USCIRF Calls on the State Department to Prioritize Refugee Resettlement of Afghan Religious Minorities

Encourages Expansion of U.S. Refugee Admissions Program Priority 2 Designation

 
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the State Department to expand its Priority 2 (P-2) designation granting U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) access for certain Afghan nationals and their family members to include members of religious groups at extreme risk of persecution by the Taliban.
 
“The Taliban’s imposition of their harsh and strict interpretation of Sunni Islam in the areas that they have taken over poses a grave threat to all Afghans of differing interpretations and other faiths or beliefs. The outlook for the country’s religious minorities is particularly bleak, with threats of Taliban persecution mounting,” said USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza. “As Afghans are forced to flee their homes on account of their beliefs, the U.S. government must ensure that the most vulnerable among them have a pathway to seek refuge in the United States.”
 
On August 2, the State Department created a P-2 designation for certain Afghan nationals, but did not clearly extend this prioritization to include religious minorities.
 
“USCIRF recognizes that the U.S. government is working around the clock to evacuate American citizens and Afghans with U.S. affiliations, and we continue to urge that Afghan religious minorities should be included in this effort,” stated USCIRF Commissioner Frederick A. Davie. “In addition, we urge the Biden Administration to take immediate action to broaden the recent P-2 designation to explicitly include Afghan religious minorities, in recognition of the severe risks they already face, which will only heighten after the end of the U.S. evacuation.”
 
In June, USCIRF hosted a virtual event highlighting deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan. In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department re-designate the Taliban as an Entity of Particular Concern “for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
 
USCIRF also recommended that the U.S. government prioritize for resettlement through the USRAP survivors of the most egregious forms of religious persecution and raise the annual ceiling of refugees who are admitted to the United States. USCIRF held a hearing on “Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution” in February that examined ways in which the U.S. government could better support refugees and asylum seekers.
 

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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].

USCIRF Calls on Egypt to Release Qur’anist Reda Abdel Rahman

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls for the release of prominent Qur’anist Reda Abdel Rahman, a teacher and religious minority advocate, who Egyptian authorities detained one year ago.

“USCIRF is alarmed that Egyptian security forces have once again targeted the Qur’anist Muslim community and its advocate, Abdel Rahman, through spurious arrest charges and a pre-trial detention which has stretched over a year with no signs of release,” said USCIRF Commissioner Frederick A. Davie. “This is not the first time Abdel Rahman has faced legal harassment for expressing his religious beliefs. We urge the Egyptian government to immediately release him and dismiss all charges against him due to his interpretation of Islam.”

Reda Abdel Rahman is a teacher at the al-Azhar Institute in Kafr Saqr, Sharqia Governorate as well as a notable proponent of Qur’anism, a movement within Islam which views only the Qur’an as a legitimate source of authority for Islamic doctrine and jurisprudence. Egyptian authorities, who view the Qur’anist minority as deviants from acceptable interpretations of Islam, have previously arrested and detained leading members of that community including Abdel Rahman and members of his extended family. On August 22, 2020, Egyptian State Security arrested and detained him on charges related to blasphemy and promoting Qur’anist doctrines. To date, the Qur’anist advocate remains in detention awaiting trial.

“Abdel Rahman’s arrest one year ago and continued pre-trial detention are together a salient illustration of Egypt’s need to reform its Criminal Code,” USCIRF Commissioner Tony Perkins stated. “USCIRF renews its repeated calls for Egypt to repeal laws criminalizing blasphemy. Further, we urge Egypt to alter its current detention practices and release detainees awaiting trial for charges of blasphemy.”

USCIRF discussed the case of Abdel Rahman with his cousin, Sherif Mansour, on a recent episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast. USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report acknowledged Egypt’s incremental steps in the past year toward improving religious freedom but also highlighted issues on which Egypt must take action to further improve conditions for religious minorities such as the Qur’anist community. The report called for the United States Government to encourage Egypt to repeal Article 98(f) of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes perceived insults to certain religions, and to improve in the interim its pre-trial detention procedures.

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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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].