrians and Chaldeans by denying members their political rights and forcibly removing them from certain areas of the country.
Saudi Arabia
The Government supports the Sunni majority, and members of the Shi'a minority are subject to officially sanctioned political and economic discrimination. In some cases, they have experienced arbitrary detention and other more severe forms of discrimination. Religious freedom does not exist in the country, and non-Muslims may not worship publicly.
However, they may engage in nonpublic worship if they do so discretely. Any attempt to convert Muslims to a non-Muslim religion is a criminal offense. In particular, Catholics and Protestants from Asia have been subject to discrimination and deportation for violating the Government's strict religious regulations.
Sudan
Against the backdrop of an ongoing civil war, the Muslim-dominated regime continued to persecute members of religious minorities. Christians, practitioners of traditional indigenous religious, and Muslims who deviate from the Government's interpretation of Islam were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, threats, violence, and forced conversion to Islam.
The Government's support of slavery and its continued military action in villages in the Nuba mountains, which resulted in numerous deaths, are due in part to the victims' religious beliefs.
Egypt
In Egypt members of the non-Muslim minority generally worship without interference, but there is some societal and governmental discrimination. Almost 100 persons, including members of the Faramawy religious group, were arrested and charged with heresy against Islam. Some were convicted and sentenced. Violent exchanges between Christians and Muslims in Al-Kush, culminating in early January 2000, resulted in the death of 21 Christians and 1 Muslim; many more were wounded.
The Government indicted 135 people for the violence and took steps to compensate the victims. Some members of the Christian community acknowledge that the Government has become somewhat more responsive but still argue that, despite improvements, the approval process for church construction remains slow and cumbersome.
Israel
Most non-Jewish citizens are Arab Muslims, and they are subject to various forms of discrimination. The Government does not provide Israeli Arabs with the same quality of education, housing, employment opportunities, and social services as Jews.
Government spending and financial support are proportionally far lower in predominantly non-Jewish areas than in Jewish areas. Evangelical Christians and other religious groups have complained in the past that the police have been slow to investigate incidents of harassment, threats, and vandalism directed against their meetings, churches, and other facilities by two ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups.
Jordan. Government officials in Jordan still have not registered the Jordan Evangelical (Christian) Theological Seminary. Pending such registration, authorities suspended the renewal of the residence permits of all of the seminary's 36 foreign students (who come from 10 foreign countries), and 2 members of the faculty.
Significant Improvements in Respect for Religious Freedom
Egypt
Egyptian Copts were appointed to senior political party positions during the reporting period, and some observers noted an increased representation of Christians in public and political life. A December 1999 decree by President Hosni Mubarak provided that all places of worship be subject to the same civil construction code. The decree has had the effect of facilitating church repairs.
The Government's response to sectarian violence against Christians also improved. After an outbreak of sectarian violence in the village of Al-Kush over the New Year, the Government responded quickly to restore order. A criminal court in Sohag city indicted 135 people for the violence, and the trials are ongoing.
Israel
The successful March 2000 visit of the Pope contributed to increased religious tolerance in Israel. In March the High Court of Justice ruled that the Government's use of the Jewish National Fund to develop public land was discriminatory; that organization's bylaws prohibit the sale or lease of land to non-Jews. In June 2000, the Government proposed a plan to redress spending for non-Jewish areas, which was substantially below that in predominantly Jewish areas. Finally, harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses declined in 2000.
Kuwait
The Government agreed to allow the Vatican to establish a permanent mission in the country. The Catholic Church views the approval as a significant development and indicative of increased tolerance of Christianity by the government of Kuwait.
Qatar
The construction of the first Christian church in Qatar was approved. Previously, the Qatar authorities prohibited the public practice of any religion except the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.
Saudi Arabia
Government officials reaffirmed publicly, in domestic and international forums, e.g., at the 56th session of the UN Committee on Human Rights in April 2000, the right of non-Muslims to worship privately. These statements, published in the local press, created a greater societal awareness of the Government's decision to allow non-Islamic private worship.
Observers note that, in spite of several recent actions by the Government against Christians engaged in private worship, non-Islamic freedom to worship privately received more attention and greater respect than in the past.
Sudan
Some religious prisoners and detainees were released, including Faki Koko, who allegedly was held for apostasy, Father Hillary Boma, and Father Lino Sebit. The Public Order Courts were abolished, the enforcement of public order law was relaxed, and women imprisoned under that law were released. Restrictions on religious visitors and gatherings were eased.
The Government's Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children identified hundreds of abductees (mostly Christians or practitioners of traditional indigenous religions) and returned many of them to their families.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
