US ALLIES including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain did not uphold principles of religious freedom in 2016, while Islamic State has carried out “genocide” against religious minorities, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said.
Secretary Tillerson made the comments at the State Department while introducing the agency’s annual report on religious freedom, required by a 1998 act of Congress. The report is the first to be released during the Trump administration and covers 2016.
Saudi Arabia, Secretary Tillerson said, ought to “embrace greater degrees of religious freedom for all of its citizens”.
He cited criminal penalties for apostasy, atheism, blasphemy, and insulting the Saudi state’s interpretation of Islam, as well as attacks and discrimination targeting Shi’ite Muslims.
The kingdom follows the strict Sunni Muslim Wahhabi school of Islam.
The report said Saudi Arabia has used counter-terrorism laws to target atheists and Shi’ite Muslims. The United States and Saudi Arabia have long been close partners in counter-terrorism efforts and the kingdom was the first stop on President Donald Trump’s maiden international visit.
Tillerson singled out another Gulf Arab state, Bahrain, saying it “must stop discriminating against the Shia communities”.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry said Secretary Tillerson’s remarks were “inappropriate” and showed “a deep misunderstanding of the facts”.
It called on the State Department to discuss such matters directly with the kingdom before making statements.
“The history of the Kingdom of Bahrain is characterised by coexistence and religious harmony,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said Bahrainis of different sects, including Shi’ites, served as government officials, judges, diplomats and other professions.
Secretary Tillerson said that in Turkey, a Nato ally, “authorities continued to limit the human rights of members of some religious minority groups.”
American pastor Andrew Brunson has been jailed in Turkey since October on charges of being part of a terrorist organisation, according to news reports.
Secretary Tillerson said religious freedom is “under attack” in Pakistan, citing the marginalisation of Ahmadiyya Muslims, a minority sect which Pakistan considers non-Muslim.
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