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Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased today to rise in support of H.R. 440, a bill to establish a special envoy to promote religious freedom of religious minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. As a cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation and as a member of the Religious Minorities of the Middle East Caucus, I strongly support its passage.
While many parts of the Near East and Southeast Asia are predominantly Muslim, historically these areas have been home to a diverse group of ethnic and religious minorities. Whether it is Chaldeans, Syriacs, and Assyrians in Iraq, Baha'i in Iran, Copts in Egypt, or the Hindus in Pakistan, religious minorities have for centuries lived and worshipped alongside their Muslim countrymen and women.
Unfortunately, instability in the Middle East has had a disproportionately negative impact on religious minorities. The most striking example of this has been in Iraq, where more than half of the Iraqi Christian population has been forced to flee the country since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Those who have stayed have been specifically targeted in gruesome and random acts of violence, such as murder, rape, and abduction.
This includes religious and community leaders like Archbishop Rahho, who was kidnapped and murdered. Religious minorities have also suffered attacks in their places of worship, such as the October 2010 massacre at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, in which 58 worshipers were killed by militants and extremists.
While the end of the Mubarak regime in Egypt 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 centuries. Sadly, in recent months, Coptic churches and protesters have also been targeted for violence.
Freedom of religion is something we take for granted here in the United States. Our citizens are free to worship however they please, without fear that they will be targeted for violence because of their religious beliefs. I'm honored to represent Michigan's Ninth Congressional District, which is home to an amazingly diverse population. We have Jewish synagogues, Islamic mosques, Hindu temples, and Christian churches of almost every kind imaginable. This diversity is a source of strength in our community, and something my constituents are very proud of. Many of my constituents have relatives in Near East or South Central Asia and they wish that they, too, had the same freedom to worship that so many of us take for granted. They are desperate to see the United States take more leadership in promoting religious tolerance overseas.
That is why the legislation we're debating today is so important. It creates a permanent special envoy that will work on behalf of the President and the Secretary of State to advance the cause of religious minorities abroad. This individual will be able to ensure that the United States is fully engaged to fight to protect religious minorities in other countries and to help hold our own government accountable when that should be done.
I would like to thank Representative Wolf, who is not only the author of this legislation but also the cochair of the Religious Minorities of the Middle East, a tireless champion on behalf of vulnerable populations. I would also like to thank my friend, Representative Eshoo, who is also a cochair of the caucus and a true champion for religious minorities in the Middle East.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so that the United States will be vigilant in promoting religious tolerance and freedom around the world.
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