Defamation of Religions: Background Info.

    In remarks about the pending Defamation of Religions resolution, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, said this. 

"It is important to note that passage of these resolutions by a majority vote beyond the membership of the OIC lends international legitimacy to the OIC position on this issue,"

That confirms the obvious: passing defamation resolutions legitimizes Islam's malicious malarkey.  Lets drill down to the crucial details.

    In his introduction to the OIC Observatory on Islamophobia, March 31 '08,  Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, had this to say about Islamophobia.

The Muslim Ummah has noticed with utmost concern the continued attacks by a section of marginal groups and individuals in the West on the most sacred symbols of Islam including the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in an offensive and denigrating manner, the most recent being the reprints of the blasphemous cartoons by 17 Danish newspapers on February 13, 2008 and the release of the film Fitna by a Dutch Parliamentarian on March 27, 2008. This apart, Muslims continue to be stereotyped, discriminated and profiled in many Western countries that have contributed to the issue. [Emphasis added.]

Notice that the argument begins with an ad hominem argument: "marginal groups and individuals".  Ihsanoglu slapped a "marginal" label on the cartoonists and Geert Wilders.  Note that the cartoons are labeled "blasphemous". Is that label deserved?  In the cartoons, Moe is depicted as a terrorist; is that blasphemy if the depiction is true?  Consider what codified Islamic oral tradition tells us about the matter.

• Allah made me victorious by awe, (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one month's journey. [Sahih Bukhari 1.7.331]
• I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy) [Sahih Bukhari 4.52.220] [Emphasis added.]

The cartoons exaggerate, because Moe never possessed a bomb, but they are they blasphemy if their message is true?

    Fitna is described as an attack on the Holy Quran because it displayed verses which incite violence, demonstrated their use in kutbah and displayed images of the results. Refer to  Fitna: Supporting Documentation for documentation of the Qur'an verses used in Fitna and Wilders' address to the Dutch Parliament.  Is truthful speech blasphemy?

    CNN reported on remarks by the OIC and other Muslims and included a quote from Ban Ki-moon.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the film, calling it "offensively anti-Islamic" while urging calm.

"There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence," he said in a statement. "The right of free expression is not at stake here."

Ban Ki-Moon labeled Fitna hate speech and incitement to violence, but the hate speech, incitement & violence depicted in the documentary came from the pens,  tongues & hands of Muslims, not from Geert Wilders, his narrative is objective and accurate. 

    Payvand's Iran News reported on remarks by the OIC General Secretary. 

"The film was a deliberate act of discrimination against Muslims" that aimed to "provoke unrest and intolerance,"

Pakistan, which frequently introduces the OIC resolutions to the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, was also quoted. 

Pakistan said it told the Dutch ambassador that it was incumbent on the Netherlands to prosecute Wilders for defamation and deliberately hurting Muslim sentiments, according to IRNA reporter in Islamabad.

Islam wanted Wilders prosecuted for defamation of Islam. In a few months, he will be defending himself before a Dutch tribunal. The OIC's resolutions seek the persecution of all who criticize Islam. 

    Examine the remarks of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Uganda, June '08.

Fourth: The level of the OIC Islamophobia Observatory, which we have established in order to monitor and document all manifestation of this scourge, and to deal with them in an interactive manner.

Taken together, this plan has proven its merit and we have been able to achieve convincing progress at all these levels mainly the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and the UN General Assembly.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted similar resolutions against the defamation of Islam.

In confronting the Danish cartoons and the Dutch film “Fitna”, we sent a clear message to the West regarding the red lines that should not be crossed. As we speak, the official West and its public opinion are all now well-aware of the sensitivities of these issues. They have also started to look seriously into the question of freedom of expression from the perspective of its inherent responsibility, which should not be overlooked.

The Ten Year Plan proved its merit with the passage of defamation resolutions by the UN.  Note the mention of "red lines that should not be crossed"; that is a thinly veiled threat of physical violence. Does anyone remember what happened to the film maker Theo van Gogh? In the last sentence of the quote, freedom of expression is mentioned, an obvious reference to the  terms of limitation used in the resolutions. 

    What accounts for Islam's extreme sensitivity to criticism?  We can find the answer in Islamic law: Reliance of the Traveller's Book O [Justice]. O8.7 lists 20 things that entail apostasy. Here are a few relevant  items in that list.

