July 2006

Dear IRLA Board Members and Experts:

When you receive this letter, summer will be in its final weeks, and we will be preparing for our next IRLA Meeting of Experts in Aix-en-Provence, France. This report will inform you of our activities of the last five months.

1. January 25: Meeting with the President of French Polynesia-My visit to Tahiti gave me opportunity to meet the Archbishop, the President of the Protestant Church, the Jewish community, several ministers, and the President of French Polynesia, the Honorable Oscar Tamura. These visits were made possible by long-time friends who are working with the government. A meeting with the Vice Minister of Education and several representatives of colleges was also organized. The Religious Liberty Association in Tahiti is mainly active in solving problems in schools for young believers.
2. February 1-3: Georgetown, Guyana training seminar and visits with officials-Once more the Caribbean Association for Religious Liberty (CARLA), with its President, Attorney Emerson Graham, and Secretary General, Clive Dottin, organized a training seminar in Georgetown Guyana, followed by a Festival of Religious Freedom which was attended by 2,500 people. We met religious leaders and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Guyana. The result is the Guyana Religious Liberty Association. All Caribbean Countries now have religious liberty associations. Congratulations, dear Clive.
3. February 7: Visit to the United Nations in New York with our staff, led by Dr Jonathan Gallagher.
4. February 13-20: World Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Allegre, Brazil-Attended the World Assembly of the World Council of Churches with Dr Eugene Hsu. I met the President and two of the board members of the Georgian Religious Liberty Association. I also met with IRLA President, Dr Denton Lotz.
5. February 21-23: Sao Paulo, Brazil, meeting with the board of the Brazilian Religious Liberty Association-Met officials who helped to pass the legislation on the religious day of rest-M P Campos Mashdo and Secretary of Justice, Hedio Silva Jr. Also visited the gymnasium where the Festival of Religious Freedom would be held in June. The coordinator, Williams Costa Jr, planned to bring more than 10,000 people to this event.
6. February 24-28: Cape Town, South Africa-Visited the Cape Town International Convention Centre, site of the 6th IRLA World Congress, with Donald Robinson, our World Congress Manager and IRLA Treasurer; Daisy Orion, who will become IRLA Treasurer following the Congress; Hensley Moorooven, IRLA Secretary General for southern Africa; and local religious liberty leaders. We met with officials and religious leaders and signed the contract with the Convention Centre. A great congress is being planned for February 27 to March 1, 2007. Register now at www.irla.org.
7. March 12-16: Silver Spring, Maryland-Religious Liberty Advisory with regional Secretary Generals representing the whole world. Our goal is to have national associations in 100 countries.
8. March 28: Andrews University and IRLA Symposium-The title of the symposium was "Our Father Abraham-Christian-Jewish-Muslim relations." It was an excellent program. A book will be published. Dr Jacques Doukhan, Director of the Institute of Jewish-Christian Studies, was the organizer and the IRLA was one of the main sponsors.
9. April 25-27, 29: All-Africa Religious Liberty Congress in Accra, Ghana, organized by the IRLA-The congress brought together dignitaries, experts, and religious leaders from more than 60 countries across Africa and beyond. I had the privilege of meeting Ghana's President, John A Kufuor, with 10 representatives. Dr Eugene Hsu and Dr Jonathan Gallagher were with me. Congratulations to our West Africa Secretary General, Japheth Agboka, and his team for the organization of this congress. Thanks also for the support given by the three African regions of the IRLA.
10. May 2: Geneva, Switzerland-I met with the Steering Committee of the Conference of Secretaries of the Christian World Communions.
11. May 5: Liberty Dinner, Senate Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, Washington DC-This annual event is co-sponsored by the IRLA, NARLA, and Liberty magazine. Attorney James Standish, my associate and Executive Director of the North American Religious Liberty Association, is the initiator and organizer of this event, in cooperation with Lincoln Steed and the Liberty magazine team, and the GC PARL team. The keynote speaker was Senator John McCain, and I had the honor of giving him an award. The IRLA International Award went to Professor Cole Durham and the Award of Merit to Attorney Robert Nixon.
12. June 8-10: Sao Paulo Festival of Religious Freedom-The visit began on June 8 with a meeting with the governor of Sao Paulo State, the Honorable Claudio Lembo, the State Assembly President, and the Minister of Justice. On Saturday, June 10, 32,000 people came to attend the first Festival of Religious Freedom ever organized in Brazil. Several religions were represented. Internet web casts of the day's event reached nearly 125,000. Two days later 850,000 people had accessed the web site. National TV and radio broadcasts reported the event which included 3½ hours of program, 27 singers, a choir of 1,500 children, and short testimonies on religious freedom. The master of ceremonies, Williams Costa Jr, said the next festival will bring more people. IRLA co-sponsored the event.
13. June 11: Sao Paulo Forum on Religious Freedom-On Sunday, June 11, the Brazilian Religious Liberty Association held the first Forum on Religious Freedom in the auditorium of the Latin American Parliament. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist religious leaders attended that important meeting. Rabbi Henri Sobel was among the speakers.
14. June 16-20: European Training Seminary near Geneva, Switzerland-This event was organized by Karel Nowak, Secretary General of the Association Internationale pour la defense de la liberti religieuse. Religious liberty leaders from France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, and the Czech Republic attended.
15. June 20-21: Human Rights Council at United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland-I was there for the first session of the new United Nations Human Rights Council.
16. July 5: Visit with Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs.
17. July 11: US Commission working group on Russia-James Standish and I were invited to attend this meeting. On July 11 we also attended a reception where former Secretary of State Madeline Albright gave a lecture about her new book. I had short talk with her in French.

I would like to thank my associates-James Standish, for his excellent work in Washington DC, and Jonathan Gallagher for his work at the United Nations. Jonathan has been traveling in the South Pacific during July to promote the IRLA and launch national associations. I would also like to thank Carol Rasmussen for her work as Administrative Assistant and extend a warm welcome to Deborah Knott, the newly hired Specialist for our department.

We look forward to the 8th IRLA Meeting of Experts which will consider Religious Liberty and Nationalism on September 10 to 13.

Stay in touch with us. Visit our web site at www.irla.org and read our journal Fides et Libertas. Don't forget our World Congress in Cape Town, February 27 to March 1, 2007.

Sincerely yours,

John Graz
Secretary-General