FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2018

At Gathering of 37,000 Ahmadi Muslims, USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore Vows to Make Religious Freedom in Pakistan a Priority

Commissioner Moore also formally adopts religious prisoner of conscience Abdul Shakoor

WASHINGTON, DC - Commissioner Johnnie Moore, of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), promised to make religious freedom in Pakistan a priority at this week’s gathering of nearly 37,000 Ahmadis at the 52nd Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom. Following this event, Commissioner Moore also formally adopted Abdul Shakoor, an Ahmadi Muslim imprisoned in Pakistan since 2015 on false terrorism charges.

“I have a personal commitment to make sure that you are not forgotten,” Commissioner Moore said, alluding to the physical, social, and legal threats Ahmadis face in many countries where they reside, particularly Pakistan. Speaking before convention attendees and a television audience of millions, he added, “USCIRF will continue to make it a priority to raise a voice for the Ahmadiyya community.”

During the gathering, Commissioner Moore met the leader of the global Ahmadiyya community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, and other Ahmadi leaders from Canada, the U.K., and delegations from Africa and Asia. Commissioner Moore also met with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the U.K.’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

“USCIRF will be unrelenting in advocating for the Ahmadi’s religious freedom,” Commissioner Moore told the Jalsa Salana audience, which gathered in the English countryside under a banner proclaiming “Love for All, Hatred for None.” He continued, “The best war against an ideology that aims to promote fear is to stand in solidarity with those who promote peace.”

Since 2002, USCIRF has recommended that the State Department designate Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” for “ongoing, systematic, egregious violations of religious freedom.” USCIRF has also called for the use of tools such as the denial of visas and the freezing of assets against specific individuals who have participated in or have been responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.

In addition, Commissioner Moore recently co-authored with Vice Chair Gayle Manchin an op-ed published in Religion News Service entitled, “Stop the Weaponization of Religion in Pakistani Politics.”

Abdul Shakoor is part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, which highlights individuals imprisoned for exercising their freedom of religion or belief.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF’s mission is to elevate and promote international religious freedom as a norm and practice. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Javier Peña at [email protected] or +1-202-674-2598.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2018

USCIRF Condemns Detentions of Iranian House Church Pastor and Congregants

Chair Dorjee said, “Pastor Nadarkhani and his fellow church members should be immediately and unconditionally released and be permitted by the Iranian government to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief”

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is deeply concerned by reports of the violent detentions of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Christian convert and house church leader of the Church of Iran, and three members of his congregation.

According to reports, Iranian authorities broke into Nadarkhani’s home the morning of July 22nd, violently arresting him and physically assaulting his son. While Nadarkhani has yet to receive an official summons to prison, he has been transferred to the notorious Evin Prison. Two days later, three other members of his denomination-- Saheb Fadaie, Mohammedreza Omidi, and Yasser Mossayebzadeh— were similarly arrested without a summons.

In June 2017, Pastor Nadarkhani was sentenced to 10 years in prison and two years of exile on baseless charges including “collusion against national security” and promoting “Zionist Christianity.” The three other Christian converts were given similarly long sentences for their religious activities. Pastor Nadarkhani and his colleagues appealed their sentences in December 2017 and received rejections of their appeals in May 2018. Since then, the group has been awaiting a summons to begin their prison terms.

“We at USCIRF express our strong concern about the reports of Pastor Nadarkhani and his congregants’ arrest,” stated USCIRF chair Tenzin Dorjee. “Pastor Nadarkhani and his fellow church members should be immediately and unconditionally released and be permitted by the Iranian government to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief. We condemn both their lengthy prison sentences and this new miscarriage of justice.”

The Iranian government has previously targeted Pastor Nadarkhani for his religious beliefs, sentencing him to death for apostasy in 2010. Following an international outcry from human rights bodies around the world, including USCIRF, Nadarkhani was acquitted of apostasy. He served a three-year prison sentence for evangelizing instead.

Since 1999, the State Department has designated Iran as a “country of particular concern” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 Annual Report chapter on Iran. For more information on USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, click here.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF’s mission is to elevate and promote international religious freedom as a norm and practice. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Javier Peña at [email protected] or +1-202-674-2598.

This op-ed originally appeared in The Hill on July 27, 2018.

By former USCIRF Commissioners Tenzin Dorjee and Kristina Arriaga

To the surprise of many, there is a foreign policy issue on which the White House and  Democrats and Republicans in Congress have agreed for over two decades: the global promotion and protection of religious freedom, defined as the fundamental human right to believe in and be guided by any faith, or none.

As articulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and codified in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), freedom of religion or belief means the rights of citizens are not dependent on their religious identity, practices or beliefs. This “first freedom” is the basis for many other rights, like the freedoms of speech, expression and association. In many countries where religious freedom is denied, not only are those countries’ inhabitants at risk, their national security and stability is undermined. Relatedly, freedom of religion or belief is crucial to America’s national security.

Republicans and Democrats alike recognize that where freedom of religion or belief is restricted, poverty and violence begin. It is in the countries that deprive their citizens of freedom of conscience that human trafficking and forced labor flourish. And it is in these countries that the roots of terrorism are sown.

The Trump administration seems to be especially cognizant of these threats to human dignity and regional and global security and stability. This week, the Department of State hosted the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, which drew hundreds of those involved in the global fight to defend religious freedom. Representatives of governments, international organizations, religious communities, civil society and others shared information, built awareness, debated policies and collaborated on solutions for people worldwide who are oppressed and persecuted because of their beliefs.

Religious freedom violations — ranging from discrimination to forced conversions to mass atrocities — are increasing in countries with authoritarian regimes that are aligned with their countries’ majority religions, or fearful of the influence of moral principles or alternative expressions they can’t control.

Among the 16 countries that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) considers “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC),” Pakistan is an example of the former; the government both actively persecutes religious minorities and turns a blind eye to discrimination and violence perpetrated against them by others. Examples of the latter include Vietnam, where communism is the only respected ideology or “belief.”

USCIRF has recommended to the State Department that these two countries (plus the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Russia and Syria) be designated as CPCs, which, under IRFA, would require the administration to take actions such as imposing Global Magnitsky sanctions, economic sanctions or travel limitations, to encourage improvements in freedom of religion or belief.

Tools the United States and other like-minded countries can use to promote and defend religious freedom were chief among the topics raised at the ministerial.

Another issue discussed is the link between violations of religious freedom and women's rights. Along with increased rates of sex trafficking, child and forced marriages, and gender-based violence in countries that deprive their citizens of freedom of conscience, there is little room for human rights defenders to mobilize to advocate for women’s rights.

In addition to addressing the countries that violate religious freedom, ministerial attendees sought solutions to the egregious religious freedom violations being committed by “Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs)." USCIRF has identified as EPCs and called for action against three of the most violent such groups: ISIS, which has committed genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq; the Taliban, whose extremist interpretations of Sharia law have led to honor killings and denials of women’s right to education and other basic rights in Afghanistan; and the al Qaeda-aligned al-Shabaab that that has killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, in Somalia.

Countries and organizations that suppress religious freedom threaten American and global security. Everyone should be encouraged by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s initiative to hold this ministerial. Protecting this fundamental right is not just a means of demonstrating our country’s bipartisan commitment to human dignity and global peace and stability, it’s in our national security interest.

Tenzin Dorjee serves as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Kristina Arriaga serves as vice chair of USCIRF.