Islam Online: "OIC Wants Religious Tolerance Bedrock of UN Rights Body"

The irony, the irony . . .

Muslim countries are pressing for a ban on religious intolerance to be part of the bedrock of a planned new United Nations human rights body, officials said on Tuesday, February 14.

"Since the controversy over the cartoons, certain governments have expressed a wish to include a reference to the protection of particular values in the resolution" that would create the UN Human Rights Council, said UN spokeswoman Marie Heuze.

The proposal by 57 governments which are grouped in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) comes as the outcry continues in the Muslim world over the publication of Danish caricatures that lampooned Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

According to the text of the proposal, the new UN body should strive to "prevent instances of intolerance, discrimination, incitement of hatred and violence arising from any actions against religions, prophets and beliefs which threaten the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

A later bit:

Din Syamsuddin, leader of Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization, the Muhammadiyah, said the forum proposed the UN issue a declaration of "human responsibility" in order to prevent more examples of blasphemous or insulting acts toward religions, the Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday.

"I shared the idea during rounds of discussions with other religious leaders here, and I personally agree that the UN should issue a universal declaration of human responsibility, apart from the universal declaration of human rights," he told a news conference.

"Because having the freedom without responsibility could lead our civilization to absolute liberalism."

Weird.

Tags: cartoons, Prophet-cartoons, Denmark, Islam, UN