Religious Freedom in Peril

Last updated on: August 22, 2014 at 4:02 pm by George G. Coe

Religious Freedom in Peril 2014-08-22T16:02:11-05:00 George G. Coe

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How do countries challenge religious freedom? What abuses constitute that challenge?

Nicholas Kristof argues that some of the worst abuses occur in conservative Muslim countries.

Kristof, a New York Times columnist, tackled the issue of religious freedom in a recent column. He was reluctant to do so because the most egregious challenges seemed to come from conservative Muslim countries, like Sudan where a Christian woman was sentenced to be hanged, or Malaysia which restricts the use of the word “Allah” to Muslims, or Iraq where Christians have to pay a tax or, says Krsitof, face crucifixion.

Highlighting these challenges concerned him because he thought it might inflame “Islam-haters in America and the West” and give them an opportunity “to denounce Islam as a malignant religion of violence.” And he thought that liberals might not say anything “for fear of feeding bigotry.”

Kristof notes that these decisions challenge a Muslim history based on tolerance from the time of Muhammad through the golden age of Islam.

Other countries challenge religious freedom too. China, for example, restricts the growth of Christian churches and persecute Tibetan Buddhists. In Myanmar, conservative Buddhists persecute, terrorize, and kill Muslims who cross the border into their country.

Students might research all these abuses in small groups and produce a poster or presentation about each abuse.

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