The American Spectator : State Department Is AWOL on Religious Liberties

Text Size

Special Report

State Department Is AWOL on Religious Liberties

By Ken Blackwell on 3.15.11 @ 6:08AM

Sayeed Mussa has finally been freed, no thanks to the Obama administration.

Last May 31 in Afghanistan, a world away from American backyard barbeques and military parades, Sayeed Mussa vanished into thin air. Mr. Mussa was spirited away to an unknown location to be executed for his faith in Jesus Christ. No, his captors were not the Taliban insurgents but Afghanistan government officials, bankrolled by U.S. taxpayers and defended by American troops.

As President Obama proclaimed January 16th to be "Religious Freedom Day," he declared that "the United States stands with those who advocate for free religious expression and works to protect the rights of all people to follow their conscience, free from persecution and discrimination." If the Obama Administration is working to promote religious freedom across the globe at all, it's not working very hard.

Mr. Mussa's plight is a case in point. The United States has spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives to liberate the Afghan people from the Taliban's theocratic tyranny yet Christians and other religious minorities are frequently harassed and jailed for exercising a core right in any free and democratic state.

Mr. Mussa, who lost his own leg to a landmine, was arrested on his way home from his work at the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent where he helped fit fellow Afghan amputees with prosthetics. The father-of-six was inspired by the selflessness of Christian aid workers and converted to Christianity. When Afghani TV profiled Mr. Mussa in a story on Christians in Kabul, he was imprisoned in a secret facility where he was raped and beaten by his jailers and fellow inmates.

After Mussa disappeared, his wife reached out for help to find her husband. When word reached the halls of Congress in early June, Congressman Frank Wolf and the International Religious Freedom Caucus contacted the State Department immediately. The silence from State was deafening. After much prodding from Caucus coordinator Tina Ramirez, Foggy Bottom finally responded to Wolf's initial letter three months later by advising "extreme caution in raising alarm; [religious minorities] are best protected by as little public attention as possible." The Red Cross, Mussa's former employer, washed their hands of Mussa and blamed the Afghan Christian for his fate.

Mr. Mussa's location and his appalling conditions were serendipitously discovered at the end of July, without the help of the State Department, Red Cross, or Afghan government. Afghan authorities refused to inform Mussa of his crime and denied him visits with his foreign lawyer. His jailers repeatedly pressured him to recant his faith. An Afghan lawyer refused to take the case until Mussa recanted. He refused.

The Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus and Ms. Ramirez, now at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, kept the pressure up on the State Department. A flurry of letters and calls from Caucus leader Rep. Trent Franks pushed reluctant U.S. officials to act. Once they did, the Afghan government moved Mussa to a safer and more humane facility in October. Mussa's trial was delayed and he was finally released in late February, nine months after he was first jailed.

Although Mr. Mussa's story has a relatively happy ending, it points to a more pernicious reality -- that the State Department is abandoning its commitment to a core right in any free society -- the freedom of faith and conscience. Under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the U.S. government must engage foreign governments to promote religious liberty and take punitive action where appropriate.

The Obama Administration and State Department in particular pay lip service to this policy but through inaction aid and abet the persecution of religious minorities the world over. The State Department reported that religious liberties had "deteriorated" in 2010 but declined to list Afghanistan as a Country of Particular Concern. For another Afghan Christian Shoaib Said Assadullah who still faces a death sentence for apostasy, the State Department’s ineffectual hand-wringing is cold comfort. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that religious liberty is "a cornerstone of a healthy society," but it is appallingly clear that the Administration does not consider religious liberty to be worth its time or efforts. If Afghanistan routinely undercuts religious liberty, what kind of society are we helping to build there?

As Americans, we expect our foreign policy to be in line with our values. American allies and partners like Afghanistan should be expected to respect core freedoms like religious liberty. As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Afghanistan already has an obligation to protect religious liberty. The United States must insist that the Karzai government uphold its international commitments and adhere to the core values of a free society by codifying protections for religious liberty into Afghan law.

American soldiers and Marines, many of them devout Christians, are dying to protect Afghans from theocratic tyranny. The State Department must do its duty and see to it that Kabul honors those hard-fought freedoms.

About the Author

Ken Blackwell, a board member of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and a senior fellow at the Family Research Council.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (35) | Leave a comment

Pelligrino| 3.15.11 @ 7:00AM

Mr. Blackwell, thank you for reminding us of these ongoing travesties in places where we have poured aid and, as in the case in Afghanistan, have lost many young Americans (with many more wounded).

Afghanistan has been broken all these years precisely because of the evil of Islam.

We have liberated it and brought & bought it a chance. It as a nation and as a people can only succeed without Islam.

It's time to wake up, people.

