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Azza Karam: Among the Pilgrims of Peace
“Portraits in Faith” is a section dedicated to highlighting the lives and legacies of individuals who champion interfaith dialogue, religious freedom, and global peace. In the quiet, persistent work of…
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Faith Under Fire: How Russia’s War in Ukraine Became a Crusade Against Religious Freedom
In the shattered remains of a once-thriving Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) parish in Crimea, a single icon hangs askew on a cracked wall. Its gold leaf tarnished, the image…
Editor's choice
The Watchdog on Trial: How MIVILUDES Lost Its Credibility
PARIS — On a warm June morning in 2024, the Administrative Court of Paris delivered a verdict that sent ripples through France’s secular institutions. The court ruled that the MIVILUDES…
FORB
The Quiet Pursuit of Truth: Jan Figel’s Mission for Religious Freedom
Portrait in Faith - Jan Figel has the demeanor of someone who is neither in a hurry nor easily rattled. He carries with him the quiet assurance of someone who…
FORB
The Discriminatory Nature of Germany’s “Sect Filters”: A Legal and Moral Critique
Germany has long been regarded as a bastion of constitutional democracy and a vocal defender of human rights on the international stage. Yet one discriminatory practice has persisted quietly within…
FORB
Global Interfaith Leaders Honored with Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize
On April 22, 2025, Hofstra University in New York awarded the prestigious Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize 2024 to two global leaders in interfaith cooperation: the United Religions Initiative (URI) and…
America
IRF Roundtable Congratulates Congressman Mark Walker on Appointment as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable welcomes the announcement—made last night via the platform X—of Congressman Mark Walker’s selection by the Trump administration to serve as the…
Asia
European Union imposes sanctions on Iran’s judiciary over human rights abuses—including the persecution of Bahá’ís
Brussels – The Council of the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions and restrictive measures on a number of courts, judges and prisons in Iran in its decision 2025/774. These sanctions spotlight…
FORB
Repeated ill-treatment of Jehovah’s Witness Anna Safronova in a Penal Colony in Russia
Anna Safronova, 59, a Jehovah's Witness, convicted for her faith, is subjected to inhuman treatment in penal colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk (Stavropol Territory), and she also does not receive…
FORB
When Vigilance Turns into Ideology: MIVILUDES and the Jehovah’s Witnesses
MIVILUDES, the French government agency tasked with monitoring so-called “cultic deviations,” recently released its latest report, covering the years 2021 to 2024. While it claims to protect the public from…