As the year ends, a few final thoughts for 2024. The return of Donald Trump to the White House and the exit of Bashar al-Assad are seminal events. For the United States, many hope the second Trump administration will elevate religious freedom as a foreign policy priority. Republican panelists during the McCain Institute’s recent Washington Forum repeatedly emphasized international religious freedom as an essential issue for the Trump administration. Certainly, the tapping of Senator Marco Rubio, a consistent supporter of religious freedom globally, increases the likelihood it will come to the forefront. Not for nothing has China placed a travel ban on Senator Rubio for his outspoken criticism of Uyghur persecution and repression in Hong Kong.
And while Donald Trump prepares to come back in, Bashar al-Assad is out. The collapse of Assad’s regime is a loss for Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, and the remarkable turn of events freed millions of Syrians from his tyranny. However, Assad’s overthrow will present significant challenges for Syria's religious and ethnic minorities in particular and human rights in general. The worries of Syrian Christians I wrote about in 2015 for the Atlantic Council after interviewing refugees in Beirut have only intensified. Other good insights here and here.
Almost immediately after Assad’s ouster, another crisis erupted in northeastern Syria when Islamist groups supported by Turkey began assaulting the autonomous region home to religious and ethnic minorities. The situation is dire, with my contacts reporting that the historic Assyrian towns of Haska, Qamishli, Tel Tammar, and other Khaborur River villages are now at grave risk of attack, which could destroy the last vestiges of Christianity in northeastern Syria. Can the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration jointly pressure Turkey to pull back its proxy forces and assist the besieged minority communities? It would prevent more dislocation and possible atrocities.
Time will tell how the new administration’s policy on religious freedom will evolve. My book Ending Persecution provides insights into how the first Trump administration engaged on the topic. Based on my experiences, I provide recommendations for how the United States can better advance religious freedom through consistency, coalitions, call-outs, and consequences, coupled with a proactive refugee resettlement program to rescue the oppressed. The IRF Summit in early February will provide the first opportunity for the new administration to outline its vision and approach to international religious freedom.
On a personal level, 2024 was notable with the publication of my book. Since my last newsletter, I’m pleased to share additional positive reviews, including in the Public Discourse and Liberty Magazine. (And while Peyton Manning probably wasn’t talking about my book, I appreciated his shout-out on Monday Night Football.) My book tour continues, with presentations to the State Department, USCIRF, Notre Dame Law School, Religions for Peace, and the Christian Legal Society. You can also watch my presentations at the BYU ICLRS annual conference and the Christianity & National Security Conference.
For future events, the East-West Center will host a virtual discussion on January 16 at 9:30 am ET centered around my book. Entitled “Assessing Religious Freedom in Asia: Perspectives from China, India, and Myanmar,” speakers will include leading human rights advocates from the region. Be sure to tune in.
In addition to Asia, my book explores challenges and solutions in the Middle East. One topic is the unexplored power of sacred sites to promote pluralism. In chapter 8 on “Cultural Restoration through Education,” I wrote about a particularly moving experience in Iraq that ignited my interest.
Our convoy of armored cars snaked through the mountains toward the Iraqi town of Alqosh, the last major Christian outpost not overrun by ISIS. It was February 2016, and we had flown in a helicopter gunship from Erbil to an undisclosed military facility with our ambassador, Stu Jones, and the State Department Human Rights assistant secretary, Tom Malinowski. Former U.S. special forces soldiers had watched out the side doors over six-barrel miniguns with occupied Mosul in the distance.
Now in the armored convoy nearing Alqosh, overlooking the Nineveh Plains, we passed Yazidi temples, with their distinctive conical pointed domes, and the Rabban Hormizd Monastery, carved into the mountainside by Christian monks centuries ago. After meeting with local officials, we were escorted by a phalanx of Peshmerga militia members past churches to the tomb of the prophet Nahum. Although ISIS was less than thirty miles away, time had been the tomb’s greatest foe, crumbling its walls and ceiling. Yet Iraq’s tiny Jewish community would periodically make pilgrimages. Ancient Hebrew inscriptions were still legible on the walls.
These heritage sites testified to Iraq’s rich tapestry of religious life, dating back thousands of years. This was what we were fighting to preserve, protect, and revive: Muslim Kurds guarding a tomb of a Jewish prophet cared for by a Christian family. Since the ISIS tsunami had not swept this far north, this rich diversity was still alive. They were living proof of how Iraq’s various religious communities could benefit and support each other. The town was the ultimate counter to ISIS’s campaign of hate and destruction.
Since leaving the State Department, and thanks to the Templeton Religion Trust, I’ve continued to explore the power of sacred sites to promote peaceful pluralism, diversity, and respect for different beliefs. In this effort, I hosted the executive director of the Abrahamic Family House at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Abdulla al Shehhi shared how this modern sacred site promotes peaceful pluralism in multicultural UAE. I wrote about the meeting and check out USIP’s short video.
The voices of people of faith will be crucial in ending the pandemic of persecution impacting so many. To inspire Christians to pray and advocate for anyone facing religious persecution, we organized a successful global gathering, Praying for ALL the Persecuted, in October. We produced an engaging five-minute video showcasing the wonderful speakers. And interest is spreading. Churches in the Tampa Bay area are invited to join us at Bayshore Baptist Church in January to continue these conversations.
Lastly, with the holidays approaching, I think my book is the perfect gift for the religious freedom fighter in your life. It’s available in both hardback and Kindle on Amazon. And if you order from Notre Dame Press, you can SAVE 40% by entering promo code 14HOLIDAY at checkout. You can also find past R&GA Newsletters here, including my presentation to the Organization of American States about religious freedom (watch or read), an article for Nexus on sacred sites promoting pluralism, and more.
Thank you for your friendship and partnership. Through our collective effort, I hope and pray we can bend the universe a bit closer towards justice in 2025. Feel free to share the newsletter with others; as always, the views expressed here are my own.
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