U.S. fights Islamic anti-defamation push

[gLing]

UNITED NATIONS | The Bush administration, European governments and religious rights organizations are mounting a new effort to defeat a General Assembly resolution that demands respect for Islam and other religions but has been used to justify persecution of religious minorities.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES SPEAKING THEIR MINDS: Pakistani Shi'ite Muslims shout anti-Taliban slogans during a protest Monday in Islamabad.

The resolution, called "Combating Defamation of Religion," is sponsored by the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and has been approved by the world body annually since 2005. It comes up for renewal this fall.

U.S. officials said they hope to persuade moderate Muslim nations - among them Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and Indonesia - to reject the measure, which lacks the force of law but has provided diplomatic cover for regimes that repress critical speech. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Religious rights groups say other U.N. measures, including statements by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, replicate the language of the resolution.

"Before, it was one resolution with no impact and no implementation," said Felice Gaer, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan federal body that investigates abuses and proposes policies to advance "freedom of thought, conscience and religion."

"Now we are seeing a clear attempt by OIC countries to mainstream the concept and insert it into just about every other topic they can," Miss Gaer said. "They are turning freedom of expression into restriction of expression."

Washington Times - U.S. fights Islamic anti-defamation push

So radical muslims don't want to be criticized when they stone their wives to death, hang 16 year old girls from a crane or murder their daughters in honor killings.

 

[Flute]

Playing Devils Advocate for a moment, when you think of it, rights and values are relative. Western values to not work in the Middle East, and Eastern values will not work in the West, and so on.

Personally, I don't like the UN telling other countries how to act. The UN is forcing Western values on Muslim nations. From what I have seen and studied, that does not normally work out too well.....

*shrugs*

Just have to see how this turns out....

 

[gLing]

That's moral relativism nonsense.

 

[Flute]

That's moral relativism nonsense.

My morals are going to be different than yours, and different than everyone else. Who are we as humans to tell others what there morals should be