Nov 11, 2011
November 11, 2011 | by USCIRF
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns yesterday's aerial bombing of the Yida refugee camp in the Unity state of the Republic of South Sudan, the world's newest nation, reportedly by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the Republic of Sudan. Located approximately 10 miles south of the border with Sudan, the camp holds more than 20,000 refugees who had fled the SAF's attacks in Southern Kordofan state in the Nuba Mountains region.
According to reports, four bombs were dropped on the camp at 2:55pm local time yesterday. One bomb landed in a schoolyard, but fortunately did not explode. More than 300 students were in class at that time.
"The bombing of innocent civilians in the Yida camp is unconscionable,” said USCIRF chair Leonard Leo . "These civilians fled bombardments in Sudan, only to have bombs follow them across the border into South Sudan. These assaults are clearly an outgrowth of Sudan's hostility toward religious freedom. They target the innocent, violate South Sudan's sovereignty, and threaten the fragile peace between the two nations.”
In late October, USCIRF met at the Yida camp with refugees who described Khartoum's aerial bombardment in the Nuba Mountains and how SAF planes targeted them as they fled south toward Yida. Christian pastors said they were targeted and their churches burned and looted because Khartoum does not want Christianity in Sudan. Refugees witnessed soldiers killing Christians and declaring Christianity to be the enemy of Islam. Muslim refugees were threatened by soldiers in the mosques in which they sought safety and witnessed mosques being destroyed. They claimed that Khartoum does not consider them legitimate Muslims because they are Nuban.
"While Khartoum continues to attack innocent civilians, it is seeking debt relief,” said Leo. "The U.S. government should deny debt relief to Sudan until the bombardments stop and unrestricted, international humanitarian assistance is permitted.”
Authorized and initiated by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, Khartoum has attacked churches, mosques, schools, and markets in the Nuba Mountains and the neighboring Blue Nile state, but not the Sudan People's Liberation Army - North (SPLA-N) in these regions. Khartoum also has been denying humanitarian assistance which is needed due to the destruction of crops resulting from the bombing of farms.
According to local sources, more than 230,000 persons are internally displaced in Southern Kordofan, 20,000 from Southern Kordofan have sought refuge at Yida refugee camp, 29,000 from Blue Nile have sought refuge at Tongo refugee camp in Ethiopia, and an unknown number from the two states are in Juba, South Sudan.
Nov 9, 2011
November 9, 2011 | By Leonard A. Leo and Elizabeth H. Prodromou
Education is a powerful force that shapes how individuals respond to fundamental differences of opinion and belief. It can encourage tolerance and respect for all, but it can also foster disdain and contempt for those who dissent from prevailing orthodoxies.
In Pakistan, schools often serve as incubators of societal intolerance, especially toward religious minorities, with profoundly negative implications for religious freedom and security. Such is the finding of a new report, " Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan.” Released today by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), on which we serve, this study was conducted by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD), a think tank based in Washington, D.C.
Nov 9, 2011
November 9, 2011 | by USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new study sponsored by the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and conducted by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD) found that Pakistan's public schools and madrassas negatively portray the country's religious minorities and reinforce biases which fuel acts of discrimination, and possibly violence, against these communities.
"This study - the first-ever study of its kind -- documents how Pakistan's public schools and privately-run madrassas are not teaching tolerance but are exacerbating religious differences,” said Leonard Leo , USCIRF chair. "Education reform incorporating religious tolerance is critical to the development of a society that values human rights, including religious freedom, for all its citizens. Teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security.”
Titled "Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan,” the study involved the examination of social studies, Islamic studies, and Urdu textbooks and pedagogical methods in Pakistan's public school system and its madrassa system, and the interviewing of teachers and students about their views on religious minorities. The goal of the year-long study was to explore linkages between the portrayal of religious minorities in public schools and madrassas, biases that exist against these minorities, and subsequent acts of discrimination or extremist violence.
The study found that -
- Public school textbooks used by all children often had a strong Islamic orientation, and Pakistan's religious minorities were referenced derogatorily or omitted altogether;
- Hindus were depicted in especially negative terms, and references to Christians were often inaccurate and offensive;
- Public school and madrassa teachers had limited awareness or understanding of religious minorities and their beliefs, and were divided on whether religious minorities were citizens;
- Teachers often expressed very negative views about Ahmadis, Christians, and Jews, and successfully transmitted these biases to their students;
- Interviewees' expressions of tolerance often were intermixed with neutral and intolerant comments, leaving some room for improvement.
ICRD and its partner, the independent Pakistani think tank Sustainable Development Policy Institute, reviewed more than 100 textbooks from grades 1 through 10 from Pakistan's four provinces. Students and teachers from public schools and madrassas were also interviewed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab. Thirty-seven middle and high schools were visited, with 277 students and teachers interviewed individually or in group settings. Researchers interviewed 226 madrassa students and teachers from 19 madrassas.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan U.S. government commission separate from the State Department, has actively monitored the rise across Pakistan of violent religious extremism that targets religious minorities as well as members of the Muslim majority. USCIRF has concluded that promoting respect for freedom of religion or belief must be an integral part of advancing regional securityin South Asia. The conflict with violent religious extremists in Pakistan requires the United States to understand the roots of this extremism and actively bolster those who respect democratic values, the rule of law, and international standards of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief. Education reform is a key part of this effort.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contact Tom Carter, Communications Director at [email protected] or (202) 523-3257.