DHAKA: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday she was deeply hurt by charges that the United States was biased against Muslims, staunchly defending her country's record in protecting minorities.
Clinton, visiting the world's third largest Muslim-majority country Bangladesh, was asked by a student at a public forum about perceptions that the United States was against Islam.
"That hurts me so much," Clinton said. "It's a painful perception to hear about and I deeply regret that anyone believes that or propagates it."
Clinton said that the decade of US-led war was "self-defense" after the September 11, 2001 attacks by Al-Qaeda and said extremists "perverted" the teachings of Islam.
"Is there discrimination or prejudice in the United States like in every society and country in the world? Unfortunately yes. Human nature has not changed dramatically," she said.
"There is discrimination against people of different religions, of different races, of different ethnic groups all over the world... but I don't think that it is at all fair to hold up the United States" over discrimination, she said.
"I believe that the United States through our laws and through our constant political dialogue has gone probably farther than anywhere else in the world in trying to guarantee legal protections for people. I would like to see more countries do more to protect the rights of minorities," she said.
The United States has long had a cooperative relationship with Bangladesh, which is known for its moderate brand of Islam and has a significant population of religious minorities.
But Clinton is the first US secretary of state to visit Bangladesh since 2003 amid concern over political infighting that has long polarized the country. (AFP)
ISLAMABAD: Sardar Ayaz Sadiq of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has been elected as the 19th speaker of the National A...
SINGAPORE: Oil was up in Asia on Friday, with dealers buying up the commodity after a drop in prices over the past few ...
NEW YORK: While astronaut Buzz Aldrin enjoys movies about space, he doesn't always think they get it right. A day af...
PARIS: A French soldier has been stabbed while on patrol in Paris but President Francois Hollande said the attack could...
LONDON: British police made two further arrests Thursday and raided houses across London following the brutal murder of...
BAGHDAD: Two bombings near a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad and at one at funeral in south killed at least 46 people and...
LONDON: British High Commissioner (HC), Adam Thomson has said that UK police have received countless complaints against...
BANGALORE: Adam Gilchrist’s unbeaten 85 off 54 balls, helped by Azhar Mahmood's 61 off 41, stunned Royal Challengers Ba...
KARACHI: More than 154,000 staff will perform election duty at 14,980 polling stations across Sindh province, media repo...
HANGU: A curfew was imposed in Hangu district after an explosion targeting a Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) candidate...
Bangladesh take lead to 272 runs by stumps on Day 3HARARE: Bangladesh bowled Zimbabwe out for 282 and built a 272-run le...
MONTE CARLO, Monaco, April 18, 2013 (AFP) - Roger Federer will return to second in the ATP standings next week after And...
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that all the political parties should be provid...
BOSTON, Massachusetts: Boston police said Monday that what was initially thought to have been a third explosion in the c...
ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry has decided to tighten security of Election Commission offices and political leaders. A...
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has changed the tribunal for hearing the appeals against Pakistan M...
KARACHI: Sindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ebad Khan has announced Rs2 million cash reward for the CID personnel over successf...
HUB: Two persons’ bodies were found at Kharan on Saturday morning here, media reported. Awaran S.P. Muhammad Rafiq Lasi ...
Embassy takes serious notice of Pakistanis complaints Islamabad: The Head of Mission of Embassy of Libya in Islamabad h...
JAIPUR: Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash at the Sawai...
Afghans Say New Bodies Have Been Found Near a Former U.S. Base
Kabul, Afghanistan: Soon after family members found what they believe ...
US: Taliban Inflicting Heavy Losses on Afghan Troops
BRUSSELS: The U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, ...
Growing Up An Afghan Warlord's Son
Renee Montagne recently returned from a reporting trip to Afghanistan....
Afghan interpreters' UK resettlement package 'completely inadequate'
Package announced by defense secretary Philip Hammond attacked for exp...
US, Germany, Italy vow key Afghan roles post-2014
BRUSSELS: Germany and Italy will join the United States as "lead nati...
Soldier pleads guilty in massacre of 16 Afghans
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash: The American soldier accused of killin...
Coalition Deliberates Afghan Presence
Brussels: The top commander of the U.S.-led military coalition in Afg...
In Afghanistan, grief for a husband who shouldn't have died
Khosh Gombat, Afghanistan: Whenever Bibi Laila heard the all-too-fami...
