Last week, the US State Department released the seventh annual report on International Religious Freedom. Sahar El-Bahr reviews The State Department's report maintained that freedom of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia, accusing the country of denying religious freedom to non-Muslims. It pointed out that non-Muslim worshippers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation and torture for engaging in religious activity that attracts official attention. With Islam as the official religion in Saudi Arabia, only those who follow the state-sanctioned Sunni faith are able to enjoy basic religious rights. In September, Rice postponed punishing the Saudis with trade or other restrictions by giving the country 180 days to show it had made progress in its treatment of religious minorities. Regarding Egypt, the report pointed out some improvements had taken place and that the recent Egyptian government had made some effort to show respect for other religions. However, the report indicated that there continued to be certain abuses and restrictions: Christians were discriminated against for government jobs and staff appointments at public universities and were refused admission to Al-Azhar University. The report also denounced Egypt for denying civil documents such as birth certificates or marriage licences to Bahaais. The US strongest Middle East ally, Israel, was also criticised. Israel was branded in the report as discriminating against non-Jews, primarily Arab Muslims and Christians, in education, housing and employment. The report stressed that tensions between Israeli Jews and Arab Muslims and Christians remained high due to the institutional, legal and societal discrimination against the country's Arab citizens. Regarding education, religion played a significant role in the allocation of government resources for religious and heritage studies, with more going to Orthodox Jewish public schools than to Arab or non- Orthodox Jewish ones. According to the State Department's report, Israel's construction of a separation barrier in the occupied territories has severely limited access to mosques, churches and other holy sites in Palestinian areas. The barrier has also impeded the work of religious organisations that provide education, healthcare and other humanitarian relief and social services to Palestinians. Iran was described as being engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The report stated that Sunni Muslims, Bahaais, Jews and Christians undergo imprisonment, harassment, intimidation and discrimination because of their religious beliefs. Proselytising by evangelical Christians was not permitted -- a ban which has been vigilantly enforced closing churches and arresting converts. Burma was also accused for its severe violations of religious freedom. China was criticised for showing insufficient respect for freedom of religion, while Cuba was branded for controlling and monitoring religious activities. North Korea was denounced for not permitting religious freedom at all. Myanmar, China, North Korea and Cuba were all accused of using "totalitarian or authoritarian actions to control religious belief or practice". Eritrea, Laos, Sudan and Saudi Arabia were described, according to the report, as hostile towards minority. Pakistan, one of the three countries the report refused to add to the black list, was criticised mildly for discriminatory legislation or policies prejudicial to certain religions. The country was accused of imposing elements of Islamic law on Muslims and religious minorities. The report also mentioned that the government has taken steps to improve the treatment of religious monitories, but pointed out that there were instances in which authorities failed to intervene in cases of societal violence directed at minority religious groups. The Indian government was cited as responding slowly to counter-attacks against religious minorities. In Uzbekistan, the government is continuing its campaign against unauthorised Islamic groups. The report stated that the country has demonstrated only a slight degree of progress regarding religious freedom. However, the report mildly criticised some of the US's European allies including France, Germany and Belgium. These countries were listed among other Western governments as continuing to use restrictive legislation and practices to brand minority religions as dangerous "cults" or "sects". The only country in the Middle East that has been praised in the report for achieving significant improvements in the promotion of religious freedom is United Arab of Emirates. The report commended the UAE for playing host to an international conference on religion and terrorism and which encouraged moderation in preaching and condemned extremism and terror. The UAE has also established the President Islamic Culture Centre in an attempt to foster inter-religious tolerance and co-existence and to promote a better understanding of Islam in the West. Turkmenistan was also among the countries that made significant improvements in the promotion of religious freedom.
