In the Middle East, Kurdistan offers a hopeful model of religious freedom

The Hill

20-05-2025

A rare moment of hope and unity unfolded this April in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region. It was the first Kurdistan National Prayer Breakfast where Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and members of other faith traditions from around the world gathered around a basic premise of respect, openness and the idea that religious freedom is worth protecting.
In the heart of a region where religious persecution often dominates headlines, this event marked something exceptional, even spectacular. It was the most encouraging event we have been to in the region.
The Kurdish regional government is setting a rare example in the Middle East. While many of its neighbors double down on sectarianism or suppress dissenting beliefs, the Kurdish government has taken a different route — embracing different faith communities and making religious freedom a strategic priority.
Importantly, the Prayer Breakfast wasn't a public relations stunt. Instead, it reflects a deep cultural value stretching back many years. The Kurds, an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim group, have long offered refuge to religious minorities. That history gained global attention during the rise of the Islamic State. As ISIS targeted Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims for extermination, Kurdistan opened its borders and its communities.
That protection wasn't passive. It was intentional, principled, and costly. Kurdish Peshmerga forces stood between ISIS and vulnerable communities, defending not only territory but also a tradition of respect for other faiths.
The Kurds welcomed hundreds of thousands of displaced people, sharing their limited resources to make room for those whose lives were at risk simply because of how they prayed. Yazidis escaping the horror of Sinjar, Christians fleeing the Nineveh Plains, and Shi'a Muslims caught in the crossfire all found Kurdistan to be a rare sanctuary in the storm.
Today, many of those same survivors are choosing to remain in Kurdistan and others continue to join them every day. In a region marked by fear and instability, they see something precious: relative security, respect and a place to stay and make their home. The Kurdish government has made a deliberate choice to preserve this environment. It deserves credit — and continued support — for doing so.
The Kurds stand out as an anomaly in a neighborhood rife with religious intolerance. The federal Iraqi government in Baghdad, while more stable than it was a decade ago, consistently fails to offer meaningful support to religious minority communities or provide them with the civil rights and freedoms necessary for their flourishing.
The increasingly repressive government in Turkey has continued to crack down on disfavored religious groups, including Christians and Hizmets. Religious minority communities in Syria, long victims of vicious persecution, are waiting to see what their future holds under a new administration. In Iran, a terrorist regime is continuing its fight to eliminate free religious expression everywhere it can be found.
Highlighting the concerning situation in the region, Iraq, Turkey and Syria have each been recommended for inclusion on the Special Watchlist by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Iran has been designated by the U.S. State Department as a Country of Particular Concern every year since 1999.
Religious intolerance has not been eradicated from the region and it would be a mistake to assume Kurdistan is immune.
The Kurdish regional government must remain vigilant against the threats of religious extremism within its own borders. Dangerous ideologies still lurk. It is essential that Kurdish authorities take firm action to prevent radicalization, particularly among youth. Education must teach respect for religious diversity, and radical clerics promoting hate must be held accountable.
As Kurdistan continues to grow and develop, the rights of all religious communities must be safeguarded not only in principle, but in practice. That means ensuring property rights are honored — particularly for Christians and Yazidis returning to ancestral homes. It means instructing security forces to treat all citizens with respect at military checkpoints, regardless of faith or ethnicity. Reports of harassment or intimidation must be swiftly addressed.
The Kurdish regional government should also formally recognize and support the evangelical Christian community. This group, while relative newcomers in an ancient region, faces pressure from every direction. The KRG should ensure this group has the same rights and representation as longer-established religious communities.
Religious freedom is a universal human right, embedded in our common dignity. For the U.S. and its allies, this is a moment to recognize an ally which consistently works to protect freedom. As global religious persecution rises, there are precious few places where religious freedom is improving. Kurdistan is one. That progress should be reinforced — diplomatically, financially and politically.
Washington should increase its engagement with the Kurdish regional government on religious freedom, supporting civil society initiatives, legal reforms and education programs that promote respect for various religions. Western governments should encourage continued Kurdish autonomy and protect the region from destabilizing interference from Baghdad, Tehran, Damascus and Ankara.
It's easy to issue statements about the importance of religious freedom. It's harder to build a society where it actually exists. Kurdistan is trying. In one of the world's toughest regions, that effort deserves both praise and reinforcement. The alternative — letting this model of tolerance falter — would be a strategic and moral failure.
Samuel Brownback served as ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom from 2018 to 2021 and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit in 2022. Manus Churchill is International Religious Freedom Summit deputy director.