Geneva: The Muslim States Wednesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn a US pastor's suspended plan to burn Quran, saying it was part of a pattern of global anti-Muslim violence.
A resolution submitted by Pakistan for the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) asks the council to speak out against what it dubbed "the recent call by an extremist group to organize a 'Burn a Qur’an Day.'"
The resolution, which is likely to be passed as the OIC and its allies have a majority on the 47-nation body, said the project, championed by little-known Florida preacher Terry Jones, was among "instances of intolerance, discrimination, profiling and acts of violence against Muslims occurring in many parts of the world."
The move came amid increasing efforts by the OIC — which has Russia, China and Asian and African states as allies in the council — to have the UN recognize "Islamophobia" as racism and open to challenge under international law.
In speeches in Geneva over the past few days, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey has also argued that Jones' plan underscored his grouping's long-standing demands for a UN backed ban on "defamation of religion."
Western countries and some allies in Latin America oppose both the OIC efforts, arguing that they undermine freedom of expression and freedom to discuss openly religion-based practices that infringe universal human rights.
European diplomats said they were unlikely to vote against the OIC resolution, as their governments had already condemned the Quran burning idea, but feared it would be used to increase pressure for actions on defamation and "Islamophobia."
Earleir, the pastor of a Florida church who threatened to burn the Quran on the 9/11 anniversary to protest the 2001 terror attacks in the US, has been hit with a whopping $180,000 bill as cost of security cover for his stunt. He, however, reportedly refused to pay the bill.
(courtsey ummid.com)
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