Written by Don Byrd
The Pew Forum reports that religious freedom has not increased in the Middle East, despite hopes that the Arab Spring would lead to less religious oppression. A new study demonstrates continuing government hostility to religion and an alarming increase in social unrest along religious lines.
During the period of the Arab Spring, social hostilities involving religion increased markedly in the Middle East and North Africa. The region’s median score on the Social Hostilities Index (SHI) rose from 4.3 as of mid-2010 to 5.4 at the end of 2011, a five-year high. As shown in the table below, 10 types of social hostilities were present in a greater number of countries across the region in 2011, while just two types of hostilities occurred in fewer countries….
In addition, the number of countries in the region experiencing sectarian or communal violence doubled from five to 10 between mid-2010 and the end of 2011. In Bahrain, for instance, sectarian violence erupted between Shia and Sunni Muslims during a months-long period of civil unrest that began in February 2011. The ongoing civil war in Syria, which began as a protest against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, now falls largely along sectarian lines.
Among the other types of religious hostilities that spread to a greater number of Middle East-North African countries in 2011 were: violence or the threat of violence to enforce religious norms; hostility over proselytizing; mob violence related to religion; and attempts by groups in society to dominate public life with their perspective on religion. Religious minorities in the region were often the target of the hostilities.
The Arab Spring brought great hopes for a relaxation of government restrictions on religion and a corresponding decrease in social tension. Sadly, those hopes have not panned out, at least in the short term. Strict and neutral enforcement of religious freedom rights for all remain a necessary step to true peace and freedom.
You can read the entire Pew Report here. Religion News Service has more here.
