Middle East File

Farahnaz Ispahani is a Senior Fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute and joins to discuss her new book: Politics of Hate: Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia (Harper Collins, 2023). 

South Asia-home to almost 2 billion people representing every major and minor religious belief-has also witnessed religious extremism, often supported by the state apparatus.

In Politics of Hate, noted scholars-experts on the subject and the region discuss their research on the role of the media and political leaders in deploying hatred for political advantage, covering developments in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In an era of media incitement, orchestrated attacks on mosques, churches, and temples, and identity politics, this book serves as a timely study of the phenomenon of politically motivated religious and ethnic division. 

Farahnaz Ispahani has been a leading voice for women and religious minorities in Pakistan for the past twenty-five years, first as a journalist, then as a member of Pakistan's National Assembly, and most recently as a scholar based in the United States. As a Senior Fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute and advisor and consultant to numerous other initiatives, she works at the intersection of human rights, freedom of religion or belief, and the US policy world. She is on Twitter: @FIspahani

The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute's Middle East Action Team. For more of their work, including recent articles, publications, and events, sign-up for the Middle East File email.

David H. Warren, lecturer in the Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies department at Washington University in St. Louis, joins to discuss a new report: Tolerance, Religious Freedom, and Authoritarianism (USCIRF, 2022). 

This report details how authoritarian states promote religious tolerance without necessarily ensuring freedom of religion or belief. It distinguishes between these two concepts and explains the origins of religious tolerance promotion as a tool of statecraft. The report then presents case studies of countries engaged in religious tolerance promotion, such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

David H. Warren is a scholar of contemporary Islam, politics, and media in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the understudied Arab Gulf states and Islamic soft power. His first book, Rivals in the Gulf: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Abdullah Bin Bayyah, and the Qatar-UAE Contest Over the Arab Spring and the Gulf Crisis (Routledge 2021) investigated the political interventions of two of the most prominent figures among the Muslim scholarly-elite (the ulama) and their relationships with the Qatari and Emirati ruling families. The project included fieldwork in Doha and Abu Dhabi and qualitative analyses of media platforms ranging from satellite TV interviews, to YouTube sermons, to Twitter feeds.

The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute's Middle East Action Team. For more of their work, including recent articles, publications, and events, sign-up for the Middle East File email.

Geneive Abdo is a Fellow in the Middle East Program of the Wilson Center and joins to discuss a new report: Charting a Nationalist and Secular Iraqi State: The Road Ahead (EPIC / Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2022). 

Young people are changing Iraq. But what kind of state do they want? The report covers the results of a national survey conducted by EPIC of 1,062 eligible Iraqi voters ages 18 – 40 on their views toward religion and a secular state.

Geneive Abdo is a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a consultant at the World Bank. She was most recently a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. Her current research focuses on the shifting political and religious alliances within Shia communities in the Middle East. She has worked at several Washington-based think tanks, including the Atlantic Council and the Stimson Center. She was a non-resident scholar at the Brookings Institution from 2013-17. She was also a lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University from 2016-19.

Among her vast publications, including monographs and works in scholarly journals, Abdo is the author of four books on the Middle East, including The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi’a-Sunni Divide (Oxford University Press, 2016). Her other books, also published by Oxford, include a groundbreaking study of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power in Egypt.

The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute's Middle East Action Team. For more of their work, including recent articles, publications, and events, sign-up for the Middle East File email. 

John D. Barton, Professor of Teaching of Religion and Director, Center for Faith and Learning, Pepperdine University joins to discuss his new book Better Religion: A Primer for Interreligious Peacebuilding (Baylor University Press, 2022). 

In the twenty-first century, humanity faces both unprecedented existential threats and remarkable possibilities for development. While no one knows how things will unfold by century's end, it is increasingly clear that religion will play a major role in shaping the outcomes, for better or worse. In Better Religion, philosopher and religion scholar John Barton explores how grassroots interreligious peacebuilding can help ensure the "better." 

Written for academic and professional audiences, this "conceptual primer" will equip readers to understand religion in the twenty-first century and pursue constructive collaborations for human flourishing, all for the sake of the world we currently share and the world we want our grandchildren to inherit. Read More

---

To learn more about the Religious Freedom Institute and find more of the Middle East File podcast visit: https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/middle-east

Bayar Mustafa Sevdeen, Dean of External Engagement and Research at the University of Kurdistan Hewler and Dr. Thomas Schmidinger Lecturer at the University of Vienna and a Visiting Professor Politics & IR at University of Kurdistan Hewler join to discuss the recent conference Syrian Religious Communities and the Transnational War. 

The conference brought together a wide range of contributors from within Syria and internationally to understand the diverse experiences of religious communities throughout the more than 11 years of conflict in Syria. 

The conference was jointly organized by the Center for Peacebuilding and Dialogue (CPD) at the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH), in collaboration with Socialists and Democrats Group (S&D) at the European Union Parliament, and the Religious Freedom Institute (USA).

Livestream: 

Conference Part 1 (Video) 

Conference Part 2 (Video)

Conference Part 3 (Video)

Conference Part 4 (Video)

Haider Elias, President, Yazda, joins the Middle East File to discuss We Cannot Return: Collapsed Security Threatens the Future of Yazidis & Minorities in Sinjar co-authored by Yazda and The Zovighian Partnership and published by the Wilson Center.

This first paper in a two-part series presents and recommends immediate solutions to strengthening security in Sinjar. Published by the Wilson Center, the series aims to equip national and international stakeholders with community-led and actionable recommendations to enable political support for all minority communities in Sinjar. 

Related: 

Engaging with Religious Inequality in Humanitarian Response: A Case Study from Iraq 2014–2019 “State Responsibility and the Genocide of the Yazidis” (Report) Iraq: Stabilising the Contested District of Sinjar

Ismail Royer, Director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute, joins the Middle East File to discuss his / Islam in the Constitutions of Modern Arab States: the Case of Tunisia. 

The article is part of a Cornerstone Forum series looking at the implications of Tunisia’s new constitution on religious freedom, associated rights, governance, and stability. Ismail’s piece particularly looks at the history and meaning of the concept of maqasid ash-sharia (aims and purposes of law), where concerns over this concept come from, and how this concept could relate to contemporary developments in Tunisia. 

Related: 

The Evolution of Individual Rights and Religious Freedom Following the Arab Spring Movement in Tunisia Implications of the Role of Religion in Tunisia’s New Constitution for Non-Muslims Movement in Tunisia Implications of Tunisia’s New Constitution on Religious Freedom, Associated Rights & Governance

Nury Turkel is the author of No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs (Hanover Square Press, 2022) and is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Nury Turkel is an attorney, author, foreign policy expert, and advocate with nearly two decades of experience working in the intersection of law, business, government, and the human rights community. He specializes in corporate governance and regulatory compliance, national security, foreign policy, digital authoritarianism, and forced labor and supply chain risk issues. He is currently serving as Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom after being appointed as a Commissioner by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in May 2020.

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe.

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Mariam Ibraheem is the author of Shackled: One Woman’s Dramatic Triumph Over Persecution, Gender Abuse, and a Death Sentence (Whitaker House, 2022) and is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East, Religious Freedom Institute.

Mariam Ibraheem is Co-founder and Director of Global Mobilization for Tahrir Alnisa Foundation. Mariam was imprisoned for her faith in December 2013 before later being sentenced to death on charges of apostasy and adultery. Mariam was imprisoned with her young son and ultimately would deliver her daughter in prison before ultimately being released. She remains a passionate advocate for the persecuted and oppressed around the globe. 

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe.

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Bob Fu is the author of The Politics of Inclusive Pluralism: Proposed Foundation for Religious Freedom in a Post-Communist, Democratic China (Pickwick, 2020) and is interviewed by Todd Huizinga, Senior Fellow for Europe, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Bob Fu is the founder/president of China Aid and dedicates himself to advancing religious freedom for all in China. He earned his PhD in the field of religious freedom from the University of Durham. He is editor-in-chief of the Chinese Law & Religion Monitor Journal.

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe.

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Pastor John Cao is author of Living Lyrics: Poems from Prison (China Aid, 2021) and Julian Marley of China Aid is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Living Lyrics is a collection of prison poems written by Pastor John Cao. Cao received a seven-year prison sentence in March 2018 for his Christian faith. Cao, a legal resident of North Carolina, made many trips to his native China for humanitarian work before his detention in March 2017. Those observing Cao's case believe his imprisonment is part of the ongoing campaign by the Chinese government to suppress the church. Inside Living Lyrics is a collection of Pastor Cao's prison poetry in both English and Chinese, alongside photos and information about his life and work. Each poem is a testimony to Pastor Cao's exemplary faith, heart for the Gospel, and his commitment to take up the cross of discipleship even in the face of immense persecution.

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors’ Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFSummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe.

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Mustafa Akyol is author of Why, As a Muslim, I Defend Liberty (Cato Institute, 2021) and is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Mustafa Akyol is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. Since 2013, he has also been a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, covering politics and religion in the Muslim world. He is the author of Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance (2021), The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims (2017), and Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty (2011).

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors’ Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFSummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe. 

