[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 28250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1645
                       RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN IRAQ

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq has 
unleashed tremendous religious violence against the Christian community 
there.
  According to the London Times, ``In the chaos after the U.S.-led war 
invasion of Iraq in 2003, Christians found themselves targeted by 
Islamic terrorists.''
  Archbishop Paul Faraj Rahho said Christians in Iraq faced three bad 
choices: either they fled, converted to Islam, or risked being killed. 
Then in 2008, Archbishop Rahho himself was kidnapped and murdered.
  These horrendous human rights violations and crimes against 
Christians in Iraq were brought to my attention by one of my 
constituents, Susan Dakak, a civil engineer who is a native of Iraq. 
Iraq's Christian Ambassador, the Iraqi Ambassador to the Vatican, my 
constituents tell me, is doing almost nothing to call attention to the 
plight of these people.
  The U.S. should do more to aid the Christian minority in Iraq. At 
least one-third, maybe closer to one-half of these Christians, have 
fled the country. They should be allowed to return. The killings, 
kidnappings, and religious persecutions must stop.
  The U.S. Government should substantially reduce our aid if Christians 
are not allowed to freely express their religion in Iraq.

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