B
Bill M
Guest
The problem is that Bush's war in Iraq was the equivalwnt of swating a
hornets nest. We have just angered the bees'
<NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org> wrote in message
news:1189934084.3102668648.1004835085@servebbs.org...
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> Mission Accomplished: Religious freedom deteriorates all over Middle
East
>
> Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
>
> AP via MSNBC - Sep 14, 2007
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20773438/
>
> Religious freedom deteriorates in Iraq
>
> State Department finds worshippers of all faiths targeted for attacks
>
> The Associated Press
>
> WASHINGTON - Religious freedom has sharply deteriorated in Iraq over
> the past year because of both the insurgency and violence targeting
> specific faiths, despite the U.S. military buildup intended to improve
> security, says a State Department report to be released Friday.
>
> The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom finds that all
> worshippers are targeted for attacks and the violence is not confined
> to the well-known rivalry between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
>
> The ongoing insurgency significantly harmed the ability of all
> religious believers to practice their faith, says the 22-page
> executive summary of the report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead
> of its official release by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
>
> While the presence of varying levels of lawlessness in certain areas
> permitted criminal gangs, terrorists, and insurgents to victimize
> citizens, and while this affected persons of all ethnicities and
> religious groups in such areas, many individuals from various religious
> groups were targeted because of their religious identity or their
> secular leanings, the report says.
>
> It finds that members of all religions in Iraq are victims of
> harassment, intimidation, kidnapping, and killings and that frequent
> sectarian violence included attacks on places of worship.
>
> Muslims who practice less-strict versions of their faith suffer because
> conservative and extremist Islamic elements exert tremendous pressure
> on society to conform to their interpretations of Islams precepts,
> the report says.
>
> At the same time, it says, non-Muslims (are) especially vulnerable to
> pressure and violence, because of their minority status and, often,
> because of the lack of a protective tribal structure.
>
> The summary does not mention specific incidents of violence other than
> the February 22, 2006, bombing of a Shia mosque in the town of Samarra.
> The report does not cover the month of August 2007, when 520 mainly
> members of the Yazidi community, a Kurdish-speaking religious minority,
> were killed in quadruple suicide bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq.
>
> Other nations
>
> Outside of Iraq, the report also notes severe problems with religious
> freedom in a number of other Islamic or majority-Muslim nations, among
> them Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which are U.S. allies in the war
> on terrorism. Some examples:
>
>
> # Afghanistan:
>
> Decades of war, years of Taliban rule, and weak democratic
> institutions, including a developing judiciary, have contributed to
> intolerance manifested in acts of harassment and violence against
> reform-minded Muslims and religious minorities, it says. Despite
> reform efforts, condemnations of conversions from Islam and censorship
> increased concerns about citizens ability to freely practice minority
> religions.
>
> # Pakistan:
>
> The government took some steps to improve the treatment of religious
> minorities during the period covered by this report, but serious
> problems remained, it says. Discriminatory legislation and the
> Governments failure to take action against societal forces hostile to
> those who practice minority faiths fostered religious intolerance, acts
> of violence, and intimidation against followers of certain religious
> groups.
>
> # Saudi Arabia:
>
> While overall government policies continue to place severe
> restrictions on religious freedom, there were some improvements in
> specific areas during the period covered by this report, it says,
> noting nascent moves that could lead to important improvements in the
> future. Still, it says non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to
> the governments interpretation of Islam continued to face significant
> political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination.
>
> (c) 2007 The Associated Press.
>
>
>
>
> =================================================================
> NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
> Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
> New York Transfer News Collective http://www.blythe.org
> List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
> Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
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>
hornets nest. We have just angered the bees'
<NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org> wrote in message
news:1189934084.3102668648.1004835085@servebbs.org...
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Mission Accomplished: Religious freedom deteriorates all over Middle
East
>
> Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
>
> AP via MSNBC - Sep 14, 2007
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20773438/
>
> Religious freedom deteriorates in Iraq
>
> State Department finds worshippers of all faiths targeted for attacks
>
> The Associated Press
>
> WASHINGTON - Religious freedom has sharply deteriorated in Iraq over
> the past year because of both the insurgency and violence targeting
> specific faiths, despite the U.S. military buildup intended to improve
> security, says a State Department report to be released Friday.
>
> The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom finds that all
> worshippers are targeted for attacks and the violence is not confined
> to the well-known rivalry between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
>
> The ongoing insurgency significantly harmed the ability of all
> religious believers to practice their faith, says the 22-page
> executive summary of the report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead
> of its official release by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
>
> While the presence of varying levels of lawlessness in certain areas
> permitted criminal gangs, terrorists, and insurgents to victimize
> citizens, and while this affected persons of all ethnicities and
> religious groups in such areas, many individuals from various religious
> groups were targeted because of their religious identity or their
> secular leanings, the report says.
>
> It finds that members of all religions in Iraq are victims of
> harassment, intimidation, kidnapping, and killings and that frequent
> sectarian violence included attacks on places of worship.
>
> Muslims who practice less-strict versions of their faith suffer because
> conservative and extremist Islamic elements exert tremendous pressure
> on society to conform to their interpretations of Islams precepts,
> the report says.
>
> At the same time, it says, non-Muslims (are) especially vulnerable to
> pressure and violence, because of their minority status and, often,
> because of the lack of a protective tribal structure.
>
> The summary does not mention specific incidents of violence other than
> the February 22, 2006, bombing of a Shia mosque in the town of Samarra.
> The report does not cover the month of August 2007, when 520 mainly
> members of the Yazidi community, a Kurdish-speaking religious minority,
> were killed in quadruple suicide bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq.
>
> Other nations
>
> Outside of Iraq, the report also notes severe problems with religious
> freedom in a number of other Islamic or majority-Muslim nations, among
> them Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which are U.S. allies in the war
> on terrorism. Some examples:
>
>
> # Afghanistan:
>
> Decades of war, years of Taliban rule, and weak democratic
> institutions, including a developing judiciary, have contributed to
> intolerance manifested in acts of harassment and violence against
> reform-minded Muslims and religious minorities, it says. Despite
> reform efforts, condemnations of conversions from Islam and censorship
> increased concerns about citizens ability to freely practice minority
> religions.
>
> # Pakistan:
>
> The government took some steps to improve the treatment of religious
> minorities during the period covered by this report, but serious
> problems remained, it says. Discriminatory legislation and the
> Governments failure to take action against societal forces hostile to
> those who practice minority faiths fostered religious intolerance, acts
> of violence, and intimidation against followers of certain religious
> groups.
>
> # Saudi Arabia:
>
> While overall government policies continue to place severe
> restrictions on religious freedom, there were some improvements in
> specific areas during the period covered by this report, it says,
> noting nascent moves that could lead to important improvements in the
> future. Still, it says non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to
> the governments interpretation of Islam continued to face significant
> political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination.
>
> (c) 2007 The Associated Press.
>
>
>
>
> =================================================================
> NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
> Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
> New York Transfer News Collective http://www.blythe.org
> List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
> Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
> =================================================================
>
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>
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> CFDL/HTRM5uJcBviNoeDS8U=
> =Li4Q
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>
