Today, Human Rights Day, countless individuals in Asia are facing immense religious persecution.
The Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life found that religious hostilities in 2014 are at a six-year high. Pew estimates that one-third of the world’s worst oppressors of religious freedom are in Asia. And almost half of the worst social hostilities toward religious freedom occur in Asia.
According to the 2014 Asia Update: What’s at Stake for America, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Indonesia experience the greatest degree of government restriction and/or social hostility toward the practice of their religions in the region.
Persecution of Christians in Pakistan is particularly pernicious due to extreme social hostility and the government-mandated blasphemy law. Pakistan’s blasphemy law and the societal animosity it enables applies only to those allegedly blaspheming Islam. Over the past two years, a Christian mother, Aasia Bibi, was charged with blasphemy and handed the death sentence; a Christian couple was burned to death in a kiln for allegedly burning a Quran; and All Saint’s Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, was bombed killing an estimated 85 Pakistani Christians and injuring scores more.
North Korea and China continue to implement draconian anti-religious government policies. According to Pew’s findings, China has the second most severe government restrictions on religion in the world. North Korea, not included in the Pew study, has even more restrictive measures in place to combat religion. Last November, at least 30 Christians were executed by firing squad for illegal possession of Bibles. There are an estimated 300,000 Christians in North Korea, and around 50,000–70,000 Christians imprisoned in labor camps.
Burma has also faced extreme religious persecution against the Christian minority Kachin and the Muslim Rohingya. The Kachin are systematically persecuted by the Burmese government and military officials, while Muslim Rohingya face persecution from the government and parts of Buddhist society.
Southeast Asia has also experienced religious persecution elsewhere, albeit of a less severe nature. Malaysia is engaged in a running legal case over the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims. In June, Malaysia’s highest court rejected an appeal to overturn a ban on the use of “Allah” in a Catholic newspaper. The court’s decision not only impinges on free speech, but has severe political implications for practicing Christians well beyond the case at hand. Indonesia, historically known for its relative tolerance, is also facing some negative trends. In both cases, Islamism as a political force is proving a very difficult challenge.
Religious persecution in Asia is undeniable and rampant, yet infrequently acknowledged. Religious liberty is not merely the protection of rights of conscience, but a guarantee that all individuals have the ability to freely practice and share their religion—a right not enjoyed by the vast number of minority religious groups in South, Southeast, and even Northeast Asia.
On Human Rights Day, the U.S. should acknowledge that it can do better in protecting the religious rights of people in Asia and around the world.
