Sep 19
Sep 19th 10:30am
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Sep 19th 11:30am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
USCIRF Conversation: Assessing Religious Freedom in Egyptian Curriculum Reform
Monday, September 19, 2022
10:30 – 11:30 AM ET
Virtual Event
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hosted a virtual discussion of USCIRF’s recent report on the progress the Egyptian government has made in its stated intention to reform religious material throughout its education system.
Since 2018, Egypt’s Ministry of Education has considered ways to update public school textbooks to educate pupils on religion, religious communities, and religious diversity in Egypt. USCIRF’s report evaluates progress made through the most recent academic year by the Egyptian government to reform the curricula of its primary and secondary education systems to promote religious freedom and remove intolerant material.
The report found that the 2021-2022 Egyptian Mandated Educational Curriculum (EMEC) shows slight improvement in reducing the prevalence of religious sectarian language and rhetoric. However, religionization of the EMEC remains endemic, with multiple subjects advancing government-endorsed versions of Sunni Islam while underrepresenting, excluding, or negatively characterizing religious minorities such as non-Sunni Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
USCIRF Commissioners Sharon Kleinbaum and Frank Wolf led the discussion with Ramy Yaacoub and Candace Hetchler of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), who oversaw the report’s team of researchers. USCIRF Director of Outreach and Policy Dwight Bashir moderated the Conversation followed by questions and answers from attendees.
- Sharon Kleinbaum, Commissioner, USCIRF
- Frank Wolf, Commissioner, USCIRF
- Ramy Yaacoub, Executive Director, TIMEP
- Candace Hetchler, Development Manager, TIMEP
- Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
This virtual event is open to the public and media. The video recording will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact [email protected].
Sep 6, 2022
USCIRF Releases New Report on Violence Impacting Religious Freedom in Nigeria
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:
Violence and Religious Freedom in Nigeria – This policy update identifies the ways in which widespread violence by nonstate actors in Nigeria threaten freedom of religion or belief. Examples detailed in the report include militant Islamist group violence, some forms of identity-based violence, mob violence, and violence impacting worship. It also explores the role that poor governance plays in driving much of this violence, as well as the impact on religious freedom of several aggravating factors exacerbating insecurity, including localized religious discrimination, the politicization of religion, and wider demographic and economic trends. The report concludes by highlighting the U.S. government’s responsibility to respond to religious freedom violations and rising atrocity risk in Nigeria, as mandated by U.S. law, and laying out policy response options.
In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In June 2022, a USCIRF delegation visited Nigeria and published a USCIRF Spotlight Podcast episode detailing the visit’s findings and takeaways.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
Sep 2, 2022
USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom in Uzbekistan
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following report:
Uzbekistan Country Update – This report documents ongoing violations of freedom of religion or belief in Uzbekistan, which the U.S. Department of State removed from its Special Watch List in late 2020 after determining that the country no longer engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.” Uzbekistan has made important progress in recent years—such as ending raids on religious minority communities, granting official registration to a handful of religious groups, and releasing some prisoners incarcerated for their religious activities—but it has yet to fundamentally change its position regarding the state’s role in controlling religious affairs. This report highlights several practices that continue to pose obstacles to the protection and promotion of religious freedom, including the imprisonment of Muslims for their religious activities or affiliations, prosecution for possession or distribution of religious literature and related materials, and other bureaucratic and legislative barriers to the exercise of this right.
In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State place Uzbekistan back on its Special Watch List for engaging in severe violations of religious freedom. USCIRF commissioners and staff visited the country in April 2022 and discussed findings from that trip in a June episode of USCIRF Spotlight Podcast. In October 2021, USCIRF released a report on “Uzbekistan's Religious and Political Prisoners.”
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected]