Saturday, September 27, 1997

Religious leaders fear flip side of anti-persecution plan

By JESSICA WEHRMAN

Scripps Howard News Service

WASHINGTON - A group of leading religious leaders worry that a bill to establish a White House office dedicated to combating religious persecution around the world could do as much harm as good.

The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1997, sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., would create an Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring in the White House.

The office would attempt to track abuses against religious minorities around the world. The legislation specifically mentions attacks on Christians, Bahai's and Tibetan Buddhists, all of whom have been subject to persecution.

Khaled Saffuri of the American Muslim Council agrees something needs to be done to combat religious persecution, but he calls this particular legislation "cheap."

"I don't think it's about religious persecution as much as it's politically motivated," he said.

Noting that Muslims are not specifically mentioned in legislation while other groups are, Saffuri worries that means the new office will target Muslims as troublemakers rather than protect them when they are persecuted.

Saffuri also said establishment of the office could give its director "too much power" over human rights issues usually handled by the State Department. And he dislikes an exemption to the bill that says the president could waive sanctions against a country for national security reasons.

Gurmit Singh Aulakh of the International Sikh Organization expressed surprise the bill doesn't mention India. The Indian-born Aulakh, said his country is rife with religious conflict and persecution.

Phil Baum of the American Jewish Congress calls the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act a "blunt and imperfect instrument" that doesn't consider other human rights issues. "It creates an unnecessary bureaucracy that duplicates some of the functions of the State Department," he said.

Others applaud any legislative effort to end religious persecution.

"I don't know what the final version will be, but hopefully the concerns different groups have will be dealt with so we can have the maximum uniform level of support," said Matt Brooks of the National Jewish Coalition. His group generally supports the concept of a White House office to combat persecution.

But Brooks questioned what effects the legislation might have on immigration, noting persons found subject to persecution may find it easier to gain asylum in the United States.

Though her group has concerns with the language, Carmen Pate of Concerned Women of America is "excited that the issue is even being discussed in legislation."

"It's very important for Americans to address the issue worldwide," Pate said. "It's important that we stand up and not wait until it starts happening here."

Will Dodson of the Southern Baptist Convention supports the bill.

"The bottom line with us is that people of many different faiths are being persecuted for simply exercising their faith," he said. "This legislation gives us another weapon in our arsenal."

(Jessica Wehrman is a reporter for Scripps Howard News Services.)