1. Dump the liberal secularists out of our foreign policy posts and cublicles. Rid the State Dept. of the atheist socialists. (You cannot offer a man Life when you don't really know what that life is.)
2. We change things radically in Iraq and Afghanistan now. Rewrite their founding documents and shepherd them every step of the way. Call it 'compasionate colonialism.' Whatever. It is a very hands on approach to all things that will shape their societies for the next three decades. They WILL be lands of peace, not warring Islam.
3. We use every means necessary to lay bare the lies of Islam. Show it for what it is. When it is not plotting and warring against Western infidels, it is destroying a neighboring tribe for being insufficiently devout. This is evil, and it has no place "at the table" in this world.
4. We cease any new immigration to the USA of any Muslim country individual. Stop.
5. No citizenship granted to any Muslim. Period. (Let's not be stupid, people.)
6. A moratorium on all mosques. No new construction. In fact, plans to dismantle what is here. Plans to demolish the Islamic schools here.
7. Be prepared to be completely tone deaf when the squeaks and howls come from organizations like CAIR. "We just don't CARE." Get it?
8. While preparing to defund all foreign aid so routinely and frivolously lost to Muslim nations, stop all monies headed to any countries with religious prisoners of conscience.

That's enough for now. I'd like to add more. Not for now.

Every week anyone can read right here in Am. Spectator blog posts about atrocities committed by Islam adherents. (today the story about the family of 4 murdered in Israel on the weekend; last week the 2 Airmen murdered in Frankfurt, Germany)

This is madness. Any thinking brain can see what Islam is, what it does, and what it represents for a very dark, despairing future.

Meanwhile, let's get some clarity from the International Red Cross on why they abandoned Mr. S. Mussa (and his wife) in his hour of need.

Thank you Congressman Frank Wolf and others.

Tim the Enchanter| 3.15.11 @ 12:41PM

Islam is "Lord of the Flies" writ large.

Herb| 3.15.11 @ 7:03AM

Please repair your tagline: Sayed Musa was FREED, not `fried'!

Holy moly, folks!

William Z| 3.15.11 @ 8:27AM

It was a ‘little’ misleading, wasn’t it!

Nate| 3.15.11 @ 9:31AM

Holy moly is right. It would be a little more forgivable if i" and "e" were neighbors on the keyboard, but wow...

Pauly D| 3.15.11 @ 10:24AM

We got a good chuckle around here in the office over that one!

Appleby| 3.15.11 @ 7:27AM

Obama is obviously not a Christian, nor does he support Christians, nor does he hire Christians. He is indifferent to all religion -- save that he panders to religions that frighten him.

Why is anybody surprised that a man who has made a point of not attending church or inviting priests, pastors or religious to the White House and showing them honour and respect would deal with international persecution by hitting the golf course?

Jesus said the day would come when Christians would be mocked, scorned, persecuted and killed for His sake. I guess Obama and his pals just want to speed the day.

Eric Cartman| 3.15.11 @ 10:29AM

Appleby, Appleby, Appleby . . . you know perfectly well Obama is a Christian. His pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who not only hates America in general but Whitey in particular, is proof that he is a Christian. Just look at Rev. Wrights words:

The Rev on America: " ‘God bless America’? No, no, no. Not God bless America. God Damn America!”

"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."

And Obama sat there for years listening. Now, if that isn't Christian, then I don't know what is.

John II| 3.15.11 @ 1:10PM

The day would come? I don't recall from my studies of the past two thousand years any day that wasn't. Here's a bit of number-crunching from a recent column by George Weigel:

"For 27 years, the International Bulletin of Missionary Research has published an annual 'Status of Global Mission' report, which attempts to quantify the world Christian reality, comparing Christianity’s circumstances to those of other faiths, and assaying how Christianity’s various expressions are faring when measured against the recent (and not-so-recent) past. The report is unfailingly interesting, sometimes jarring, and occasionally provocative.

"The provocation in the 2011 report involves martyrdom. For purposes of research, the report defines 'martyrs' as 'believers in Christ who have lost their lives, prematurely, in situations of witness, as a result of human hostility.' The report estimates that there were, on average, 270 new Christian martyrs every 24 hours over the past decade, such that 'the number of martyrs [in the period 2000-2010] was approximately 1 million.' Compare this to an estimated 34,000 Christian martyrs in 1900."

Nay, Appie--the day is here, and the enablers include the smug-secular ignoramus currently occupying the White House. The Professor is very scientific, you know.

