{"id":1160,"date":"2011-09-16T11:11:10","date_gmt":"2011-09-16T15:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=1160"},"modified":"2011-09-15T11:22:56","modified_gmt":"2011-09-15T15:22:56","slug":"jay-sekulow-religious-liberty-the-worlds-worst-offenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/09\/jay-sekulow-religious-liberty-the-worlds-worst-offenders.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Religious Liberty &#8211; The World&#8217;s Worst Offenders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_69151240.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-647\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/240\/2011\/07\/shutterstock_69151240-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a>In addition to protecting religious freedom in this country, a large part of our work involves defending religious freedom around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why this new report out by the U.S. State Department is of great interest. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/g\/drl\/rls\/irf\/2010_5\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Department&#8217;s 13th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom<\/a>\u00a0documents numerous ways in which governments and societies violate religious freedom, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Active State Repression and Impunity<\/li>\n<li>Violent Extremist Attacks<\/li>\n<li>Apostasy and Blasphemy Laws<\/li>\n<li>Repression of Religious Minorities<\/li>\n<li>Anti-Semitism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"http:\/\/www.state.gov\/secretary\/rm\/2011\/09\/172254.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Secretary of State Clinton put it<\/a>: &#8220;Hatred and intolerance are destabilizing. When governments crack down on religious expression, when politicians or public figures try to use religion as a wedge issue, or when societies fail to take steps to denounce religious bigotry and curb discrimination based on religious identity, they embolden extremists and fuel sectarian strife.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The report lists the worst offenders of the 198 countries studied. The following list is unchanged from the previous year &#8211; the &#8220;countries of particular concern&#8221; &#8211; Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/09\/967016061.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1167\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/240\/2011\/09\/967016061-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>The <a href=\"http:\/\/religion.blogs.cnn.com\/2011\/09\/13\/u-s-warns-that-arab-revolts-are-exposing-religious-intolerance\/comment-page-1\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;countries of particular concern&#8221; (CPC) designation<\/a> means the countries engaged in or tolerated &#8220;severe violations of religious freedom,&#8221; including persecution, harassment, abuse, discrimination and detention of religious minorities or activists and the prohibition of practicing religions not sanctioned by the government.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the State Department stopped short and failed to add some of the world&#8217;s worst offenders to the list. One specific example is Pakistan, where there is growing violence and persecution aimed at the Christian minority there.<\/p>\n<p>Our international affiliate recently <a href=\"http:\/\/eclj.org\/Releases\/Read.aspx?GUID=b7e3bda6-0206-410d-80be-451d8b3aceaf&amp;s=eur\" target=\"_blank\">secured an important victory for a Christian family who faced persecution in Pakistan<\/a> because of their faith. Our team successfully represented Rashid Masih\u2019s family against a number of Muslims who tortured and killed Masih after he refused to convert to Islam. In July, the Sessions Court in Mian Channu, Pakistan, announced its verdict in which it sentenced three Muslims to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of Masih.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Pakistan, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uscirf.gov\/news-room\/press-releases\/3652-9132011-uscirf-comment-on-the-state-departments-designation-of-countries-of-particular-concern-and-annual-report-on-international-religious-freedom-.html\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is calling for the inclusion of other countries to be added to the list<\/a>. USCIRF Chair Leonard Leo recommended that Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam be added to the list of &#8220;countries of particular concern.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Commission welcomes the first CPC designations of the Obama administration, but is concerned that no new countries were added to the list,&#8221; said Leo. &#8220;Repeating the current list continues glaring omissions, such as Pakistan and Vietnam.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>We agree. It&#8217;s time for the State Department to update this list. When it comes to religious freedom, the world deserves to know which countries are the worst offenders.<\/p>\n<p>Stay in touch with the ACLJ and our work by visiting the <a href=\"http:\/\/aclj.org\/Writers\/jay-sekulow\" target=\"_blank\">Jay Sekulow<\/a> page on our <a href=\"http:\/\/aclj.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In addition to protecting religious freedom in this country, a large part of our work involves defending religious freedom around the globe. That&#8217;s why this new report out by the U.S. State Department is of great interest. The Department&#8217;s 13th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom\u00a0documents numerous ways in which governments and societies violate religious&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,164,129,54],"tags":[357,743,362,361,358,355,131,354,791,360,44,7,356,359],"class_list":["post-1160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-freedom","category-international-law","category-religious-freedom","tag-13th-annual-report-on-international-religious-freedom","tag-aclj","tag-anti-semitism","tag-blasphemy-laws","tag-countries-of-particular-concern","tag-department-of-state","tag-eclj","tag-international-religious-freedom","tag-jay-sekulow","tag-leonard-leo","tag-pakistan","tag-religious-liberty","tag-secretary-of-state-clinton","tag-us-commission-on-international-religious-freedom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Jay Sekulow: Religious Liberty - The World&#039;s Worst Offenders - Faith &amp; Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/09\/jay-sekulow-religious-liberty-the-worlds-worst-offenders.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Religious Liberty - The World&#039;s Worst Offenders - Faith &amp; Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In addition to protecting religious freedom in this country, a large part of our work involves defending religious freedom around the globe. That&#8217;s why this new report out by the U.S. State Department is of great interest. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1160"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1171,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1160\/revisions\/1171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}