[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 206 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H6864-H6867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CALLING FOR GLOBAL REPEAL OF BLASPHEMY, HERESY, AND APOSTASY LAWS

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 512) calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, 
heresy, and apostasy laws, as amended.

[[Page H6865]]

  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 512

       Whereas Article 18 of the International Declaration of 
     Human Rights states that ``[e]veryone has the right to 
     freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right 
     includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and 
     freedom, either alone or in community with others and in 
     public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in 
     teaching, practice, worship and observance'';
       Whereas many countries continue to have criminal blasphemy 
     laws and punish people who engage in expression deemed by the 
     government to be blasphemous, heretical, apostate, defamatory 
     of religion, or insulting to religion or to religious 
     symbols, figures, or feelings, and such punishment can 
     include fines, imprisonment, and capital punishment including 
     by beheading;
       Whereas blasphemy laws have affected Christians, Muslims, 
     Jews, Hindus, Baha'i, secularists, and many other groups, are 
     inconsistent with international human rights standards 
     because they establish and promote official religious 
     orthodoxy and dogma over individual liberty, and often result 
     in violations of the freedoms of religion, thought, and 
     expression that are protected under international 
     instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
       Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated in 
     General Comment 34 that ``[p]rohibitions of displays of lack 
     of respect for a religion or other belief system, including 
     blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the [ICCPR].'';
       Whereas the United States Commission on International 
     Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has found that blasphemy charges 
     are often based on false accusations, are used for sectarian 
     or political purposes, and foster religious intolerance, 
     discrimination, and violence;
       Whereas USCIRF has found that at least 70 countries had 
     blasphemy laws as of 2018;
       Whereas these laws were present in 18 Middle East and North 
     African countries, 8 countries in the Americas, 18 Asia-
     Pacific countries, 14 European countries, and 12 Sub-Saharan 
     African countries;
       Whereas the Pew Research Center found that countries with 
     laws against blasphemy, apostasy, or defamation of religion 
     were more likely to have severe governmental restrictions on 
     religion, and to experience social hostilities based on 
     religion, than countries that did not have such laws;
       Whereas restrictive laws beyond those penalizing blasphemy, 
     heresy, and apostasy further limit religious freedom, such as 
     extremism laws--
       (1) in Russia that have been used to ban Jehovah's 
     Witnesses as an extremist organization and fueled persecution 
     of this religious group;
       (2) in China, to arbitrarily detain an estimated 800,000 to 
     2,000,000 Uighur Muslims in internment camps because they 
     followed Islamic rituals and practices; and
       (3) in North Korea, to detain an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 
     Christians in labor camps because they followed the tenets of 
     Christianity;

