•HRES 732 IH 
began, with at least 25 Christians killed and more than 
300 Copts and Muslims injured; 
Whereas, on October 9, 2011, more violence was incited by 
Egyptian television when Egyptians were called upon to 
‘‘protect the army’’ against the peaceful protests of the 
Christians; 
Whereas the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces 
promised an independent investigation into the events 
surrounding the October 9, 2011, massacre, yet no action 
has been taken to date to punish the perpetrators of the 
massacre; 
Whereas, on October 16, 2011, in the Upper Egyptian town 
of Mallawi, 17-year-old Ayman Labib, when he could not 
remove a cross tattooed on his wrist, was brutally at-
tacked and murdered by students in his class who were 
incited by his teacher; 
Whereas attacks against the Coptic Christian community 
have continued unabated since the revolution began, with 
the government creating a climate of impunity by pro-
viding little justice or protection from these attacks; 
Whereas, since March 2011, tens of thousands of Copts have 
reportedly left Egypt, increasing the trends of refugees 
fleeing from Egypt; 
Whereas, on October 31, 2010, the deadliest ever recorded 
attack on Iraqi Christians occurred at the Sayidat al- 
Nejat Catholic Cathedral in central Baghdad, where mili-
tants stormed the church and held parishioners hostage 
for several hours, and later detonated 2 suicide vests 
filled with ball bearings, killing 58 and wounding 78 pa-
rishioners, including 3 priests; 
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•HRES 732 IH 
Whereas since the Iraq War began, over one-half of Iraq’s 
Christian population has disappeared, been killed, or been 
forced into flight by terrorist groups, thereby threatening 
the very existence of this ancient community in Iraq; 
Whereas the United States Department of State’s July–De-
cember 2010 Religious Freedom Report found that the 
Iraqi Christian population is approximately half of its 
2003 level, a staggering loss of communities that date 
back thousands of years; 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom has reported that marginalization, dis-
crimination, threats of death, kidnapping for ransom, and 
attacks and murders by terrorists have threatened the 
elimination of Iraq’s Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, and 
other ancient ethno-religious communities such as the 
Mandaeans and Yezidis; and 
Whereas the Arab Spring’s democracy advocates will not be 
safe to express themselves or achieve the benefits of a 
stable, peaceful, and transparent democracy until reli-
gious freedom for all, including religious minorities, and 
the freedoms that parallel those rights, such as freedom 
of association, expression, and equal protection under the 
law are enshrined in any future legal or political reforms 
in countries throughout the region: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes, in light of the upheaval brought 
by the Arab Spring, that religious freedom is critical 
to democratization, so that all people can freely as-
sociate, speak, and peacefully participate equally in 
the political process, and that religious minorities 
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•HRES 732 IH 
are protected during this time of transition in the 
region; 
(2) calls upon the Arab League and the Organi-
zation of Islamic Cooperation to press all member 
nations to protect the rights of religious minorities 
within their borders and treat those minorities as 
equal citizens, which includes the vigorous prosecu-
tion of any crimes against them; 
(3) urges the United States Government to lead 
an international effort to support legal and political 
reforms for the equal protection of religious freedom 
for all as a foundation for a stable, peaceful, and 
lasting democracy in the region by— 
(A) making legal protection for the free-
dom of religion and for all who peacefully prac-
tice their faith a top priority in all meetings 
with senior foreign officials, communicating the 
message that foreign officials must— 
(i) end the climate of impunity when 
religious minorities are attacked; 
(ii) vigorously prosecute those individ-
uals truly responsible for the attacks; and 
(iii) ensure equality under the law for 
all people to adopt a religion or belief of 
their choice, to change that religion or be-
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•HRES 732 IH 
lief, and to manifest their religious beliefs 
in worship, observances, practice, and 
teaching; 
(B) supporting and directing United States 
officials with international programs in the 
Middle East to work with officials, civil society 
actors, and ethno-religious communities to edu-
cate all sectors of society that religious freedom 
provides a foundation for the democratic free-
doms they seek to achieve; 
(C) supporting greater Internet freedom 
throughout the region to provide the oppor-
tunity for access to information and the free ex-
change of ideas; and 
(D) encouraging the protection of places of 
worship and historic religious and cultural sites 
against terrorist attacks; 
(4) encourages the Supreme Council of the 
Armed Forces and the newly elected Egyptian Presi-
dent to ensure that the constituent assembly will 
draft a new constitution that is representative of all 
parts of Egyptian society, including religious minori-
ties; 
(5) calls on the appointees of Egypt’s con-
stituent assembly to enshrine the internationally rec-
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•HRES 732 IH 
ognized principles of freedom of religion and free-
dom of expression into the new constitution; 
(6) calls upon the Government of Egypt and 
the newly elected Egyptian President to prosecute 
acts of violence against Christians and make their 
protection an urgent priority; and 
(7) calls upon the local and federal governments 
of Iraq to prosecute acts of violence against Iraqi 
Christians, and make the protection of ancient 
ethno-religious minorities in Iraq an urgent priority. 
Æ 
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