The torture of the grave Islam and the afterlife

Hardly a week goes by without front-page news of Muslims dying somewhere in the world in a violent way. Despite all the media attention, there is little understanding among non-Muslims of Islamic views of death and the afterlife.

Everyone knows, of course, that after death martyrs go straight to the Garden of Eden, where they recline on couches, savor meats and fruits and enjoy the company of dark-eyed houris while listening to the sound of flowing rivers.

But what happens to the vast majority of Muslims, those who do not die as martyrs?
According to Islamic doctrine, between the moment of death and the burial ceremony, the spirit of a deceased Muslim takes a quick journey to Heaven and Hell, where it beholds visions of the bliss and torture awaiting humanity at the end of days.

By the time corpse handlers are ready to wash the body, the spirit returns to earth to observe the preparations for burial and to accompany the procession toward the cemetery. But then, before earth is piled upon the freshly dug grave, an unusual reunion takes place: The spirit returns to dwell within the body.

In the grave, the deceased Muslim - this composite of spirit and corpse - encounters two terrifying angels, Munkar and Nakir, recognized by their bluish faces, their huge teeth and their wild hair.

These angels carry out a trial to probe the soundness of a Muslim's faith. If the dead Muslim answers their questions convincingly and if he has no sin on record, then the grave is transformed into a luxurious space that makes bearable the long wait until the final judgment.
But if a Muslim's faith is imperfect or if he has sinned during life by, for example, failing repeatedly to undertake purity rituals before prayer, then the grave is transformed into an oppressive, constricting space.

The earth begins to weigh down heavily upon the sentient corpse, until the rib cage collapses; worms begin to nibble away at the flesh, causing horrible pain.

This torture does not continue indefinitely. It occurs intermittently and ends at the very latest with the resurrection - when God may well forgive Muslims who have endured the punishment.
Surely this violence sounds medieval. Belief in "the torture of the grave" indeed stretches way back in history. It appears in eighth-century epitaphs and in early Islamic traditions, which elevated this belief to the status of dogma.

But pious Muslims today continue to adhere to this belief. In invocations, funeral prayers, sermons, and popular literature, Muslims are frequently reminded to heed this punishment.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of them take it seriously. The psychologist Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek, who has studied anxieties about death among Arab youth, has found that preoccupation with the torture of the grave remains acute.

The Egyptians and Kuwaitis he polled worried about this torture more than they feared losing a dear relative or succumbing to a serious, fatal disease.

Recently, an Islamist Web site posted a picture of an 18-year-old man exhumed by the order of his father. Only three hours had passed since his burial, but already his corpse appeared aged and bruised. Scientists, according to the story, affirmed that this was caused by the torture of the grave; and the father explained that his son had been a sinner.

Many Muslims commenting on the picture took it as a sign from God to stop sinning and as a reminder to pray assiduously for relief from the punishment of the tomb. Several doubted the reality of the picture, prompting the author of the Web site to remove the posting and to apologize for it. But even a skeptic who challenged the "scientific" evidence professed in this public forum his belief in the reality of the torture of the grave.

Muslims can escape the torture of the grave by dying as martyrs. In Islam the category of martyr does not belong exclusively to those who die fighting in God's path. According to Islamic tradition, Muslims who die in a fire, by drowning, in the collapse of a building or in some other way involving great physical suffering merit the rank of martyrs in the afterlife.

This means that immediately after death, their spirits do not return to dwell within mutilated or burned corpses. Instead they enter the Garden of Eden, where they receive new bodies, perfectly reformed, so as to enjoy the rewards of martyrdom until the resurrection. Those who have lost a relative in a violent and shocking death - in the bombings in Baghdad, for instance - may find some consolation in this belief.

From the International Herald Tribune

Mohammed, along with Buraq and Gabriel, visit Hell, and see a demon punishing "shameless women" who had exposed their hair to strangers. For this crime of inciting lust in men, the women are strung up by their hair and burned for eternity. Persian, 15th century.

Mohammed sees women strung up by hooks thrust through their tongues by a green demon. Their crimes were to "mock" their husbands and to leave their homes without permission. Persian, 15th century. Mohammed sees a red demon that is torturing women by hanging them up by hooks through their breasts, as they are engulfed in flames. The women are being punished for giving birth to illegitimate children whom they falsely claimed were fathered by their husbands. Persian, 15th century.