       Whereas an international group of experts convened by the 
     Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
     Rights recommended in 2012 that ``[s]tates that have 
     blasphemy laws should repeal the[m] as such laws have a 
     stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of religion or 
     belief and healthy dialogue and debate about religion.'';
       Whereas blasphemy laws are inconsistent with United Nations 
     resolutions adopted by consensus since 2011 recognizing that 
     religious intolerance is best fought through positive 
     measures, such as education, outreach, and counter-speech, 
     and that criminalization of speech is warranted only for the 
     prevention of imminent violence;
       Whereas according to the annual religious freedom report 
     published by the Department of State in 2015, attackers in 
     Bangladesh killed five allegedly anti-Islamic or secularist 
     writers and publishers, and injured three others;
       Whereas in response to these killings, the Home Minister of 
     Bangladesh, rather than condemning the murders, called on 
     bloggers and others to refrain from writings that could hurt 
     the religious feelings of others and added that violators of 
     the warning would be subject to prosecution under the 
     restrictive religious freedom laws of Bangladesh;
       Whereas a 2016 report by USCIRF on Bangladesh found that 
     religious and civil society groups fear that increasing 
     religious extremism will result in more criminal attacks and 
     threats;
       Whereas restrictive religious freedom laws validate and 
     promote social violence targeted at religious minorities and 
     dissenters, whether Christian, Muslim, secularist, or other;
       Whereas USCIRF has found that in Pakistan, blasphemy laws 
     have been used to prosecute and persecute Muslims, 
     Christians, secularists, and others;
       Whereas according to a Pew Center report on religion and 
     public life, Pakistan stands out for having one of the 
     highest levels of restrictions on religion when both 
     government restrictions and social hostilities are taken into 
     account;
       Whereas USCIRF has found egregious examples of the 
     enforcement of blasphemy laws and vigilante violence 
     connected to blasphemy allegations in Pakistan, where 
     blasphemy charges are common and numerous individuals are in 
     prison, with a high percentage sentenced to death or to life 
     in prison;
       Whereas, as of May 2018, USCIRF was aware of approximately 
     40 individuals on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan or 
     serving life sentences;
       Whereas Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 
     2010 and was held for 8 years, until the Supreme Court of 
     Pakistan overturned her conviction in 2018, upheld her 
     acquittal, and granted her permission to leave the country to 
     flee the threats against her in 2019;
       Whereas Pakistan selectively enforces the blasphemy and 
     anti-terrorism laws against minority religious groups, 
     including by specifically targeting Ahmadiyya Muslims such as 
     Abdul Shakoor, an 80-year old optician and bookseller who was 
     recently released after serving over three years in prison on 
     such charges;
       Whereas blasphemy laws in Pakistan have fostered a climate 
     of impunity, as those who falsify evidence go unpunished and 
     allegations often result in violent mob attacks or 
     assassinations, with little to no police response;
       Whereas in 2017, the Christian Governor of Jakarta, 
     Indonesia, was convicted for blasphemy of Islam and sentenced 
     to two years in jail;
       Whereas several countries that maintained blasphemy laws 
     have recently taken steps towards removing these provisions, 
     including Greece, Ireland, and Canada;
       Whereas blasphemy laws in the United States were 
     invalidated by the adoption of the First Amendment to the 
     Constitution, which protects the freedoms of thought, 
     conscience, expression, and religious exercise; and
       Whereas the United States has become a beacon of religious 
     freedom and tolerance around the world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes that blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws 
     inappropriately position governments as arbiters of religious 
     truth and empower officials to impose religious dogma on 
     individuals or minorities through the power of the government 
     or through violence sanctioned by the government;
       (2) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to 
     make the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws a 
     priority in the bilateral relationships of the United States 
     with all countries that have such laws, through direct 
     interventions in bilateral and multilateral fora;
       (3) encourages the President and the Secretary of State to 
     oppose--
       (A) any efforts, by the United Nations or by other 
     international or multilateral fora, to create an 
     international anti-blasphemy norm, such as the ``defamation 
     of religions'' resolutions introduced in the United Nations 
     between 1999 and 2010; and
       (B) any attempts to expand the international norm on 
     incitement to include blasphemy or defamation of religions;
       (4) supports efforts by the United Nations to combat 
     intolerance, discrimination, or violence against persons 
     based on religion or belief without restricting expression, 
     including United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 16/
     18 (2011) and the Istanbul Process meetings pursuant to such 
     resolution, that are consistent with the First Amendment to 
     the Constitution;
       (5) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to 
     designate countries that enforce blasphemy, heresy, or 
     apostasy laws as ``countries of particular concern for 
     religious freedom'' under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the 
     International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for engaging in or tolerating severe 
     violations of religious freedom, as a result of the abuses 
     flowing from the enforcement of such laws and from unpunished 
     vigilante violence often generated by blasphemy allegations;
       (6) urges the governments of countries that enforce 
     blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy laws to amend or repeal such 
     laws, as they provide pretext and impunity for vigilante 
     violence against religious minorities; and
       (7) urges the governments of countries that have 
     prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people on charges of 
     blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to release such people 
     unconditionally and, once released, to ensure their safety 
     and that of their families.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Raskin) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H. Res. 512.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H6866]]