John II| 3.15.11 @ 1:14PM

On the other hand, despite the degeneracy of the Professor and the political culture he inhabits, and with a nod to the meaning of the word "gospel," there's good news too. Here's the link:

http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/5436

FastJohnny| 3.15.11 @ 8:12AM

You think that Obama wants freedom of anything? You think when he said that being the Head of State for China was easier, he wasn't showing some insight into his being? The present administration and the President himself, wants control over everything. They care little for religious freedom or the protections thereof. Dystopia is the operative word here.

Dan Hirsch| 3.15.11 @ 9:39AM

That crank, Senator Joe McCarthy, R Wi, said in 1950:

"The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because our only powerful potential enemy has sent men to invade our shores . . . but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this Nation. It has not been the less fortunate, or members of minority groups who have been traitorous to this Nation, but rather those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest Nation on earth has had to offer . . . the finest homes, the finest college education and the finest jobs in government we can give. This is glaringly true in the State Department. There the bright young men who are born with silver spoons in their mouths are the ones who have been most traitorous. . . .

I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department. . . . "

So, 61 years later, please disprove anything the Senator said, the damn crackpot. You can't. OK, one thing. Now, the minority groups have joined the game...

We are STILL so screwed...

Communists in the State Department? No way!

WAY!!

Still,

Don't tread on me!

Occam's Tool| 3.15.11 @ 1:39PM

You know, I know a guy who was in Kabul last year in the State Department. Went to high school with him. He mentioned in his Facebook Page that he couldn't tell the difference between Muslim and Christian Fundamentalists. He was educated at Brown. Of course, it was in American Studies that he got his Doctorate (nothing too hard.).

Occam's Tool| 3.15.11 @ 1:40PM

Sorry about the extra period. He pisses me off.

EJP| 3.15.11 @ 9:43AM

Certain polticians will spout off about religious freedom as long as it DOES NOT refer to Christianity.
As Jesus stated, this will happen but remember, before they hated you, they hated Me.

Matthew Quigley| 3.15.11 @ 9:49AM

Obama and the other enablers of islam (and yes, I mean to not capitalize that abominable cult's name) have earned history's condemnation. We need another Charles "the Hammer" Martel to rally the forces of civilization and halt the mohammedan advance...unfortunately, one is not on the horizon, so we must do it ourselves.

Publius| 3.15.11 @ 11:08AM

"The Obama Administration and State Department in particular pay lip service to this policy but through inaction aid and abet the persecution of religious minorities the world over. "

Mr. Blackwell is more charitable than me; I don't see State even paying lip service to religious freedom. Justice is just as bad, if not worse, believing that its secular agenda is morally far superior to mere Christianity. A google search on "department of justice religious discrimination" shows that across American, the DOJ has filed suit in NJ, IL, and CA (to name a few) to allow a teacher to make the "haj," wearing headscarfs and ensuring that Buddhist temples can be built. Not surprisingly, it is very difficult ot find the DOJ weighing in on discrimination directed toward Christians. Too passe, it would seem, to interest our America-hating, secular DOJ.

Disgusting.

Redstateboy| 3.15.11 @ 11:46AM

the more I read about this Regime - the more I'm completely disgusted by it.

John II| 3.15.11 @ 1:22PM

I've been completely disgusted by the Regime since January of 2009--but I can't get any more disgusted than completely. In times like these, one needs lots and lots of movies to keep one's balance.

And now back to the 1940's serial "Don Winslow of the Navy," made when special effects were still a tad cheesy but heroes were really heroes. Yes, reason counted more than technique in those days.

Occam's Tool| 3.15.11 @ 1:35PM

Some of my friends can't help but reach for the barf bag whenever Obama's face comes on screen. I'm waiting for the "majority moderate Muslims" that he believes in to appear. Still waiting.

confedgal| 3.15.11 @ 2:01PM

Actually, when he comes on I change the channel. I don't want to shoot my television set and if I have to listen to it blather on, I will. THANK GOD we have more than three channels now.

Occam's Tool| 3.15.11 @ 1:36PM

You know you can pick up Victory at Sea (the entire series) in Walmart for 5 bucks, right, John II?

John II| 3.15.11 @ 3:06PM

Whoa. Thanks for the tip, Occie. It's as good as in my collection!

confedgal| 3.15.11 @ 2:02PM

I guess no one here got the memo. According to the left, Christians are the problem.

RCV| 3.15.11 @ 2:05PM

Notwithstanding Mr. Blackwell's politically-motivated efforts to attack the Obama administration, it was in fact the quite, persistent and behind-the-scenes work of the State Department that led to the release of the brave Christian, Sayeed Mussa, as Senator Richard Lugar has publicly acknowledged. Jim Keith, the Assistant Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Kabul, was in constant contact with Lugar throughout Mussa's ordeal, and briefed him on the arrangements to secure his release and asylum. Shame on Blackwell for this disingenuous casting of blame on those most responsible for the rescue of Mussa.

