Religious Persecution

James Pinkerton hits a nerve when he discusses religious freedom and persecution of religious minorities (“From Ethiopia to China, the Lions Are Out There,” Commentary, Nov. 3). As a result of his focus on persecution of Christians, however, Pinkerton does not go far enough.

The targets of discrimination in many Muslim countries, for example, are most often Muslims themselves who are active in Islamic politics. As far as the Muslim countries are concerned, Muslims who disagree with the ruling party hold their opposition meetings in prison and torture cells. The few anecdotes that Pinkerton offers about persecuted Christians may be accurate but only represent a fraction of the picture. The problem is not the suppression of religious expression or women’s rights per se, but the suppression of the free-thinking and reason of minorities and majorities alike.

The appointment of the committee by the State Department to study religious freedom abroad is not the closure to the problem, as Pinkerton warns, but actually the beginning of a healthy dialogue among Muslims, Christians, Jews, Bahais and others, under the auspices of the U.S. government. To recoil back to our religious corners and simply complain about this problem from the pulpit will not serve freedom and will not serve our respective religions. Perhaps the Muslims and Christians in hot spots like Bosnia, Chechnya and the Sudan cannot reach a resolution to the conflict, considering the circumstances in their regions, but we as Americans have the opportunity and freedom to meet and discuss these matters as a means of fostering reconciliation and demanding a strict adherence to human rights.

SALAM AL-MARAYATI

Director

Muslim Public Affairs Council

Los Angeles