Blinken highlights Gaza conflict, India, China at release of U.S. religious freedom report

Religious freedom is not respected for millions of people around the world, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the release of an annual religious freedom report which reviews the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 nations and territories.

"Today, governments around the world continue to target individuals, shutter places of worship, forcibly displace communities and imprison people because of their religious beliefs," Blinken said at a news conference alongside Rashad Hussain, U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

He said violent extremist groups also target people based on their faith, citing last weekend's attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia's Dagestan region, in which police, civilians and a priest were killed.

GAZA CONFLICT

Turning to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, Blinken said antisemitism and Islamophobia have increased significantly across the globe following the attacks and the ensuing conflict in the Gaza Strip.

"Here in the United States, reports of hate crimes and other incidents targeting both Muslims and Jews have gone up tremendously," he said.

Hussain said the Oct. 7 attacks "produced the deadliest day in Israel's history and since Oct. 7, we have also witnessed far too much suffering of innocents of lives in Gaza."

"2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza. We remain hopeful for a lasting ceasefire," said Hussain.

He said, however, a sustainable cease-fire must not be the condition for protecting civilians, houses of worship, including churches and mosques and other civilian objects, and providing humanitarian aid to those in need.

"Beyond Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, the conflict has also fed a global surge in acts of anti-Muslim hatred, antisemitism," said the ambassador-at-large.

In his remarks, Blinken said nine European nations have laws that effectively ban some forms of religious clothing in public spaces.

INDIA

The report documents cases where violence is occurring at the societal level.

As for India, the U.S.'s close partner, Blinken said, "We see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities.".

Hussain, for his part, said in India, Christian communities reported that police aided mobs that disrupted worship services on the accusation of conversion activities, or stood by while mobs attacked and then arrested the victims on conversion charges.

"Just last week, we witnessed two brutal killings related to accusations of blasphemy," he said.

The report said Christians and Muslims were arrested under laws banning forced religious conversions. According to religious groups, the laws were used to harass and imprison members of religious minority groups on false and fabricated charges or for lawful religious practices.

Blinken said the U.S. will continue to stand with its partners and work to advance religious freedom across the globe, noting that Washington dedicated more than $100 million to that effort, and supported initiatives to prevent religious-based violence and provide legal assistance to people who are facing religious persecution.

Hussain noted Myanmar, saying its military has used many of the same tactics it used in its "genocidal campaign against Rohingya," and that it now targets anyone opposing it.

CHINA

Hussain said the report continues to "cast sight on the ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide" the Chinese government is perpetrating against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the province of Xinjiang, including Tibetans and Christians.

"We even see the PRC (People's Republic of China) attempt to reach across its borders to target individuals and silence critics, such as the report of Chinese engaging transnational repression against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetans Falun Gong and many more," he said.