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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Nigerian human rights lawyer charges that terrorism has spread because the Obama administration has downplayed religion in its foreign policy.
Speaking at a congressional hearing, Emmanuel Ogebe (OH'-geh-beh) characterized the administration's policy toward Boko Haram and the Islamic State group as a "see no jihad, hear no jihad, say no jihad strategy."
The president has said that Islamic State is a terrorist group, does not represent the Islamic faith and has committed atrocities against Muslims, Christians and religious minorities.
Under Secretary of State Sarah Sewall said while the group violates all human rights, "the evil that it perpetrates in the name of religion has really raised that issue in a way that we haven't perhaps appreciated."
Katrina Lantos Swett, who chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said such "atrocities" pose a growing threat to America's national security.
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