In Israeli occupation state, the US government found this evidence of religious persecution: "The Waqf continued to restrict non-Muslims from entering the Dome of the Rock shrine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and prohibited individuals from wearing non-Muslim religious symbols on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif." In Lebanon, the report strains to find evidence of religious persecution so it included silliest material. Also, the report clearly relies on statements and allegations of Lebanese Forces. Worse, it gave bogus numbers of sectarian distribution of the population: "Statistics Lebanon estimates 36.8 percent of the population is Christian." This firm is owned by a Lebanese Forces affiliate and the numbers it provides only fit into the narrative of the right-wing sectarian agenda. This percentage of Christians in Lebanon is just ridiculous. It is probably less than 30%. And look at this statement: "In their monthly meeting in February Maronite bishops expressed concern over what they said was discrimination against Christians in terms of access to public offices and state financial resources." Discrimination against Christians in access to public offices? Where and when? Also, where did the report find this gem: "In September Hizballah announced a boycott of the Hajj and threatened to expel any party members who traveled to Mecca." Expelling members for visiting Mecca? Is this for real, when the brother of Hizbullah deputy-secretary general, Na`im Qasim, runs a company which organizes Hajj tours. The report also found evidence of anti-Semitism: "The Jewish Community Council reported continued acts of vandalism against the Jewish cemetery in Beirut during the year. Construction rubble and trash were also thrown into the cemetery. The council complained to the security forces but stated they took no action." Excuse me: but there is trash in most cemeteries in Lebanon. Would that also mean anti-Islam and anti-Christianity? And this is the section about Syria: " The Alawite-led government and allied, mostly foreign, Shia militia allies killed, arrested, and physically abused Sunnis and members of targeted religious minority groups, and intentionally destroyed their property, according to numerous reports". Wait: did the Syrian government go after them because they are Sunni? Is the Alawite-led government ever reluctant to arrest and torture and persecute someone who is Alawi if they revolt against the regime and take up arms? But this is my favorite section: "According to human rights groups and religious communities, the government continued to monitor and control sermons and to close mosques between prayers. It also continued to monitor and limit the activities of all religious groups, including scrutinizing their fundraising and discouraging proselytizing." So the US urges Saudi and Qatari and Jordanian regimes to monitor sermons and watch mosques but is displeased when that happens by the Syrian regime? Also, I hate to bother the US government, but does the FBI monitor mosque sermons in the US? They would not do that, would they, given that the US is the land of the free and home of the brave? Here, the US report criticizes the Syrian government for this evidence of religious persecution: "Throughout the year, Hassoun called for combating “takfiri (Muslims who kill other Muslims who do not follow the same belief structure) mentality” and called for support of the army and leadership, according to the official state news agency. In meetings with Islamic scholars in June, President Bashar al-Asad stated the religious establishment should spread a “correct” understanding of religion." And here the US government found evidence of sectarianism by the Syrian regime: "Media and academic experts said the government continued to portray the armed resistance in sectarian terms, saying opposition protesters and fighters were associated with “extreme Islamist factions” and terrorists seeking to eliminate the country’s religious minority groups and its secular approach to governance. For instance, the official state news agency, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), reported on the government’s fight against “takfiri terrorist organizations” throughout the year. In a September interview with AFP, President Asad said “most of the militants belong to extremist groups, such as [ISIS], [JAN], [Ahrar al-Sham], and others…every terrorist is an enemy.” According to international media reports, leaders from a number of minority religious groups, such as representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities as well as prominent Druze activists, stated the government had their support because it was their protector against violent Sunni extremists." I also noticed that the report in the sections on Qatar and Saudi Arabia gave specific examples of anti-Semitism in the press but gave not one example of anti-Shi`ism (far more abundant) in the Qatari and Saudi press. But the hilarious part of the report is this: when pro-US regimes attack extremist ideologies and organizations it is praised, but when Syrian regime does it, it is criticized as evidence of sectarianism. Notice that the report does not care for insults and offenses against atheists. They don't count for the Christian government of the US.
PS By the way, the report lied when it said that access to the Wailing Wall is open to all. A Palestinian under occupation told me that access for Arabs was revoked ten years ago.
PS By the way, the report lied when it said that access to the Wailing Wall is open to all. A Palestinian under occupation told me that access for Arabs was revoked ten years ago.
