(CNS) A bill to create a special envoy to monitor and combat “Islamophobia” ran into Republican opposition in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, as critics pushed for amendments to define the phenomenon — and some were themselves accused by Democrats of Islamophobia.
Authored by Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), the Combating International Islamophobia Act would create an “Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia” at the State Department, headed by a special envoy.
The bill, which enjoys the strong backing of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), would require the State Department to include specific data relating to Islamophobia in its annual human rights and international religious freedom reports.
