[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ON THE STATUS OF THE EGYPTIAN COPTIC COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY C. PETERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 2, 2011

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the ongoing violence 
in Egypt being carried out against religious minorities. While the end 
of the Mubarak regime has brought about the promise for democratic 
reform, it has also given rise to instability and acts of violence 
against religious minorities. Coptic Christians have lived peacefully 
in this part of the world for millennia, but sadly in recent months 
Coptic churches and protestors have been targeted for violence.
  I am grateful to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in 
Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, for holding a hearing 
recently on the plight of the Coptic people. I was concerned to learn 
of reports that young women and under-aged girls fear for their safety 
because of the threat of violence by Muslim extremists. As a member of 
the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, I strongly believe 
U.S. policymakers need to do more to raise awareness of this issue so 
that the innocent Christians of Egypt are no longer targeted for 
violence.
  I am proud to represent a vibrant Coptic community in southeast 
Michigan and am privileged to consider the clergy of St. Mark's Church 
in Troy, Michigan as my friends. Many of my constituents have relatives 
in Egypt and I know that they are deeply concerned about the security 
of their loved ones. I share their concerns--and the concerns of Copts 
across our nation--about the future of their community and the desire 
to preserve their right to continue to live peacefully in their 
ancestral homeland.
  While we are hopeful for democratic change in Egypt, it is imperative 
that we maintain support for religious minority communities such as the 
Copts and seek to preserve and allow for the continuity of their 
community. I ask my colleagues to join me in raising awareness for the 
plight of the Copts, demanding an end to extremist violence, ensuring 
that all Egyptian political parties practice the values of pluralism 
and tolerance, and encouraging a democratic Egypt to fully respect the 
rights of all its citizens.

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