UN Council on Human Rights — “Islamophobia”: The Road to Dhimmitude

Jihad-Watch

A report by David G. Littman, Representative of the World Union of Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) to the United Nations Office in Geneva:

The three week 6th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the Palais des Nations, Geneva (September 10-28, 2007) is demonstrating that the Council is not “restoring credibility… on Human Rights” – as Kofi Annan’s High-Level Panel in 2004 had hoped, but – as we predicted from the start – may soon ‘out-Commission the Commission’.

The 1st week ended with Mr. Doudou Diène – the Senegalese UN Special Rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance – presenting his report (A/HRC/6/6) on ‘defamation of religions’. He writes of “the increasing trend in defamation of religions and the factors that explain it, particularly in the context where human rights violations are justified as measures to combat terrorism, to protect national security and preserve national identity.”(…) His report “… also analyses specific forms of religion-based discrimination, including Islamophobia and its manifestations – in particular following the events of 11 September 2001…”. He refers several times to that horrible climacteric in world affairs simply as “the events”, and nowhere does he even mention the term “Jihad” or “Jihadist terrorism”. In his Report of 21 pages, Mr. Diène refers briefly to antisemitism (1½ pages), “Chistianophobia” (1 page), and to “Islamophobia” and “defamation of religions” (mainly Islam), at great length( 7½ pages).

In presenting his Report, he mentioned three recent developments that illustrate, as he wrote, the gravity of “Islamophobia”: first, a manifestation outside the European Union Parliament in Brussels on 11 September 2007 against the “Islamization of Europe” that took place despite the mayor’s refusal to provide an authorisation to allow it; second, the “intellectual and ideological theorisation of Islamophobia by Norman Podhoretz (editor-in-chief of the influential review “Commentary” and advisor to a U.S. presidential candidate) in his latest book: World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism”; third, increasing restrictions on the construction of mosques in Europe. He also stigmatised the campaign by the Swiss UDC political party to stop further building of minarets, and a caricature of a “black sheep”– representing foreign criminals – being kicked out of Switzerland by a white sheep, with two others watching.

Pakistan’s Ambassador Masood Khan – making several statements on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) – reiterated the usual formulae that: “Denunciations of terrorisms and extremisms have been made by opinion leaders of the Muslim world. A matching response has not been forthcoming.” He added that: “Equating certain religions with terrorism would have far reaching consequences for its followers. Even terrorist acts carried out by non state actors, in the name of religion, should be de-linked from religion to ensure freedom of religion or belief.”

It is a fact that neither he or any other member state of the OIC – nor any Muslim clerics – have condemned the reiterated calls of non-state actors to kill in the name of Allah and of Islam; and all our efforts to add a single phrase to this effect in the Commission resolution on “Combating defamation of religions” that the OIC has sponsored annually since 1999 have proved futile. He also declared that: “the OIC has been cautioning that Muslims are being demonized and dehumanised as Jews were in the interwar period in the last century.” Such an absurd allegation totally ignores the fact that the demonization of the Jews is inherent in sacred Islam texts and continues to be propagated today by Islamic leaders throughout the world. Ambassador Khan also referred to “recent acts of defamation in the shape of blasphemous sketches in Sweden and posters in Switzerland.”

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Speaking on behalf of the Association for World Education, the Association of World Citizen and the World Union for Progressive Judaism during the “interactive dialogue” with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief (September 13), we asked Ms. Asma Jahangir the following questions, but none of them received an answer in the eight minutes at her disposal to ‘react’ to the many comments and questions from States and NGOs:
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