WASHINGTON (March 16, 2006)—In Congressional testimony, the Chairman of
the Committee on International Policy, United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called for positive efforts to understand and
engage Islam and Muslim leaders and to promote religious freedom for
Christians in some countries with Muslim majorities.
“Constructive and respectful dialogue with Islam is imperative in today’s
world,” said Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando. “Rather than deploring a
clash of cultures, we need to foster cultures of dialogue and respect as
keys to justice and peace.”
Bishop Wenski testified (March 16) before the House International
Committee, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International
Operations. The hearing was devoted to the 2005 Human Rights Report of the
U.S. Department of State.
At the request of the subcommittee, the Bishop addressed religious freedom
and the status of Christians in a number of Islamic countries. He offered
recommendations for U.S. policies to improve religious freedom in
countries with Muslim majorities.
“This focus, which is both timely and relevant, should not be interpreted
as suggesting that these are the principal or only countries in which
there are serious concerns for religious freedom or that other religious
minorities that are not Christian do not suffer from religious
discrimination,” Bishop Wenski said.
Some of the most significant challenges for religious freedom and forging
constructive roles for religion in world affairs are developing
relationships between Christians and Muslims, Bishop Wenski stated. “The
violence in Afghanistan and Iraq, the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East
and several conflicts in Africa come close to being perceived, in overly
simplistic terms, as just conflicts of East versus West, of all of Islam
versus all of Christianity,” he said.
“Like Christianity, Islam is a religion with different expressions,”
Bishop Wenski continued. “Tensions among these expressions of Islam have
been exacerbated by the rise of militant Islam and the misuse and
perversion of faith to justify violence.”
“The US bishops’ Conference continues to be deeply concerned about the
mistreatment of Christians and other religious minorities in some Islamic
countries and with growing tensions among different Muslim traditions.
This does not mean that every instance of violence against Christians
should be interpreted as persecution or that there is an inevitable and
systematic persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in
countries with Muslim majorities. It generally appears to be the case,
however, that in societies with growing militant Islamist influences there
are often increases in intolerance and discrimination against religious
minorities, including Christians,” Bishop Wenski said.
“Serious conflicts and religious tensions do exist between Christians and
Muslims in some Islamic countries and the denial of religious liberty in
these situations is a painful reality,” he continued. “But it is essential
to recognize that these problems can be made worse by ignoring them or
exacerbated by policies that reinforce the sense that Islam itself is
under siege. In addition to addressing forthrightly infringements on
religious liberty, our country must be cognizant of a number of other
social, economic, political and military factors that contribute to
situations in which religious intolerance toward Christians and other
religious minorities is more likely to grow.”
Noting that the difficult situations of Christians vary in different
countries with Muslim majorities, Bishop Wenski said the USCCB offers
several general policy recommendations to support religious freedom in
some of these countries.
“First, the U.S. government needs to make religious liberty even more
central to its foreign policy in both policy and practice…Religious
freedom is also a key to achieving greater justice and peace in our
world…While every country needs to respect human rights and religious
liberty, the U.S. needs to work collaboratively, consistently and
intensively with Islamic countries to foster respect for religious liberty
in theory and practice.”
“Second, we urge the U.S. government more intensively and directly to
engage religious communities and religious leaders…Since religious leaders
can impact the attitudes and behaviors of believers, they should be a key
constituency for genuine engagement and consultation for U.S. officials.”
“Third, we recommend greater participation in and support for genuine
interfaith dialogue.”
“Fourth, we recommend promotion of concrete reciprocity in policies and
practices of law that relate to religious freedom…Reciprocity means, for
example, that the Catholic Church expects support for efforts to permit
the construction of Christian churches, schools and other religious
institutions in Islamic countries, and expects countries with Christian
majorities to allow the same for their Muslim minorities.”
“Fifth, the U.S. must address the social, economic, political and military
factors that make it easier for opponents of religious freedom to incite
religious intolerance. Although nothing justifies religious discrimination
and persecution, social inequities, intense secularization, some abuses in
the struggle with terrorism, the use of religious language to justify
violence, and military occupations provide fuel for the fires of religious
extremism and intolerance.”
In his testimony, Bishop Wenski gave specific examples to illustrate
aspects of the situations in which Christians find themselves in: Saudi
Arabia; Iraq; Pakistan and Bangladesh; the Holy Land—Israel and the
Occupied Palestinian Territories; Egypt; Nigeria; and Sudan.
NOTE: The full text of Bishop Wenski’s testimony can be found on the Web
at
www.usccb.org/sdwp/international.