USCIRF Spotlight Podcast
107 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 13 ratingsWelcome to a new weekly podcast series called “USCIRF Spotlight” hosted by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal advisory body. During each episode, Director of Outreach and Policy Dwight Bashir features a special guest to dive deeper on various topics and breaking developments that impact the universal right to freedom of religion or belief around the globe.
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Episodes
Pakistan’s Laws Enable Islamist Extremism
December 21, 2021 21:54 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBThe continued systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws have resulted in the discrimination and persecution of religious minority communities. In 2021 alone, there have been several examples of mob violence, targeted killings, and the desecration of graves and houses of worship. These laws have enabled and encouraged Islamist extremists to operate with impunity, easily targeting religious minorities or those with differing beliefs. USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst and South As...
State Department Designations and USCIRF Recommendations: Where do they line up?
December 17, 2021 20:43 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBPursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), the State Department is required to issue annual designations for the most egregious violators of religious freedom. In advance of these designations, USCIRF recommends in its Annual Report each year the countries the State Department should designate as such. The State Department issued its latest list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) and countries placed on its Special Watch List (SWL) on November 17, 2021—which i...
An Update on Religious Freedom Conditions in Turkey
December 10, 2021 15:03 - 15 minutes - 14 MBReligious freedom conditions in Turkey continue to follow a disappointing, negative trajectory. The Hagia Sophia conversion, the continued closure of the Halki Seminary, government meddling in the internal affairs of religious minority communities, concerns about the education curriculum, hate speech, and Turkey’s intervention in northern Syria and Iraq are just some of the major threats to religious freedom that have occurred in the past year. USCIRF Policy Analyst John Lechner joins us to...
Renewed Concerns Over Religious Tensions in Bosnia
December 03, 2021 15:02 - 18 minutes - 16.9 MBFrom 1992-1995, Bosnia endured a brutal ethno-religious war, as Bosnian Serbs ethnically cleansed their Muslim neighbors in the east of the country. The 1995 Dayton Accords, brokered by the United States, ended the conflict, and created a unique power-sharing arrangement between predominantly Orthodox Christian Serbs, Muslim Bosniaks, and Catholic Croats. This fragile arrangement now appears to be in crisis and USCIRF remains very concerned about the prospect of renewed violence and religiou...
Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners
November 24, 2021 14:25 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBLast month, we released a new report titled “Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners: Addressing a Legacy of Repression.” The report estimates that more than 2,000 individuals remain imprisoned by the Uzbekistan government for peacefully practicing their religious beliefs, and documents the cases of 81 specific prisoners, many of whom are serving some of the longest politically-motivated jail sentences in the world. Steve Swerdlow, the author of the report, and Babur Yusupov, the son...
Religious Tolerance Efforts in the Middle East
November 16, 2021 14:00 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBThe United Nations marks November 16 each year as the International Day for Tolerance. Religious tolerance is one key component of tolerance overall. Governments in the Middle East have increasingly espoused a doctrine of religious tolerance, especially after September 11, 2001. Along the same lines, the U.S. government has encouraged greater tolerance abroad as an antidote to extremism, especially violent extremism. Many countries in the Middle East showcase their churches, synagogues, and ...
Political Instability Fuels Decline for Religious Freedom in Malaysia
November 12, 2021 14:00 - 21 minutes - 20 MBMalaysia has experienced unprecedented political instability in recent years. During this time, Malaysian authorities from various political parties in several states and the federal government have continued to pursue policies to further restrict religious freedom. Furthermore, while Malaysia’s dual justice system supposedly places the civil court above Shari’a law, it also devolves the ability to develop religious laws to each state and the Federal Territories. These laws are obligatory fo...
