USCIRF Spotlight Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Reforms in Kazakhstan Could Improve Religious Freedom Aug 06, 2021

Show notes

The Kazakhstani government is implementing promising reforms that could make Kazakhstan Central Asia’s leading example of religious freedom. USCIRF has recommended the U.S. State Department place Kazakhstan on its Special Watch List, and previously USCIRF’s Tier 2 List, since 2013 in response to deteriorating religious freedom conditions stemming from the passage of its religion law in 2011. However, proposed amendments to that law could significantly improve the religious freedom landscape in Kazakhstan.

USCIRF is deeply invested in Central Asian religious freedom reform and has engaged directly with the Kazakhstani government. In recent years, the Commission has traveled multiple times to Kazakhstan and other countries in the region, released numerous reports with policy recommendations, and held a hearing on religious freedom conditions in Russia and Central Asia in September 2020.

Today we are joined by USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Jason Morton to discuss recent reform efforts and the religious landscape in Kazakhstan more broadly.

Read the 2021 Annual Report chapter on Kazakhstan available in English, Kazakh, and Russian.

Protests in Cuba Impact Religious Freedom Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

Cuba’s government has long been responsible for violating its citizens right to freedom of religion or belief. In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department again place Cuba on its Special Watch List for engaging in severe religious freedom violations and has been doing so for many years.

USCIRF Supervisory Policy Analyst Kirsten Lavery joins us today to discuss the historic and unprecedented protests in Cuba, how these protests have impacted religious communities in particular, and opportunities for the United States to support religious freedom on the island.

The 2021 Annual Report Cuba chapter is available in both English and Spanish.

Qur’anists in Egypt Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

Egypt is home to over 100 million people—of which the majority identify as Sunni Muslim with a significant Coptic Christian minority. A variety of smaller religious minorities also call Egypt home such as Baha’is, Jehovah’s Witnesses, non-theists, and Muslim minorities, which include Shi’a Muslims and the Qur’anist community. These smaller religious communities have long faced marginalization and repression from religious and governmental authorities.

USCIRF has often acknowledged in recent years the ways in which Egypt has shown some marked signs of improvement, particularly in terms of the Egyptian government’s willingness to more openly acknowledge and discuss some of the country’s religious freedom challenges. However, that modest progress hasn’t necessarily trickled down to the smaller, marginalized communities.

Today we are joined by Sherif Mansour, who is currently the Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. It has been nearly a year since Sherif’s cousin, Reda Abdel Rahman, has been held under pre-trial detention in Egypt for blogging about Qur’anist teachings. Our discussion today focuses on the Qur’anist Muslim community, whose adherents continue to face repression in Egypt.

Read the Egypt chapter of the 2021 Annual Report here.

Central African Republic: From Sectarian Violence to Progress on Religious Freedom Jul 09, 2021

Show notes

In 2015, USCIRF for the first time recommended the Central African Republic (CAR) be designated by the State Department a Country of Particular Concern for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom following years of sectarian violence that erupted after a 2013 coup. As the violence against religious minority communities subsided in subsequent years, in 2020, USCIRF recommended CAR be placed on the State Department’s Special Watchlist, a step in the right direction. While concerns for religious freedom in CAR remain, there has been further notable progress during the past year.

In its most recent 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF did not recommend CAR be included on the State Department’s Special Watchlist or be designated a Country of Particular Concern. Today we will learn more about what prompted the decision to remove CAR from the Special Watchlist recommendation, what progress has been made, and what challenges remain for religious freedom and religious minorities in CAR. Joining us to provide insight into the situation is USCIRF Policy Analyst for West and Central Africa, Madeline Vellturo, and Dr. Gino Vlavonou, a Consulting Program Officer with the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum at the Social Science Research Council.

