Have the Islamists already won on Defamation of Religion?

by Adam Turner  •  Dec 20, 2012 at 10:24 am

https://www.legal-project.org/blog/2012/12/lp-participates-in-capitol-hill-panel

On Monday, December 3, members of the Legal Project at the Middle East Forum participated in a Capitol Hill panel discussion about "The Istanbul Process and the OIC's Continuing Efforts to Implement Restrictions to Prevent the Defamation of Islam: Part II".

This was the second panel hosted by the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) to focus on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) continued push for UN resolutions calling on countries to criminalize what it terms "defamation of religion." The OIC's primary goal through these resolutions is to restrict freedom of expression at the international level to punish anything deemed critical of or offensive to Islam or radical Muslim leaders. Essentially, the OIC hopes to spread its member's blasphemy restrictions worldwide. We have seen the impact of these blasphemy laws in OIC member states such as Egypt, where seven Coptic Egyptians (some of whom are American residents or citizens) and Florida pastor Terry Jones have been sentenced to death in absentia by an Egyptian court for participating in creating, or even making positive statements about, the Youtube film "Innocence of Muslims."

Three Legal Project staffers took part in this EMET panel. Legal Project Director Sam Nunberg, and Legal Project Fellow, Ann Snyder, both served as members of the panel. Legal Project Staff Counsel Adam Turner served as the moderator.

LP Legal Fellow Ann Snyder also participated in the first EMET panel on this subject, which occurred on February 7, 2012.

Short History of the Istanbul Process:

• After being frustrated in earlier attempts to pass "defamation of religion" resolutions at the UN, the OIC changed gears and pushed through Resolution 16/18 in March 2010. Resolution 16/18 calls for the criminalization of "incitement to imminent violence based on religion or belief," and it "condemns…any advocacy of religious hatred against individuals that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence." 16/18 also "urges States to take effective measures as set forth in the present resolution, consistent with their obligations under international human rights law, to address and combat such incidents."
• On July 15, 2011 a summit meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu in Istanbul launched what became known "Istanbul Process". At that meeting, Mrs. Clinton committed the United States to a partnership with the OIC for the purpose of implementing the legislative results required by 16/18.
• From Dec. 12-14 of 2011, Ms. Clinton hosted in Washington a second meeting "to discuss" with the OIC "how to implement resolution no. 16/18 on combating defamation of religions…" and that the aim of this and further meetings was "developing a legal basis" for domestic and international laws "preventing inciting hatred resulting from the continued defamation of religions."
• On December 3, 2012, while the second EMET panel took place, the US met with the OIC and other nations for the third round of the Istanbul Process. No further information has been revealed about that meeting.

LP Director Sam Nunberg's speech from the second panel may be found here:

http://emetonline.org/emettv/oic-2/04.html

LP Legal Fellow Ann Snyder's speech from the second panel may be found here:

http://emetonline.org/emettv/oic-2/01.html

Links to the entirety of this panel discussion, and to the first EMET panel discussion, may be found here:

http://emetonline.org/index.php?/emet_tv#

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