via National Secular Society – OIC coming back with another attempt to stamp out free speech.
Getting the go-ahead from the Cairo Islamic Summit, the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been actively trying to
get the “denigration of religions” recognized as a criminal offence,
according to a top official.
“Next session of the Istanbul Process on Islamophobia will be held in the first half of this year, and the session will squarely focus on the issue of criminalizing denigration of religions,”
said Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, director of cultural affairs at the OIC
general secretariat and spokesman for the OIC secretary general.
In an interview with the Saudi Gazette, Sheikh
underscored the need for transposition of the international law to
domestic one to effectively combat Islamophobia, which he claimed is “a
contemporary manifestation of racism mainly targeting Islam and
Muslims”. He said the OIC seeks establishment of an international
observatory, based in Geneva, with a global mandate not only to monitor
denigration of Islam but all other religions.
“The OIC is of the firm view that any religion or its
symbols should not be denigrated. The Cairo Islamic Summit endorsed this
position and tasked the OIC secretariat to develop a unified strategy
to impress upon the international community to take effective measures
against such acts of incitement of intolerance and hatred that may lead
to violence and loss of lives,” he said while noting that Islamophobia
figured high on the agenda of the summit.
Sheikh, a Pakistani national and an “expert on
Islamophobia”, explained the steps taken by the OIC in confronting
“Islamophobia” by ensuring active involvement of the international
community.
“OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu launched a process, known as the Istanbul Process, in July 2011, together with the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, as well as with leaders
of OIC and non-OIC member states, to build consensus on confronting
Islamophobia.
Similar meetings were held later in Washington and London as part of the Istanbul Process, and now the US, UK,
the African Union, the Arab League and the OIC are subscribing to the
process and taking it forward to discuss the issue specifically.
The OIC is going to hold the next event focusing squarely on the issue
of criminalizing denigration and deciding on whatever actions need to be
taken on the basis of Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR),” he said.
According to Sheikh, international law, represented by
Article 20 of ICCPR, clearly states that denigration of symbols or
persons sacred to any religion is a criminal offence. This law ratifies
OIC’s position and the only remaining problem is the absence of
enforcement in the true spirit by member states.
“This international law is sufficient to cover OIC’s
concern but the problem is either a gap of interpretation because of
political reasons or a gap of implementation. Though this law is binding
on all countries that signed and ratified the article, it is not
effectively transposed to the domestic laws of the respective countries.
The OIC is exerting efforts to get it enforced globally through the
framework of the OIC-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution number
16/18, which is an outcome of the Istanbul Process.”
Sheikh also discussed the activities of the OIC
observatory, which is under the supervision of the secretary general.
“The observatory is monitoring Islamophobia on a daily basis and
translating it into monthly and annual reports. The OIC is publishing
annual reports and so far it has published five reports, the last of
which was submitted at the Djibouti session of foreign ministers held in
November. The Cairo summit appreciated the role of the OIC observatory
in confronting Islamophobia and asked the secretary general to put more
mechanisms in place to strengthen the observatory,” he said.
Meanwhile, Baroness Warsi, Britain’s “Minister for Faith” gave a speech to the OIC in which she tried to reassure them that their concerns were being listened to, but also making the case for free speech.
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular
Society, said: “We had thought the OIC had abandoned its plans for an
international blasphemy law after it was roundly rejected by the United
Nations, but here they are, coming at it again by a different
route – but with exactly the same end result, a blanket ban on any
criticism of Islam. This is dangerous and dictatorial. We can
see in Pakistan what horrors are perpetrated when these kinds of laws
are in effect. Imagine it on an international scale.
“The OIC may represent powerful interests, but its
stifling and tyrannical approach to free speech must be resisted very
strongly by the West.”
Mr Sanderson said that the OIC and Baroness Warsi
appeared to be operating in parallel universes. “The OIC wants to stamp
on free speech, but Baroness Warsi seems to think there is some kind of
compromise that can be reached with them. Her encouragement of this
Istanbul process is a dangerous fantasy. The OIC is not going to embrace
free speech any time in the future.”
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