Algeria’s Increasing Hostility Towards Religious Minorities
November 05, 2021 21:09 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBIn recent years, Algerian authorities have shown more hostility towards religious minorities, forcibly closing dozens of Protestant churches and prosecuting Ahmadiyya Muslims for gathering without authorization for the purposes of worship. Algerian courts are also increasingly enforcing Algeria’s blasphemy and anti-proselytization laws, targeting Christians, Muslims, and free thinkers. USCIRF recommends that the U.S. Department of State include Algeria on its Special Watch List for engagin...
Abuses of Traditional Religion in Russia
October 29, 2021 21:01 - 21 minutes - 20 MBUSCIRF is deeply concerned about religious freedom conditions in the Russian Federation, which have rapidly deteriorated in recent years as the government increasingly mistreats “traditional” religious communities, and targets Jehovah’s Witnesses, with baseless ‘extremism’ charges, and uses unsubstantiated accusations of ‘terrorism’ to imprison Crimean Muslim activists opposed to its illegal annexation of their homeland. USCIRF has covered these violations in numerous publications and hearin...
Ahmadiyya Muslims Face Persecution, Discrimination, and Hostility
October 22, 2021 13:02 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBThe Ahmadiyya Muslim community was founded in 1889 in Punjab, India and today has an estimated tens of millions of members globally. Because of the differences between Ahmadiyya beliefs and beliefs in Sunni and Shi’a Islam, many Muslims consider Ahmadiyya Muslims to be heretics. Some governments that regulate the practice of Islam deem Ahmadiyya Muslims as “non-Muslims” and place legal restrictions on Ahmadiyya Muslim practice. Ahmadiyya Muslims have also faced repression and societal discri...
Religious Cemeteries as Targets of Destruction
October 15, 2021 18:38 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBCemeteries are sacred sites that are of great spiritual, cultural, and historical significance to many religious and ethnic groups. These holy sites are governed by religious laws and customs that dictate the location of, the appearance of, and the activities and behaviors allowed on the burial grounds. Despite laws aimed to protect these sites, cemeteries around the world catering to a variety of religious groups are targets for defilement, which includes vandalism such as spray paint, thef...
Saudi Arabia’s Religious Reforms Not Enough
October 08, 2021 19:27 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBSaudi Arabia has made some reforms to select polices impacting religious freedom, including improvements to its textbooks. Nevertheless, there are still several deeply rooted issues that undermine the credibility of its claims to be undertaking serious reform: non-Muslim communities may not construct houses of worship; Shi’a Muslims in Saudi Arabia still face systematic discrimination; religious dissidents continue to languish in prison; and the guardianship system limits a woman’s ability t...
Religious Freedom & Taliban Fears in Tajikistan
September 30, 2021 19:05 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBFor many years, USCIRF has been deeply concerned about religious freedom conditions in Central Asia, and more recently the impact of the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan on the surrounding region. Since 2012, USCIRF has recommended that the State Department designate Tajikistan a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to the government’s increasing repression following the passage of a strict religion law in 2009. The State Department followed this recommendation in 2016 an...
Why the State Department Should Re-designate Nigeria as a CPC
September 24, 2021 13:10 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBSince 2009, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Nigeria a country of particular concern, or CPC, for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations. In December 2020, the State Department designated Nigeria for the first time, making Nigeria the first secular democracy to be added to the CPC list. As we approach the end of 2021 and anticipate the State Department’s upcoming CPC designations, today’s discussion with USCIRF Commissioner Fr...
Hazara Community Threatened in Afghanistan
September 17, 2021 12:54 - 51 years - 24.5 MBWhen Afghanistan was under Taliban control in 1996-2001, the Taliban discriminated against and violently persecuted the Hazara Shi’a community—which they labeled as “heretical.” Subsequently, the Hazara community continued to face targeted attacks over the last 20 years by the Taliban and ISIS-K. In the first half of 2021 alone, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documented at least 20 violent incidents targeting Hazara. Religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan have dra...
