Nigeria. While the Federal government generally respects religious freedom, there were some instances in which limits were placed on religious activity in order to address security and public safety concerns. Inter-religious tension between Christians and Muslims remained high in some areas of the country, and there were several violent economic-ethnic conflicts that took on religious overtones. Hundreds of people were killed in these clashes. Christians have alleged that Islam has been adopted as the de facto state religion in several northern states. The extension of Shari'a law to cover criminal offenses in many northern states generated a national debate on whether Shari'a punishments, such as amputation, stoning and caning, were considered "torture or inhuman or degrading treatment" under the Constitution. Many states prohibited open-air religious services held away from places of worship due to fears that these religious services would heighten inter-religious tensions or lead to violence. Several northern state governments continued to ban public proselytizing to avoid ethno-religious violence.

Sri Lanka. There was an overall deterioration of religious freedom due to the actions of extremists. In late 2003 and early 2004, Buddhist extremists destroyed Christian churches and harassed and abused pastors and congregants. There were over 100 accounts of attacks on Christian church buildings and members, several dozen of which were confirmed by diplomatic observers. NGOs have reported that in the majority of cases the police failed to protect churches and citizens from attack. In May an MP of the Jathika Hela Urumaya party presented a draft anti-conversion bill to Parliament. In June the Minister of Buddhist Affairs presented a separate draft anti-conversion bill to the Cabinet. It was not formally approved; however, it was sent to the Attorney General for a review that was ongoing at the end of the period covered by this report. There has been considerable public discussion of the bills, and many government officials expressed their concern about such legislation.

Discriminatory Legislation or Policies Prejudicial to Certain Religions

Some governments have enacted legislation that favors majority religions and discriminates against minority religions. This often results from a historical dominance of the majority religion and a bias against new or minority religions. In such countries segments of the citizenry are often skeptical of new religions.

Azerbaijan. Some religious groups reported delays in and denials of registration. Local authorities occasionally monitor religious services, and officials at times harassed nontraditional religious groups and, in particular, the Juma Mosque congregation whose imam, Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, was not approved by the Government-sanctioned Board of Caucasus Muslims. The Baku city government has attempted to use registration as a requirement for occupying the Juma Mosque, which is registered as an historical landmark. In February and March, the city government asked the courts to evict the unregistered Juma Mosque community and its unauthorized imam from its historic mosque in Baku's old city. On March 11, the Juma Mosque community filed for and received a postponement of its eviction pending an appeal. The Court of Appeals on April 22 upheld the Sabayil District Court decision to evict the community. Officials from the Ministry of Justice and police began the court-ordered eviction on the morning of June 30. The Law on Religious Freedom prohibits foreigners from proselytizing, which the Government strictly enforces. The law permits the production and dissemination of religious literature with the approval of the State Committee for Work with Religious Associations; however, the authorities also appeared to selectively restrict individuals from importing and distributing religious materials. Articles critical of Wahhabism and Christian missionaries appeared in many newspapers in the country.