Can Religious Pluralism Survive?
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THE PLIGHT OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES: CAN RELIGIOUS PLURALISM SURVIVE? HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 30, 2006 Serial No. 109–202 Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 28–430PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Mar 21 2002 16:45 Oct 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\AGI\063006\28430.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa TOM LANTOS, California CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, HOWARD L. BERMAN, California Vice Chairman GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York DAN BURTON, Indiana ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American ELTON GALLEGLY, California Samoa ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey DANA ROHRABACHER, California SHERROD BROWN, Ohio EDWARD R. ROYCE, California BRAD SHERMAN, California PETER T. KING, New York ROBERT WEXLER, Florida STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts RON PAUL, Texas GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York DARRELL ISSA, California BARBARA LEE, California JEFF FLAKE, Arizona JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon MARK GREEN, Wisconsin SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada JERRY WELLER, Illinois GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California MIKE PENCE, Indiana ADAM B. SCHIFF, California THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan DIANE E. WATSON, California KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida ADAM SMITH, Washington JOE WILSON, South Carolina BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California CONNIE MACK, Florida RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas TED POE, Texas THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey JEFF FLAKE, Arizona GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York MARK GREEN, Wisconsin BARBARA LEE, California JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas DIANE E. WATSON, California JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon Vice Chairman MARY M. NOONAN, Subcommittee Staff Director GREG SIMPKINS, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member NOELLE LUSANE, Democratic Professional Staff Member SHERI A. RICKERT, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member and Counsel LINDSEY M. PLUMLEY, Staff Associate (II) VerDate Mar 21 2002 16:45 Oct 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\AGI\063006\28430.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL C O N T E N T S Page WITNESSES The Honorable Henry J. Hyde, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois ............................................................................................................... 1 The Honorable John V. Hanford III, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State ................................................... 11 Ms. Nina Shea, Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Free- dom ........................................................................................................................ 33 Father Firas Aridah, Our Lady Mother of Sorrows Church, Aboud, West Bank ...................................................................................................................... 51 Ms. Rosie Malek-Yonan, Author, ‘‘The Crimson Field’’ ........................................ 58 Ms. Kit Bigelow, Director of the Office of External Affairs, National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States ................................................... 88 LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING The Honorable Henry J. Hyde: Prepared statement ............................................ 3 The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations: Prepared statement ................ 9 The Honorable John V. Hanford III: Prepared statement ................................... 16 Ms. Nina Shea: Prepared statement ...................................................................... 38 Father Firas Aridah: Prepared statement ............................................................. 54 Ms. Rosie Malek-Yonan: Prepared statement ....................................................... 64 Ms. Kit Bigelow: Prepared statement .................................................................... 89 APPENDIX Material Submitted for the Hearing Record .......................................................... 97 (III) VerDate Mar 21 2002 16:45 Oct 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\AGI\063006\28430.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL VerDate Mar 21 2002 16:45 Oct 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\AGI\063006\28430.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL THE PLIGHT OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES: CAN RELIGIOUS PLURALISM SURVIVE? FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:38 a.m. in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SMITH. The Subcommittee will come to order. Good morning, everybody. Since we have the distinct privilege of having the Chair- man of the Full Committee, Congressman Henry Hyde, as our opening witness for today’s hearing, I will defer opening statements on the part of the Members, including myself, and would welcome our very distinguished Chairman Henry Hyde, who I have known for my 26 years as a Member of Congress. He is probably the most passionate and the most effective debater I have ever known, and I think many of us share this view. In any debate any Member is ever in, you hope that Henry Hyde is the closer because nobody is more persuasive and articulate than the gentleman from Illinois. He is also one of the most effective lawmakers, having written many laws as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is prob- ably the most powerhouse-oriented, legislation-producing, Com- mittee in the House of Representatives. Henry took the lead on so many important pieces of legislation over the years, and continued that tradition when he came over and became Chairman of the International Relations Committee. It is truly an honor to serve with Chairman Hyde, and for such time as he would like, I yield the floor to Mr. Hyde. STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HENRY J. HYDE, A REP- RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS Chairman HYDE. Well, thank you, Mr. Smith. If I had known you were going to be so extravagant in your introduction, I would have come in sooner. I want to thank you for holding this important hearing, and I want to thank Father Firas for coming all the way from the Holy Land to provide testimony. He will be discussing the plight of Pal- estinian Christians living in Aboud. Over the course of the past 3 years, I have become increasingly engaged in the challenges facing Christian institutions and their communities in the Holy Land. The more I learn, the more I realize (1) VerDate Mar 21 2002 16:45 Oct 11, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGI\063006\28430.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL 2 how central their situation is to the resolution of the Israeli-Pales- tinian conflict. The plight and security of Christians in the Holy Land is com- plex, and it is nuanced. There are historical, current, and future obstacles that threaten the survival of their community. A commu- nity not able to survive in its land of origin would be an historical injustice. We must do all we can to preserve the indigenous Chris- tian community in the Holy Land. My concerns have emphasized the current reality that this dwin- dling community faces. Ignoring the present challenges only adds fuel to the fire and accelerates the arrival of long-term concerns that are more difficult to resolve. I conveyed these concerns in a letter to then-Secretary Powell in 2004, and more recently to Presi- dent Bush this past month. Through articulating these concerns, I do not wish to imply ill will toward either Israel or the Palestin- ians. My only intent is to report the facts and see how the United States Government can help to improve the situation without com- promising Israel’s legitimate security concerns or religious freedom in Israel and Palestine. Palestinian Christians are increasingly finding themselves caught in the middle of a bipolar situation between Islamic and Jewish extremism. It is this divide that is undermining the plural- istic character of Palestinian society. The implications of this reality has strategic implications on U.S. national security interests. If the heart of moderate and secular elements in Israel and Palestinian societies is weakened, it will de- rail the implementation of President Bush’s vision of two states