Islam in Africa
September 10, 2021 13:52 - 17 minutes - 16 MBIslam plays a significant role in Africa’s past and present, with at least 500 million Muslims living in Africa today. While many Muslims in Africa practice their faith in peace and harmony, across the region some Muslim communities have been denied their right to freedom of religion or belief by both governments and nonstate actors. Given the important role that Islamic traditions and practice play for many Africans, we examine some of the specific challenges facing Muslims on the African ...
Religion, Law and Citizenship in Assam, India
September 02, 2021 19:31 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBFor the past two years, USCIRF has recommended that India be designated a Country of Particular of Concern (CPC) by the State Department due the government’s promotion of Hindu nationalist policies resulting in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. One such policy is the 2019 passage of the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)—a fast track to citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan residing in India—which led t...
Fourth Anniversary of the Rohingya Genocide
August 25, 2021 17:05 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBOn August 25, 2017, the Burmese military, known as the Tatmadaw, launched a genocidal campaign in Rakhine State against the largely Muslim Rohingya community. The United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has documented instances of Burmese military units involved in indiscriminate killings of civilians, mass rape, and arbitrary detentions. This year, the situation has only further deteriorated. On February 1, the Tatmadaw launched a coup installing the ruling military ...
The Impact of Majoritarianism on Religious Minorities in South Asia
August 19, 2021 15:40 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBWe have seen a significant deterioration in religious freedom conditions in South Asia in recent years. Blasphemy cases, forced conversions, attacks on houses of worship, hate speech, and violence targeting religious minorities are among the long list of religious freedom concerns in the region—particularly in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Farahnaz Ispahani joins us to expound upon the myriad of concerns in the region. She is a former member of Parliament in Paki...
Reforms in Kazakhstan Could Improve Religious Freedom
August 06, 2021 18:55 - 21 minutes - 20.1 MBThe Kazakhstani government is implementing promising reforms that could make Kazakhstan Central Asia’s leading example of religious freedom. USCIRF has recommended the U.S. State Department place Kazakhstan on its Special Watch List, and previously USCIRF’s Tier 2 List, since 2013 in response to deteriorating religious freedom conditions stemming from the passage of its religion law in 2011. However, proposed amendments to that law could significantly improve the religious freedom landscape...
Protests in Cuba Impact Religious Freedom
July 27, 2021 17:38 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBCuba’s government has long been responsible for violating its citizens right to freedom of religion or belief. In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department again place Cuba on its Special Watch List for engaging in severe religious freedom violations and has been doing so for many years. USCIRF Supervisory Policy Analyst Kirsten Lavery joins us today to discuss the historic and unprecedented protests in Cuba, how these protests have impacted religious communities...
Qur’anists in Egypt
July 23, 2021 15:27 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBEgypt is home to over 100 million people—of which the majority identify as Sunni Muslim with a significant Coptic Christian minority. A variety of smaller religious minorities also call Egypt home such as Baha’is, Jehovah’s Witnesses, non-theists, and Muslim minorities, which include Shi’a Muslims and the Qur’anist community. These smaller religious communities have long faced marginalization and repression from religious and governmental authorities. USCIRF has often acknowledged in rece...
Central African Republic: From Sectarian Violence to Progress on Religious Freedom
July 09, 2021 14:56 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBIn 2015, USCIRF for the first time recommended the Central African Republic (CAR) be designated by the State Department a Country of Particular Concern for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom following years of sectarian violence that erupted after a 2013 coup. As the violence against religious minority communities subsided in subsequent years, in 2020, USCIRF recommended CAR be placed on the State Department’s Special Watchlist, a step in the right direction....
Sivas Massacre and Turkey’s Persecution of the Alevi Community
July 02, 2021 17:14 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBOn July 2, 1993 a mob set fire to the Madimak Hotel in Sivas, Turkey—where a group of prominent Alevi writers, poets, and thinkers had gathered. Reports show 37 people died in what became known as the Sivas (or Madimak) Massacre. For Alevis, the incident reflected the prejudice and hate the community faced in their native homeland of Turkey, where today Alevis make up an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the population. Discrimination against the Alevi community is rampant and pervasive in Tur...