-4- to revile Allah or His messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace);

-5- to deny the existence of Allah, His beginingless eternality, His endless eternality, or to deny any of His attributes which the consensus of Muslims ascribes to Him (dis: v1);

-6- to be sarcastic about Allah's name, His command, His interdiction, His promise, or His threat;

-7- to deny any verse of the Koran or anything which by scholarly consensus (def: b7) belongs to it, or to add a verse that does belong to it;

-15- to hold that any of Allah's messengers or prophets are liars, or to deny their being sent;

(n: `Ala' al-din' Abidin adds the following:

-16- to revile the religion of Islam;

-19- to be sarcastic about any ruling of the Sacred Law;

-20- or to deny that Allah intended the Prophet's message (Allah bless him and give him peace) to be the religion followed by the entire world (dis: w4.3-4) (al-Hadiyya al-`Ala'iyya (y4), 423-24). ) 

One of the rules applied to dhimmis is equally instructive.  What is impermissible to say about Allah or Moe?  According to previously quoted statements, it is impermissible to link Islamic violence with Islamic scripture & tradition.

O11.10

The agreement is also violated (A: with respect to the offender alone) if the state has stipulated that any of the following things break it, and one of the subjects does so anyway, though if the state has not stipulated that these break the agreement, then they do not; namely, if one of the subject people:

-3- leads a Muslim away from Islam;

-5- or mentions something impermissible about Allah, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or Islam.

The penalty for apostasy is death [O8.2]. Remember the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and the reward offered for killing him?  In a recent protest against Geert Wilders visiting England, Muslims displayed signs saying "Freedom Go To Hell" and "Islam Will Dominate.".  

    If we are to have an honest and open debate about domestic, foreign and military policies affecting our national security, we must be able to discuss Islam's fundamental nature and the relationship between the orthodox doctrines expressed in its scripture, exemplified in its traditions and codified in its jurisprudence.  When liars such as George Bush and Barack Obama assert that Islam is peaceful, we must be free to present proof that they are misrepresenting reality. 

    UN resolutions condemning defamation of Islam have another unacceptable effect: they reinforce and give undeserved legitimacy to blasphemy laws which are used to persecute religious minorities in lands where Allah's writ runs such as Pakistan where, if the courts don't execute you for any "blasphemous" word or act, the mob will.  

    As we wait for revelation of the contents of the '10 version, let us examine the history of their campaign to silence their critics.   In 1999, when the original Combating Defamation of Islam resolution was passed, Pakistan made some revealing remarks in the Economic And Social Council.

1. Mr. AKRAM (Pakistan), introducing draft resolution E/CN.4/1999/L.40 on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that were members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said that, in the past few years, there had been new manifestations of intolerance and misunderstanding, not to say hatred, of Islam and Muslims in various parts of the world. It was to be feared that those manifestations might become as widespread and endemic as antisemitism had been in the past. There was a tendency in some countries and in the international media to portray Islam as a religion hostile to human rights, threatening to the Western world and associated with terrorism and violence, whereas, with the Quran, Islam had given the world its first human rights charter. No other religion received such constant negative media coverage. That defamation compaign was reflected in growing intolerance towards Muslims. [Emphasis added.]

    Examine the emphasized clauses. Reading inter alia, it is obvious that a subliminal link is being drawn between criticism of Islam and Hitler's holocaust. Akram was setting up a false charge of incipient genocide.  In the second section of emphasized text, there is mention of a media tendency to portray Islam as hostile to human rights, threatening and associated with terrorism and violence.

    The clear implication is that those characterizations of Islam are false. Unfortunately, they are not. Islam is hostile to human rights: its doctrine of perpetual war against everyone who does not submit to its demands is a violation of the right to life.  Its declaration that  our blood and property only become sacred to Muslims when we become Muslims denies our human dignity and rights.   These facts are documented in Islam vs Human Rights.

    Islam is threatening to the western world. It has a historical track record of invading Spain, Italy, France , Austria, and other western nations.  Islam is associated with violence and terrorism. Two Surahs of the Qur'an are entirely dedicated to warmongering. Four of the six canonical hadith collections have books of Jihad or expedition. Moe preached and practiced terrorism for future generations to emulate.

