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Religious Minorities in the Near East, South and Central Asia

Date:
Location:
2255 Rayburn House Office Building

Announcement

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a briefing on the plight of religious minorities in the Near East and South and Central Asia. Last year the Pew Forum released a report on global restrictions on religion which found that "nearly 70 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people live in countries with high restrictions on religion, the brunt of which often falls on religious minorities."

In Alexandria, Egypt, December 31, 23 people were killed by a suicide bomber while coming out of mass at St. Mark and St. Peter Coptic Church. Other religious minorities including the Ahmadis, Baha’is, Zoroastrians and Jews are under increasing pressure in the region. Last May, militants in Pakistan attacked two Ahmadi mosques in Pakistan killing at least 80 people. According to the Baha’i World News Service, some 335 Baha’is have been arrested in Iran on account of their religious beliefs.

Hosted by:

Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
James P. McGovern
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Witnesses

Panelists

  • Mosab Yousef, Author, Son of Hamas
  • Amjad Mohmood Khan, National Director of Public Affairs, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, U.S.
    Written statement
  • Dina Guirguis, Keston Family Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
  • Ginous Alford, Media Relations Officer, National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of the U.S.

Contact The Commission

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
4150 O'Neill House Office Building
200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515
United States of America

Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
TLHRC@mail.house.gov

Accessibility

The Commission seeks to make its events, meetings and hearings accessible to persons with disabilities.

If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-3599 at least four business days in advance.

Questions with regard to special accommodations in general (including availability of Commission materials in alternative formats and assistive listening devices, sign language interpretation, etc.) may be directed to the Commission.

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