FOR YOUR INFORMATION

July 8, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett

The following appeared in Eurasia Review on July 4th, 2013.

Last Saturday, on June 29, I was honored to speak in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to the Ahmadiyya Muslim American Community's 65th Annual Convention.

For the past several years, the Ahmadiyya have chosen Harrisburg for their convention, just days before America's July 4 celebration.

Two hours east of Harrisburg is Philadelphia, where our Declaration of Independence was signed on that date. Less than an hour south is Gettysburg, where 150 years ago, in the days leading up to July 4, a crucial Civil War battle was raging.

Philadelphia is where America, through its Declaration, proclaimed that people are born equal and free. Gettysburg is where the nation, through an otherwise terrible war, began to turn those words more fully into deeds, leading to a new birth of freedom upon the abolition of slavery. And last Saturday, Harrisburg was where we reaffirmed America's declaration that freedom -- including freedom of religion or belief -- is not just for Americans, but for everyone, including Ahmadiyya Muslims and others.

Founded in India in 1889, the Ahmadiyya community is known for its respect for tolerance and freedom. Claiming tens of millions of adherents worldwide, its members have lived in our country for nearly a century. Following 9/11, America's Ahmadiyya community literally gave its blood for our nation, eventually donating over 25,000 live-saving units in memory of those who fell that day.

While in many ways, Ahmadiyya precepts mirror our values, these values continue to come under harsh assault globally.

Nearly three-fourths of the world's people live in nations where freedom of religion and related human rights are under brutal siege. That includes millions of Ahmadiyya members.

For nearly four decades, the constitution of Pakistan has deemed all Ahmadiyya "non- Muslims.”

For more than a quarter century, its government has barred them from calling their worship centers "mosques,” publicly uttering the traditional Islamic greeting or quoting from the Qur'an, and displaying Islam"s basic affirmation. Ahmadiyya are prohibited from sharing their beliefs with others or disseminating their material. They are restricted from building houses of worship and holding public gatherings. And since they must register as non-Muslims to vote, Ahmadiyyas effectively are disenfranchised.

Coupled with Pakistan"s blasphemy laws, these statutes have helped foster a climate of intimidation and violence against Ahmadiyya members.

In Indonesia, since June 2008, the government has restricted Ahmadiyya activity to private worship and prohibited members from sharing their faith. In parts of East and West Java and elsewhere, extremist religious groups press local officials to close places of worship or ban Ahmadiyya activity altogether.

In Saudi Arabia, Ahmadiyya members have been deported for their beliefs. In Egypt, they have been charged under its blasphemy laws. In Kazakhstan, the government"s application of its Religion Law has denied their legal legitimacy.

The same societies that violate the religious freedom of Ahmadiyya abuse the rights of others. As USCIRF has documented, where Ahmadiyya suffer, Hindus and Christians, Sikhs and Baha"is, Shi"a and other Muslims, often are persecuted as well.

In order to protect the rights of all, including the Ahmadiyya, and foster peaceful, stable societies, Washington needs to make religious freedom a key foreign policy priority.

The U.S. government also should confront nations which single out the Ahmadiyya for persecution. For example, it should press Pakistan to amend its constitution and rescind all anti-Ahmadiyya laws. It should urge Indonesia to overturn its 2008 decree and all provincial bans against Ahmadiyya religious practice. It should press both governments to investigate acts of violence thoroughly and prosecute perpetrators vigorously. And until Pakistan proves itself serious about reform, USCIRF believes that it qualifies as a "country of particular concern.”

Today, we honor our founding Declaration. We remember that freedoms are not privileges for rulers to bestow or withhold, but unalienable rights ordained by a just and merciful Creator, which no person or government can abuse without surrendering moral authority and legitimacy.

*Katrina Lantos Swett is the Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCIRF at (202) 523-3258 or [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 2, 2013 | By USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A suicide bomber attacked a Shia neighborhood in Quetta, the capital city of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, on Sunday June 30, killing at least 36 individuals and wounding scores more. Sunday's attack is the latest in a string of attacks against Shias and comes amid rising violence committed against other religious communities. Two weeks earlier, three extremists, including one suicide bomber, attacked a Shia religious school in Peshawar, killing 14 and wounding at least 28.

"The new Pakistani government must take resolute action against militant organizations that carry out acts of violence against religious groups and arrest and prosecute individuals involved in mob attacks against minorities,” said USCIRF Chair Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. "Allowing violence to occur without holding killers accountable increases the climate of impunity that threatens all Pakistanis. Prime Minister Newaz Sharif needs to act swiftly.”

