The US and the EU are now formally supporting the UN resolution to ban religious hate speech. as crafted and presented by the OIC, or as they are newly known, the Organization of Islamic Co-operation. Designed exclusively to prevent anyone from asking pointed questions about Islam and Muslims, or saying anything perceived by Islam and Muslims as an insult to Allah or Islam as a religion.
By agreeing to this example of creeping sharia we are seriously risking how we operate around the world, what our press is allowed to say, and most importantly what you and I are allowed to say. The phrase "allowed to say" smacks of censorship, which is just what the OIC has been agitating for the last 4 years or so.
Say nothing bad about Islam or else your right to speak freely will be removed. That is the end game for Islam, and now they have help from us and the Euirpean Union
From Arab News July 19 by Siraj Wahab
OIC, West pledge to combat intolerance
ISTANBUL: In what can rightly be described as a seminal step in relations between the Muslim world and the Western world, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the leading nations of the Western world led by the United States and the European Union agreed Saturday to take concrete steps to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief.
The high-level meeting was held at the historic Yildiz Palace in Istanbul. It was attended by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Cathrine Ashton along with foreign ministers and officials from France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Romania, Denmark, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, the Vatican, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Arab League and African Union. The meeting was co-chaired by OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ever since he took office, the OIC secretary-general has been working on formulating ways and means to stop acts of religious intolerance.
“It was during my address to the 15th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that I outlined a new approach toward evolving a consensus against incitement to violence and intolerance on religious grounds that could endanger peaceful coexistence and must be viewed as a direct contrast to the very notion of a globalized world,” said Ihsanoglu. “I am glad that the eight points in the proposed approach found resonance with all the negotiating partners. They formed the basis of the consensus reflected in Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18. The importance of the consensual adoption of this resolution should be duly recognized.”
He said challenges remain.
“However, the test would lie in the implementation. Having been successful at consensus building, we must now act in concert to build on the consensus. The adoption of the resolution does not mark the end of the road. It rather signifies a beginning based on a new approach to deal with the whole set of interrelated issues,” said Ihsanoglu. “Resolution 16/18 provides a good basis for concerted action by states, at both national and international levels and must be utilized accordingly. Otherwise, we would be faced with the unaffordable risk of the agenda being hijacked and set by radicals and non-state actors.”
Ihsanoglu said there was a delicate balance between freedom of expression and incendiary speech.
“We continue to be particularly disturbed by attitudes of certain individuals or groups exploiting the freedom of expression to incite hatred by demonizing purposefully the religions and their followers. Though we respect their freedom of opinion and expression, we find these attitudes politically and ethically incorrect and insensitive.”
Attitudes of certain people or groups incite hatred by demonizing religions and their followers, says Ihsanoglu, yet absent is any condemnation of jihadists who murder innocent people and use the Qur'an and hadiths of Muhammad to justify their actions, or condemnation of those same Qur'anic quotes as being wrong or incorrect.
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