Volume 6, Issue 19, May 8, 2006

STRAIGHT TALK WITH SAM

Fighting for International Religious Freedom

Freedom of religion is the foundation of this country. Many Americans take this freedom for granted. One look at Sudan should show every American the atrocities that can occur when religious freedom is repressed.

Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for almost 50 years. An estimated 2 million people have died over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. This civil war began with the Sudanese government's religious discrimination.

Although the Sudanese Constitution technically provides for freedom of religion, the government continues to impose many restrictions on non-Muslims, non-Arab Muslims, and people who don't derive from tribes affiliated with Islam, the religion of the ruling party. Those in Darfur have been subject to ongoing state-sponsored violence based on their origins and religious affiliations. This violence has escalated into a full-blown ethnic cleansing movement.

I am deeply troubled by the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Last month I voted in favor of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, a bill designed to declare genocide in Darfur, and direct the president to take actions to help support the African Union Mission in Sudan.

The situation in Darfur is not the only place in the world where religion is the basis of discrimination and unimaginable violence. As Americans, we have the obligation to bring these atrocities into the light and continue to fight for religious freedom throughout the world.