Ethiopia’s Tigray Massacre and Implications for Religious Freedom
June 25, 2021 13:34 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBEthiopia has been going through a democratic transition amidst a civil war that broke out in Tigray at the end of 2020. In November of last year, a massacre took place in Tigray that was slow to be reported in major news outlets globally. USCIRF has been closely monitoring religious freedom violations in that region and in Ethiopia more broadly. The U.S. Department of State recently announced that it would impose sanctions on individuals responsible for human rights violations in the Tigra...
Do USCIRF Policy Recommendations Get Implemented?
June 17, 2021 20:43 - 17 minutes - 16 MBThe International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) mandates USCIRF to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. In addition to making recommendations, USCIRF’s mandate was recently amended to include tracking the U.S. government’s implementation of our recommendations as well as to review the effectiveness of such implemented recommendations in advancing religious freedom internationally. Joining us today is USCIRF Commissioner Fred Davie to sh...
Top Priorities of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
June 11, 2021 13:23 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBThe United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur identifies existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and presents recommendations to the Council on ways to overcome these obstacles. In recent years, the Special Rapporteur has produced several thematic reports on a range of issues, including on Islamophobia and anti-Semitism gl...
Bahrain Takes Steps to Improve Religious Freedom
June 04, 2021 15:26 - 20 minutes - 18.6 MBFor the first time in years, Bahrain was not included in the list of countries that USCIRF recommends for the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL). The government of Bahrain has made incremental improvements to religious freedom conditions within the country over the past several years—working to enhance the rights of religious communities including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Baha’is. Nevertheless, there are some lingering concerns about how Bahrain’s government trea...
Enforcing Blasphemy Laws Have Dire Consequences
May 27, 2021 21:36 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBBlasphemy laws criminalize expression that insults or offends religious doctrines. Such laws are often used to restrict freedom of religion or belief. As of 2020, 84 countries still had blasphemy laws. The severity of a blasphemy law on the books, however, is only the beginning of the story. The enforcement of such laws—either government enforcement or mob violence—undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression. Joelle Fiss and Jocelyn Getgen K...
50 Years and Counting: The Continued Closure of Halki Seminary in Turkey
May 20, 2021 19:03 - 19 minutes - 17.5 MBIt’s been 50 years since the Turkish government closed the Greek Orthodox Theological School of Halki, also known as the Halki Seminary. The school continues to be unable to educate or train clergy in a country with a historical but dwindling Greek Orthodox community. The Halki Seminary’s continued closure poses an obstacle to the survival of that community within Turkey. The international community—including U.S. presidents and other high-ranking officials from the United States and Eu...
Violent Insurgents in the Sahel Region of Africa
May 14, 2021 19:40 - 15 minutes - 14 MBThe central Sahel region of West Africa is currently home to an extremely complex and fluid landscape of Islamist insurgent actors that stem from both locally grown and foreign movements. Several violent insurgent actors have been gaining power in the Sahel region, and committing religious freedom violations in the areas they control. Security challenges in the Central Sahel, compounded by climate change, have yielded a devastating humanitarian crisis with over 15 million people in need...
Religious Restrictions in Iran
May 06, 2021 21:37 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBSince 1979 Iran’s government has shown a consistent disregard for the rights of religious minority communities who run afoul of the government’s narrow interpretation of Shi’a Islam. Even the majority Shi’a Muslim population must adhere to the government’s religious doctrine of Leadership of the Jurist (vilayt e-faqih). Those with alternative or differing opinions have suffered harassment, surveillance, arrest, imprisonment, and even a death sentence for blasphemy, insulting religious sanc...
