FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) wrote to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John D. Negroponte urging him to encourage the leaders of the Iraqi Interim Government to take a clear and public stand in affirmation of the Transitional Administrative Law's (TAL) provisions on freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, as well as related human rights, to Iraqi society and its future stability. The Commission is concerned about the ongoing violence in Iraq, particularly the deliberate policy of targeting religious institutions or leaders, including Shi'a leaders and mosques and churches in Baghdad and Mosul.

"Iraq is at a crossroads," said USCIRF Chair Preeta D. Bansal. "The United States must press the Iraqi Interim government to use every opportunity to reaffirm publicly the religious freedom protections set forth and guaranteed in the TAL to ensure that freedom for all Iraqis is protected."

The text of the letter follows:

Dear Ambassador Negroponte:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent bipartisan federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Iraq, particularly the deliberate policy of targeting religious institutions or leaders. As you are aware, Shi'a leaders and mosques have been targets of terrorist bombings, such as the August 2003 killing of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim as he left the Imam Ali Mosque in Najav, the March 2004 attacks on Shi'a mosques in Baghdad and Karbala that killed approximately 140 people, and most recently, the simultaneous attack on four churches in Baghdad and Mosul that left at least ten people dead. The Commission was heartened to learn that many leading Muslim clerics and political leaders, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, quickly and vociferously condemned these coordinated attacks against Iraq's Christian minority.

You noted during your swearing in as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq that your mission includes the promotion of human rights and the rule of law. We urge you therefore to remain firm in your commitment to ensure that freedoms for all Iraqis are protected, including freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, and to promote religious coexistence by consistently raising the importance of guaranteeing permanent constitutional protections for these and related freedoms with your Iraqi counterparts.

Thank you for your consideration of the Commission's views.

Respectfully,

Preeta D. Bansal

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - "The Commission believes that Saudi Arabia should be designated a ‘country of particular concern' (CPC) for its continued systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young. "While the State Department's 2003 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom again notes that freedom of religion "does not exist" in Saudi Arabia, the country still has not been designated a CPC."

In addition to recommending that Saudi Arabia be designated a CPC, the Commission has recommended that the U.S. government should press for immediate improvements in respect for religious freedom, including: establishing genuine safeguards for the freedom to worship privately; ending state prosecution of apostasy, blasphemy, and criticizing the government; and ceasing messages of hatred, intolerance, or incitement to violence against non-Wahhabi Muslims and members of non-Muslim religious groups in the educational curricula and textbooks, as well as in government-controlled mosques and media.

In a report released yesterday by an independent task force on terrorist financing of the Council on Foreign Relations, it endorsed another Commission recommendation that the U.S. government should more frequently identify serious human rights violations and publicly acknowledge that they are significant issues in the bilateral relationship. The task force report states "when domestic Saudi problems threaten Americans at home and abroad, a new framework for U.S.-Saudi relations must be struck, one that includes focused and consistent U.S. attention on domestic Saudi issues that previously would have been "off the table..." Consistent U.S. demands for human rights and political and economic freedom...may only have or have had a marginal impact on the course of events, but they are a fundamental expression of U.S. interests and values."

Over the past year, several incidents continue to point to the Saudi government's systematic violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief. In September 2003, the mutawaa (religious police) arrested 16 foreign workers for practicing Sufism; their status is unknown. In October 2003, two Egyptian Christians were arrested and jailed on religious grounds and released three weeks later. Also in October, several Protestant foreign workers were arrested by the civil police and released the same day without charge. In December 2003, a foreign worker was arrested and charged with apostasy, a charge that was later reduced to blasphemy resulting in a sentence of two years in jail and 600 lashes. In March 2004, an Indian Christian foreign worker was arrested and tortured for "preaching Christianity," among other charges. He remains in prison.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 18, 2004

Contact:

Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will receive the Judge George Alexander Teitz Award from the Touro Synagogue Foundation, a non-denominational, non-sectarian, non-profit institution. The award is given annually to "an individual or program that best exemplifies the ideals of religious, ethnic, and racial tolerance and freedom, as set forth in President George Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island in 1790." This year's award is being given in recognition of USCIRF's work to promote religious freedom and to combat religious intolerance throughout the world. Commission Chair Preeta D. Bansal and Vice Chair Felice D. Gaer will receive the award at the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI, on August 22 on behalf of the Commission. The award presentation will be followed by the Annual Washington Letter Reading, at which United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be the keynote speaker.