    The Defamation of Islam resolution contained these expressions.

               1.             Expresses deep concern at negative stereotyping of religions;

 

            2.             Also expresses deep concern that Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and with terrorism;

 

            3.             Expresses its concern at any role in which the print, audio­visual or electronic media or any other means is used to incite acts of violence, xenophobia or related intolerance and discrimination towards Islam and any other religion;

 

            4.             Urges all States, within their national legal framework, in conformity with international human rights instruments to take all appropriate measures to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by religious intolerance, including attacks on religious places, and to encourage understanding, tolerance and respect in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief;

The resolution urged states to enact and enforce extremely broad legislation which would violate our First Amendment. 

    In '05, the resolution complained of  involvement of political parties and use of the internet to communicate facts about Islam.  In the spring of '09, the resolution included this boilerplate. 

14. Reaffirms the obligation of all States to enact the necessary legislation to prohibit the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and encourages States, in their follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,7 to include aspects relating to national or  ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in their national plans of action and, in this context, to take forms of multiple discrimination against minorities fully into account;

15. Invites all States to put into practice the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief;3

16. Urges all States to provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination,
intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions, and incitement to religious hatred in general, to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and beliefs and the understanding of their value systems and to complement legal systems with intellectual and moral strategies to combat religious hatred and intolerance;

    If we document the fact that Islam inculcates hatred and incites violence, we are accused of "incitement to religious hatred".  Turn back to review Ban Ki-moon's incendiary remarks about Fitna.  There is no excuse for that sort of bigotry. There is no excuse for demands to enshrine it in national & international law.

     

    The following list is included to assist those who desire to delve deeper into the history and philosophy of the defamation resolutions. 

UN documents listed in the footnotes of  Defamation of Religions" The End of Pluralism?, published by the Beckett Fund   