Malaysia: A Model of Muslim Tyranny

..behind the facade of fireworks, super-bike displays and general self-satisfaction, the real truth of Malaysia's descent into an intolerance never experienced under British rule remains like a shameful scar which the government does not want even its own people to see.

Malaysia, which boasts proudly that it is a "moderate Muslim country" is nothing of the sort. It enforces Islam in a racially-based apartheid which ensures that no ethnic Malay can avoid being labelled as a Muslim from the age of 12 onwards, and refuses to allow Muslims to convert to other faiths. And while Muslims are allowed to convert others, the government is pressuring all 13 states in the nation to enforce laws preventing anyone from attempting to convert a Muslim.

Many of Malaysia's states have adopted the Control and Restriction Bill, which gives a fine of 10,000 ringit ($2,653) or imprisonment for up to one year for "persuading, influencing a Muslim to leave Islam for another religion."

Read the complete article here

Honor Killers in Pakistan Rack Up 225 Women in Six Months...

Two hundred and twenty-five women have been killed in incidents of Karo Kari (honour killing) in the past six months across Pakistan, according to a survey conducted by the Aurat Foundation, BBC Urdu reported on Friday.

The organisation said that though honour killing has different names in different areas of Pakistan, the traditions remain the same across the country. Malik Asghar of the Aurat Foundation said that the survey covered details of women killed for honour between January and June 2008.

According to the survey, the number of women murdered during the six months for reasons other than honour was 722. The survey revealed that only two accused in Karo Kari cases registered during the last six months had been sentenced while the rest were pending in courts.

From: The Daily Times

Congratulations to the Religion of Peace on another successful Ramadan.

This year's numbers: 903 dead and 1638 injured across 16 countries during Islam's holiest month!

A young Syrian survivor of bomb blast from Allahs Holy Warriors

Mullahs petition to excommunicate a mullah

Last month he ratified the new constitution of the "100% Islamic" country where he had been head of state for nearly three decades. In 1964 he graduated as the top pupil in Islamic law from Sunni Islam’s premier centre of indoctrination, the al-Azhar medrassa in Cairo, Egypt. In 1965 he fell foul with his country by protesting its recognition of the State of Israel and exiled himself to Nigeria to teach Islamic law.

After returning home some years earlier, in 1978 he was elected to the presidency of the republic on an Islamic platform. From the early 1980s he had presided over the establishment of scores of Islamic indoctrination centres and he was often invited to address international gatherings of top mullahs. Under his rule, the religion of peace was able to trample on centuries of proud Maldive tradition by coercing thousands of women into wearing the burqa veil in a climate of 99 percent humidity and 30 degree heat. He withdrew recognition from the State of Israel and established "diplomatic relations" with the PLO.

He ordered the censoring of the images of Pope John Paul II and later, Pope Benedict XVI from the Maldive print and electronic media out of fear that the very sight of the Roman Pontiff would result in mass conversion to Christianity and complete annihilation of the religion of peace in the Maldives. At his orders the Maldive police regularly confiscate and incinerate Bibles. Admittedly he accepted a knighthood of the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George from the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, but a little old nun who was travelling in transit through Malé airport once had her crucifix ripped off her neck by his officials. He unsuccessfully petitioned the Government of the Seychelles to ban the broadcast of a Divehi language Evangelical radio programme out of that country.

The constitution that he signed into law last month declared for the first time in the history of his country, albeit rather ambiguously, that every citizen of his Indian Ocean archipelago shall be a Muslim.

And yet in spite of all this, as I write, this man is on trial in the very Supreme Court that he had established just days before. The charge is apostasy. Islamic mullahs are claiming that President of the Republic, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is not a Muslim. They are petitioning the Supreme Court for his excommunication from the religion of peace. The mullahs who backed the constitutional clause that says that every Maldivian shall be a Muslim are now saying that they were wrong all the time. One Maldivian, they insist, is definitely an infidel. The fastest growing religion in the world has made an exception and wants this “infidel” out of its fold.

