GENEVA,
April 12, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The United
Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted on Tuesday, April 12, a
resolution calling for combating defamation campaigns against Islam
and Muslims in the West.
The
measure, put forward by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of
Islamic Conference (OIC), was voted for by 31 countries and 16
against, with five abstentions and one delegation absent, Reuters
reported.
“There
was a growing trend of defamation of Islam and discrimination faced by
Muslims and the people of Arab descent in many parts of the world,”
Pakistan's UN envoy, Masood Khan, said in a speech.
Khan
cited a series of attacks against mosques in different parts of the
world.
“Stereotyping
of any religion as propagating violence or its association with
terrorism constitutes defamation of religion. It unfortunately breeds
a culture of hatred, disharmony and discrimination,” he stressed.
The
French Organization against Islamophobia (CCIF) said earlier this year
that during the period from October 2003 to August 2004, 26 cases of
verbal and physical assaults on Muslims, 28 cases of vandalism and
attempted arson targeting mosques, and 11 cases of desecration of
Muslim graves have been registered.
The
CCIF also listed a considerable number of internet sites spreading
anti-Muslim propaganda.
“Very
Deep Campaign”
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A
library photo of a pro-integration rally in London.
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Cuba's
delegate Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez said Islam has been the subject of
“very deep campaign of defamation.”
“All
you have to do is look at the films which have come out of Hollywood
the last few years,” he said.
The
resolution, however, was rejected by the United States and the
European Union as “unbalanced” for what they termed failure to
address problems suffered by other religious groups.
“This
resolution is incomplete inasmuch as it fails to address the situation
of all religions,” Leonard Leo, a member of the US delegation, said
in a speech.
The
Netherlands, speaking for the EU, also said it regretted that the
25-nation bloc EU had been unable to agree on a “more balanced”
joint text with the pan-Muslim organization.
“Discrimination
based on religion or belief is not confined to any one religion nor to
any one part of the world,” said Dutch ambassador Ian de Jong.
A
recent report released by the International Helsinki
Federation for Human Rights (IHF) said that Muslim minorities across
Europe have been experiencing growing distrust, hostility and
discrimination since the 9/11 attacks.
On
January 13, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for halting
harassment and discrimination against Muslims, that have been on the
rise in the West since the 9/11 attacks.
“Since
the September 11 attacks on the United States, many Muslims,
particularly in the West, have found themselves the objects of
suspicion, harassment and discrimination,” Annan told the
Confronting Islamophobia: Education for Tolerance and Understanding
seminar.
“Too
many people see Islam as a monolith and as intrinsically opposed to
the West,” he said. “Caricature remains widespread and the gulf of
ignorance is dangerously deep.”