Refugee Resettlement and Religious Freedom
April 30, 2021 14:15 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBThe program to resettle refugees to the United States has existed since 1980, with strong bipartisan support. Earlier this month, President Biden signed an emergency declaration to speed up refugee admissions into the United States, but did not raise the ceiling from the current 15,000 person low. After receiving pushback from advocacy groups, the administration later stated that President Biden is expected to increase the refugee ceiling for this fiscal year by May 15. USCIRF is concerned...
USCIRF Releases 2021 Annual Report with Recommendations for U.S. Policy
April 22, 2021 19:11 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBUSCIRF released its 2021 Annual Report documenting developments over the past year, and providing policy recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad. In its report, USCIRF also monitored public health measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and their impact on religious freedom. USCIRF’s independence and bipartisanship enables it to unflinchingly identify threats to religious freedom around the world. The 2021 Annual Re...
The State of Religious Freedom in Vietnam
April 16, 2021 14:44 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBBilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam has grown increasingly cooperative since 1995. The two countries have built strong economic, political, and security partnerships. Despite this relationship, the US government continues to pay particular attention to the overall human rights situation in there, including freedom of religion or belief. USCIRF traveled to Vietnam in 2019 to observe religious freedom conditions on the ground, and has maintained that Vietnam should be de...
Indonesia’s State Ideology of Pancasila
April 09, 2021 14:34 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBPancasila is a founding concept of Indonesia, comprising of five principles: monotheism, civilized humanity, national unity, deliberative democracy, and social justice. This concept came about at the onset of Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1945 to unify the population and emphasize moderation and tolerance. As Indonesia has witnessed the rise of Islamist extremist activities and sentiment in recent decades, President Joko Widodo’s administration has prioritized emphasizing...
China Sanctions U.S. Religious Freedom Officials
April 01, 2021 17:38 - 19 minutes - 18 MBIn a public statement on March 27, 2021, the Chinese government imposed a travel ban on USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin and Vice Chair Tony Perkins and prohibited any Chinese citizens or institutions from doing business with them. The statement issued by China asserts that USCIRF should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and refrain from “going further down the wrong path” otherwise “they will get their fingers burnt.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned China for imposing ...
Governments Using Shari’a to Impose Death Sentences on LGBTI Persons
March 26, 2021 19:45 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBIn some countries around the world, religion-based laws are used by governments to impose capital punishment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons. All of the 10 countries where consensual same-sex relationships are punishable by death (Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) justify denial of rights and personhood based on official interpretations of Shari’a (Islamic law). Internati...
Shifting Trends of Religious Freedom in Egypt
March 19, 2021 13:23 - 20 minutes - 19 MBEgypt has historically faced many challenges to religious freedom. There has been recurring violence and discrimination against Coptic Christians, who represent 10-15% of the population, as well as other communities who face religious freedom challenges. Furthermore, Egypt is one of the world’s leading enforcers of blasphemy laws. The United States joined 30 other countries at the UN Human Rights Council just last week in condemning a range of human rights abuses in Egypt, which has not been...
Uzbekistan: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
March 11, 2021 20:16 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MBThere have been notable improvements to religious freedom conditions in Uzbekistan in recent years. The government’s ongoing effort to revise the restrictive 1998 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations demonstrates progress. Nevertheless, significant challenges to religious freedom in the country still remain. Even in revised draft legislation, religious communities are still required to register through the government and any unregistered religious activity is consider...
Santería in Cuba
March 05, 2021 01:32 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MBSantería is a syncretic religion that incorporates elements of Catholicism with the religion of the Yoruba people, who were brought as slaves to Cuba from the Congo basin and West Africa in the 16th century. While many Cubans can freely observe Santería practices, some practitioners and religious leaders have experienced ongoing violations of their right to freedom of religion or belief. These violations are emblematic of the tactics used by the Cuban government to control faith and suppres...