Mr. Gayoom's response to the accusation, apparently, was brief, according to one visitor to this site. “Everyone who says the shahadah [the Mohamedan oath of allegiance] is a Muslim” said the president of the republic, with a mischievous grin, and continued: “therefore I am one”. This is slightly less pointed than the response that my paternal uncle made when faced with the same accusation in the 1940s. The late Uthuruganduvaru Manippulu (1904– 1965) said “I know I am a Muslim because my mother told me so and, to my knowledge, my mother never lies”.

One of the charges Mr. Gayoom faces is his failure to coerce the last few patriotic women, including his wife and daughters, into wearing the burqa veil. Another of the charges brought against this eminently distinguished mullah as proof of his apostasy seems to be specifically designed for the benefit of useful idiots in the West: Mr. Gayoom also stands accused of denying the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!

Allah certainly works in mysterious ways.

To read the complete article click here

Iran: Death to non-Muslim converts - Will Maldives do the same?

Iran's parliament has passed the death penalty for apostasy, which is viewed in that country as converting to any other faith than Islam.

Thousands of Iranians have been converting to Christianity, and the underground church is thriving, according to reports. But other Iranians are returning to Zoroastrianism, which was the dominant religion in Iran at one time. Jonathan Rocho, with International Christian Concern (ICC), explains.

"We, as a Christian organization, are very much concerned about this because this means many Christians who converted from Islam are going to face death, simply because of their decision to follow Jesus Christ," Rocho laments.

He says Iranians are questioning the Muslim faith after living under the regime, which has been dominated by the religion since the revolution in the 1970s. "They have not seen any change in their lives," Rocho adds. "There is even more repression, more problems going on in the country, so they are very much confused about the Islamic faith."

Already, two Christian converts accused of apostasy have been given the death penalty. Since Iran does not easily succumb to international pressure, Rocho urges people to pray.

If they rock like Slayer....

It is very likely that some musicians you see on stage are stoned.
Not everyone, of course.


















If people wear the same dress and read the same books, it is very likely that in some instances they will behave in a similar fashion.

Watch the video.
Is your neighbor in the same situation?

Europeans Warned to 'Repent before Allah Punishes You with His Hand and Ours'...

A leader of the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened France and Spain in an audio message broadcast on jihadist Internet forums on Monday.

"To those that are involved in the war against Islam and have betrayed the Islamic nation, we say to them: Repent before God punishes you with his hands and with ours," said Abdel Malik Droukedel, who uses the name Abu Musab Abdel Wudud.

"This is because judgement day is close and punishment is imminent. And whoever among the treacherous apostates thinks that France is in a position to ensure its safety, we tell them they are wrong, because France will not be in a position to do it, and will be worried for its safety.

"In the audio message, entitled "Message to our nation in the Islamic Maghreb", Droukedel reminds his listeners about Spain and Morocco's territorial dispute over the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

"Dear nation, it is not conceivable for any Muslim that loves Islam to speak of the Maghreb without remembering Ceuta and Melilla, occupied by Spain without remembering the injustice suffered by our nation," said Droukedel.

More here at AKI-Adnkronos International

The Quran at face value

For those of simple minds, who take texts at face value, let's look at the Quran, without prejudice, just analyzing what the text says in an unscientific manner. The Quran is the main holy book of Islam. It opens (somewhat illogically) with sura 2:

[002.001] Alif-Lâm-Mîm.[Translators note: These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'ân and none but Allâh (Alone) knows their meanings.]
[002.002] This is the Book (the Qur'ân), whereof there is no doubt,

Hold it, right there: I am still in doubt what the first verse means! We are only 14 words into the text, and the first thing we're asked to do is to accept an obvious contradiction at face value, and thus implicitly to be willing to abandon logic and critical thinking, as if we were requested to leave shoes outside the door. 2:2 continues:

a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqûn [the pious believers of Islamic Monotheism who fear Allâh much

The next thing the Quran asks for is fear. That's not a pleasent feeling. Other religions may choose to start with love, but this is Islam. Fear is also more useful for keeping adherents in a state of submission (the word 'Islam', literally translated, means 'Submission').

Now, Allah doesn't do much by himself, locked up in a corner of the Kaaba without means of communication to make his demands known. Thus, we instead have to use complex and frequently even contradictory interpretations of old books.

abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allâh much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)].