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner 

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Ewelina U. Ochab and David Alton are the authors of State Responses to Crimes of Genocide: What Went Wrong and How to Change It (Springer Nature, 2022) and are interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Ewelina Ochab is a human rights advocate, author, and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response. She works on the topics of genocide, persecution of minoriites around the world, with primary projects including Daesh genocide in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram atrocities in West Africa, atrocities against the Uyghurs, the situation of the Rohingyas, among others. 

Lord David Alton served for 18 years as a Member of the House of Commons and now serves as an Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the UK Parliament. He has been a stalwart advocate for human rights around the world bringing international attention to some of the most grave abuses.  

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe. 

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner 

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Kay Rubaceck is author of Who Are China's Walking Dead? (Liberty Hill Press, 2020) and is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Kay Rubaceck is an award-winning filmmaker, author, TV host, and speaker on faith, family, and freedom. Her work includes the film Finding Courage (2020), Hard to Believe, and numerous documentaries and specials. 

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe.

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Arielle Del Turco and Lela Gilbert with LTG (Ret.)Jerry Boykin are authors of Heroic Faith: Hope Amid Global Persecution (Fidelis Publishing, 2022) and are interviewed by Todd Huizinga, Senior Fellow for Europe, Religious Freedom Institute.

Arielle Del Turco is the Assistant Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council. Her work has appeared in USA Today, RealClearPolitics, National Review, and Newsweek.

Lela Gilbert is Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at the Family Research Council and Fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Liberty. She is the author or co-author of more than 60 books including, Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians, with Nina Shea and Paul Marshall. 

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe. 

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Lela Gilbert is author of Baroness Cox: Eyewitness to a Broken World (Monarch Books, 2021) and is interviewed by Paul Marshall, Director, South and Southeast Asia Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Lela Gilbert is Adjunct Fellow, Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute and Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom and Coalitions Coordinator at Family Research Council. She is a prolific and author or co-author of more than 60 books, including Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians with Hudson Fellows Nina Shea and Paul Marshall (Thomas Nelson, 2013), Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion (Oxford University Press, 2008) with Paul Marshall and Roberta Green Ahmanson. 

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe. 

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop) 

Stephen M. Rasche is author of The Disappearing People: The Tragic Fate of Christians in the Middle East (Bombardier Books, 2020) and is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute.

Stephen Rasche is a Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom in Conflict Regions at the Religious Freedom Institute, a member of the Board of Directors of the Catholic University of Erbil, and a Visiting Scholar at the Kukah Centre in Abuja, Nigeria.

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org), the IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe. 

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Sean R. Roberts is author of The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority (Princeton University Press, 2020) and is interviewed by Jeremy P. Barker, Director, Middle East Action Team, Religious Freedom Institute. 

Professor Roberts is Associate Professor in the Practice of International Affairs and Director of the International Development Studies (IDS) MA program at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. 

Hosted in partnership with the Religious Freedom Institute (www.RFI.org) The IRF Summit Authors' Corner took place at the IRF Summit 2022 (www.IRFsummit.org) in Washington, D.C. and featured interviews with authors on a range of books related to religious freedom issues around the globe.

See more interviews here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner

Purchase books here: IRF Summit Authors' Corner (Bookshop)

Naomi Prodeau, the Lead Lawyer at the Investigations Project at Free Yezidi Foundation, joins the Middle East File to discuss the International Protocol on Documenting Violations of Religious Freedom.

Crafted in response to requests from civil society partners who have suffered severe violations of their religious freedom, the protocol seeks to fill a gap by providing a thorough and accessible resource for human rights advocates, civil society organizations, and others looking for guidance on how to document serious violations of religious freedom in their local contexts.

Related:

International Protocol on Documenting Violations of Religious Freedom

GATHERING THE EVIDENCE OF PERSECUTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION AND LAUNCH OF THE “INTERNATIONAL PROTOCOL ON DOCUMENTING VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”

Knox Thames, Visiting Expert at the United States Institute of Peace and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement, joins the Middle East File to discuss an article co-authored with Emily Scolaro: Freedom of Religion or Belief and Cultural Heritage Protection: Synergistic not Competitive. The article explores exciting possibilities for how cultural heritage protection and religious freedom promotion can go hand-in-hand to preserve not only the memory of religious communities but also to build toward robust religious pluralism in the present and future. There are important opportunities in multilateral forums like the Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief, the IRF Summit, and others to build on this momentum.

