A US government report on religious freedom has recognized an increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric worldwide, pointing to restrictions and violence against Muslims particularly in Europe and Asia.

“Anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions were clearly on the rise -- particularly in Europe and Asia,” the International Religious Freedom Report the report, released on Monday, May 20, was quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP).

“Government restrictions, which often coincided with societal animosity, resulted in anti-Muslim actions that affected everyday life for numerous believers,” it said.
Secretary of State John Kerry released the annual report, which surveys almost 200 countries and territories, at the State Department in Washington.

"This report shines light on the challenges people face as they seek nothing more than basic religious freedom and the right to worship as they wish," Kerry said.

"And its release is a demonstration of the abiding commitment of the American people and the entire US government to the advancement of freedom of religion worldwide."

U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook referred to anti-Islamic feelings in Asian and Western countries.

"Anti-Muslim sentiment and discrimination are evident in places as diverse as Europe and Asia," she said.

"We call on societies and governments to foster tolerance and hold perpetrators of violence accountable."

Countries of particular concern included Burma (Myanmar), in which "Muslims in Rakhine State, particularly those of the Rohingya minority group, continued to be subjected to lethal violence and to experience severe forms of legal, economic, educational, and social discrimination."

The report, which covers the year 2012, also referred to new restrictions on Muslim religious attire and discrimination Muslim women face in particular.

"The impact ranged from education, to employment, to personal safety within communities. Government restrictions on religious attire also remained an issue, as Muslim women faced increasing restrictions on head coverings in schools, in public sector employment, and in public spaces," it says.

Muslim Welcome

The report findings were welcomed by a leading US Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

"We welcome the recognition by State Department officials that anti-Muslim rhetoric is on the rise worldwide," Nihad Awad National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a press release obtained by OnIslam.net.

"People of all faiths and backgrounds must work together to promote mutual understanding and to challenge the increasing hatred we see in many parts of the world."

"We hope there will now be serious effort by the Department of State to challenge the dangerous phenomenon of Islamophobia," said Awad.

He said protection of minority communities and their rights is a religious obligation in Islam.

Anti-Muslim sentiments have been on the rise in several Western countries.

In Britain, far-right groups as the English Defense League and the British National Party (BNP) use immigration problems to stoke sentiment against Muslims.

In Germany, hostile sentiments against Muslims have grown, with a heated debate on the Muslim immigration into the country.

A recent poll by the Munster University found that Germans view Muslims more negatively than their European neighbors.

In Sri Lanka, Muslim has been thrown into tension following a string of serious incidents involving extremist Buddhist provocations against Muslims.

The case for Burma Muslims was not any way better.

Last April, more than 43 people were killed in a new bout of anti-Muslim violence in central Burma.

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been displaced from their homes in western Burma last year after a deadly wave of sectarian violence with the Buddhist majority.
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