The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor released the International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 last week, which describes in great detail the state of religious freedom in many different countries. Identifying “Countries of Particular Concern” is one of the things the annual International Religious Freedom Report is tasked with doing. This year, Turkmenistan was added to the list of CPCs. The eight other countries on the list, all of which have been on the CPC list previously, are Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan.
The executive summary of the report gives an excellent overview of the state of international religious freedom in 2013. The report shares the staggering fact that in 2013, “the world witnessed the largest displacement of religious communities in recent memory.” All around the world, and particularly in conflict zones, certain religious communities have been forced to leave their communities. The report also shares instances of positive interreligious interactions, such as Muslims in Pakistan standing in solidarity at a church after a bombing killed several people and a Jewish group in the United Kingdom helping Muslim leaders ensure safe access to mosques and alert the Muslim community to possible attacks through a neighborhood watch group. Despite these examples of inspiring interreligious cooperation, the International Religious Freedom Report of 2013 reminds us both how much work there is to be done and the moral imperative of ensuring that religious freedom is everyone’s right.
As Jews, we are intimately familiar with what it means to be a religious minority and to face persecution. Leviticus 19:17 commands us: “You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart.” We are taught to accept others with others, without prejudice or bias. The International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 is an important document that helps us understand the current state of international religious freedom and highlights how important it is that we continue working to create a world where all are free to practice their religions safely and in peace.
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