Monday, March 30, 2009

UN council votes to criminalize 'defamation' of Islam









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Dear Solsticewitch13,


It’s been brewing for some time. Muslim countries have been
pressing for a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling on
nations around the world to pass laws criminalizing the alleged
“defamation” of religion – specifically Islam.

This week the Council passed the resolution.

The good news is that Western nations and over 100 faith groups opposed
this resolution. The bad news is that efforts by the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) have paid off in getting such a resolution
passed – and we can count on the OIC to continue its global campaign
to criminalize free speech that allegedly “defames” Islam.

This is not the only tactic the OIC is pursuing in this regard. At last year’s
OIC conference, the conference supported efforts to look for legal
strategies to fight back against the alleged “defamation” of Islam.
Translation: lawsuits around the world funded by petrodollars.






UN body OKs call to curb religious criticism


By FRANK JORDANS – 1 day ago

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRHXSIoJJdXQpG3kPrRO2LWMnWTAD975SKN01


GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.'s top human-rights body approved a proposal
backed by Muslims nations Thursday urging the passage of laws around the
world protecting religion from criticism.

The proposal by Pakistan had drawn strong criticism from free-speech
campaigners and liberal democracies.

A simple majority of 23 members of the 47-nation
Human Rights Council voted in favor of the resolution. Eleven mostly
Western nations opposed it and 13 countries abstained.

The resolution urges states to provide "protection against acts of hatred,
discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of
religions and incitement to religious hatred in general."

"It is individuals who have rights and not religions," said Canadian diplomat
Terry Cormier. Canada's criticism was echoed by European Union countries,
all of which voted against the proposal.

The council is dominated by Muslim and African countries. Muslim nations have
argued that religions, in particular Islam, must be shielded from criticism in the
media and other areas of public life. They cited cartoons depicting the
Prophet Muhammad as an example of unacceptable free speech.

"Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and
terrorism," the resolution said.

A coalition of more than 100 secular and faith groups had called on governments
to oppose the resolution, warning that it could lead to accusations of defamation
among different faiths.

The United States did not vote on the resolution because it is not a member of the
council. The Bush administration announced it was virtually giving up on the body
and would participate in debates only if absolutely necessary because of the
council's anti-Israel statements and its failure to act on abuses in Sudan and elsewhere.


India, which normally votes along with the council's majority of
developing nations, abstained in protest at the fact that Islam was the
only religion specifically named as deserving protection.

India's Ambassador Gopinathan Achamkulangare said the resolution "inappropriately"
linked religious criticism to racism.

Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved.




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2 comments:

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  2. Hi Future Mantra!

    Thanks for the kinds words!

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    Have yourself a great day!

    NAMASTE

    solsticewitch13

    ReplyDelete