Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks about the 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on behalf of the Obama administration, issued a strong rejection of UN efforts to impose an international anti-defamation of religion policy. The policy is being pushed by Muslim nations intent on muzzling any criticism of religious belief.
Clinton made her rejection of the proposed policy as she unveiled the State Department’s Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference, a group of 56 Islamic nations, has been pushing hard for the U.N. Human Rights Council to adopt resolutions that prohibit the defamation of religion. The resolution "condemns... any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence."
The resolution is an attempt by Islamic countries to restrict the freedom to criticize religion. The resolution would be used to justify crackdowns on free speech in Muslim countries, and give cover to those who would harass religious minorities.
Some claim that the best way to protect the freedom of religion is to implement so-called anti-defamation policies…. I strongly disagree. The protection of speech about religion is particularly important since persons of different faiths will inevitably hold divergent views on religious questions. These differences should be met with tolerance, not with the suppression of discourse.
The European Union and Latin America have also rejected the Islamic desire for such anti-defamation policies.
Advocates of religious freedom, as well as advocates of free speech, applauded Clinton's remarks. Yet some feel the report did not go far enough. Some thought there was a failure to speak out strongly against countries with a track record of abuses or persecution concerning religion and/or speech.
The fact that the Islamic world is intolerant of any criticism of Islam is disturbing. Freedom of speech is cherished in the west. If Islam is incapable of absorbing the insults and abuses that come with a free exchange of ideas, the future for relations between the Middle East and the West looks bleak.
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