  Mr. Speaker, in this age of partisan division, one of the 
foundational American values still has the power to bring us together 
across the aisle: the defense of every human being's freedom of 
religious conscience and freedom of thought against government 
persecution. With H. Res. 512, we act today to stand up for religious 
and intellectual freedom in a world gone mad with religious 
discrimination, religious oppression, and religious violence.
  H. Res. 512 calls for global repeal of laws punishing blasphemy, 
heresy, and apostasy, three religiously defined thought crimes that 
have no actual victims and, thus, no place in the criminal law of free 
nations. Yet governments in 84 countries, from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and 
Somalia to China, Russia, and Bangladesh, still use laws like these to 
intimidate, arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate members of minority 
religions, disfavored faiths, and freethinkers.
  Putting people in jail or even condemning them to death for 
religiously subversive speech was not unknown in American colonies. In 
Massachusetts, Puritan Governors hanged Quakers for their heretical 
lectures in town squares.
  But our enlightenment Constitution, especially our First Amendment 
free exercise and antireligious establishment clauses, put us squarely 
on the path of rejecting blasphemy laws and these other relics of 
inquisition, holy crusades, and New England witchcraft trials. Our law 
has gotten rid of obsolete offenses like blasphemy and apostasy because 
they have a purely religious character and do not refer to empirical 
social harms.
  Blasphemy is making impious or sacrilegious statements about 
established churches or doctrines.
  Heresy is taking religious or intellectual positions at odds with an 
established religious orthodoxy.
  Apostasy is breaking away from a religious orthodoxy or a church.
  As offensive as we might consider other people's religious views and 
utterances, in America today, people's thoughts and words about 
religion are absolutely protected by the First Amendment. But in many 
parts of the world where religion is still actively weaponized by 
theocratic and authoritarian governments, these imaginary offenses can 
still get you thrown into jail, harassed, and executed, or simply 
stopped and torn limb from limb by state-sanctioned lynch mobs.
  Religious people of the wrong faith are the most common victims of 
blasphemy and heresy laws.
  You might be a practicing Christian or Hindu, Mr. Speaker, in an 
officially Muslim state like Libya or Afghanistan or a devout Muslim in 
a Hindu society like India. You might be a nonreligious person targeted 
by your enemies or state authorities.
  You might be a 22-year-old Nigerian gospel musician like Yahaya 
Sharif-Aminu, who was convicted of blasphemy in a state sharia court in 
Kano State on August 10 and has been sentenced to death by hanging for 
something he said on a WhatsApp group on the internet.
  Mr. Speaker, you might be a Sudanese Christian like Mariam Ibrahim, 
who was jailed for apostasy because, although she had been a devout 
Christian for her entire life, government officials demanded that she 
follow her absent father's Muslim faith. She was held in jail with her 
20-month-old son and forced to give birth to her daughter in prison 
while her legs were shackled to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, you might be a 13-year-old Muslim boy in Nigeria like 
Omar Farouq, who was sentenced to 10 years at hard labor for blasphemy 
when he said something about Allah in an argument with friends, a 
brutal miscarriage of justice condemned by UNICEF and child advocates 
all over the world.
  You might even belong to the wrong sect of the official state 
religion. In the Islamic State of Pakistan, for example, people 
belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim faith are being persecuted as 
heretics and apostates as if this were the Middle Ages.
  At least five Ahmadiyya Muslims have been killed in Pakistan this 
year alone because of their faith, including Tahir Ahmad Naseem, an 
American citizen who was murdered in broad daylight in a courtroom 
while standing trial for blasphemy charges just for practicing his own 
religion. While his teenage killer was arrested, he is being celebrated 
now as a martyr by the media and members of the police service who 
watched him kill Naseem.
  Mr. Speaker, the global assault on religious and intellectual freedom 
today is taking place in many of the world's largest countries:
  China confines millions of Uighur Muslims in miserable reeducation 
camps and forces them into slave labor in Xinjiang province;
  Russia has decreed that Jehovah's Witnesses are an extremist group 
and confiscated their property, jailed their members, and even 
allegedly tortured some of them;
  India recently passed draconian laws burdening the rights of 
disfavored Muslim minorities.
  With this resolution, Mr. Speaker, against the new wave of global 
religious oppression and persecution, America can once again take the 
lead in defending the basic human rights of religious and intellectual 
freedom all over the world.
  James Madison, the author of our First Amendment, denounced that 
``diabolical, hell-conceived principle of persecution,'' and he stated 
in his remonstrance against religious assessments that ``the religion . 
. . of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every 
man.''

