Hearing:

 

Christian Minorities Under Attack:

Iraq and Egypt

 

Thursday, January 20, 2011
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
2359 Rayburn HOB

 

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the increased sectarian violence in Iraq and Egypt.  Last October, at least 70 people were killed during a siege on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad making it the worst massacre of Iraqi Christians since 2003.  The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda affiliate, claimed the attacks were in response to actions by the Coptic Church in Cairo.  Less than two months later, extremists bombed the homes of more than a dozen Christian families throughout Baghdad.  On New Year’s Eve in Alexandria, Egypt, at least 21 people were killed by a suicide bomber while leaving a Coptic Church following a worship service.  It was the worst violence against the country’s Christian minority in a decade. 

 

To discuss these issues we welcome the following witnesses:***

 

Panel I:

The Honorable Anna Eshoo, Member of Congress

 

Panel II:

The Honorable Tamara Coffman Wittes (Invited), Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs, U.S. Department of State

 

Panel III:
Nina Shea, Commissioner, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Michele Dunne, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Dina Guirguis, Keston Family Research Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

***Witness list subject to change.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Hoffman (Rep. Wolf) or Ari Levin (Rep. McGovern) at 202-225-3599.

 

Frank R. Wolf                                                   James P. McGovern
Member of Congress                                         Member of Congress

Co-Chair, TLHRC                                             Co-Chair, TLHRC