Topic: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Opinion: Obama must remind Vladimir Putin of human rights, religious freedom concerns

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has passed a succession of anti-human rights laws curtailing freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Parliament might even pass a proposed blasphemy law that clearly would violate religious freedom. President Obama must speak out.

UN's focus on Middle East overlooks other urgent global matters

There's concern that issues like the debt crisis in Europe, an increase in the Pakistani heroin trade, and an armed struggle in Mali, to name a few, are being overlooked this week during the UN General Assembly.

Opinion: Don't penalize asylum-seekers at US ports

It's not fair: Refugees who seek asylum at US ports can be detained indefinitely, while those who apply once they are already in the country are generally allowed to remain free. The Justice Department must change its position and allow judicial review of asylum seekers at ports of entry.

Editorial Board Blog
Egypt's deadly rumors of interfaith marriage

Last weekend's riot between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt that killed 13 people was not the first time a rumor about an interfaith marriage set off sectarian violence there. Egyptian religions set marriage rules, forbidding interfaith unions. It's a matter of civil law in the US.

Africa Monitor
UN to review Sudan's human rights record

The UN Human Rights Council reviews member states' records every four years. Sudan is up for review in 2011, giving the US and partners an opportunity to demand improvements.

Editorial Board Blog
Blasphemy law kills a Pakistan minister

The state in Pakistan has yet to execute someone for blasphemy. But that hasn't prevented killings related to this archaic law, such as the murder of a Christian cabinet minister for his effort to reform the law.

The Monitor's View: How to get past the zero-sum debate over planned mosque near Ground Zero

The planned Islamic center near New York City's Ground Zero is trapped in forces far larger than the project itself. All sides in this debate would do well to read President Obama's 2009 speech in Cairo about US-Muslim relations.

US defense of global religious freedom wanes under Obama, panel says

A bipartisan national commission finds President Obama wanting when it comes to defending and promoting global religious freedom. It names 13 countries as serious violators.

In India, religious violence leaves long trail of refugee camps

Indian Christians who fled from violence two years ago are still living in refugee camps, a German delegation found this week. Muslims and Hindus who faced persecution eight and 20 years ago also remain displaced.

The Monitor's View: Islamic countries push a global 'blasphemy' law

As a new member of the UN Human Rights Council, the US must persuade other countries not to go along.

Opinion: Iran's nuclear crisis: Obama could play the human rights card

One issue that should be put on the table is what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put on display this week in New York: Iran's religious minorities.

Chapter & Verse
Islamic academy revises controversial textbooks

Opinion: The Saudis' dubious interfaith agenda at the UN

The country's lack of religious freedom betrays its lofty rhetoric. The real aim of its 'dialogue' is to promote a global blasphemy law.

Ahmadinejad to dinner? Furor ensues over religious groups' event.

The Iranian leader's appearance at an interfaith iftar meal, expected Thursday, divides the faith community.

Olympic torch rallying China's critics

For some years, China's boom and the war on terror have overridden human rights concerns.