[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E106-E107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN 
                  THE NEAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 2011

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the attention of my 
colleagues to the plight of Christians and other religious minorities 
in the Near East and South and Central Asia and to announce that I am 
introducing legislation which would require the administration to 
appoint a special envoy for religious minorities in these regions to 
make this issue a foreign policy priority. I hope my colleagues will 
join me in supporting this important legislation.
  Last October, at least 70 people were killed during a siege on Our 
Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad making it the worst massacre of 
Iraqi Christians since 2003. Less than two months later, extremists 
bombed the homes of more than a dozen Christian families throughout 
Baghdad. In a hearing before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, an 
Iraqi nun testified that the current spate of violence against 
Christians is worse than anything experienced under the ruthless 
dictator Saddam Hussein. The U.S. has a moral imperative to ensure that 
these minorities are protected.
  On New Year's Eve, Miriam Fekry, a 22-year-old Egyptian woman posted 
on her Facebook page before leaving for mass that ``2010 is over. This 
year has the best memories of my life. Really enjoyed this year. I hope 
that 2011 is much better. Plz God stay beside me & help make it all 
true.'' Tragically, that evening Miriam and 22 other people were killed 
by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, Egypt while coming out of mass at 
St. Mark and St. Peter Coptic Church. It was the worst violence against 
the country's Christian minority in a decade. Just ten days after the 
attack in Alexandria, an off-duty police officer fatally shot a Coptic 
Christian man and wounded five others Copts on a train in Egypt.
  In Afghanistan and Pakistan, countries where the United States has 
invested its treasure and the lives of countless brave young American 
soldiers, persecution of Christians runs rampant. On November 7 last 
year, a Pakistani court sentenced Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of 
five, to death for the ``crime'' of blasphemy. Only after intervention 
by the international community was her execution delayed. Her fate 
remains unclear. Unfortunately this is symptomatic of a much larger 
problem in Pakistan. Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often used to 
victimize both religious minorities and Muslims. In fact, Punjab's 
governor, influential governor, Salman Taseer was shot and killed by 
his own body guard who reportedly told police, ``that he killed Mr. 
Taseer because of the governor's opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy 
law.''
  In Afghanistan, a televised broadcast of Afghans being baptized 
resulted in the arrest of four Christians last August, who were 
eventually released due to international pressure. However, two Afghan 
converts to Christianity remain imprisoned on account of their faith. 
One of the Christian converts who is facing a possible death sentence 
reportedly said, ``Without my faith I would not be able to live.''
  Other religious minorities including the Ahmadis, Baha'is, 
Zoroastrians and Jews are under increasing pressure in the region.
  Last May, militants in Pakistan attacked two Ahmadi mosques in 
Pakistan killing at least 80 people. While the Ahmadis consider 
themselves Muslim, Pakistani law does not recognize them as such and 
they have been the target of large-scale coordinated attacks by 
extremist groups.
  According to the Baha'i World News Service, some 335 Baha'is have 
been arrested in Iran on account of their religious beliefs. Seven 
leaders of the Baha'i faith in Iran have been imprisoned since their 
arrest in 2008. According to the State Department's 2010 International 
Religious Freedom Report, Zoroastrians living in Iran also face 
persecution and blatant discrimination.
  Members of the Jewish faith continue to experience discrimination and 
persecution throughout the region. The Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism 
Hannah Rosenthal has noted that Holocaust glorification ``is especially 
virulent in the Middle East media.''
  In the wake of these devastating attacks on religious freedom, which 
in some cases are so severe that they literally threaten to wipe these 
ancient indigenous communities from the lands they've inhabited for 
centuries, it is clear that more must be done. Sadly, against the 
backdrop of these attacks, the post of Ambassador-at-Large for 
International Religious Freedom at the State Department has been vacant 
for two years.

[[Page E107]]

  If the international community fails to speak out, the prospects for 
religious pluralism and tolerance in the region are bleak. President 
Ronald Reagan once said that the U.S. Constitution is a ``covenant that 
we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind.''
  I believe that the United States has an obligation to speak out for 
the voiceless around the world, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting my legislation calling for a special envoy dedicated to 
speaking out for religious minorities in the Near East and South and 
Central Asia and elevating this issue as a foreign policy priority for 
America.

                          ____________________