[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON RELIGIOUS 
                           MINORITIES IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 23, 2010

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 944 and thank 
the Chair and Ranking Member for their efforts to bring this to the 
floor for consideration at such a pivotal time in Iraq.
  A February 6 ABC News story opened with the following observation: 
``Across the Middle East, where Christianity was born and its followers 
once made up a sizable portion of the population, Christians are now 
tiny minorities.''
  This is perhaps no more true than in Iraq. With the exception of 
Israel, the Bible contains more references to the cities, regions and 
nations of ancient Iraq than any other country. The patriarch Abraham 
came from a city in Iraq called Ur. Isaac's bride, Rebekah, came from 
northwest Iraq. Jacob spent 20 years in Iraq and his sons (the 12 
tribes of Israel) were born in northwest Iraq. A remarkable spiritual 
revival as told in the book of Jonah occurred in Nineveh. The events of 
the book of Esther took place in Iraq as did the account of Daniel in 
the Lion's Den.
  Tragically Iraq's ancient Christian community is facing extinction. 
The U.N. High Commission for Refugees estimates that some 250,000 to 
500,000 Christians have left the country since 2003, or about half the 
Christian population. According to the bipartisan U.S. Commission on 
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), ``while Christians and other 
religious minorities represented only approximately 3 percent of the 
pre-2003 Iraqi population, they constitute approximately 15 and 20 
percent of registered Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria, respectively, 
and Christians account for 35 and 64 percent, respectively, of all 
registered Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and Turkey.''
  It is critical to note, as the figures above indicate, that the 
violence and intimidation that Iraq's Christians and other vulnerable 
ethno-religious communities have faced is targeted. In July 2008, the 
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration & Refugee Services said 
this about the minority religious communities: ``These groups, whose 
home has been what is now Iraq for many centuries, are literally being 
obliterated--not because they are fleeing generalized violence but 
because they are being specifically and viciously victimized by Islamic 
extremists and, in some cases, common criminals.''
  Reports indicate that since 2003, more than 200 Christians have been 
killed in Iraq, and since June 2004, 65 churches have been attacked or 
bombed. The situation facing these minority communities is not 
improving. In fact there has been a recent uptick in violence in the 
lead up to the elections in Iraq. A Reuters story last week reported 
that, ``With Iraq's March 7 parliamentary vote looming, a spike in 
attacks against Christians could be a sign of voter intimidation by 
factions in the bitter Kurd-Arab dispute, or another attempt by al 
Qaeda to derail the election.''
  I have appreciated Ambassador Chris Hill's commitment to this issue. 
In recent correspondence he indicated that ``the security of the 
Christian community remains one of my paramount concerns, especially in 
light of attacks directed at Christian churches in Baghdad and Mosul 
over the past five months.''
  But there needs to be leadership from the highest levels within the 
State Department as well. I have long advocated, both during the 
previous administration and in the current administration, that the 
U.S. needs to adopt a comprehensive policy to address the unique 
situation of these defenseless minorities. This resolution includes 
language urging the Secretary of State to develop just such a strategy.
  It is time for this administration to start taking religious freedom 
seriously. The position of U.S. ambassador for International Religious 
Freedom has been vacant for more than a year while other more junior 
posts have been filled. There's a saying in Washington that personnel 
is policy. When there isn't personnel, the policy inevitably suffers.
  The ancient faith communities of Iraq and others enduring religious 
persecution worldwide deserve a voice. This resolution is a step in the 
right direction.

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