Condemning Iran for its Persecution of Youcef Nadarkhani

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, tonight we come together, Republicans, Democrats, Muslims, Christians, and Jews, to stand for a very simple idea, and that idea is that it ought to be the case that a person can freely profess their faith. It ought to be the case that no matter what your religion is, it's dear to you, and you should not be punished for professing it publicly wherever you are.

You know, I have not really sought out a lot of attention for my own faith, but I got some of it anyway, and the fact is that I feel so privileged to be an American where I can, for the first time ever, when I was sworn in, use a book of my faith.

As I heard about the story of Pastor Youcef, I thought to myself, wow, you know, here I am a Muslim in a Christian majority country free to swear in on a Koran when I came to Congress, and there he is a Christian facing the death penalty simply for professing his faith.

Pastor Youcef, he's a husband, he's a father. He has two young children. They're not even teenagers. They're 7 and 9 years old. I know they must be incredibly proud of their father, who would stand up against forces of repression that would kill him simply because he professed his faith in Christianity. It's wrong. I don't say it as an American only, I say it as a citizen of this small planet we live on, that every human being should be able to worship and seek the divine as they see fit.

Pastor Youcef deserves to be free. Pastor Youcef must be released. Pastor Youcef needs to walk out of that prison, grab his cross, go to his church, and lead his congregation in prayer, freely. He should be able to do it in his hometown in a local church.

All of us, no matter who you may be on this planet, you must stand for that idea, because if it can't be for one, it can't really be for any. We have to stand together, people of all faiths, all cultures, and all backgrounds and ethnicities and say that the right to seek the divine as you see fit must be an essential component of the human experience.

I also say a word of caution, and that is that the regime in Iran uses opportunities to deprive the people of human rights whenever they claim that there's a threat of war looming. I urge diplomacy because I think that whenever they can claim that they are under military threat, this allows them to crack down on any dissenter and try to use people like Pastor Youcef as an example so that other people will not freely express themselves and claim their God-given right not only to freedom of faith but to freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial.

You know, we come together in this place, this Congress that we're all in, and sometimes we debate taxes, and sometimes we debate where bridges should go, and we debate all kinds of stuff. But I pray that there will never be a debate about the simple right of every individual to worship and see God as they see fit or not to.

I just am particularly saddened when I think about how the early Muslim community, and Iran professes Islam, but early Muslims, the first Muslims were persecuted in their home of Mecca 1,400 years ago, and they fled their country, and they sought out their freedom of their faith in a distant land ruled by a Christian king in Ethiopia, and there they found sanctuary under that Christian king.

When their prosecutors and tormentors crossed the Red Sea and came into Africa and went to that king with bribes and said, Give us these people back, they're renegades, that Christian king listened to those early Muslims and said, You know what? These people are under my protection. You can go home.

I only wish tonight Pastor Youcef could get a return of that sanctuary in his own land.

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