Main findings
1. This Religious Freedom in the World report finds that within the period under review religious liberty has declined in 11 — nearly half — of the 23 worst-offending countries. In seven other countries in this category, the problems were already so bad they could scarcely get any worse, Our analysis also shows that, of the 38 countries with significant religious freedom violations, 55 percent remained stable regarding religious freedom and in eight percent - namely Bhutan, Egypt and Qatar - the situation improved.
2. The report confounds the popular view that governments are mostly to blame for persecution. Non-State actors (that is, fundamentalist or militant organisations) are responsible for persecution in 12 of the 23 worst-offending countries.
3. The period under review has seen the emergence of a new phenomenon of religiously motivated violence which can be described as Islamist hyper-extremism, a process of heightened radicalisation, unprecedented in its violent expression. Its characteristics are:
a) Extremist creed and a radical system of law and government;
b) Systematic attempts to annihilate or drive out all groups who do not conform to their outlook including co-religionists - moderates and those of different traditions;
c) Cruel treatment of victims;
d) Use of the latest social media, notably to recruit followers and to intimidate opponents by parading extreme violence;
e) Global impact — enabled by affiliate extremist groups and well-resourced support networks.
This new phenomenon has had a toxic impact regarding religious liberty around the world:
a) Since mid-2014, violent Islamist attacks have taken place in one in five countries around the world - from Sweden to Australia and including 17 African nations;
b) In parts of the Middle East, including Syria and Iraq, this hyper-extremism is eliminating all forms of religious diversity and is threatening to do so in parts of is Africa and the Asian Sub-Continent.
c) The intention to replace pluralism with a religious mono-culture; Islamist extremism and hyper-extremism, observed in countries including Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, has been a key driver in the sudden explosion of refugees which, according to United Nations figures for the year 2015, went up by 5.8 million to a new high of 65.3 million;
d) In Central Asia, hyper-extremist violence is being used by authoritarian regimes as a pretext for a disproportionate crackdown on religious minorities, curtailing civil liberties of all kinds including religious freedom;
e) In the West, this hyper-extremism is at risk of destabilising the socio-religious fabric, with countries sporadically targeted by fanatics and under pressure to of receive unprecedented numbers of refugees mostly a different faith to the indigenous communities. Manifest ripple effects include the rise of right-wing and populist groups; restrictions on free movement, discrimination and violence against minority faiths and a decline of social cohesion, including in state schools.
4. There has been an upsurge of anti-Semitic attacks, notably in parts of Europe.
5. Mainstream Islamic groups are now beginning to counter the hyper-extremist phenomenon through public pronouncements and other initiatives in which they condemn the violence and those behind it.
6. In of countries such as India, Pakistan and Burma, where one particular religion is identified with the nation- state, steps have been to taken to defend the rights that faith as opposed to the rights of individual believers. This has resulted in more stringent religious freedom restrictions on minority faith groups, increasing obstacles for conversion and imposing greater sanctions for In is as blasphemy.
7. In the worst-offending countries, including North Korea and Eritrea, the ongoing penalty of religious expression the complete denial of rights and liberties — such long-term incarceration without fair trial, rape and murder.
8. There has been a renewed crackdown on religious groups that refuse to follow the party line in authoritarian regimes such as China and Turkmenistan. For example, more than 2,000 churches have had their crosses demolished in Zheijang and nearby provinces.
9. By defining a new phenomenon of Islamist hyper extremism, the report supports widespread claims that, in targeting Christians, Yazidis, Mandeans and other minorities, Daesh (ISIS) and other fundamentalist groups are in breach of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Religiøse symboler@Zahard/PantherMedia
