Assistant Secretary Michael Posner cited two egregious acts of religious intolerance -- one in the U.S., the other in Germany -- while noting progress made in countries like Qatar and Egypt, where religious persecution is widespread.
The State Department released its annual report on global religious freedom Monday, with the chief author singling out bigotry-based murders in the U.S. and Germany while crediting progress made in Jordan, Qatar and Egypt.
Assistant Secretary Michael Posner -- along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- announced the release of the government's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom -- a comprehensive report compiled by the State Department that lists a host of countries guilty of severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
Among the worst violators listed in the report include North Korea, Iran, Burma, China, Sudan and Venezuela.
But during a press conference with reporters Monday, Posner cited two egregious acts of religious intolerance -- one in the U.S., the other in Germany -- while noting progress made in countries like Qatar and Egypt, where religious persecution is widespread.
Posner referenced the killing of Marwa Ali El-Sherbini, an Egyptian pharmacist and young mother who was stabbed inside a German courtroom in July by a man with deep-seated hatred for Muslims. He also noted the June 2009 shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., during which a man with well-documented anti-Semitic views shot and killed a security officer.
Posner noted that while the U.S. has a proud heritage of religious tolerance, it isn't perfect.
"We're fully aware that even in countries with robust legal safeguards, including the United States, we're not immune from acts of intolerance," he said.
The assistant secretary went on to praise interfaith dialogue efforts promoted in some countries, like Jordan.
China was also cited for improvements -- though the report blasted Beijing for repression in Tibet of followers of the Dalai Lama and in the western region of Xinjiag.
According to the State Department, difficulty in adapting long-held Muslim tenets with a changing world is a prevailing problem in many countries.
"I think we are all mindful of the fact that people of deep faith throughout the world are driven by and motivated by their religious beliefs," Posner said. "We want to encourage that, and we want to discourage people who misuse that faith in a way that's going to undermine basic human rights."
But, he added, religion itself does not breed intolerance.
"I think the major religions of the world are all predicated based on assumptions of humanity and ethical behavior. The fact that people take a kind of extreme view and interpret religions in a way that promotes violence and discrimination I think is an aberration," he said.
Clinton reiterated the call for religious pluralism throughout the international community, saying, "religious freedom provides a cornerstone for every healthy society. It empowers faith-based service. It fosters tolerance and respect among different communities, and allows nations that uphold it to become more stable, secure and prosperous."
Ensuring religious freedom is a "priority in our diplomacy," she said.
Clinton said she opposed efforts in some Islamic countries to establish anti-defamation policies, saying it could be an unacceptable infringement on free speech rights.
"The protection of speech about religion is particularly important since persons of different faith will inevitably hold divergent views on religious questions," she said.
"It is our hope that the...report will encourage existing religious freedom movements around the world," she said.