[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1916 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1916

   To establish in the Department of State the Office to Monitor and 
              Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2023

Mr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. 
   Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish in the Department of State the Office to Monitor and 
              Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Combating International Islamophobia 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT 
              ISLAMOPHOBIA.

     Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 
U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 64. MONITORING AND COMBATING ISLAMOPHOBIA.

    ``(a) Office To Monitor and Combat Islamophobia.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of State 
        shall establish within the Department of State an Office to 
        Monitor and Combat Islamophobia (in this section referred to as 
        the `Office').
            ``(2) Head of office.--
                    ``(A) Special envoy for monitoring and combating 
                islamophobia.--The head of the Office shall be the 
                Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Islamophobia 
                (in this section referred to as the `Special Envoy') 
                who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.
                    ``(B) Appointment of special envoy.--The Secretary 
                may--
                            ``(i) if considered appropriate by the 
                        Secretary, appoint the Special Envoy from among 
                        officers and employees of the Department of 
                        State; and
                            ``(ii) allow any such officer or employee 
                        appointed as Special Envoy to retain the 
                        position (and the responsibilities associated 
                        with such position) held by such officer or 
                        employee prior to such appointment.
    ``(b) Purpose of Office.--The Office shall be responsible for the 
following:
            ``(1) Monitoring and combating acts of Islamophobia and 
        Islamophobic incitement that occur in foreign countries.
            ``(2) Coordinating and assisting in the preparation of that 
        portion of the reports required by sections 116(d)(9) and 
        502B(k) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
        2151n(d), 2304(k)) relating to an assessment and description of 
        the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic 
        incitement.
            ``(3) Coordinating and assisting in the preparation of that 
        portion of the report required by section 102(b)(1)(A)(viii) of 
        the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
        6412(b)(1)(A)(viii)) relating to an assessment and description 
        of the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and 
        Islamophobic incitement.
    ``(c) Consultations.--The Special Envoy shall consult with domestic 
and international nongovernmental organizations and multilateral 
organizations and institutions, as the Special Envoy considers 
appropriate, to carry out this section.''.

SEC. 3. INCLUSION IN DEPARTMENT OF STATE ANNUAL REPORTS OF INFORMATION 
              CONCERNING ACTS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

    (a) Inclusion in Annual Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices.--The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))--
                    (A) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(13) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and 
        extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that 
        occurred during the preceding year, including descriptions of--
                    ``(A) acts of physical violence against, or 
                harassment of, members of the Muslim community, and 
                acts of violence against, or vandalism of, Muslim 
                community institutions, including schools, mosques, and 
                cemeteries;
                    ``(B) instances of propaganda in government and 
                nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote 
                racial hatred or incite acts of violence against 
                members of the Muslim community;
                    ``(C) the actions, if any, taken by the government 
                of that country to respond to such violence and attacks 
                or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement;
                    ``(D) the actions taken by such government to enact 
                and enforce laws relating to the protection of the 
                right to religious freedom of members of the Muslim 
                community; and
                    ``(E) the efforts of such government to promote 
                anti-bias and tolerance education.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by--
                    (A) redesignating the second subsection (i) 
                (relating to child marriage status) as subsection (j); 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(k) Information Concerning Acts of Islamophobia in Foreign 
Countries.--The report required by subsection (b) shall include, 
wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of acts of 
Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occurred during the 
preceding year, including descriptions of--
            ``(1) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, 
        members of the Muslim community, and acts of violence against, 
        or vandalism of, Muslim community institutions, including 
        schools, mosques, and cemeteries;
            ``(2) instances of propaganda in government and 
        nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote racial 
        hatred or incite acts of violence against members of the Muslim 
        community;
            ``(3) the actions, if any, taken by the government of that 
        country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate 
        such propaganda or incitement;
            ``(4) the actions taken by such government to enact and 
        enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to 
        religious freedom of members of the Muslim community; and
            ``(5) the efforts of such government to promote anti-bias 
        and tolerance education.''.
    (b) Inclusion in Annual Report on International Religious 
Freedom.--Section 102(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (vi), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (vii)(II), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(viii) wherever applicable, an assessment 
                        and description of the nature and extent of 
                        acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic 
                        incitement that occurred in that country during 
                        the preceding the year, including--
                                    ``(I) acts of physical violence 
                                against, or harassment of, members of 
                                the Muslim community, acts of violence 
                                against, or vandalism of, Muslim 
                                community institutions, instances of 
                                propaganda in government and 
                                nongovernment media that incite such 
                                acts, and statements and actions 
                                relating thereto; and
                                    ``(II) the actions taken by the 
                                government of that country to respond 
                                to such violence and attacks or to 
                                eliminate such propaganda or 
                                incitement, to enact and enforce laws 
                                relating to the protection of the right 
                                to religious freedom of members of the 
                                Muslim community, and to promote anti-
                                bias and tolerance education.''.
    (c) Effective Date of Inclusions.--The amendments made by 
subsections (a) and (b) shall apply on the date that is 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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