Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 556, a resolution condemning the government of Iran for its ongoing repression of religious minorities, including 34-year-old Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. I was an original cosponsor of this resolution, and thank my friend Congressman Pitts for introducing this important legislation. Just this past week, Iranian authorities renewed an order of execution for Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, a young father of two. Pastor Nadarkhani was originally arrested in 2009 for protesting the teaching of Islam at the public school that his children attended. He was later charged with apostasy which carried a much more severe penalty. Since 2009 he has been subjected to repeated attempts to coerce him to recant his faith--which he has courageously refused to do. Rather, Pastor Nadarkhani's perseverance in the face of this injustice is a source of great inspiration. In a 2010 letter from prison, he wrote that the true believer, ``does not need to wonder for the fiery trial that has been set on for him as though it were something unusual, but it pleases him to participate in Christ's suffering.…”