119-hr959

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 959 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 959

 To establish in the Department of State the Office to Monitor and 
 Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 4, 2025

 Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Casar, Ms. Dean 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. 
 McCollum, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Sanchez, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 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,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 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. 66. MONITORING AND COMBATING ISLAMOPHOBIA.

 ``

    (a) Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia.--
 ``

    (1) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the 
 date of the enactment of this section, 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').
 ``

    (2) Head of 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') 
 who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.
 ``
        (B) Appointment of special envoy.--The Secretary 
 may--
 ``
            (i) if considered appropriate by the 
 Secretary, appoint the Special Envoy from among 
 officers and employees of the Department of 
 State; and
 ``
            (ii) allow any such officer or employee 
 appointed as Special Envoy 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.--The Office shall be responsible 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 sections 116
            (d) (9) and 
 502B

    (k) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
 2151n
            (d) , 2304

    (k) ) 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 

section 102

    (b)

    (1)
        (A)
            (viii) of 
 the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
 6412

    (b)

    (1)
        (A)
            (viii) ) 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) in paragraph

    (11) , by striking ``and'' at the 
 end;
        (B) in paragraph

    (12) , by striking the period at 
 the end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following new 
 paragraph:
 ``

    (13) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and 
 extent of acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that 
 occurred during the preceding year, including descriptions of--
 ``
        (A) acts of physical violence against, or 
 harassment of, members of the Muslim community, 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 
 members of the Muslim community;
 ``
            (C) the actions, if any, taken by the government 
 of that 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 members of the Muslim 
 community; 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 occurred during the 
preceding year, including descriptions of--
 ``

    (1) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, 
 members of the Muslim community, 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 members of the Muslim 
 community;
 ``

    (3) the actions, if any, taken by the government of that 
 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 members of the Muslim community; 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 occurred in that country during 
 the preceding the year, including--
 ``
            (I) acts of physical violence 
 against, or harassment of, members of 
 the Muslim community, 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 members of the 
 Muslim community, and to promote anti-
 bias and tolerance education.''.
            (c) Effective Date of Inclusions.--The amendments made by 
subsections

    (a) and

    (b) shall apply on the date that is 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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