Repercussions of the Burma Coup for Rohingya Muslims
February 25, 2021 21:58 - 24 minutes - 33.2 MBOn February 1, 2021, the Burmese military declared the results of the November 2020 democratic elections to be invalid, enacted a one-year state of emergency, and detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Myint Swe along with other state officials. This coup d’état is especially concerning for religious and ethnic communities already facing violence in Burma. The military has been accused by the international community of conducting a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya M...
The Situation in Sinjar
February 18, 2021 15:55 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBIn recent years, northern Iraq has become a battleground for Turkish armed forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). In June 2020, Turkey escalated their attacks in the region, announcing military operations Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger that included airstrikes near Sinjar. These attacks have been particularly damaging to the traumatized Yazidi community, who are victims of genocide by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Reports indicate that Turkey is planning military operations in Sinja...
Unrest in Russia
February 12, 2021 14:50 - 21 minutes - 30 MBRussia is currently experiencing ongoing, widespread anti-corruption protests. These protests demonstrate the largest challenge to government control in almost a decade. Meanwhile, the State Duma recently put forth legislation which has significant implications for religious freedom. Religious freedom conditions in Russia have deteriorated rapidly in recent years. In fact, USCIRF has released several reports over the past year detailing why Russia should be designated a country of particula...
Religious Freedom Priorities for the Biden Administration
February 05, 2021 14:48 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBAs the Biden administration begins to formulate its broader human rights policy, USCIRF highlights several priority countries when it comes to international religious freedom. Condemning and preventing religious freedom violations around the globe continues to be a top priority for the United States. While some are critical of the role the U.S. government plays in championing religious freedom globally, there are also others who say, “If not the United States., then who?” In recent years, th...
Uyghur Genocide
January 29, 2021 18:56 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBChina’s mistreatment and abuse of Uyghurs and other religious minorities have been well-documented for years by USCIRF, the United Nations, and human rights organizations around the world. In spite of this documentation, the Chinese government has continued the operation of Uyghur forced labor camps—products of which are circulating in international markets, including in the United States. On January 19, the U.S. State Department designated China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Musl...
2021 Update on Religious Freedom Conditions
January 22, 2021 20:51 - 22 minutes - 31 MBTargeting of religious minorities in Russia, mass atrocities in China, Nigeria as a country of particular concern, and Antisemitism on the rise worldwide. The events of 2020 cast a long shadow over religious freedom conditions as we enter into a new year. There are, however, some areas of progress such as Sudan and Uzbekistan. USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin joins us to discuss the state of religious freedom worldwide. Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFGayle Manchin...
Nigeria: A Country of Particular Concern
January 15, 2021 15:19 - 20 minutes - 28.8 MBIn December 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for the first time ever due to systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Violent attacks by Boko Haram and ethno-religious conflict have become more frequent, and are exacerbated by the judiciary system. In this week's episode of USCIRF Spotlight, we discuss why the situation in Nigeria merits CPC designation, and what role the US could play in addressing reli...
Legal Restrictions to Religious Freedom in Brunei
December 30, 2020 15:31 - 14 minutes - 19.9 MBSince it's independence in 1984, Brunei has operated with a dual legal system: one secular and one Shari’a, the latter only enforceable for Bruneian Muslims. However, the Syariah Penal Code Order 2013 blurs those lines. The country started fully implementing this new penal code in 2019. It is the end result of decades of pushing by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah for a hardline interpretation of Shari’a to be incorporated in the penal code.Listen to our discussion about the religious freedom implica...
Ritual Slaughter Laws and their Impact on Religious Freedom
December 15, 2020 15:41 - 11 minutes - 15.7 MBSeveral religious groups, including followers of Judaism and Islam, mandate that animals are uninjured (unstunned) prior to killing. However, nearly a third of European countries limit this practice through ritual slaughter laws. Ritual slaughter is required for meat to be classified as kosher or halal. Therefore, laws preventing ritual slaughter cause individuals to abandon deeply held religious practices and imply a message of exclusion to all those who seek to follow their religion’s die...