A number of Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, show little tolerance for religions not sanctioned by the government, a State Department study said Thursday.
The study also said Israel as well as Belgium, France and Germany stigmatize certain religions. A department official also expressed concern over a proposed French law that would ban the use of head scarves in public schools.
The report covered the status of international religious freedom worldwide. It said the Chinese government permitted free religious expression only to organizations approved by the authorities.
"Members of some unregistered religious groups were subjected to restrictions, leading in some cases to intimidation, harassment and detentions," the report said.
Overall, the study found religious oppression to be widespread.
"Much of the world's population lives in countries in which the right of religious freedom is restricted or prohibited," the report said. "Millions of persons live in totalitarian or authoritarian regimes determined to control religious beliefs and practice."
In Saudi Arabia, the report said, "Freedom of religion does not exist." Non-Muslim worshippers, it said, risked "arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation and sometimes physical abuse."
Religious minorities also suffer in Pakistan, the report said, asserting that the government tolerates "societal forces hostile to those who practice a different faith."
Meanwhile, Bahais, Jews, Christians and Sunni and Sufi Muslims in Iran all suffered varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, including intimidation, harassment and imprisonment, the study said.
In North Korea, the report found reports of executions, torture and imprisonment of religious persons. And in Cuba, it found surveillance, infiltration and harassment of religious groups are common.
Israel was listed among countries with policies that disadvantage certain religions. The country's legal system protects against religious discrimination, but some non-Jews encountered bias in the areas of education, housing, employment and social services, the study said. It noted that Arab schools in Israel receive significantly fewer resources than comparable Jewish schools.
Belgium, France and Germany were said to discredit certain religions.
The report said that:
_In Belgium, the Helsinki Federation for Human Rights asserted that the country had not taken any effective measures to counteract the hostility of discrimination suffered by groups depicted as "sects."
_Federal authorities in Germany continued to monitor the Church of Scientology, although the church and its members have not been found to be involved in any criminal activity during the last six years of observation.
_The Council of Europe has invited France to reconsider a law which tightens restrictions on associations and provides for the dissolution of groups, including religious groups, under certain conditions.
John Hanford, ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom, took issue with the French proposal on head scarves at a news conference after the report was released.
The administration, he said, believes that "all persons should be able to practice their religion and their beliefs peacefully without government interference, as long as they are doing so without provocation and intimidation of others in society."
Referring to the French proposal on head scarves, Hanford said, "We don't see where this causes division among peoples."