RCV| 3.15.11 @ 2:11PM

That should have been "quiet" not "quite". And I might add, the delicate negotiations to get him released might well have been damaged seriously by the bull-in-theChina-shop publicity efforts that the State Department wisely urged be abandoned. Blackwell's calumnies against the administration never end, and are rarely supported by reality.

John II| 3.15.11 @ 3:02PM

Ah, but it was the bull-in-the-China-shop pressure of the crazed Becket folks that prodded Foggy Bottom, Roberto. I am personally acquainted the Georgetown mindset of the foreign service, and I am here--between viewings of Don Winslow--to assure you that a Becket in the hand is worth one thousand Hillary Clintons in the bush.

Calumnies indeed! Face it, Roberto: your man in the White House and his entire retinue of hollow folk have no center. The reckoning is nigh.

I plumb reckon. Which reminds me, I haven't seen a John Wayne flick in days. Don Winslow is getting kind of slow. Need to recharge my batteries.

RCV| 3.15.11 @ 4:35PM

John, I too am personally acquainted with many State Department types, including career Ambassadors and even a former Secretary of State. They serve their country tirelessly, quietly and well. The only good that came from that traitor leaking the state department cables was, if you read thru them as I have, a confirmation of the good and difficult work our folks there do every day.

And today in history, Caesar was betrayed on the ides of March. Did they ever make a good movie of that event?

David V| 3.15.11 @ 5:04PM

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that religious liberty is "a cornerstone of a healthy society,"

I think Hillary meant to say that abortion is a cornerstone of a healthy society.

John II| 3.15.11 @ 5:20PM

Then, in defense of Foggy Bottom, there is no need to slander the Becket folks as "politically motivated." You need only to have responded with aloof, dignified silence. But you didn't, and we obviously have met different exemplars of State Department types.

Between the two adaptations of the Shakespeare play I'm familiar with, the earlier "Julius Caesar" (1953) is by far the better. James Mason could do almost anything, but he was clearly born to play the role of Brutus, and even the otherwise insufferable "method" acting of Marlon Brando is happily tied to the character of Marc Antony. John Gielgud's Cassius strikes me as definitive, but what else could it be? Even Louis Calhern was effective in the role of Caesar, although slightly miscast (and all the more so in the lengthy wake of Claude Rains' performance
eight years earlier in "Caesar and Cleopatra"--Calhern was a bit too tall and self-consciously patrician for the role).

I assume you've asked the question because you're familiar only with the weaker 1970 version, in which Gielgud this time does Caesar (rather than Cassius) with his customary impeccability, but the rest is weak (e.g., Charleton Heston's Marc Antony is rather spoiled by Heston's previous typecasting--the man actually had some talent as an actor).

Or perhaps you're thinking of the passing assassination scene in the grotesque spectacle "Cleopatra" (1963). It's still a bit staggering for me to think that the director (and writer) of the reputable 1953 "Julius Caesar" was the same Joseph Mankiewicz who directed "Cleopatra" a mere 10 years later. On the other hand, maybe it was a different guy who just happened to have the same name.

Ah movies. They do teach us of the vicissitudes of life. Back to John Wayne.

RCV| 3.15.11 @ 7:19PM

I decidedly did not "slander" the folks at the Becket Fund, for whom I have great respect. Indeed, I said nothing about them. My comments were directed at Mr. Blackwell, who makes a habit of trying to turn everything into an attack on the Obama administration even when , as here, it has done the right thing -- indeed, saved Mussa's life.

Thanks for the recommendations on Julius Casear films. I shall hunt down and savor the 1953 film -- Mason, Brando (in his better days) and Gielgud! I can't wait.

Tony in Central PA| 3.15.11 @ 9:12PM

Its laughable that an Administration peopled by apparent power seekers devoid of belief would advertise a committment to religious freedom. Thank God for the Becket Fund.
This President and his confreres have provided all the ammunition any opponent needs to defeat them in 2012. I just hope the voters aren't too demented and distracted to notice.

watches| 3.16.11 @ 4:50AM

Last May 31 in Afghanistan, a world away from American backyard barbeques and military parades, Sayeed Mussa vanished into thin air. Mr. Mussa was spirited away to an unknown location to be executed for his faith http://www.watch07.com in Jesus Christ. No, his captors were not the Taliban insurgents but Afghanistan government officials, bankrolled by U.S. taxpayers and defended by American troops.

Joan Neel| 3.17.11 @ 12:55PM

Thank you for the article that exposes the truth about our current administration's ineptness in supporting the freedom of religion for all people in the world. As usual, what our current president says, his actions reveal he isn't capable of leading our country. I'm also extremely disappointed in Hillary Clinton, she is nothing more than a puppet for Obama.