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Newsletter for December 2010
Clinton critical of religious freedom in Europe
WASHINGTON - US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton criticized
the state of religious freedom in Europe, as Washington
highlighted policies and attitudes
toward Muslim veils and Islam as a whole.
"Several
European countries have placed harsh
restrictions on religious expression," Clinton said,
without elaborating as she unveiled the State Department's
report on international religious freedom for the last year.
Her assistant secretary for
human rights, Michael Posner, cited
France's ban on wearing the niqab and other face
coverings in public places and a
Swiss motion passed last year that bans building new minarets.
Both measures have been
criticized as intolerant moves stigmatizing Europe's growing
Muslim population.
Posner acknowledged
"growing sensitivity and tension in Europe" over Islam. "What we
are urging our European friends to do is to take every measure
to try to alleviate that tension," he added.
The different attitudes
toward Muslims in Europe and the United States are the source of
frequent tensions and misunderstandings between both sides of
the Atlantic.
"We have gone
to court in the United States to enforce the right of Muslim
women and girls to wear a burqa, and on the streets, in schools,
et cetera," said Posner.
"That's our
position. It's a position we articulate when we talk to our
European friends."
France's law banning veils
- passed last month - was considered an especially controversial
move in a country with Europe's biggest Muslim population,
estimated at nearly six million. The Netherlands is expected to
follow suit.
Clinton
defined religious freedom as the ability for people to freely
practice their faith, raise their children within those
traditions, publish religious texts without censorship and to be able to either
change religion or practice none.
She noted strong US
opposition to any legislation condemning religious libel because
of freedom of expression concerns.
The State Department's
annual report - covering a period from July 1, 2009 to June 30,
2010 - found that respect for religious freedom deteriorated in
Afghanistan and Iran while China and Indonesia earned mixed
scorecards.
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