Repression of religious freedom in some parts of
The state department's annual report on religious freedom around the world criticised
The report noted some improvements in
Presenting the document, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said religious freedom was "at the core of our nation".
"The
She was particularly critical of attempts to outlaw criticism of religions under a principle known as "defamation of religions", which has been championed in the UN by Islamic countries.
"Instead of protecting religious practice and promoting tolerance, this concept seeks to limit freedom of speech and that could undermine the standards of international religious freedom," she said.
Violators blacklisted
The lengthy report has individual sections dealing with each country separately and covers the period from July 2007 to July 2008.
In
"The government reportedly continued to detain Uighur Muslim citizens for possession of unauthorised religious texts, imprison them for religious activities determined to be 'extremist', and prevent them from observing certain sacred religious traditions," the report said.
It was also critical of the
The report is used to compile a blacklist of "countries of particular concern", which the state department announces towards the end of each year.