USCIRF Recently released a Country Update on CAR

Read our 2021 Annual Report

Sivas Massacre and Turkey’s Persecution of the Alevi Community Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

On July 2, 1993 a mob set fire to the Madimak Hotel in Sivas, Turkey—where a group of prominent Alevi writers, poets, and thinkers had gathered. Reports show 37 people died in what became known as the Sivas (or Madimak) Massacre. For Alevis, the incident reflected the prejudice and hate the community faced in their native homeland of Turkey, where today Alevis make up an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the population.

Discrimination against the Alevi community is rampant and pervasive in Turkey’s government, society, and the education system. While this prejudice is hardly new, the situation under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AKP party is only getting worse.

USCIRF Policy Analyst John Lechner joins us on the anniversary of the Sivas Massacre as we discuss Turkey’s Alevis, their beliefs, and the challenging daily life as an Alevi in Erdogan’s Turkey.

Ethiopia’s Tigray Massacre and Implications for Religious Freedom Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

Ethiopia has been going through a democratic transition amidst a civil war that broke out in Tigray at the end of 2020. In November of last year, a massacre took place in Tigray that was slow to be reported in major news outlets globally. USCIRF has been closely monitoring religious freedom violations in that region and in Ethiopia more broadly.

The U.S. Department of State recently announced that it would impose sanctions on individuals responsible for human rights violations in the Tigray region, following a visit by U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.

USCIRF Policy Analyst Mohy Omer joins us today to discuss the situation in Tigray and how this impacts freedom of religion or belief in Ethiopia.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFMohy Omer, Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Do USCIRF Policy Recommendations Get Implemented? Jun 17, 2021

Show notes

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) mandates USCIRF to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. In addition to making recommendations, USCIRF’s mandate was recently amended to include tracking the U.S. government’s implementation of our recommendations as well as to review the effectiveness of such implemented recommendations in advancing religious freedom internationally.

Joining us today is USCIRF Commissioner Fred Davie to share with us some of these key recommendations that have been implemented by the administration and Congress over the last year or so.

Read more on page 91 of the 2021 USCIRF Annual Report.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFFrederick A. Davie, Commissioner, USCIRF

Top Priorities of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur identifies existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and presents recommendations to the Council on ways to overcome these obstacles.

In recent years, the Special Rapporteur has produced several thematic reports on a range of issues, including on Islamophobia and anti-Semitism globally, the intersection of religious freedom with gender equality and freedom of expression, discrimination and violence against individuals in the name of religion, as well as the nexus between security and freedom of religion or belief.

The current mandate holder, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, joins us today to discuss what he thinks are the most pressing challenges to freedom of religion or belief globally.

Read USCIRF’s Factsheet on Shari'a and LGBTI Persons

Click here for Ahmed Shaheed’s report on Report on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality

Featuring: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, United Nations

Bahrain Takes Steps to Improve Religious Freedom Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

For the first time in years, Bahrain was not included in the list of countries that USCIRF recommends for the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL). The government of Bahrain has made incremental improvements to religious freedom conditions within the country over the past several years—working to enhance the rights of religious communities including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Baha’is.

Nevertheless, there are some lingering concerns about how Bahrain’s government treats the Shi’a Muslim majority population. USCIRF Supervisory Policy Analyst, Scott Weiner, joins us to expound upon the religious freedom situation in Bahrain.

Click here to read more USCIRF reporting on Bahrain.

Read USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report for more information on our recommendations for CPC and SWL designation.

Featuring: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFScott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Enforcing Blasphemy Laws Have Dire Consequences May 27, 2021

Show notes

Blasphemy laws criminalize expression that insults or offends religious doctrines. Such laws are often used to restrict freedom of religion or belief. As of 2020, 84 countries still had blasphemy laws. The severity of a blasphemy law on the books, however, is only the beginning of the story. The enforcement of such laws—either government enforcement or mob violence—undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression.

Joelle Fiss and Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum are the authors of the USCIRF report “Violating Rights: Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws,” released in December 2020. They join us to discuss the findings of their report, and the impact of blasphemy laws on religious freedom.

Featuring:

Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

Joelle Fiss, Member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief

Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Associate Professor of Clinical Law at Cardozo School of Law