• Econ. & Soc. Council [ECOSOC], Comm’n on Human Rights, Pakistan, Draft Res., Racism,
  Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and all Forms of Discrimination, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1999/L.40 (Apr. 20,
  1999). This is a Microsoft Word document. 15kb when saved as html. 
• ECOSOC, Comm’n on Human Rights [CHR], Summary Record of the 61st Meeting, ¶¶ 3, 6, U.N.
  Doc. E/CN.4/1999/SR.61 (Apr. 29, 1999) (German and Japanese representatives expressing concern about the
  draft resolution’s narrow focus on Islam).
• CHR Res. 1999/82, at 280, U.N. ESCOR, 55th Sess., Supp. No. 3, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1999/167 (Apr.
  30, 1999). {As adopted by acclamation, pg 281}
• CHR Res. 2005/3, at 21, U.N. ESCOR, 61st Sess., Supp. No. 3, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2005/135 (Apr. 12,
  2005)
• CHR Res. 2004/6, at 28, U.N. ESCOR, 60th Sess., Supp. No. 3, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2004/127 (Apr. 13,
  2004);
• CHR Res. 2002/9, at 56, U.N. ESCOR, 58th Sess., Supp. No. 3, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2002/200 (Apr. 15,
  2002);
• CHR Res. 2001/4, at 47, U.N. ESCOR, 57th Sess., Supp. No. 3, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2001/167 (Apr. 18,
  2001);
• CHR Res. 2000/84, at 336, U.N. ESCOR, 56th Sess., Supp. No. 3, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2000/167 (Apr.
  26, 2000);
• Human Rights Council [HRC] Res. 4/9, at 19, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/4/123 (Mar. 30 2007); Ali S.
  Asani, “So That You May Know One Another”: A Muslim American Reflects on Pluralism and Islam, ANNALS
  AM. ACAD. POL. & SOC. SCI., July 2003, at 40, 40, 49–51.
• G.A., 60th Sess., 3d Comm., Yemen: Draft Resolution: Combating Defamation of Religions, U.N. Doc.
  A/C.3/60/L.29 (Oct. 31, 2005). 
• G.A. Res. 60/150, U.N. Doc. A/RES/60/150 (Dec. 16, 2005). Resolution 60/150 was adopted by 101
  to 53 votes with 20 abstentions. U.N. GAOR, 60th Sess., 64th plen. mtg. at 11, U.N. Doc. A/60/PV.64 (Dec.
  16, 2005).
• G.A. Res. 61/164, U.N. Doc. A/RES/61/164 (Dec. 19, 2006); G.A. Res. 62/154, U.N. Doc.
  A/RES/62/154 (Dec. 18, 2007); G.A. Res. 63/171, U.N. Doc. A/RES/63/171 (Dec. 18, 2008).
• U.N. GAOR, 60th Sess., 3d Comm., 45th mtg., ¶ 39, U.N. Doc. A/C.3/60/SR.45 (Nov. 21,
  2005)
• HRC Res. 7/19, at 54, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/4/123 (Mar. 27, 2008); HRC Res. 4/9, supra note 7; G.A.
  Res. 63/171, supra note 18; G.A. Res. 62/154, supra note 18; G.A. Res. 61/164, supra note 18.
• The 2008 General Assembly resolution passed with 86 in
  favor, 53 against, and 42 abstentions. U.N. GAOR, 63rd Sess., 70th plen. mtg. at 17–18, U.N. Doc.
  A/63/PV.70 (Dec. 18, 2008).
• In 2007, the OIC hardly held any informal discussions on the defamation of religions resolution in the
  General Assembly. In 2008, the OIC, led by Uganda, held a number of informal discussions in an effort to
  address concerns from many of the Western delegations. New York Update, General Assembly, 63rd Session,
  Oct. 21–Dec. 18, 2008, N.Y. MONITOR (Int’l Serv. for Human Rights, New York, N.Y.), 2008, at 16, available
  at http://www.ishr.ch/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&Itemid=&gid=252.
• HRC Res. 10/22, at 78, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/10/L.11 (Mar. 26, 2009).
• U.N. Durban Review Conference, Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference, available at
  http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/Durban_Review_outcome_document_En.pdf (last visited July 10,
  2009).
• Githu Muigai, Asma Jahangir & Frank La Rue, Freedom of Expression and Incitement to Racial or
  Religious Hatred, Statement at OHCHR Side Event During the Durban Review Conference (Apr. 22, 2009),
  available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/opinion/docs/SRJointstatement22April09New.pdf.
• Beckett Fund Submission  to OSCE '08
• Racism and Religious Discrimination: Is the concept of “Defamation of Religions” productive?
  Intervention at the tenth regular session of the Human Rights Council
  (2 March 2009 – 27 March 2009)
• See the revised version of A/CONF.211/PC/WG.2/CRP.2 at page 7 for draft outcome document as of 23 January 2009. Available at http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/intersession_open_ended19109.pdf
• See also Durban Review Conference Outcome Document [hereafter DRC Outcome Document] (24 April 2009). Available at http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/Durban_Review_outcome_document_En.pdf
• A/HRC/12/L.l4/Rev. “Freedom of Opinion and Expression
• PROPHETS, CARTOONS, AND LEGAL NORMS: RETHINKING THE UNITED NATIONS DEFAMATION OF RELIGION
  PROVISIONS JOSHUA FOSTER    [Discovered in the process of searching for links to the documents listed above.]

Other relevant  documents of interest:

