February 9, 2012 | by Leonard A. Leo and Elizabeth H. Prodromou

The following article appeared in The Hill today. For a link to the original article, go to http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/209781-honoring-religious-freedom-after-arab-spring .

As Egypt marks the first anniversary of Hosni Mubarak"s historic departure on February 11, urgent challenges await it and other Middle Eastern and North African states. From Tunisia to Egypt, elections raise hopes for democracy. Yet the ballot box alone will not ensure the triumph of human rights and freedom over tyranny and oppression. What happens after the elections is as critical.

Will the rule of law be enforced? Will women"s rights be defined and protected? Will minority rights be respected? Will the full panoply of human rights be guaranteed under law and applied by government officials? Will the freedom of religion or belief be recognized as central to democracy? The answers to these questions will determine whether democracy will take hold.

None is more important than whether religious freedom will be protected. Studies show a positive correlation between this freedom and civil and political rights, economic liberty, and personal and national security -- and a negative correlation with social conflict and state violence and repression. Egypt"s frightening sectarian violence, threatening religious pluralism and religious minority communities, underscores these linkages.

One of the most crucial ways that elected leaders can bolster religious freedom and related rights is by enshrining them in their constitutions. It is not all that must be done, but it"s an essential first step. Egypt can set the standard. By protecting religious freedom, Egypt"s parliament can send a message to the region about the intrinsic linkages between this foundational right and broader liberties.

Elsewhere, Prime Minister Erdogan recently announced his government"s intent to proceed with long-delayed reforms to Turkey"s constitution. Jordan"s King Abdullah II is being pressed by political opposition parties for reforms to his country"s constitution. Bahrain"s King Hamad has met with opposition critical to recently-announced constitutional amendments. While contexts vary, such efforts must ensure that international standards are respected in constitutional drafts. There are a number of key touchstones to consider.

First, national constitutions should recognize freedom of religion, thought, conscience, and belief as a universal right. By signing the UN Charter, each of the 193 member states of the United Nations concurred, as did the drafters of numerous international instruments, beginning with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Egypt and other nations should act accordingly through their own constitutions.

Constitutions must recognize religious freedom for individuals and communities alike. Each person"s freedom to hold and to manifest any religion or belief -- and, equally important, not to hold any religious belief -- should not be abridged, aside from exceptions spelled out in international law. Whether part of a religious minority or majority, whether an adherent of a traditional religion, a newer religion, or no religion, and whether a citizen or a non-citizen, every human being should possess the freedom of religion or belief.

Besides recognizing it as a universal right and empowering individuals and communities to exercise it, national constitutions should also affirm that religious freedom includes the right to keep or to change one"s own religion or belief without coercion and to manifest it publicly, as well as to persuade others to change their beliefs or affiliations voluntarily. Any limitations on these freedoms must be prescribed by narrowly construed law consistent with international agreements.

Finally, for countries declaring one religion as the official religion, religious freedom must be respected for all, without bias. Providing benefits to state religions not available to other faiths would constitute discrimination, as would excepting them from processes normally required for faith communities to establish legal personality.

As Egypt marks the one-year anniversary of Mubarak"s fall, its leaders can set an example by drafting a new national constitution that upholds these international legal standards for religious freedom. Such a constitution would enhance the prospect that democracy, marked by principles of equality and tolerance, takes root. To be sure, neither elections nor constitutions that respect religious freedom can guarantee democracy, but they are necessary steps along its path.
 

Leo and Prodromou serve as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contactPaul Liben at [email protected] or (703) 870-6041.

February 2, 2012 | by USCIRF

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today called for the immediate release of 35 Ethiopian Christians who have been detained by Saudi Arabian police since December 15, allegedly for participating in a private religious gathering.

"The Saudi government immediately should release all 35 Christians who have been detained without charge. Unless and until the Saudi government demonstrates some valid legal basis for imprisoning these individuals, they should immediately be set free and Saudi authorities should investigate allegations of physical abuse and degrading treatment by prison officials,” said USCIRF Chair Leonard Leo.

On December 15, Saudi authorities raided a private religious gathering in Jeddah and detained the 35 Ethiopian Christian expatriate workers, 29 women and six men. Some of the men detained have alleged that they were physically abused during interrogations and the female detainees reportedly were subjected to intrusive and humiliating body cavity searches. While no formal charges have been made, the detainees reportedly were charged with "illicit mingling” with the opposite sex. Saudi authorities informed sponsors of some of the detainees that their employees were being held because of illegal religious activities. The detainees also reportedly face imminent deportation.