Over the past 18 months, USCIRF has become aware of over 250 attacks targeting religious communities in Pakistan. Over 650 individuals have been killed, the overwhelming majority coming from the Shia community. Nongovernmental organizations also recently reported several drive-by shootings targeting Ahmadis. The Hindu community continues to suffer discrimination and the threat of forced conversions to Islam. The Punjabi government has not taken effective measures against those who attacked the Christian community in Jacob colony in March 2013.

"For the sake of his country, Prime Minister Sharif must confront this rising tide of violent religious extremism and ensure that the perpetrators of violence are arrested, prosecuted, and jailed,” said Dr. Lantos Swett.

USCIRF welcomedPrime Minister Sharif's mention ofthe plight of religious minorities in his maiden speech before the parliament. "However, the closure of the Federal Ministry of Interfaith Harmony sent the opposite message. This Ministry served a unique and vitally importantfunction by bringing different faiths together. It is needed now more than ever and should be reestablished," concluded Dr. Lantos Swett.

USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report underscores the fact that Pakistan represents the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries that the U.S. government does not currently designate as "countries of particular concern.” In addition to chronic violence, Pakistan's laws, such as the blasphemy law and anti-Ahmadi laws, violate international human rights standards.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

6/28/2013 | By Eric P. Schwartz and M. Zuhdi Jasser

The following appeared in Star-Ledger on June 28, 2013.

As our nation debates immigration reform, it is time to consider reform of our system of dealing with asylum seekers.

For those seeking freedom and protection from religious or political persecution and other forms of oppression or violence, the United States remains a beacon of refuge - and the New York-New Jersey area, including Newark, among their key destinations.

Through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the United States will admit and resettle up to 70,000 from around the world this year. Under this program, and in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, U.S. officials adjudicate cases overseas. Before being admitted, these applicants undergo thorough security and medical screenings.

The United States receives more asylum applications - requests for protection from people who are already here but weren't initially admitted through our Refugee Admissions Program - than any other country. Last year alone, America granted asylum to more than 29,000 asylees.

They often are held in jail-like facilities in remote places and lack adequate access to legal counsel.

While the administration has recognized that this situation is not acceptable and has sought to improve the plight of asylum seekers awaiting disposition of their claims, more needs to be done.

These are the conclusions of a report released in April by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which we serve.

The report was based on what our staff members saw and heard between July and December 2012, when they toured 10 detention facilities across the nation - including one in Newark - and met with officials and asylum seekers alike. The goal was to assess whether the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, had implemented reforms promised in 2009 and consistent with USCIRF's recommendations in 2005.

The good news is that ICE is housing more asylum seekers under nonpenal conditions. The bad news is that only 4,000 of its 33,400 detention beds are in such facilities.

Outside of these locations, USCIRF found that asylum seekers still face difficult conditions. Typically, they are granted little or no freedom of movement or privacy. Forced to don prison-like jumpsuits, those who have committed no crime face the forbidding presence of armed guards, barbed wire and constant monitoring.

For those whose persecution under dictatorial regimes frequently included jail time, the traumatizing impact of such confinement in the United States should be of the deepest concern to all Americans.

Worse, according to the advocacy group Human Rights First, 40 percent of ICE's current bed space is situated more than 60 miles from an urban center. These remote locales make it hard for asylum seekers to obtain legal advice while detained. Lack of counsel harms not just applicants, but the entire system, because cases become far more time-consuming and difficult to resolve.

Our government must fix this broken asylum detention system. As USCIRF recommended, ICE issued a directive in 2009 to parole asylum seekers who posed no threat to America but face a credible danger of severe mistreatment by their home countries if returned. ICE should codify that directive into regulations, while continuing to document and monitor parole decisions.

Equally important, even where confinement is necessary, asylum applicants who have not committed crimes should not be housed in penal-like settings. And ICE should also ensure that detainees have access to legal information and representation.

Clearly, the status quo is unacceptable. It conflicts with our deepest values and those of the souls who voted with their feet to embrace them.

The United States has provided refuge for millions fleeing persecution worldwide, demonstrating its compassionate spirit. We should be ever more determined to make our system of asylum worthy of our cherished ideals.

Eric P. Schwartz and M. Zuhdi Jasser serve as commissioners for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCIRF at (202) 523-3258 or [email protected].