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.” . . . . 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. (“UN body OKs call to curb religious criticism”).
It’s time people realize that, whether or not every criticism of Islam is always as informed or as fair as it could possibly be, there still can’t be any doubt that as a religious system Islam is opposed to freedom of speech.
How do you have a conversation with that?
From beer n sandwiches blog:
now, were the two bandages used in this video lifted from someone's bloody scab, perhaps the scab of ineffectual resentment? shwarma, anyone?
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