Religious freedom: US denounces ‘rise’ in anti-Muslim sentiment

WASHINGTON:

The United States on Monday denounced what it called a spike in anti-Islamic sentiment in Europe and Asia, pointing to restrictions and violence against Muslims including the faith’s minority sects.

Releasing a wide-ranging annual report on religious freedom, Secretary of State John Kerry also voiced alarm at what he called rising anti-Jewish sentiment, and filled a position of special envoy to combat anti-Semitism.

The State Department report, which covered 2012, said that “anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions were clearly on the rise – particularly in Europe and Asia.”

“Government restrictions, which often coincided with societal animosity, resulted in anti-Muslim actions that affected everyday life for numerous believers,” it said.

In Myanmar, officials allegedly fanned deadly anti-Muslim violence in Rakhine state while in China, authorities showed less tolerance toward the mostly Muslim Uighur community and Tibetans, the report said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2013.