UN to Britain: Stop Being Islamophobic

By David J. Rusin
August 13, 2008
Israel Hasbara Committee
Original Source: – HYPERLINK https://mail.hudsonny.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=5/a/130820081 \t _blank http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=5/a/130820081

[ISLAM] Extending its campaign to squelch discussion of Islam and lobby member countries to roll back their citizens' speech rights, the United Nations has asked that Great Britain do more to challenge negative views about Muslims:

The nine-member human rights committee composed of legal experts said it was concerned negative public attitudes towards Muslim members of society continued to be allowed in Britain.

It recommended the government should take energetic measures to eliminate this phenomenon and ensure that authors of such acts of discrimination on the basis of religion are adequately deterred and sanctioned.

Concrete acts of discrimination are one thing; negative public attitudes are an entirely different matter. Is it the role of governments to allow or disallow certain beliefs to inhabit the minds of people? And who gets to decide what constitutes negative public attitudes?

Moreover, Britain already has bent over backwards for its Muslim population. The term war on terror ? often criticized by anti-Islamist researchers as imprecise ? was scrapped by the Foreign Office in 2006 due to concerns that it might anger Muslims. Earlier this year, ministers waded further into the swamp of political correctness by stipulating that Islamic terrorism should be referred to as anti-Islamic activity. The nation has also done much to accommodate Islamic law in both welfare and finance. Furthermore, two leading public figures ? Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips ? have endorsed the adoption of Shari'a for adjudicating marital and financial disputes.

The committee's demand that Britain police the thoughts and words of its people is consistent with recent speech-suppression efforts undertaken by the Islamist-dominated UN Human Rights Council. In March, the body passed a resolution that condemns attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence, and human rights violations, while declaring that freedom of expression ... may therefore be subject to certain restrictions ... necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others. In June, the HRC severely constrained discussion of Islam during debates at the council, after Muslim members objected to a presentation on female genital mutilation, stoning, and child marriage.

It is regrettable that there are false translations and interpretations of the freedom of expression, delegates from Saudi Arabia stated in March. What's truly regrettable is that the UN gives Islamists a platform from which to promote the curtailment of Western liberties.