United States Commission on Internationa

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Annual Report 2015

Humanitarian crises fueled by waves of terror, intimidation, and violence have engulfed an alarming number of countries in the year since the release of the U. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) prior Annual Report last May. The previous quotations highlight five of these nations - Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Central African Republic, and Burma - and the horrific loss of human life, freedom, and dignity that has accompanied the chaos. A horrified world has watched the results of what some have aptly called violence masquerading as religious devotion. In both Iraq and Syria, no religious group has been free of ISIL's depredations in areas it has conquered. ISIL has unleashed waves of terror upon Yazidis and Christians, Shi'a and Sunnis, as well as others who have dared to oppose its extremist views. When ISIL last June overtook Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, it immediately murdered 12 dissenting Sunni clerics, kidnapped Christian priests and nuns, and leveled ancient houses of worship. The recent discovery of mass graves underscores the extent of the atrocities ISIL has perpetrated on foes of its reign.