[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 17 (Thursday, February 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   STATEMENTS DENOUNCED AS REPUGNANT

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                               speech of

                         HON. E. CLAY SHAW, JR.

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 23, 1994

  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise to denounce the repugnant statements 
made by Khalid Abdul Mohammad of the Nation of Islam. The resolution we 
will approve today correctly condemns these vile statements as racist, 
anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic. I commend Mr. Lantos, the author of 
this resolution and himself a victim of the Nazi Holocaust, for 
bringing this before the House of Representatives.
  Last year we witnessed a great moment in our country's history, the 
opening of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. This museum is 
dedicated to the memory of those who died in the Nazi Holocaust, which 
remains a living memory for millions of Americans, and especially 
Jewish-Americans. On one of the museum's walls is inscribed a reminder 
of the danger of silence in the face of outrageous lies. It bears 
repeating:

       First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak 
     out--because I was not a socialist.
       Then they came for the trade-unionists, and I did not speak 
     out--because I was not a trade-unionist.
       Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
     because I was not a Jew.
       Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak 
     for me.--Reverend Martin Niemoller, 1937.

  All who value truth understand that the Holocaust was born of racist 
and bigoted thoughts. Those who wrongly believe there is merit in 
comments such as Mr. Mohammad's fail to recognize our resolve to state 
the truth, again and again. We have not forgotten the lessons of our 
century.
  Let this be our challenge--to vocally oppose those who cast lies as 
truth. Today we speak for our country in condemning false charges based 
not on fact, but on hatred alone. This challenge demands our eternal 
vigilance, a duty from which we as Americans must never shrink.

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