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…
“Russia is now a police state.” We heard those words from civil society activists in late September during our Moscow visit on behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious…
Although there has been a great deal of research on radicalization of extremists, not as much work has been done on the deradicalization of those who have been recruited into…
Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa assumed the form of Sufi brotherhoods nearly three centuries ago. Within each order of Sufi brotherhoods, appointed spiritual guides called marabouts transmit teachings to loyal followers.