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2005 PrefaceInternational Religious Freedom ReportBureau of Democracy, Human Rights and LaborWhy the Reports are PreparedThis report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliancewith Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. Thelaw provides that the Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Ambassador atLarge for International Religious Freedom, shall transmit to Congress "an AnnualReport on International Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent HumanRights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect tomatters involving international religious freedom."How the Reports are PreparedIn 1998 the Secretary of State established the Office of International ReligiousFreedom within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In May 2002, JohnV. Hanford, III was sworn in as the second Ambassador at Large for InternationalReligious Freedom, and has the responsibility for preparing the Report for theSecretary of State.The 2005 Report covers the period from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, andreflects a year of dedicated effort by hundreds of State Department, ForeignService, and other U.S. Government employees. Our embassies, which prepared theinitial drafts of the reports, gathered information throughout this period from avariety of sources, including government and religious officials, nongovernmentalorganizations, journalists, human rights monitors, religious groups, andacademics. This information-gathering can be hazardous, and U.S. Foreign ServiceOfficers regularly go to great lengths, under trying and sometimes dangerousconditions, to investigate reports of human rights abuse, to monitor elections,and to come to the aid of individuals at risk because of their religious beliefs.For the first time, the embassies sent the 2005 drafts directly to the Office ofInternational Religious Freedom, which assumed full responsibility for the Report.As the office worked to collaborate, analyze and edit the reports, the officersdrew on the expertise of other State Department offices, and referenced reportsprovided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign government officials,representatives from the United Nations and other international and regionalorganizations and institutions, and experts from academia and the media. Officersalso consulted with experts on issues of religious discrimination and persecution,religious leaders from all faiths, and experts on legal matters. The guidingprinciple was to ensure that all relevant information was assessed as objectively,thoroughly, and fairly as possible.The Report will be used as a resource for shaping policy, conducting diplomacy,and making assistance, training, and other resource allocations. As mandated bythe IRFA, it also will be used as a basis for decisions on determining countries
 
that have engaged in or tolerated "particularly severe violations" of religiousfreedom. Countries involved in these and other violations according to the IRFAare not identified as such in this report, but have been and will be engagedindependently by the U.S. Government. The Report also will serve as a basis forthe U.S. Government's cooperation with private groups to promote the observance ofthe internationally recognized right to religious freedom.A Word on UsageIn many cases, the International Religious Freedom Report states that a country"generally respects" the right of religious freedom. The phrase "generallyrespects" is used because the protection and promotion of human rights is adynamic endeavor; it cannot accurately be stated that any Government fullyrespects these rights, without qualification, in even the best of circumstances.Accordingly, "generally respects" is the standard phrase used to describe allcountries that attempt to protect religious freedom in the fullest sense."Generally respects" is thus the highest level of respect for religious freedomassigned by this report.2005 AcknowledgementsInternational Religious Freedom ReportBureau of Democracy, Human Rights and LaborWith gratitude, we acknowledge those whose diligent labor and tireless commitmentto religious freedom made this report possible. We thank the many Foreign Serviceofficers at our embassies and consulates abroad for monitoring and promotingreligious freedom, and for chronicling in detail the status of religious liberty.Their work advances the cause of freedom, ensures accuracy in our reporting, andbrings hope to repressed people around the world.Within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Office of InternationalReligious Freedom, we wish to recognize David Abramson, Ben Bahney, Philip Barth,Warren Cofsky, Tammy Crittenden, Doug Dearborn, Todd Deatherage, Kenneth Durkin,Rachel Ellis, Acquania Gibbs, Nancy Hewett, Rachel Howard, Victor Huser, ShelletteJackson, Patrick Kelly, Stephen Liston, Kathryn Lurie, Michael Mates, JanetMayland, Joannella Morales, Naseem Poshtkouhi, Matthew Schmolesky, DeborahSchneider, Stephen Wertheim, Jessica Woods, and David Young. In the Office ofMultilateral Affairs, we wish to recognize Laura Gentile and Gianni Paz.We are particularly grateful to the Office of Country Reports and Asylum Affairsfor its assistance and guidance in the handover of the Report to the Office ofInternational Religious Freedom. In the Office of Strategic and External Affairs,we extend our thanks to Sally Buikema, David Denehy, Carol Finerty, and SarahLohmann. In the Office of the Executive Director, we are indebted to the work ofJonathan Tull. Finally, a hearty thanks to the legions of Bureau of Democracy,Human Rights and Labor employees who donated proofreading time.2005 Introduction
 
International Religious Freedom ReportBureau of Democracy, Human Rights and LaborJust two blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C., in front of the RonaldReagan Building and International Trade Center, is a memorial to Oscar Straus, oneof the premier U.S. statesmen of the early twentieth century. Two statuesrepresent what Straus cherished most about this country?our high esteem forenterprise, on the one hand, and our commitment to freedom of religion on theother. At the base of the monument to religious freedom?a woman, representing"Justice," with her arm resting on the Ten Commandments?the inscription reads:"Our Liberty of Worship is not a Concession nor a Privilege but an InherentRight."What Straus saw in this nation, and what those who sought to honor his lifememorialized, were the modern manifestations of themes intertwined throughoutAmerica?s history. In the seventeenth century, it was men and women seeking toescape religious persecution who, at the same time, laid the foundation for ournation?s prosperity through their determination and perseverance. In theeighteenth century, it was Thomas Jefferson, a leader determined to see hiscountry benefit from the latest scientific advances, who also drafted the firstlaw protecting religious freedom in America. "No man shall be compelled,"Jefferson wrote, to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shallotherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shallbe free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters ofreligion."In the nineteenth century, with a civil war looming, it was President JamesBuchanan who expressed his great fear that such a war might diminish America?srole in the advancement of civil and religious liberty throughout the world. Andit was President Ulysses Grant, contemplating the difficult task of rebuilding ournation after that devastating war, who highlighted freedom of religion, along withsecurity of property, as essential to ensuring "the greatest good to the greatestnumber."At the beginning of the twenty-first century, citizens of the United Statescontinue to cherish our religious liberty as much as we do our right to pursueeconomic well-being. President George W. Bush has urged us to be mindful of thedeep roots of this basic right in our society. "Our Founding Fathers," he said,"knew the importance of freedom of religion to a stable and lasting Union. OurConstitution protects individuals? rights to worship as they choose. Today, wecontinue to welcome the important contributions of people of faith in our society.We reject religious bigotry in every form, striving for a society that honors thelife and faith of every person. As we maintain the vitality of a pluralisticsociety, we work to ensure equal treatment of faith-based organizations and peopleof faith."America's resolve to champion the cause of religious freedom around the world isfueled by our history, but it is founded on that "inherent right" which OscarStraus so valued. Today, we find this fundamental freedom enshrined in variousinternational covenants, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Article 18 of that foundational United Nations document states, "Everyone has the
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