[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1084]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         A CALL FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND PEACE IN THE WORLD

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we have values in this 
country. We believe in the First Amendment that appreciates and 
celebrates freedom of the press and freedom of speech and freedom of 
religion and freedom of association. But it is important to note that 
with all of the trauma that we are experiencing around the world there 
should be something called religious appreciation.
  I do understand that the Danish Government believes that the First 
Amendment is prime and a priority, but I also believe there is 
something for the government to say to the Muslim world, and that is 
that we do not condemn a religion that we do not understand and that we 
do have religious tolerance and religious appreciation. I call for 
tolerance and peace.
  I ask those who have expressed themselves in violence to find other 
ways of expressing their opposition to the characterization of their 
religion through cartoons. I, too, find it to be an outrage, and I 
offer a sense of sympathy and appreciation for the dignity of the 
Muslim religion, of Islam. Because Islam is not terrorism, as the 
President of the United States has said.
  So I hope that we will find a way and the Danish Government will find 
a way to not stand only on the principles of freedom of press, but that 
they will stand on the principle of religious tolerance, religious 
appreciation and respect. As we respect all faiths of this Nation, we 
should likewise respect the faiths of the many peoples of the world.

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