After requesting to abandon rationality, then stating that the pious are to be in a state of fear, the Quran moves on to declare Islam a guide to the life of all believers, regulating their lives. In other times and places, that would be called totalitarian. Detailed commands follow in sura 2:3:

[002.003] Who believe in the Ghaib (Note 1) and perform As-Salât (the prayers), (Note 2) and spend out of what We have provided for them [i.e. give Zakât (obligatory charity), spend on themselves, their parents, their children, their wives, and also give charity to the poor and also in Allâh's Cause – Jihâd].

A lot goes on here. Let's take it bit by bit:

[002.003] Who believe in the Ghaib (Note 1)

'Ghaib' means all kind of unseen and unprovable things – angles, miracles, books sent down from various places in the universe – and belief in this is a requirement in Islam. As is, according to the footnote, accepting everything in the Quran at face value, including the rather unusual shots at explaining things better left to science to take care of. Rational thinking would require evidence to make the claims to science credible, but the believers are requested to believe without that.

and perform As-Salât (the prayers), (Note 2)

As-Salât, as mentioned before, is the ritual prayer that shows submission and obedience to the 'divine' will. The footnote in the 'Noble' Quraan requests also gender segregation, forcing children to perform the prayers from the age of 7, and to beat the children into performing this religious duty from the age of 10 onwards. This is all explained by the representatives, who benefit from:

and spend out of what We have provided for them

Here's something easily missed: "We have provided"? The underlying principle here is that all things, material, immaterial and living beings, ultimately belong to Allah. This is a despotic point of view, where obedience to the ruler is absolute, including sacrifice of life if needed for the rule of the absolute despot. The contrary principle is that of private property, where individuals are the ultimate owners of what they have, not some abstract or even imaginary deity.

[i.e. give Zakât (obligatory charity),

Hardly surprising, parting with money comes early on the list of religious duties. Fascist regimes need resources to purchase loyalty and implement an effective totalitarian rule. Islam, as a political ideology, is similar.

For those who wondered how long it would be before this would point towards war, comes this:

spend on themselves, their parents, their children, their wives, and also give charity to the poor and also in Allâh's Cause – Jihâd].

First, a list of less important reasons (not 'excuses' according to Islamic tradition), and then comes what matters: Benefiting Islam (and by implication its representatives working for the 'Cause'). That 'Cause' is the expansion of Islamic rule, and 'Jihad' is the effort to do so. As to whether Jihad is violent or not, the best response might be "As required".

[002.004] And who believe in that (the Qur'ân and the Sunnah) which has been sent down (revealed) to you (Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam]) and in that which was sent down before you [the Taurât (Torah) and the Injîl (Gospel)] and they believe with certainty in the Hereafter. (Resurrection, recompense of their good and bad deeds, Paradise and Hell).

Here it's worth noting that what is in parenthesis has been inserted by the translators to clarify difficult points in the text. Of which there are many, again contradicting the initial statement that this is a book free of doubt. Effectively, books like the Noble Quraan become Quran commentaries in themselves, removing ourselves somewhat from the original (supposedly perfect) text. Removing the comments can be interesting:

[002.004] And who believe in that which has been sent down to you and in that which was sent down before you and they believe with certainty in the Hereafter.

........................

A lot of insight into Islam can be gained from the first few verses of the Qur'an. To read more click here..

Holy Warriors force WHO to cancel polio jabs for Afghan children

Polio vaccinations for over a million Afghan children have been cancelled, the World Health Organization said Tuesday after two doctors were killed in a Taliban suicide attack.
"Campaigns in the southern region are cancelled," WHO spokeswoman Sona Bari told AFP.
The programme was due to start on September 21 and was intended to reach 1.2 million children aged under five in Afghanistan's southern regions, she said.
Two Afghan doctors working for the WHO were killed in a suicide car bombing in southeastern Afghanistan Sunday that was claimed by the Taliban.
The WHO said that a similar campaign in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman was still likely to go ahead, as were future campaigns in the south in October and November.

GENEVA (AFP)

Mickey Mouse must die, says Saudi Arabian cleric

Mickey Mouse is a corrupting influence and must die, a Muslim cleric has declared.

