Mr. Speaker, I wish to concur with the remarks of my colleague. Iran has been a great civilization. It has made an enormous contribution to humankind, and indeed, humankind internationally. We are all the beneficiaries of that great civilization. It was only as a result of the witness testimony and documentary evidence, to which I referred, that the foreign affairs committee's Subcommittee on International Human Rights, taking note, as I quote, and I will read this into the record:
on the persistent and pervasive assault on the human rights of the Baha'i community in Iran, alarmed by the escalation of the prosecution and persecution of the Baha'i leadership, alarmed further by the state-backed demonization of and incitement against the Baha'i community in Iran, resolves to take all necessary measures both domestically and internationally to address and redress this state-backed assault on the human rights of the Baha'i community.
We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people who are themselves the objects of mass targeted repression domestically by the Iranian government. We stand with them as we stand with the Baha'i. Our critique is solely of those who have assumed the leadership since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Again, we hold no brief against Islam. On the contrary, we see Islam as a peaceful religion that has made contributions to humankind, as have the Iranian people and the Iranian civilization. We single out only those in the government who have embarked upon this state-backed policy of persecution and prosecution of a minority solely on the basis of their religious faith and heritage.