USCIRF

U.S. Officials: Iran-Allied Shiite Militias in Iraq ‘Extort and Terrorize’ Religious Minorities

WASHINGTON, DC — Some factions of a Baghdad-sanctioned organization of mainly Iranian-backed Shiite militias are engaging in egregious violations such as torture, extrajudicial detentions, rape, extortion, and kidnappings in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province, where persecuted religious minorities like Christians are struggling to recover from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) atrocities, top U.S. officials said this week.

TOPSHOT - David Dosha, the priest of the Church of Mart Shmony, located in the Christian Iraqi town of Bartella, about 15 kilometres (10 miles) east of Mosul, inspects the damage on October 24, 2016 at the church's compound after Iraqi forces retook control of the town from jihadists of …

U.S.: Pakistani Officials Help Muslims Force Christian Women into Marriage

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published a report Tuesday accusing South East Asian nations of systematically failing to protect their populations’ religious rights, noting that “state officials” in Pakistan often shield criminals forcing Christian or Hindu women into a Muslim marriage.

A Pakistani worker shouts anti U.S. slogans during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. The banner at bottom reads, "'immediately hang the cursed man indulged in insulting the Prophet," while …