Sheikh Muhammad Munajid claimed the mouse is "one of Satan's soldiers" and makes everything it touches impure.
But he warned that depictions of the creature in cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, and Disney's Mickey Mouse, had taught children that it was in fact loveable.
The cleric, a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed.
Mr Munajid was asked to give Islam's teaching on mice during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.
According to a translation prepared by the Middle East Media Research Institute, an American press monitoring service, he said: "The mouse is one of Satan's soldiers and is steered by him.
"If a mouse falls into a pot of food – if the food is solid, you should chuck out the mouse and the food touching it, and if it is liquid – you should chuck out the whole thing, because the mouse is impure.
"According to Islamic law, the mouse is a repulsive, corrupting creature. How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry?
"Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice.
"Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases."
Last month Mr Munajid condemned the Beijing Olympics as the "bikini Olympics", claiming that nothing made Satan happier than seeing females athletes dressed in skimpy outfits.

From: The Telegraph

Criminalizing Criticism of Islam

There are strange happenings in the world of international jurisprudence that do not bode well for the future of free speech. In an unprecedented case, a Jordanian court is prosecuting 12 Europeans in an extraterritorial attempt to silence the debate on radical Islam.
The prosecutor general in Amman charged the 12 with blasphemy, demeaning Islam and Muslim feelings, and slandering and insulting the prophet Muhammad in violation of the Jordanian Penal Code. The charges are especially unusual because the alleged violations were not committed on Jordanian soil.

Among the defendants is the Danish cartoonist whose alleged crime was to draw in 2005 one of the Muhammad illustrations that instigators then used to spark Muslim riots around the world. His co-defendants include 10 editors of Danish newspapers that published the images. The 12th accused man is Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, who supposedly broke Jordanian law by releasing on the Web his recent film, "Fitna," which tries to examine how the Quran inspires Islamic terrorism.

Jordan's attempt at criminalizing free speech beyond its own borders wouldn't be so serious if it were an isolated case. Unfortunately, it is part of a larger campaign to use the law and international forums to intimidate critics of militant Islam. For instance, in December the United Nations General Assembly passed the Resolution on Combating Defamation of Religions; the only religion mentioned by name was Islam. While such resolutions aren't legally binding, national governments sometimes cite them as justification for legislation or other actions.

More worrying, the U.N. Human Rights Council in June said it would refrain from condemning human-rights abuses related to "a particular religion." The ban applies to all religions, but it was prompted by Muslim countries that complained about linking Islamic law, Shariah, to such outrages as female genital mutilation and death by stoning for adulterers. This kind of self-censorship could prove dangerous for people suffering abuse, and it follows the council's March decision to have its expert on free speech investigate individuals and the media for negative comments about Islam.

Given this trend, it's worth taking a closer look at the Jordanian case.

Read on here at The Wall Street Journal

Palestinian father buries his daughter alive

A Palestinian woman died after her father buried her alive claiming he wanted to preserve the "family honor." The father, in his seventies, turned himself in and admitted to killing his 24-year-old divorced daughter.

After investigating the crime scene, the police discovered that the woman’s father had tied her arms and legs and muzzled her before burying her alive. According to press reports on Monday, the coroner was to examine the body to determine whether the woman was also beaten before her death.

The police also detained four of the victim's brothers to investigate their involvement in the crime.

Similar deaths in Pakistan

In a similar incident, tribesmen in western Pakistan buried three girls and two women alive for alleged honor crimes. The three girls, whose ages range between 16 and 18, hailed from the Balochistan province and had expressed their desire to choose their husbands themselves. The two women had supported the girls’ position. But the request, which goes against the tribe's customs, was considered by the tribesmen to be a violation of the tribe's honor.

Local authorities have not arrested any suspect in the crime. Pakistani MP Serdar Israr-Allah brought up the incident in parliament and expressed his resentment towards the crime.

He demanded that the authorities arrest the culprits who murdered the women.

from: Al Arabiyya News Channel

MOROCCO:FATWA IN FAVOUR OF 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL MARRIAGE....

"A nine-year-old girl has the same sexual capacities like a woman of twenty and over". Thus reads a fatwa issued by Skeikh Mohamed Ibn Abderrahmane Al-Maghraoui, according to Moroccan daily 'Aujourd'hui Le Maroc'.

