Tag: Religious freedom

Uzbekistan ‘violates religious freedom through coercion and sexual violence’

September 14, 2017 Uzbekistan Religious freedom, Russian Orthodox Church, Uzbekistan, Women

Russian Orthodox St. Alexey Cathedral in Samarkand, southeast Uzbekistan. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Uzbek regime continues to hold its citizens, including Christians, “in constant fear”, subjecting them to surveillance, threats, raids, fines and short-term imprisonments, according to regional news agency Forum 18’s analysis of religious freedom in Uzbekistan. In a comprehensive overview, Forum 18 highlights a number of incidents, including two in . . . Read More

Sudan demolishes another church, but MPs block school on Sundays

August 4, 2017 Sudan Donald Trump, Education, Justin Welby, Khartoum, Omdurman, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, Sudanese Church of Christ, USA

The Baptist Church in Omdurman that was demolished this week. (Photo: Open Doors International)

The Sudanese government demolished another church on Wednesday (2 August), the day after Members of the Khartoum state parliament rejected an order by the Minister of Education for all Christian schools in the capital to open on a Sunday. The Baptist Church in Omdurman, across the Nile, just west from . . . Read More

Indonesia ‘to guarantee rights of religious minorities’

August 4, 2017 Indonesia Ahok, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama, Religious freedom, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Wreaths displayed to honor those killed in the suicide bomb attack in the Kampung Melayu bus terminal, East Jakarta on May 24 2017. Indonesia's image of a secular nation is under treat as it faces increased influence of extremist Islamist groups. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Indonesia is drafting a law that will guarantee the rights of religious minorities in the country, according to the head of the country’s Ministry of Religion’s Interfaith Harmony Forum. “The government [currently] only recognises six religions, while more than four million people who follow religions outside of those six are . . . Read More

Copts in Kom El-Loufy still have no church in their village, and they’re not alone

July 31, 2017 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Kom El-Loufy, Minya, Pope Tawadros II, Religious freedom, Samalut

After 12 years of fierce opposition Coptic Christians in Kom El-Loufy, Minya, will soon again have a church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The more than 1,600 Copts in the village of Kom El-Loufy in Minya, Upper Egypt are still waiting for a new church building, seven years after their previous building was closed the same month it was opened. Ever since the Copts started looking for a new venue, they have experienced fierce . . . Read More

US nominates new religious freedom ambassador

July 27, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Darfur, Human rights, Religious freedom, Sam Brownback, USA

US President Donald Trump intends to nominate Sam Brownback, a Republican Governor from Kansas, as Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, the White House has announced. He will become head of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom which is dedicated to monitoring religious freedom abuses around the world. Religious . . . Read More

Maldives told to retract criticism of UN Special Rapporteur

July 25, 2017 Maldives Ahmed Shaheed, Maldives, Progressive Party of Maldives, Religious freedom, UN, USA

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, has been accused by the Maldives' government of spreading "evil deeds" and of "irreligious activities". (Photo: Getty Images)

The Maldives should retract its accusations against the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) – its former Foreign Minister, Ahmed Shaheed – and condemn the calls for his beheading, says the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF “strongly condemn[ed]” the accusations from the ruling . . . Read More

G20 ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle major global issue: religious freedom

July 14, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Angela Merkel, China, Eritrea, G20, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mexico, Migrants, Refugees, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey

By not discussing international religious freedom at the G20 summit in Germany last weekend, world leaders failed to address the root cause of major global issues like the migrant crisis, says David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA. As a result, “we can expect more violence from religious intolerance, a . . . Read More

Sudan sanctions extended for three months

July 13, 2017 Sudan Human rights, North Korea, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, USA

A Sudanese woman carries a bag of food-aid on her head at the El-Riyadh camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Geneina, the capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state, on 8 February 2017. Rights groups are calling for “a new set of “smart and modernised” sanctions that would “spare” the Sudanese people. (Photo: Getty Images)

The US has extended its sanctions against Sudan for another three months, saying “more time is needed” to review whether Sudan has done enough to merit their removal. Sudan’s President, Omar Bashir, responded by suspending his negotiating committee until the end of the three months. The committee has been in . . . Read More

US lawmakers call for continued sanctions against Sudan as Bashir plans Russia visit

July 11, 2017 Sudan African Union, International Criminal Court, Religious freedom, Russia, Sanctions, Sudan

Sudan's President Omar Bashir attending the Arab League summit meetings in Jordan in March 2017. Photo: Getty Images

A bipartisan group including 53 US lawmakers has urged President Donald Trump to delay the permanent lifting of sanctions on Sudan, ahead of tomorrow’s (12 July) deadline for a decision to be made. Meanwhile, Sudan’s President, Omar Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes including . . . Read More

Sudan defends human rights record, saying it ‘enjoys religious freedom and unprecedented openness’

July 4, 2017 Sudan Khartoum, Religious freedom, Sanctions

In response to concerns raised over its human rights record by the US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan has insisted that the country “enjoys religious freedom” and “unprecedented openness”, reports press agency AFP. The US embassy’s comments came ahead of talks next week about the potential lifting of 20 years of . . . Read More

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