Foreign Affairs committee  We can look into the larger picture of the Middle East and then into Iraq and look at what's happening in Lebanon. Lebanon is divided. Syria has disintegrated. Yemen has disintegrated also. Shiites supported by Iran took over the capital city of Sana'a. We see the pressures inside Bahrain and inside Saudi Arabia between Sunnis and Shiites. In Iraq things have also disintegrated.

Foreign Affairs committee  Moreover, the Middle East is currently torn by the Sunni-Shiite rift. Ferocious sectarian fighting is taking place in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, with friction also occurring in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. After the fighting ends in Syria and Iraq, the day-after strategy must focus on helping the local people build strong new regimes that respect human rights and will prevent a vacuum that might allow Iran to realize its vision of a Shiite Crescent and military domination over the Arabian Persian Gulf states.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  In Iran, there is suppression, not merely of political dissidents, but murder of the entire leadership of the Baha'i faith, which originated in Iran, and gays are forced to choose between being executed and going through forced sex change operations.

Foreign Affairs committee  Some would say, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. I would not say that. Iran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Just because it's not their brand of terrorism doesn't absolve them. They have had a very destabilizing influence in just about every single country in that region, from Hezbollah in south Lebanon to Hamas in the Gaza Strip to their interventions in Bahrain, to the attempt to kill the Saudi ambassador in a restaurant in Washington, to their intervention in Yemen and their growing role in parts of Iraq.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  In particular, can you elaborate on the situation or treatment of the Baha'i community, other religious minorities, minority ethnic groups, who are, I think, being persecuted primarily because of sharia law?

Committees of the House  Christians are targeted in terms of both social hostilities and government harassment, more than any other faith, in countries including Iran, Pakistan, and Vietnam. In addition to Coptic Orthodox Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Baha'is, Chaldean Catholics, Tibetan Buddhists, Jews, and Shia Muslims are experiencing difficulty in their ability to worship and practise their faith in peace.

Iran  These seven Baha'i leaders continue to be imprisoned in Iran.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm honoured to appear once again before this subcommittee to testify on the current human rights situation in Iran. I do so at a time when the circumstances are particularly difficult for the people of Iran. In the run-up to the June 14 election in the Islamic republic, the prospects for a gradual reform of a manifestly unjust and untenable authoritarian regime appear increasingly remote.

Iran  This is the latest example of the entrenched discrimination faced by the Baha'i minorities in Iran. That was said by Malcolm Stuart of Amnesty International. I was just about to note that Nobel laureate, Shirin Ebadi, twice appeared before our subcommittee on human rights and spoke to us about the situation in Iran.

Iran  I will start with religious persecution. With good reason we have heard about the terrible persecution of the Baha'i in Iran. The Baha'i religion began in Iran and has had its home there for a long time, although Baha'is exist worldwide. The Baha'i religion is a post-Koranic religion. On the basis of it being post-Koranic the minimal legal and constitutional protections that are offered to other religions, the so-called faiths of the book, Christianity and Judaism and also on a traditional basis Zoroastrianism, are not given to the Baha'i religion.

Iran  The plight of the Baha'i in Iran offers a looking glass into the plight of human rights in Iran in general, and the criminalization of innocence, as finds expression in the criminalization and targeting of Iran's largest religious minority in particular.

Iran Accountability Week  Mr. Speaker, as the regressive clerical military dictatorship in Iran goes through its mockery of fair elections, a brutal crackdown has been unleashed. That is why many members are taking part in the Iran accountability week. We are shining the light of truth on what is happening inside Iran.

Iran  Baha'i leaders have been arrested and imprisoned for practising their faith. Iranian officials have also made statements to try to link the Baha'i to the political unrest in that country. These are trumped-up accusations and a cause of concern for the safety and well-being of those unjustly detained in Iran.

Freedom of Religion  However, we all know that these seven innocent Iranians were arrested for nothing else than for being members of the Baha'i faith. Baha'is in Iran have suffered a systematic relentless campaign of persecution. Over 200 Baha'is have been killed, hundreds more imprisoned and the Baha'is in Iran face social, economic and cultural restrictions.

Baha'i Community in Iran  Still today, too many people are being oppressed because of their religious beliefs, their political opinions or their nationality. The Baha'is are one example, and those in my riding are worried about the fate of the Baha'i community in Iran. Since 2004, 545 people have been imprisoned for no other reason than their religious convictions.