The article is published in the Review of Faith and International Affairs and is available Open Access for a limited time: Freedom of Religion or Belief and Cultural Heritage Protection: Synergistic not Competitive

Related: 

Preserving Iraq’s diverse cultural heritage – a unique collaboration between CREID/IDS and the Universities of Mosul and Duhok Strategies to Build Peace from the Ground Up: Protecting Religious Diversity, Coexistence, and Cultural Heritage in Iraq Revive the Spirit of Mosul (UNESCO) Cultural diversity and development: heritage gathering in post-conflict Iraq

Miles Windsor, Senior Manager for Strategy and Campaigns for the Middle East Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute, joins the Middle East File to discuss his article: How Liz Truss Can Champion Religious Freedom at U.K. Ministerial Conference. 

The conversation discusses the potential impact of the upcoming UK-hosted Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief and other initiatives such as the IRF Summit (www.IRFsummit.org). 

Related: 

Building on Positive Developments in the Middle East and North Africa: Acknowledging Progress on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Identifying Further Steps and Opportunities  

Advancing International Religious Freedom in the Special Relationship: A Transatlantic Conversation

The UK Must Learn to Lead on Religious Freedom 

Helene Fisher, Global Gender Persecution Specialist at Open Doors International, joins the Middle East File podcast to discuss Invisible: The Gender Report 2022. the latest gender specific religious persecution report from Open Doors. The report was featured in the Middle East File | 14. 

Over the past five years, this report from Open Doors has helped shine light on the particular ways in which religious persecution impacts women and girls, distinct from men and boys, and how that help to inform policy and practice in the efforts to protect the religious freedom of all people. 

Related:

Hear Her Cries: The kidnapping, forced conversion and sexual victimisation of Christian women and girls by ACN Violence and Discrimination against Women of Religious Minority Backgrounds in Pakistan by Jaffer Mirza, M.K, Mariz Tadros, Maryam Kanwer, Naumana Suleman, Sadiqa Sultan, Seema Rana Maheshwary (CREID) Live What You Believe: Building Bridges Between Gender Equality And Religious Freedom by Shirin Taber, Jasmine Ljungberg, Nancy Sawyer Schraeder (Empower Women Media) Gender Specific Religious Persecution Hansard Debate by Jim Shannon MP, et al. (UK Parliament) The Forgotten Women: Persecuted Women and Girls from Religious Minorities by Open Doors and ACN UK (Video event)

To learn more about the Religious Freedom Institute and find more of the Middle East File podcast visit: https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/middle-east

Dennis Petri, International Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom, joins the Middle East File to discuss his article: The Tyranny of Religious Freedom Rankings. Dennis' article featured in Middle East File | 17.

This article provides further nuance to the discussion about how to describe and measure levels of religious freedom around the world. 

Related:

Faith in Numbers: Can we Trust Quantitative Data on Religious Affiliation and Religious Freedom? by Judd Birdsall and Lori Beaman (TPNRD) Towards Enriching Understandings of Freedom of Religion or Belief: Politics, Debates, Methodologies, and Practices by Katherine Marshall (CREID) World Watch List 2022 by Open Doors Religious restrictions around the world by Pew Research Center The Religion and State Project by Bar Ilan University

To learn more about the Religious Freedom Institute and find more of the Middle East File podcast visit: https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/middle-east

Shivan Fazil, a researcher with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at SIPRI joins the Middle East File to discuss his article: The Political Marginalisation of Ethnic and Religious Minorities in Iraq. Shivan's article was featured in Middle East File | 14.

This piece is the cover article of the Spring issue of Manara Magazine: Suffering, Perseverance, and Hope: Minority Voices from the Middle East and North Africa published by the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum (MENAF). 

Related:

Suffering, Perseverance, and Hope: Minority Voices from the Middle East and North Africa by Manara Editorial Team (Manara Magazine) Copts, Church and State in Contemporary Egypt by Paul S. Rowe (Manara Magazine) Understanding the Relationship Between Christian Communities and Authoritarian States in the Middle East by Fiona McCallum Guiney (Manara Magazine) Addressing the Challenges Facing Iraq’s Yazidi Community in 2022 by Zainab Mehdi (Manara Magazine)

To learn more about the Religious Freedom Institute and find more of the Middle East File podcast visit: https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/middle-east

On the first episode of the Middle East File, Nadine Maenza, the outgoing Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom joins to discuss the newly released USCIRF Annual Report 2022. 

USCIRF Releases 2022 Annual Report with Recommendations for U.S. Policy

Related: 

US support of global religious freedom must go beyond rhetoric by Lena Abboud (The Hill)

A glimmer of hope in bringing accountability to religious freedom violators abroad by Nadine Maenza and Nury Turkel (The Hill)

USCIRF Welcomes Reappointed and Newly Appointed Commissioners, Expresses Gratitude to Outgoing Commissioners