mr president religious conviction is an individual matter with a different meaning to different people
the role of the state is to protect all citizens regardless of their conviction and to allow them to freely associate and express themselves across the world
a glance at our world today shows a very bleak picture from the bahá i in iran to copts in egypt from the use of blasphemy laws in pakistan to the attacks on christians or places of worship in iraq and nigeria
today we highlight the increased violence against christians specifically which provides a reason for great concern
it is incredibly painful that people attack and get attacked both in the name of religion and people of all faiths are victims
it is unacceptable to see that some individuals extremists choose to use violence and even terrorism and do so in the name of god or in the name of a religion claiming thereby to speak on behalf of others or even seeking to be above the law and thus associating countless innocent people with this violence
but let us not be mistaken
by giving the extremists more credit than they deserve by accepting the link between religion and terrorism we disqualify the majority of believers who in the diverse ways in which they do practice their faith peacefully
terrorism is political and terrorism is a crime
religion can never be a credible or acceptable reason to use violence or to breach human rights
too often this does happen not only through violence but also in limiting freedom of expression such as through the abuse of blasphemy laws
religion or conviction should never be a reason for people to live in fear and the european parliament rightly speaks out against the extremist acts against christians and supports those who condemn this extremism
