[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 41 (Tuesday, April 4, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2842-S2843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PROMOTING FREEDOM OF RELIGION IN AFGHANISTAN

  Mr. BENNETT. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of S. Res. 421, which was submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 421) calling on the government of 
     Afghanistan to uphold freedom of religion and urging the 
     Government of the United States to promote religious freedom 
     in Afghanistan.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the past week, the world has witnessed 
the arrest, the imprisonment, the threatened execution, and eventually 
the release of a man in Afghanistan named Abdul Rahman. His so-called 
crime? Apostasy. He was threatened with capital punishment because 16 
years ago, while working on a humanitarian mission in Pakistan, he 
converted to Christianity.
  Abdul Rahman has thankfully been released, and charges against him 
have been dropped. However, religious freedom remains in jeopardy in 
Afghanistan as do those who might choose to practice it.
  I have great respect for President Karzai and the state he is trying 
to build. I respect the right of Afghanistan to its own laws and legal 
system.
  But it will be a great tragedy if the overthrow of the Taliban 
government results in its replacement by a state that professes 
democracy but falls so far short of such an essential democratic 
standard: the freedom of belief.
  We have over 22,000 troops in Afghanistan. Two hundred and eighty-two 
Americans have given their lives in that country since Operation 
Enduring Freedom began.
  Freedom must, by definition, include freedom of religion,
  It is our responsibility to make that utterly clear. As President 
Bush has stated, ``We expect [the government of Afghanistan] to honor 
the universal principle of freedom. It is deeply troubling that a 
country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they 
chose a particular religion over another.''
  The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
raised concerns during the drafting of Afghanistan's constitution that 
it opened the door for cases such as this. Those concerns extend to 
both members of religious minorities and to members of the country's 
majority Muslim community who might dare to express an interpretation 
of Islam that differs from the prevailing orthodoxy. Sadly, these 
apprehensions have been borne out.
  The State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 
2005 noted that conversion from Islam is ``in theory'' punishable by 
death in Afghanistan. Although charges against Mr. Rahman were 
fortunately dropped, clearly such a punishment is more than simply 
theoretical.
  Afghanistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, which reads in part, ``Everyone shall have the right 
to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall 
include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, 
and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in 
public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, 
observance, practice and teaching.''
  Today, I am introducing a resolution calling on the Government of 
Afghanistan to live up to the principles it has endorsed in that 
covenant. This resolution also urges the Government of Afghanistan to 
consider the importance

[[Page S2843]]

of religious freedom for the broader relationship between our two 
countries, and it expresses the sense of Congress that the President 
and his representatives should raise these human rights issues both 
publicly and privately.
  In 1864, Abraham Lincoln wrote a grieving mother who had lost 5 sons 
in a single day in battle. He sought to offer her consolation for ``so 
costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.'' Two hundred and eighty-
two Americans have made that sacrifice in Afghanistan. Countless 
Afghans died in the struggle against Soviet invaders and others in 
resistance against the brutal regime of the Taliban. It is my fervent 
hope that Afghanistan lives up to the promise of its own pledge to 
uphold human rights: freedom of worship must be part of any true 
enduring freedom.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating 
thereto be printed in the Record as if read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 421) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 421

       Whereas under the Taliban Government of Afghanistan, 
     individuals convicted of promoting faiths other than Islam, 
     or expressing interpretations of Islam differing from the 
     prevailing orthodoxy, could be imprisoned and those 
     converting from Islam could be tortured and publicly 
     executed;
       Whereas the United States has more than 22,000 members of 
     the Armed Forces stationed in Afghanistan and whereas 282 
     members of the Armed Forces have given their lives in 
     Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom began in that 
     country;
       Whereas Abdul Rahman, a citizen of Afghanistan, was 
     arrested and accused of apostasy for converting to 
     Christianity 16 years ago and threatened with execution;
       Whereas the prosecutor in this case, Abdul Wasi, stated in 
     court that Abdul Rahman ``is known as a microbe in society, 
     and he should be cut off and removed from the rest of Muslim 
     society and should be killed.'';
       Whereas, while it was a welcome development that charges 
     against Abdul Rahman were dropped, he was forced to seek 
     asylum in Italy;
       Whereas, despite his release, religious freedom and those 
     who would practice it in Afghanistan remain in jeopardy;
       Whereas religious freedom is a fundamental principle of 
     democracy;
       Whereas the Constitution of Afghanistan does not fully 
     guarantee freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or 
     belief;
       Whereas, on several occasions throughout Afghanistan's 
     constitution drafting process, the United States Commission 
     on International Religious Freedom raised concerns that the 
     constitution's ambiguity on issues of conversion and 
     religious expression could lead to unjust criminal 
     accusations against Muslims and non-Muslims alike;
       Whereas charges of blasphemy since 2002 have justified 
     those concerns;
       Whereas the International Religious Freedom Report 2005 
     published by the Department of State does not list 
     Afghanistan among those countries cited for ``State Hostility 
     Toward Minority or Nonapproved Religions'', ``State Neglect 
     of Societal Discrimination or Abuses Against Religious 
     Groups'', or ``Discriminatory Legislation or Policies 
     Prejudicial to Certain Religions'' and notes that ``[t]he new 
     Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the 
     Government generally respected this right in practice'';
       Whereas the International Religious Freedom Report 2005 
     states that conversion from Islam is ``in theory - punishable 
     by death'' in Afghanistan;
       Whereas the case of Abdul Rahman, other instances of 
     religious persecution or discrimination against minorities, 
     and ambiguities within the Constitution of Afghanistan appear 
     to warrant closer scrutiny in the International Religious 
     Freedom Report 2006; and
       Whereas Afghanistan is a party to the International 
     Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which reads in part, 
     ``Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, 
     conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to 
     have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and 
     freedom, either individually or in community with others and 
     in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in 
     worship, observance, practice and teaching.'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate--
       (A) recognizes freedom of religion as a central tenet of 
     democracy;
       (B) respects the right of the people of Afghanistan to 
     self-government, while strongly urging the Government of 
     Afghanistan to respect all universally recognized human 
     rights;
       (C) condemns the arrest of Abdul Rahman and other instances 
     of religious persecution in Afghanistan;
       (D) commends the dropping of charges against Abdul Rahman; 
     and
       (E) strongly urges the Government of Afghanistan to 
     consider the importance of religious freedom for the broader 
     relationship between the United States and Afghanistan; and
       (2) it is the sense of the Senate that the President and 
     the President's representatives should--
       (A) in both public and private fora, raise concerns at the 
     highest levels with the Government of Afghanistan regarding 
     the violations of internationally recognized human rights, 
     including the right to freedom of religion or belief, in 
     Afghanistan; and
       (B) ensure that the International Religious Freedom Report 
     2006 for Afghanistan fully addresses the issue of religious 
     persecution in that country, including the arrest of Abdul 
     Rahman.

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