FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2014 | USCIRF

WASHINGTON, DC – As Muslims around the world observe the holy month of Ramadan, Uighur Muslims in China face far-reaching restrictions on their religious practices.  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges the Chinese government to end such actions, including bans on fasting and other religious observances during Ramadan in China’s autonomous region of Xinjiang, a Uighur Muslim-majority area. 

“By continuing its annual ban on fasting during Ramadan, the Chinese government signals its ongoing disrespect for internationally recognized human rights, including the right of freedom of religion or belief,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF Chair.  Students and teachers, professors, and other government employees are prohibited from fasting and, in some cases, from performing their daily prayers, during Ramadan.  In fact, in some locations, authorities have held festivities to commemorate the Communist Party’s founding and served food to determine if Muslims would adhere to the fasting ban.  Those observing the fast may be subject to threats, detention and arrest by local authorities.

Religious freedom conditions in Xinjiang have declined dramatically since June 2009.  At that time, the Chinese government began instituting sweeping security measures that, among other goals, sought to weaken Uighur Muslims’ religious adherence and eradicate so-called “illegal” religious gatherings and activities.  Uighur Muslims have expressed deep resentment at Beijing’s oversight of Xinjiang and the restrictions on their religious practices and activities.  

USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report chapter on China highlights the religious freedom abuses and violence that have resulted from the government’s policies in Xinjiang. USCIRF again recommends that China be designated as a “country of particular concern” (CPC).  The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999.
 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

July 3, 2014 | By Robert P. George

The following op-ed appeared on CNN on July 3, 2014.

The recent ordeal of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a Sudanese mother and wife of an American citizen -- coupled with Iran's continued imprisonment of Saeed Abedini, also an American citizen and a pastor -- should awaken our conscience to one grim and inescapable fact: The persecution of Christians continues.

Charged with leaving Islam to marry a Christian, despite being raised a Christian and remaining one throughout her 27 years, Meriam was sentenced to death last month for apostasy. After an international outcry, she was released, rearrested, and released again, according to the U.S. State Department.

In Sudan and Iran, as well as countries like Saudi Arabia, leaders and movements impose their own extreme interpretations of Islam, while restricting the rights of Christians and other religious minorities.

Read full article here.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at 202-786-9812 or [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2014 | USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, was elected on July 1, 2014 as Chair of the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).  Dr. Swett was first appointed to the Commission in March 2012 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and reappointed in April 2014. 

“I am honored to again serve as chair of USCIRF and work alongside my fellow commissioners in support of religious freedom and belief,” said Dr. Lantos Swett. “Much needs to be done to integrate this fundamental freedom more fully into the foreign policy of our nation because, by any measure, religious freedom is under serious attack across much of the globe.  Given its importance, religious freedom merits a seat at the table with economic and security concerns as the U.S. and other nations conduct their affairs.”

“I also want to thank USCIRF’s immediate past-Chairman, Dr. Robert P. George, and Vice-Chair, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, for their leadership and vision this past year and look forward to continuing our work together in support of the freedom of religion or belief,” concluded Dr. Lantos Swett, who had served as USCIRF Chair in 2012 and USCIRF Vice–Chair in 2013.

As the President of the Lantos Foundation, Dr. Lantos Swett works to carry on the human rights legacy of her father, the late Representative Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress.  Dr. Lantos Swett also teaches human rights and American foreign policy at Tufts University, and has served as Deputy Counsel to the Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee for then-Senator Joe Biden. 

Also on July 1, two USCIRF Commissioners were elected Vice-Chairs: Dr. Robert P. George and Dr. James J. Zogby.  Dr. George was appointed to the Commission by Speaker of the House John Boehner, and President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Zogby.  

Dr. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and also is the Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at the University.  He has been a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, and is a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Dr. Zogby is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community.  He is also Managing Director of Zogby Research Services, which specializes in public opinion polling across the Arab world.

Also serving on the Commission are Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, Mary Ann Glendon, Daniel I. Mark, Thomas J. Reese, Hannah Rosenthal and Eric P. Schwartz.

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 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 USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.