USCIRF Spotlight Podcast

Latest Episodes:

50 Years and Counting: The Continued Closure of Halki Seminary in Turkey May 20, 2021

Show notes

It’s been 50 years since the Turkish government closed the Greek Orthodox Theological School of Halki, also known as the Halki Seminary. The school continues to be unable to educate or train clergy in a country with a historical but dwindling Greek Orthodox community. The Halki Seminary’s continued closure poses an obstacle to the survival of that community within Turkey.

The international community—including U.S. presidents and other high-ranking officials from the United States and Europe—have joined the Ecumenical Patriarchate in calling upon the Turkish government to reopen the Halki Seminary to no avail. Although Turkish officials have at times appeared inclined to support the reopening of the seminary, none have taken any concrete steps to do so.

This week we are joined by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, to discuss the obstacles that the Ecumenical Patriarchate faces in Turkey today.

Read the Turkey chapter of the 2021 Annual Report

Also available in Turkish and Kurdish (Kurmanji)

Featuring:

Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

Archbishop Elpidophoros, Head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Violent Insurgents in the Sahel Region of Africa May 14, 2021

Show notes

The central Sahel region of West Africa is currently home to an extremely complex and fluid landscape of Islamist insurgent actors that stem from both locally grown and foreign movements. Several violent insurgent actors have been gaining power in the Sahel region, and committing religious freedom violations in the areas they control.

Security challenges in the Central Sahel, compounded by climate change, have yielded a devastating humanitarian crisis with over 15 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, 5 million people facing food insecurity, and nearly 2 million people displaced. In one pocket of this region at the borders of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, growing violent Islamist insurgencies represent one facet of this complex crisis. Groups there are now engaging in violence and targeting individuals based on their religion or belief.

USCIRF recently published a factsheet on Islamists in the Central Sahel region of West Africa. USCIRF Policy Analyst Madeline Vellturo, who authored the report, joins us on the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast to discuss these developments in the Sahel.

Religious Restrictions in Iran May 06, 2021

Show notes

Since 1979 Iran’s government has shown a consistent disregard for the rights of religious minority communities who run afoul of the government’s narrow interpretation of Shi’a Islam. Even the majority Shi’a Muslim population must adhere to the government’s religious doctrine of Leadership of the Jurist (vilayt e-faqih). Those with alternative or differing opinions have suffered harassment, surveillance, arrest, imprisonment, and even a death sentence for blasphemy, insulting religious sanctities, or identifying as gay.

On top of its severe violations, Iran is approaching several key political junctures. The country’s leadership recently began engagement with the Biden administration over its nuclear program. It’s also set to hold presidential elections next month on June 18th. The government of Iran continues to deal with sustained widespread protests over a host of political and social issues that have been ongoing since December 2017.

USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer joins us to discuss why we have recommended Iran be designated a Country of Particular Concern.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFGary Bauer, Commissioner, USCIRF

Refugee Resettlement and Religious Freedom Apr 30, 2021

Show notes

The program to resettle refugees to the United States has existed since 1980, with strong bipartisan support. Earlier this month, President Biden signed an emergency declaration to speed up refugee admissions into the United States, but did not raise the ceiling from the current 15,000 person low. After receiving pushback from advocacy groups, the administration later stated that President Biden is expected to increase the refugee ceiling for this fiscal year by May 15.

USCIRF is concerned about the historically low refugee ceiling, and has long advocated for a robust resettlement program as a way for the United States to provide safe haven to some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees. Refugee resettlement is a separate program from the process through which individuals apply for asylum at the U.S. border.

USCIRF has reviewed and made recommendations relevant to that process as well as refugee resettlement. USCIRF Director of Research and Policy, Elizabeth Cassidy, joins us to discuss both of these issues.

Check out our Feb 10, 2021 hearing on Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution

Read USCIRF’s statement calling on the President to increase the refugee ceiling.

Featuring:

Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy, USCIRF

USCIRF Releases 2021 Annual Report with Recommendations for U.S. Policy Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

USCIRF released its 2021 Annual Report documenting developments over the past year, and providing policy recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad. In its report, USCIRF also monitored public health measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and their impact on religious freedom.

USCIRF’s independence and bipartisanship enables it to unflinchingly identify threats to religious freedom around the world. The 2021 Annual Report recommends 26 countries for designation as either a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) or to be placed on the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL). The report also highlights important global developments and trends related to religious freedom including political unrest leading to religious freedom violations, blasphemy laws, and global antisemitism.

USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin joins us to elaborate on some of the key elements of the 2021 Annual Report.

You can find the full report here.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFGayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRF

The State of Religious Freedom in Vietnam Apr 16, 2021

Show notes

Bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam has grown increasingly cooperative since 1995. The two countries have built strong economic, political, and security partnerships. Despite this relationship, the US government continues to pay particular attention to the overall human rights situation in there, including freedom of religion or belief. USCIRF traveled to Vietnam in 2019 to observe religious freedom conditions on the ground, and has maintained that Vietnam should be designated as a Country of Particular Concern.

While there has been some progress regarding religious freedom conditions in Vietnam in recent years, the situation for certain groups remains concerning. The Christian community, in particular, faces persecution. Policy Analyst Mingzhi Chen joins us to discuss the state of religious freedom in Vietnam.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFMingzhi Chen, Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Don’t miss our 2021 Annual Report, which will be released April 21, 2021.

Indonesia’s State Ideology of Pancasila Apr 09, 2021

Show notes

Pancasila is a founding concept of Indonesia, comprising of five principles: monotheism, civilized humanity, national unity, deliberative democracy, and social justice. This concept came about at the onset of Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1945 to unify the population and emphasize moderation and tolerance.

As Indonesia has witnessed the rise of Islamist extremist activities and sentiment in recent decades, President Joko Widodo’s administration has prioritized emphasizing Pancasila and Indonesia’s historically moderate version of Islam to confront this trend. USCIRF Policy Analyst, Patrick Greenwalt joins us today to discuss the impact this has on religious freedom.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFPatrick Greenwalt, Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Read USCIRF’s Factsheet on Indonesia's Pancasila

China Sanctions U.S. Religious Freedom Officials Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

In a public statement on March 27, 2021, the Chinese government imposed a travel ban on USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin and Vice Chair Tony Perkins and prohibited any Chinese citizens or institutions from doing business with them. The statement issued by China asserts that USCIRF should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and refrain from “going further down the wrong path” otherwise “they will get their fingers burnt.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned China for imposing the “baseless” sanctions.

This is the first time in USCIRF’s more than 20-year history that a foreign government has taken action against individual Commissioners in this way. Meanwhile, USCIRF has been sounding the alarm about a genocide taking place in Xinjiang against Uyghurs and has recommended for two decades that the U.S. Department of State designate China as a Country of Particular Concern for its egregious violations. This begs the question, why now?

USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin and Vice Chair Tony Perkins join us today to respond to the news about the sanctions, and to discuss what this means for the United States government and the international community moving forward.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFGayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRFTony Perkins, Vice Chair, USCIRF

Read USCIRF’s official press statement responding to the sanctions.

Governments Using Shari’a to Impose Death Sentences on LGBTI Persons Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

In some countries around the world, religion-based laws are used by governments to impose capital punishment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons. All of the 10 countries where consensual same-sex relationships are punishable by death (Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) justify denial of rights and personhood based on official interpretations of Shari’a (Islamic law).

International standards are clear that governments should not desecrate the rights of LGBTI persons through the imposition of the death penalty under interpretations of Shari’a or any other religion-based laws. Laws that make same-sex relationships subject to the death penalty violate the human dignity and rights of LGBTI persons and embolden societal hostility, discrimination, and violence against them.

This week, USCIRF Vice Chair Anurima Bhargava joins us to discuss USCIRF’s recently-released factsheet on Shari'a and LGBTI Persons.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFAnurima Bhargava, Vice Chair, USCIRF

Shifting Trends of Religious Freedom in Egypt Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

Egypt has historically faced many challenges to religious freedom. There has been recurring violence and discrimination against Coptic Christians, who represent 10-15% of the population, as well as other communities who face religious freedom challenges. Furthermore, Egypt is one of the world’s leading enforcers of blasphemy laws. The United States joined 30 other countries at the UN Human Rights Council just last week in condemning a range of human rights abuses in Egypt, which has not been done since 2014.

However, in spite of its shortcomings, there have been some improvements to religious freedom conditions in recent years that are noteworthy. USCIRF Supervisory Policy Analyst, Kurt Werthmuller, joins us this week to discuss the situation for religious freedom in Egypt.

Featuring:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFKurt Werthmuller, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF

To learn more about Egypt’s blasphemy regulations, read USCIRF’s 2020 report on Global Blasphemy Laws.

USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report which will detail religious freedom in Egypt will be released in April.