Religious freedom worsens in Jordan , Algeria : US

ICC Note

“In Jordan , a Sharia Court found a convert from Islam to Christianity guilty of apostasy, annulled his marriage, and declared him to be without any religious identity,”

09/20/2008 Islam (AFP)-Religious freedom took a turn for the worse in the last year in China , Egypt and Iran , but also in normally more tolerant countries like Jordan and Algeria , the State Department said Friday.

But there were new concerns about Jordan and Algeria , “which traditionally have been more respectful of minority faiths,” according to John Hanford III, the ambassador at large for religious freedom.

“The government’s de factor and de jure policies have precipitated a decline in the status of religious freedom during this reporting period,” the report said.

In February, the government began enforcing an ordinance which “makes proselytizing a criminal offense,” it said.

“In Jordan , a Sharia Court found a convert from Islam to Christianity guilty of apostasy, annulled his marriage, and declared him to be without any religious identity,” said Hanford , who oversaw the report.

During the Olympics, Xinjiang suffered a series of violent attacks, including the most deadly which killed 16 police officers in Kashgar on August 4.

In Saudi Arabia , “there were incremental improvements in specific areas, such as better protection of the right to possess and use personal religious materials,” it said.