OneNewsNow - Muslim-led UN Resolution Draws Attention

July 16, 2008
by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow

A number of Muslim nations have taken a resolution to the United Nations that would prohibit defamation of a religion -- theirs.

Dozens of Muslim-dominated countries want protection. Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law & Justice explains what that entails. "They've put forward what's called a '[Combating] Defamation of Religions' resolution which would amend the U.N.'s Declaration of Human Rights and would make it a criminal act and violation of international law to 'defame another religion,'" he explains.
 
Sekulow points out the resolution, put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, only mentions one religion by name: Islam. "[S]o there's nothing about preventing the defamation of Christianity," the attorney warns, "which means if you were spreading the gospel, it would be deemed defamatory towards Islam and would be [considered] a crime."
 
According to Sekulow, that is similar to the tactic used by homosexual activists in Canada and Europe to silence Christians. "Actually it's right out of the same playbook," he states. "They're using this 'Islamaphobia' issue to promote a reinterpretation of human rights law across the board."
 
"If you look at the resolution," he continues, "it would literally change the entire scope of human rights law on an international basis. They would encourage [all other nations] -- after the resolution is passed by the member states, which are all the countries in the U.N -- to pass laws that would mandate [that] you could not speak out against another religion. In this case, it's Islam."
 
An ACLJ team of lawyers will go to Europe in September to lobby against the proposal. A petition on the ACLJ website gives Americans a chance to sign onto the campaign against it.