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International Religious Liberty Report

Secretary of State Colin Powell introduced the report with general remarks about the U.S. government's commitment to spreading religious liberty.

"The United States categorically rejects the notion that the security or
stability of any country requires the repression of members of any faith or
precludes the promotion of religious tolerance," Powell said.

The Commission's nomination of Saudi Arabia is the most controversial on the
CPC list.

"It is awkward, given the fact that most of the terrorists responsible for
September 11 were products of the Saudi's repressive religious policy, and
yet ironically the Saudi royal family -- which sustains this policy --
remain key allies if we want to wage the war on terror," said a Washington
insider who did not want to be identified.

According to the Executive Summary of the 2002 State Department report,
"Freedom of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia. The government requires
all citizens to be Muslim and prohibits all public manifestations of
non-Muslim religions."

Given this admission, it is clear that the State Department's reluctance to
designate Saudi Arabia as a CPC has more to do with international politics
than religious liberty issues; however, it is becoming harder for the
administration to sustain this stance.

The USCIRF release stated that in Saudi Arabia last year "numerous foreign
Christian workers were detained, arrested, tortured and subsequently
deported."

Pakistan likewise was cited for failing to protect religious minorities from
sectarian violence. "Discriminatory legislation, including the blasphemy and
anti-Ahmadi laws, help create an atmosphere of religious intolerance," the
release said.

The Commission also expressed concern about recent violations of religious
freedom in Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and Uzbekistan, placing these four
countries on a new "watch list."
As for the 2002 State Department report, there were few surprises. The
report is strong on sober listings of facts, but weak on unique analysis.
However, the Executive Summary listed a number of barriers to international
religious freedom.

The state may tolerates some religion, but is hostile to minority religions. All the
nations cited in this category are predominantly Islamic -- Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan and Sudan. Also included were Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, former Soviet
republics with predominately Muslim populations, but whose governments are
essentially holdovers from previous communist regimes.

Another barrier arises when governments neglect to ensure that people are
not discriminated against on the grounds of religion, such as in India,
where the government failed to provide justice for Christians and Muslims
and in many cases abetted the violence. Other countries in this category
include Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Guatemala, Indonesia and
Nigeria.

Governments erect a third barrier by implementing discriminatory laws that
favor some religions and disenfranchise others. This would include Israel,
where government funding promotes Orthodox Judaism, leaving Muslims, Druze
and Christians with more obstacles to the practice of their faiths. Also
included in this category were Brunei, Eritrea, Jordan, Malaysia, Moldova,
Russia and Turkey.

The fourth barrier is found in states that pass laws stigmatizing certain
religious minorities by unfairly labeling them as "cults." France, Belgium
and Germany are the culprits here. Anti-cult legislation in France, for
example, simply has the effect of making it harder for smaller religious
groups to spread their faith.

According to the State Department report, only one country experienced a
"significant improvement" in religious liberty: Afghanistan.