Text of press release issued by the Touro Synagogue Foundation on the award:

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to Receive Teitz Award from Touro Synagogue Foundation

Newport, RI, August 17, 2004 - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is to receive the Judge George Alexander Teitz Award during the Touro Synagogue Foundation's George Washington Letter Weekend. The award will be presented at the Sharing our History Brunch on Sunday August 22, 2004 at the Hotel Viking.

The Teitz Award annually honors an individual or organization for commitment to religious freedom and tolerance, the twin hallmarks of President Washington's letter to "the Hebrew Congregation in Newport," which Washington gave to the congregation on August 21, 1790. Last year's award recipient was The Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution, a joint program of the World Peace Foundation and the Belfer Center, Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University.

This year's Teitz Award will recognize the worldwide nonpartisan commitment to religious freedom and tolerance of the Commission on International Religious Freedom, as demonstrated by its actions and accomplishments, including:

Making findings, recommendations, and speaking out to promote the internationally enshrined rights of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief,

Actively working in Afghanistan and Iraq to ensure that their newly formed governments protect religious freedom and institutionalize it in new constitutions,

Speaking out repeatedly on the complete lack of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, and its export of religious hatred and intolerance,

Pressing the Chinese government to end its current crackdown on religious and spiritual groups,

Holding hearings and roundtables to highlight critical religious freedom concerns, and

Working to expand the definition of religious freedom from a narrow right of group worship, to a guarantee to every person of the individual freedoms of religious belief and practice without fear of oppression or punishment, so that in the words of George Washington, "every one shall sit in safety under his vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to monitor the status of religious freedom abroad as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. By publicly providing reliable information, analysis, and creative and responsible policy recommendations, the Commission gives the U.S. government and the American people the tools necessary to advance religious freedom and related human rights throughout the world. In the words of a key drafter of IRFA, the Commission was established for the purpose of ensuring "that the President and the Congress receive independent recommendations and, where necessary, criticism of American policy that does not promote international religious freedom." The bipartisan Commission, which began its work in May 1999, is an independent federal agency, separate from the State Department. The Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom serves ex officio as a non-voting member. Accepting the Award on behalf of the Commission will be its Chair, Preeta D. Bansal, and its Vice Chair, Felice D. Gaer.

In his famous letter "To the Hebrew Congregation In Newport" written in response to a query from Touro Synagogue Warden Moses Seixas, President George Washington affirmed the founding fathers' commitment to the principles of religious freedom by pledging that the new American nation..."gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance..." Nearly two years before the passage of the Bill of Rights, President Washington's letter set the standard for religious freedom in the United States.

Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763, is the oldest synagogue building in the United States. Designed by noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, Touro Synagogue is considered one of the finest examples of 18th century American architecture. Touro Synagogue: A National Historic Site, operates public programs in partnership with the National Park Service, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and is a project of Save America's Treasures.

Touro Synagogue is located in downtown Newport, RI at 85 Touro St. The Sharing our History Brunch is part of a three-day weekend of events celebrating the George Washington Letter and 350 years of American Jewish Life. For more information about registration for the weekend, contact Marla Dansky, Education Director, The Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue at 401-847-4794 x14.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Preeta D. Bansal, Chair • Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair • Nina Shea, Vice Chair • Patti Chang • Archbishop Charles J. Chaput • Khaled Abou El Fadl • Richard Land • Bishop Ricardo Ramirez • Michael K. Young • Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio • Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director