• General Comment to guide States Parties in the implementation of the right to freedom of expression;
• Chairman Leo Testimony - Implications of the Promotion of “Defamation of Religions”
• Becket Fund Resources and Documents:    
• What is “Defamation of Religions?”
• Legal Brief
• United Nations Human Rights Council testimony (2006)
• United Nations Human Rights Council testimony (2009)
• Emory Law Review article
• Related blog posts by this author.  These tend to be flamers with great detail and much redundancy. 
• Ad Hoc Committee Leaves Work Unfinished  Our freedom of expression is almost safe until their next session. 10/30/09
• Religious Freedom Report: Suicidal Orwellianism  Pay close attention to Hillary's remarks; compare them with the text of the Freedom of Opinion and Expression resolution. 10/27/09
• Urge Your Rep. to Support H.Res.763! The sense of the House resolution against the OIC's censorship campaign languishes in cmte., urge your Rep to get it to the floor for an immediate vote before the General Assembly approves the Defamation of Religions resolution! 10/23/09
• Censorship of Islamophobia: Ignite the Backfire Sign and promote the International Qur'an Petition!!! 10/19/09
• Combating Defamation of Religions: Anticipation The annual resolution is expected to be tabled 11/3 and voted on 11/12. See Reject the Defamation of Religions Resolution! for links to petitions against the resolution, please sign and promote them! 10/19/09
• UNHRC US Delegation Reveals Treachery  The  U.S. Delegation to the UNHRC  uttered and published a statement on a human rights report. That statement exposes the  Obama administration’s treason to scrutiny; I can not resist.10/13/09
• Reject the Defamation of Religions Resolution! Open Doors USA, an Evangelical Christian  organization, has posted a petition urging United Nations member states to reject the annual Defamation of Islam resolution. I have endorsed their petition, whose text is reproduced below, and urge you to endorse, support and publicize it.  For more information about previous Defamation Resolutions, see: UN Bans Criticism of Islam.10/08/09
• Unfairness Doctrine Goes Global Bringing a critical detail right up front: President Obama extended his Unfairness Doctrine to a global scope. 10/05/09
• Ad Hoc Cmte: Non-Paper  08/04/09  The cmte. President's outline of the program of censorship. This document is crucial to comprehending the related posts which follow in this list.
• AdHoc Committee: African Submission  08/03/09  Detailed analysis of the Africa group's proposal to censor critics of Islam.
• AdHoc Cmte USA Submission  08/03/09 This nation is governed by irrational idiots & traitors. Read it and weep.
• AdHoc Cmte: Pakistani Submission  08/03/09  Detailed analysis of the OIC's proposal to censor critics of Islam.
• Ad Hoc Committee: Iranian Submission  08/03/09 Detailed analysis of Iran's proposal to censor critics of Islam.
• Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards 08/01/09  They aim to add a protocol to ICERD to criminalize these blog posts.
• Durban II Draft 4/15/09  04/17/09 The draft went through multiple edits. It contains information vital to comprehending what OIC and theheir UN dhimmis are up to.
• How Censorship Could Become Binding  03/14/09  Plans to amend ICERD to criminalize these blog posts and more.
• Combating Defamation of Religion  03/13/09  See exactly what the UN is up to, in detail.
• Moral Standing: the Complaint  03/12/09  Delving deeper into the issue raised in the post below. Extremely important information & links. 
• Hints of Compulsory U.N. Censorship  03/12/09 First hints of the proposed protocol to ICERD. Arcane, but important. 
• Defamation of Religions Resolution Revised  12/03/08  Plenty of detail & documentation plus a list of related posts.
• UN: Eliminating Intolerance or Protecting it?    12/04/08  Exposing more UN hypocrisy.
• UN Renews Censorship Demand  11/24/08 A final blast at the annual defamation of Islam resolution. 
• Durban II: Execrable Hypocrisy  11/10/08  The Durban II Draft document is divided into five sections . This article examines the hypocrisy involved in demands for censorship. Quotes are taken from sections  one and five, with the headings linked to source documents. Emphasis has been added for clarity. Includes links to the  articles in the  Egregious Arrogance series. 
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 7  11/10/08 Seventh in a series. 
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 6  11/09/08 Sixth in  a series.
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 5  11/08/08 
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 4  11/08/08 Fourth in a series. 
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 3  11/07/08 Third in a series.
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 2  11/06/08 Second in a series. 
• Durban II: Egregious Arrogance Part 1  11/06/08 First in a series on the evolving  resolution . This series exposes extreeme hypocrisy & arrogance.
• U.N. Resolving to Silence Islamophobes  10/12/08 Deliaring another treacherous UN resolution. 
• U.N. Bans Criticism of Islam: Pretext & Context  09/08/08  This post contains vital information about the documents which serve as a basis for the treacherous resolutions passed by the General Assembly & Human Rights Council. It also has a link to the prime source of UN resolutions. 
• UN Resolutions Revisited: Defamation of Religion  08/7/11 Edited 03/19/09 Detailed analysis & deliaring of UN Defamation of Islam Resolutions.
• UNHRC Hyprocisy!  06/04/08 Deliaring a Human Rights Council Resolution. 
• More UNHRC AssWholliness   04-04-08  Flamer inspired by UNHRC Defamation of Islam Resolution. 
• Islamophobia: Exposing Malicious Malarkey New blog to exploit two speeches referenced in the post above. Masood Khan & Hemayet Uddin are deliared as examplars of al-taqeyya. Their lies were influential in writing the resolutions cited above.  9/08