This immediately sparked off a hot debate, with most of the public opinion absolutely against this stance which is a permit for paedophilia, many say, among other things. Among the various stances against the fatwa (in the Islamic culture, a decree of religious character issued by Islamic experts which regulates issues of topical character), the daily reported those of extremist MP Abdelbari Zamzami and the president of association 'No one touches my children', Najia Adib.

Zamzami, referring to the fact that Al-Maghraoui wanted to make his fatwa unassailable reminding that Muhammad "married Aisha who was nine", reiterated that the sheikh used the event as a pretext for this "scandalous practice". "The era of our Prophet is completely different from ours," he said on the issue. "These days a marriage of the kind would be a true injustice towards the girl. A true aberration."

"Aberrant" was also the judgement of Najia Adib ('No one touches my children'), according to whom "this sheikh is simply encouraging paedophilia. If he is so deeply convinced of what he thinks, let's tell him to get his daughter married". But perhaps, she explains, this unknown sheikh was searching a little media attention. And concluded her interview with the Moroccan daily: "This type of people look at Islam from the point of view which is convenient for them. It is a restrictive vision of Islam. And it is bad. Fatwas like these show the lack of reasoning from those who issue them. I cannot understand via what intellectual road or for what mental construction they come to such aberrations".

The law in Morocco envisages the minimum age for getting married at 18 years for both men and women. Marrying below this age requires the consent of the parents and of a judge. But it refers to teenagers not children. (ANSAmed).

Attempts to shut down criticism of Islam are still on the table at the UN

The National Secular Society, together with the International Humanist and Ethical Union, has been working over the past year to try to raise the alarm about the concerted efforts by Islamic groups to write blasphemy laws into international human rights legislation.
Our efforts seem to be paying off, as other countries and organisations begin to appreciate the profound dangers to free speech posed by proposals from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
The OIC has sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council entitled “Combating Defamation of Religion.” It has been approved by the UNHRC every year since 2005, and is coming up for renewal in the next couple of months.
But at last the United States and various human rights organisations have woken up to the fact that the OIC resolution is actually an attempt to make “defamation of religion” (and in particular Islam) into an international offence. “Defamation of religion” is a wide ranging concept and can be used to silence any criticism of Islam.
Now U.S. officials have said they hope to persuade “moderate Muslim nations” — among them Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and Indonesia — to reject the measure, which so far lacks the force of law but has provided diplomatic cover for regimes that repress critical speech. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
Religious rights groups say other U.N. measures, including statements by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, replicate the language of the resolution.
“Before, it was one resolution with no impact and no implementation,” said Felice Gaer, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan federal body that investigates abuses and proposes policies to advance freedom of thought, conscience and religion. “Now we are seeing a clear attempt by OIC countries to mainstream the concept and insert it into just about every other topic they can,” Miss Gaer said. “They are turning freedom of expression into restriction of expression.”
European governments are also concerned. The European Centre for Law and Justice filed a brief with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in June warning that such anti-defamation resolutions “are in direct violation of international law concerning the rights to freedom of religion and expression.”
U.S. officials working on human rights said the resolutions are being used to justify harsh blasphemy laws in countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Afghanistan.
The American and European governments warn that the resolution — which specifically mentions Islam but no other religions — is “an Orwellian text” that has been used to shut down free speech.
The resolution “replaces the existing objective criterion of limitations on speech where there is an intent to incite hatred or violence against religious believers with a subjective criterion that considers whether the religion or its believers feel offended by the speech,” said the brief by the European Centre for Law and Justice. “In cases we’ve monitored, it’s minority religions — Christians, Baha’i, and non-conforming Muslims” — who are most at risk, Miss Gaer said. “People who want to interpret their religion differently than some of the more orthodox clerics would.”
“This [language] destabilises the whole human rights system,” said Angela Wu, international law director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public interest law firm in Washington. “It empowers the state rather than individual, and protects ideas rather than the person who holds them.”
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the NSS, who has been particularly active in raising awareness in international forums of the dangers of the OIC resolution, said: “It is gratifying that others are at last taking on board the dire threat the OIC proposals pose to free expression. If they are approved and gain some kind of legal credence, we can expect to see prosecutions for blasphemy (or “defamation of religions” as it will be called) all over the world. The Islamist desire to stop all open discussion of Islam will have been achieved.”

From: National Secular Society