  Let us share this principle with the nations of the world with this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the right to practice one's faith is the most 
fundamental freedom there is. There is a reason our Founding Fathers 
made it the First Amendment: Our Founders understood that someone's 
right to worship was sacred and should belong to all people regardless 
of their faith.
  If religious freedom is taken away, all other freedoms are subject to 
being taken away also. It is just that simple.
  Unfortunately, religious freedom still does not exist everywhere. 
Today, religious minorities are persecuted all over the globe.
  According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 
about one-third of the countries around the world still have laws 
against blasphemy. In many dictatorships, people are not allowed to 
worship anything but the state. To do so would be seen as a threat to 
the government because they do not recognize a higher power.
  As a result, religious minorities are targeted in some countries with 
severe brutality. People are being beaten, arrested, and tortured. 
Houses of worship are razed and destroyed. In countries like Iran, 
Pakistan, and others, ascribing to a different religion could mean the 
death penalty. In other places, it can mean forced labor or a public 
whipping.
  This is simply unacceptable. Today, the House has an opportunity to 
stand up for religious freedom around the world.
  This is an important resolution. This resolution makes the repeal of 
blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws a priority everywhere. It 
designates countries that enforce such laws as countries of particular 
concern for religious freedom and calls on all governments to release 
religious prisoners of conscience.
  The United States has always been a leader when it comes to religious 
freedom. Today, we have a chance to lead again and to tell the world 
that we will not stand for religious intolerance.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H. Res. 512, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
for the purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his very thoughtful and 
eloquent statement in defense of religious freedom, the value that 
unites us behind this powerful resolution, which will put the 
government squarely back in the fight to defend religious liberty all 
over the world and to oppose the spread of these blasphemy laws that 
are being used to persecute innocent people all over the globe.
  Mr. Speaker, in our country, the religious Free Exercise Clause and 
the clause against establishment of religion stand best when they stand 
together because they both stand for the

[[Page H6867]]

principle that no particular religious sect can seize control of state 
power and then persecute members of other religious groups, but that is 
what is happening in so many places all over the world.
  Mr. Speaker, our experience in the separation of church and state and 
standing up for the free exercise of religion is something that we can 
continue to proudly promote to the rest of the world, and we do have 
something that we think we can teach other nations that want to follow 
the path of democracy and freedom.
  As the U.S. works to advance human rights, it is critical that we put 
this question of freedom of thought, freedom of conscience right at the 
heart of our efforts. Everyone must be able to practice their faith--or 
no faith at all--without the threat of government violence and 
persecution.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this excellent measure, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor and a senior Member of 
the House of Representatives, I rise in strong support of this 
bipartisan resolution, H. Res. 512, ``Calling for the global repeal of 
blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws''.
  First and foremost, I would like to recognize and thank Congressman 
Jamie Raskin for his leadership on this vital resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution calls upon the President and the 
Department of State to prioritize the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and 
apostasy laws in bilateral relationships between the United States and 
countries that have such laws.
  It also designates countries that enforce such laws as ``countries of 
particular concern'' with respect to religious freedom.
  Furthermore, H. Res. 512 opposes efforts by the United Nations to 
implement an international anti-blasphemy norm.
  Lastly, the resolution calls on the governments of countries that 
enforce such laws to either amend or repeal them as well as to release 
anyone imprisoned pursuant to them.
  Blasphemy laws, as is noted in the resolution, lead to religious 
intolerance, discrimination and violence.
  Moreover, these laws are often weaponized to target marginalized 
religious communities.
  Charges can be based on false accusations and are commonly brought 
forth for sectarian or political purposes.
  In 2019, the United States Commission on International Religious 
Freedom released its 20th Annual Report, recommending that the U.S. 
Department of State designate sixteen nations as ``countries of 
particular concern'' due to their severe suppression of religious 
freedom.
  For example: In Burma, a predominantly Buddhist nation, the Rohingya 
Muslim people have been subject to what the U.N. high commissioner for 
human rights has called ``a textbook example of ethnic cleansing'';
  In China, over 1 million ethnic Uyghur and Kazakh Muslims have been 
arbitrarily detained in concentration camps styled as ``political 
education'' camps, where they are subject to torture and inhumane 
conditions;
  In Iran, the Baha'i community is treated by the government as a band 
of heretics, and, as of February 2017, at least 90 Baha'i were held in 
prison solely for their religious beliefs;
  In Russia, Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned as an extremist 
group, and their properties have been seized and liquidated by order of 
the government. Dozens of individuals have been arrested on extremism 
charges and remain in custody or under house arrest; and
  The right to worship freely is one of the founding and most essential 
principles of the United States.
  As the world's oldest democracy, America has a responsibility to 
protect the freedoms of speech, expression, and religion against 
official persecution around the world.
  Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have been a fierce defender of 
human rights, and this resolution is a small but important step in 
safeguarding the individual freedoms of choosing one's religion, or no 
religion at all, as well as worshipping and thinking freely no matter 
where you live.
  With this in mind, I am proud to be a leader on this resolution, and 
I urge all Members on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting for 
H. Res. 512, ``Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and 
apostasy laws.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 512, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
will be postponed.

                          ____________________