The U.S. State Department’s first report on religious freedom got
mixed reviews from a religious freedom organization. It is a
milestone that "shows the world that religious freedom is an
American foreign policy priority and underscores the importance
of religion in world events," but has serious gaps, Nina Shea,
director of the Center for Religious Freedom (see link #3 below)
at Freedom House, said.
...The 1,000-plus-page document summarizes the state of religious
freedom in every country. It will prompt foreign governments to
review their treatment of religious groups, possibly leading to
reforms, she said. It is the first of what will be annual
assessments of religious freedom around the world.
...The report is disappointing in its evaluation of several
countries, Shea said. Many profiles accentuate the positives and
give the governments, particularly those that are U.S. trading
partners, the benefit of the doubt, she said. The report fails to
conclude whether governments are actually persecuting religious
believers.
...The report’s section on Sudan fails to state that the Islamic
government in Khartoum is trying to wipe out Christians and
animists in the south (see link #4 below), Freedom House said.
"It is regrettable that the State Department failed to seize the
opportunity…to spotlight the catastrophic scale and magnitude of
religious persecution in Sudan," Shea said.
...China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia also escape critical judgments.
The section on China provides many examples of persecution (see
link #5 below), but stops short of accusing the government of
persecution. The persecution of Egyptian Coptic Christians in the
town El-Kosheh last year (see link #6 below) is presented in such
a way "that it leads to the conclusion that religion was not a
factor," Shea said. The Saudi Arabia section misleads readers to
believe that non-Muslims can worship in private. In fact,
religious police have been known to search private homes and
arrest people for non-Muslim worship, she said.

3. American Center for Law and Justice

Reprinted with permission from Religion Today, http://www.ReligionToday.com."

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