117th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To establish in the Department of State the Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes.
December 9, 2021
Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Carson, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Rush, Ms. Bass, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Dingell, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Jacobs of California, Ms. Newman, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Norton, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Sires, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Dean, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Correa, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Payne, Mr. Jones, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Phillips, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Sánchez, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Trone, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Chu, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Malinowski, Ms. Wild, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Ms. McCollum, and Ms. Johnson of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
To establish in the Department of State the Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Combating International Islamophobia Act”.
SEC. 2. Authorization for establishment of Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia.
Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“SEC. 64. Monitoring and combating Islamophobia.
“(a) Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia.—
“(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’).
“(A) SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MONITORING AND COMBATING ISLAMOPHOBIA.—The head of the Office shall be the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Islamophobia (in this section referred to as the ‘Special Envoy’).
“(B) APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL ENVOY.—The Secretary of State shall appoint the Special Envoy. If the Secretary determines that such is appropriate, the Secretary may appoint the Special Envoy from among officers and employees of the Department of State. The Secretary may allow such officer or employee to retain the position (and the responsibilities associated with such position) held by such officer or employee prior to such appointment.
“(b) Purpose of office.—Upon establishment, the Office shall assume primary responsibility for the following:
“(1) Monitoring and combating acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur in foreign countries.
“(2) Coordinating and assisting in the preparation of that portion of the reports required by paragraph (9) of section 116(d) and subsection (k) of section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) and 2304) relating to an assessment and description of the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement.
“(3) Coordinating and assisting in the preparation of that portion of the report required by clause (viii) of section 102(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)(A)) relating to an assessment and description of the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement.
“(c) Consultations.—The Special Envoy shall consult with domestic and international nongovernmental organizations and multilateral organizations and institutions, as the Special Envoy considers appropriate, to carry out this section.”.
SEC. 3. Inclusion in Department of State annual reports of information concerning acts of Islamophobia in foreign countries.
(a) Inclusion in annual country reports on human rights practices.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (9), (10), (11), and (12), as paragraphs (10), (11), (12), and (13), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new paragraph:
“(9) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur during the preceding year, including descriptions of—
“(A) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, Muslim people, and acts of violence against, or vandalism of, Muslim community institutions, including schools, mosques, and cemeteries;
“(B) instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Muslim people;
“(C) the actions, if any, taken by the government of the country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement;
“(D) the actions taken by such government to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom of Muslim people; and
“(E) the efforts of such government to promote anti-bias and tolerance education;”; and
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by—
(A) redesignating the second subsection (i) (relating to child marriage status) as subsection (j); and
(B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(k) Information concerning acts of Islamophobia in foreign countries.—The report required by subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur during the preceding year, including descriptions of—
“(1) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, Muslim people, and acts of violence against, or vandalism of, Muslim community institutions, including schools, mosques, and cemeteries;
“(2) instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Muslim people;
“(3) the actions, if any, taken by the government of the country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement;
“(4) the actions taken by such government to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom of Muslim people; and
“(5) the efforts of such government to promote anti-bias and tolerance education.”.
(b) Inclusion in annual report on international religious freedom.—Section 102(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)(A)) is amended—
(1) in clause (vi), by striking “and” at the end;
(2) in clause (vii)(II), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
“(viii) wherever applicable, an assessment and description of the nature and extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur in that country during the preceding the year, including—
“(I) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, Muslim people, acts of violence against, or vandalism of, Muslim community institutions, instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that incite such acts, and statements and actions relating thereto; and
“(II) the actions taken by the government of that country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement, to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom of Muslims, and to promote anti-bias and tolerance education.”.
(c) Effective date of inclusions.—The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply beginning with the first reports required under sections 116(d) and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n and 2304) and section 102(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)(A)) that are submitted after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.