Iraqi religious minorities continue to suffer, panel told
WASHINGTON (BP)--Conditions for religious minorities in Iraq "have deteriorated very considerably" in the last three to four months, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was told recently.
The panel heard testimony July 25 about the plight of Chaldo-Assyrian Christians and other minorities in the first Washington hearing involving representatives of those communities. The Capitol Hill hearing demonstrated the situation for such religious minorities has not improved in the time since the American-led coalition deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003 and began seeking to rebuild the government.
The witnesses' testimony also seemed to affirm the USCIRF decision in May to place Iraq on a "watch list" because of the "alarming and deteriorating situation for freedom of religion and belief," as described by the commission. The commission removed Iraq from its list of most...
Dr. Steven J. Lawson | 10/11/2009
