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Saudi Arabia does not have religious freedom. Iran and Pakistan barely do, and Turkmenistan and Vietnam flagrantly violate it. North Korea kills, tortures and imprisons people of faith. Israel, Belgium, France and Germany stigmatize certain religions. Among “countries of particular concern” are Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Sudan. Egyptian law does not recognize Muslims’ conversion to other religions, and converts face “serious societal and administrative discrimination.”

The US State Department issued these and other findings in its comprehensive report on worldwide religious freedom December 18 in Washington, D.C. The annual report, posted at www.state.gov, is issued each autumn as required by the 1998 US International Religious Freedom Act. This act allows the United States government to sanction countries that violate the fundamental human right to freely practice the faith of one’s own conviction without interference. Provisions in the act, however, give government officials an option not to levy sanctions against persecuting countries if these officials deem national security to be the overriding interest.

The report offers bright spots, noting “significant improvement in the protection and promotion” of religious freedom in two countries.

KAZAKHSTAN Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev has launched an initiative to promote interfaith dialog. Since the Constitutional Council in April 2002 found that restrictive amendments to Kazakhstan’s national religion law were unconstitutional, no further attempts have been made to amend the legislation. Local officials’ harassment of religious groups, including Baptists, has decreased, all of which improved the overall status of religious freedom in Kazakhstan.

LAOS While Laos’ government still inhibits religious practice overall, in most provinces there were fewer arrests of religious leaders. There were no new reports of church closings. Other abuses of Christians, such as village expulsions, were limited. Several long-closed churches were allowed to reopen. In general, the state is showing greater tolerance for the Lao Evangelical Church. State officials—even one Politburo member—traveled to provinces where local officials weren’t tolerating Christians, in violation of Lao law that calls for respect of Christian congregations. These state officials told the local officials to obey the law. ——–

Aside from the perennial violators of religious freedom cited in previous State Department reports, various countries practice “discriminatory legislation or policies that disadvantage certain religions,” which in some cases has led to a curbing of religious freedom, the 2003 report states. Among them:

BELARUS Belarus’ 2002 law on religion strongly restricts all faiths except the Belarusian Orthodox Church, a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, with which the government signed a concordat. The state has rejected registration applications of many Protestant denominations and continues to enforce a 1995 Cabinet of Ministers decree restricting activities of religious workers in an attempt to protect the Orthodox church and limit other religions’ growth. Belarus’ government-run media attacks Protestants.

BRUNEI In Brunei, non-Muslim faiths were not allowed to proselytize, and Christian schools were not allowed to teach Christianity. The state restricted the growth of all faiths other than official Islam. Zoning laws ban using private homes as places of worship.

INDONESIA Presidential decree implemented sharia (Islamic law) in Indonesia’s Aceh Province, raising fears that sharia would give new powers to already discredited law enforcement and give the state new ways to intrude in religion. It remains unclear whether sharia will apply to non-Muslims.

RUSSIA Russia generally allows religious freedom and has eased legal obstacles to registering religious groups that are new to the country. Yet some aspects of the 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience gave grounds for the state to restrict evangelicals’ religious freedom. For example, laws require religious groups to exist for 15 years before they gain “organization” status. State security services increasingly treat some minority religious groups’ leaders, especially those with organizational ties outside the country, as security threats. Religious workers report problems getting visas with terms longer than three months. Officials denied or canceled visas for some Protestant clergy. Some local governments also stopped religious groups from using venues adequate for large gatherings and either refused permission to construct places of worship or withdrew previously granted permits.

TURKEY Turkey still restricts non-Muslim religious groups. Some Christians and followers of other religions faced restrictions and occasional harassment, including detentions for alleged proselytizing or unauthorized meetings. —————— Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, describes the report as fair and thorough in documenting in detail many incidents of persecution. “The main thrust is fully in line with [Open Doors’] position that persecution of Christians, and others, is a stark reality and that it is increasing worldwide,” he told World Pulse. “Religious liberty, and most often the Christian church, is threatened worldwide.”

While wider in scope than just Christian persecution, the report does consistently mention Christians’ suffering in many parts of the world. “The reality is the situation is desperate and deteriorating in many countries,” Moeller said.

Despite the report’s limitations as a government-oriented solution, Moeller believes it can help the cause of liberty around the world. “In particular, the US has taken a vocal role that can help highlight some of the most unknown situations,” he said. “As well, the US can exert some political and economic influence on some particularly offending countries.”