RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The “babalaô” (a priest of Candomblé, an African-origin religion) and doctoral student in history of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Ivanir dos Santos received, on Wednesday, July 17th, an award from the U.S. State Department for the importance of his fight against intolerance toward practitioners of Africa-based religions in Brazil.
“I want to point out that the award is the recognition of all our actions towards freedom, human rights, plurality, diversity, and against racism and intolerance,” said Ivanir.
He has been commended along with five other international leaders — Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan of Sudan; Iman Abubakar Abdullahi of Nigeria; Pascale and William Warda of Iraq; and Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud of Cyprus — for their contribution to discussions concerning religious freedom. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the ceremony.
“As we well know, racism and religious intolerance are the greatest challenges for building a fairer and more egalitarian society, and in Brazil, it is no different. Religious intolerance has been increasingly growing in our country, particularly in the state of Rio de Janeiro. We need to believe that it is possible to build a more tolerant society where our differences may be meeting points and never of exclusion”, he emphasized.
He pointed out that, in the state of Rio de Janeiro alone, there are almost 200 temples of Africa-origin religions under threat. Last Friday, July 12th, traffickers invaded a “terreiro” (a candomblé place of worship) in the city of Duque de Caxias, and forced the priestess in charge of the space to destroy all symbols depicting “orixás” (candomblé deities).
The armed criminals threatened to return and set fire to the “terreiro”. The case was registered at the Racial Crimes and Intolerance Police Station (DECRADI).
In 2008, Ivanir founded the Commission to Combat Religious Intolerance, with members of different religions, members of civil society and public prosecutors. The commission documents cases of religious violence and provides support for victims.
In the same year, he led the first march in defense of religious freedom in Rio de Janeiro. The last edition took place on Sunday, July 14th, in Nova Iguaçu. During the event, he protested the delay of Governor Wilson Witzel in hosting committee members. He stressed the importance of public support in the fight against intolerance.
“I have no doubt that if it were a synagogue or a Christian church, the state’ s approach would be different,” said Ivanir.