US panel: Afghans need more religious freedom
Source: Associated Press
US panel: Afghans need more religious freedom
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press | April 30, 2013 | Updated: April 30, 2013 12:20am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Despite significant improvements since the hard-line Taliban ruled Afghanistan, religious freedom remains poor, especially for minorities, and Afghans still can't debate religion or question prevailing Islamic orthodoxies without fear of being punished, a U.S. commission said in a new report on Tuesday.
As the country braces for next year's presidential election and the planned withdrawal of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014, the panel urges the U.S. government and its allies to work harder to promote religious rights in the war-torn nation.
The environment for exercising religious freedom remains "exceedingly poor" for dissenting members of Afghanistan's Sunni Muslim majority and for minorities, such as Shiite Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its report.
"Individuals who dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy regarding Islamic beliefs and practices are subject to legal actions that violate international standards," according to the commission, which was created in 1998 to review violations of religious freedom internationally and make policy recommendations to the U.S. government.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/US-panel-Afghans-need-more-religious-freedom-4474225.php
(My bolding.)
= new reply since forum marked as read
and its allies to work harder to promote religious rights in the war-torn nation.'
Right, that's just what we should work on now, end the 'war' between Sunni and Shiite; whatever could go wrong???
