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U.S. finds religious freedom threatened worldwideTwo U.S. allies called 'of particular concern' for intolerance
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. government report warned on Wednesday that threats to religious freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan are mounting, and included Washington allies Saudi Arabia and Pakistan among countries "of particular concern" for religious intolerance. The annual report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to designate 11 nations as "countries of particular concern" for violations of religious freedoms. Those were Burma, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In a letter to Rice, included in the report, commission chairman Michael Cromartie said the panel is trying to draw attention to "countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom." "The situations in Afghanistan and Iraq serve to underscore the precarious state of this fundamental freedom," Cromartie wrote. The report said Afghanistan and Iraq were two countries where "the universal right to religious freedom is imperiled." "Religious extremism, even in official circles, is an increasing threat to democratic consolidation in Afghanistan," the report said. President Bush has said U.S. troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 in part to overthrow tyrannical governments and to protect basic human rights. Two months ago an Afghan man faced possible execution as punishment for abandoning Islam to convert to Christianity. In Iraq, sectarian violence between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims has been escalating, as well as attacks on non-Muslim religious groups. "There has been an ongoing stream of violence and extremism in Iraq driven by religious intolerance," the report said. The commission, an independent body appointed by the White House and Congress, cannot mandate any specific action. However, last year the United States denied the export of some defense items to Eritrea, according to Reuters. It was the first action to be taken against another country as a result of its designation by the commission as a "country of particular concern," Reuters reported. Although its violations are not egregious enough for the "particular concern" designation, Afghanistan was placed on the commission's "Watch List," which means the situation must be monitored closely. Afghanistan joins Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Indonesia, Nigeria and U.S. ally Egypt as nations where "discrimination, intolerance and other human rights violations affect a broad spectrum of religious groups," the report said, including Coptic Christians, Bahais, Jews and members of minority Muslim communities. The panel annually assesses "the facts and circumstances regarding violations of religious freedom around the world" each year, as part of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. On Saudi Arabia, the commission said "freedom of religion does not exist" and that the Saudis financed "extreme religious intolerance and hatred." The commission criticized the Bush administration for failing to punish Saudi Arabia for violations listed in last year's report and urged it to take action this year. The performance of Pakistan, a U.S. ally against terrorism, improved its efforts to protect minorities but still fell short, the report said. Reuters contributed to this report. 
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