"In recent years, the number of arrests and deportations by Saudi authorities of non-Muslim expatriate workers for engaging in private religious worship had decreased significantly. This new development raises serious concern about a possible regression towards past practices,” said Leo. "In addition, the Saudi government continues to hold other prisoners on the basis of religion or belief, including Hadi Al-Mutif, an Ismaili Muslim, who, having been jailed for apostasy since 1994, is one of the longest serving religious prisoners in the world.” Furthermore, there have been reports that a Filipino Christian expatriate worker was arrested and charged with blasphemy by Saudi authorities in October, although his current whereabouts are unknown.

Since 2004, the U.S. Department of State has designated Saudi Arabia a "country of particular concern” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The Saudi government persists in banning all forms of public religious expression other than the government's own interpretation of one school of Sunni Islam and prohibits any non-Muslim places of worship. Despite King Abdullah undertaking some limited reform measures and promoting inter-religious dialogue in international fora in recent years, little progress has been made more than five years after the State Department publicly announced that, as a result of bilateral discussions, the Saudi government had confirmed that it would advance specific policies with the aim of improving religious freedom conditions.

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives. USCIRF's principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contact Paul Liben at [email protected] or (703) 870-6041.

January 25, 2012 | by Leonard A. Leo and Rev. William Shaw

The following op-ed appeared in the Baltimore Sun on January 23, 2012. For a link to the original article, go to

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-nigeria-20120123,0,6743343.story

Since the arrival of the New Year, America's Nigerian diaspora, including its significant community in Maryland, must be dismayed by the news from Africa's most populous country. The reluctance of Nigeria's government to prevent or punish violence between Muslims and Christians has invited further violations of religious freedom and losses of innocent life.

During the first week of January, in one day in Adamawa State in the north, at least 20 people were killed and 15 others wounded. The next day, eight worshipers attending the Apostolic Church in Adamawa were slain. Members or followers of Boko Haram, the terrorist group which killed hundreds in 2011 - including on Christmas Day in several church bombings - are suspected of being behind both atrocities.

The Adamawa bloodshed came after a demand by a purported Boko Haram representative that all Christians and southerners leave the north or face attack. It was followed by assaults on mosques and an Islamic school in the city of Benin in the south, leaving at least five people dead, and by the killing of four Christians fleeing the northern town of Maiduguri, which has been torn by Boko Haram's violence.

Over the years, violent religious actors, both Christian and Muslim, have literally gotten away with murder. Boko Haram is exploiting a climate of impunity in a country that has lost more than 13,000 people to religiously-related violence since 1999.

In a January 2011 meeting with a delegation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), on which we serve, Nigerian officials highlighted five convictions on terrorism charges. Unfortunately, there have been no convictions of perpetrators of sectarian violence.
Compounding the problem, religious police called the Hisbah are funded by state governments in Bauchi, Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, and Kano and enforce a number of sharia laws.

These religious freedom abuses and Nigeria's sectarian strife should arouse the conscience of the world, including the United States.

Yet Nigeria's problem isn't just a humanitarian one. Nigeria remains a pivotal leader in Africa, a major exporter of oil, and a contributor to international peacekeeping operations. Its sectarian violence threatens the stability and viability of a country that is far too vital to be allowed to slide into eventual chaos and anarchy.

What can be done to turn Nigeria's tide?

First, Nigeria's religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian, should together condemn Boko Haram's atrocities as terrorist attacks which pour gasoline on sectarian flames. Religious leaders also must restrain their rhetoric, which divides Christians and Muslims further and stokes reprisal attacks.

Second, Nigeria's political establishment, including President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders, should muster the will and courage not only to curb the strife but to bring all perpetrators to justice. That means seriously prosecuting them, regardless of their faith or position in society, and ensuring a speedy process which holds them accountable. Abuja must give state prosecutors more freedom and flexibility against offenders, rather than insisting on federal trials that result in holding the detained in the capital and releasing them a few months later.

Third, the United States should designate Nigeria a CPC or Country of Particular Concern, deeming it among the world's worst religious freedom violators for failing to prevent or contain religiously-connected violence, stop reprisal attacks, and convict the guilty. Ultimately, however, Nigeria must do more than punish Boko Haram members and other extremists. It must also undermine their appeal by combating military and police abuse against Muslims and rolling back the nation's ethnic preferences system - in which persons originating from one state are denied benefits in others - which fuels charges of discrimination by Muslims and Christians alike.

Finally, the United States can make ending the culture of impunity a central issue in this week's U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission meetings, while offering help to bolster Nigeria's community policing abilities, train prosecutors, and strengthen its judicial system.

During those meetings, security and stability will be critical issues. For the sake of these issues, as well as human life and religious freedom, Nigeria must confront its impunity problem now.

Leonard A. Leo is chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Rev. William Shaw serves as a USCIRF Commissioner.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contact Paul LIben at [email protected] or (703) 870-6041.