The Syrian conflict long ago metastasized from a two-sided battle between the Bashar al-Assad regime and homegrown forces seeking its overthrow to a full-blown sectarian conflict. Now, foreign fighters and…
Today, long after the eighth century spread of Islam into Central Asia that largely displaced the region’s Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Nestorian Christianity, 88 percent of the 28 million people of…
Between January 2012 and June 2013, Pakistan experienced 203 instances of targeted violence against religious communities resulting in more than 700 deaths and 1,100 injuries; the Shi’a community was hardest…
On May 30, the United States Department of State released its 2012 Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT), a congressionally-mandated annual report. Unlike State Department reports on human rights, the…
According to a recent Washington Post article about Egypt’s decision to cut off diplomatic relations with Syria, President Morsi’s actions and call for Hezbollah to leave Syria “point to…
In an increasingly volatile world, few threats to peace compare to the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iranian government. For the Iranian people, however, the government already is at war and…
The “Arab Spring” is being referred to as the “Christian Winter” because Christian persecution is prevalent throughout the region, including in Syria. Around 10 percent of the Syrian population…
On June 3, the U.S. Congress and the nation lost a strong advocate for human rights, including the bedrock right to freedom of religion or belief, with the passing of…
On 28 February 2013, thousands of people in Shahbag square erupted in jubilation. Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a prominent member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s largest Islamic political party,…
In December 2012, Egypt approved a new constitution by referendum. How does it measure up to international standards for constitutional freedom of religion and related rights? The U.S. Commission…
