thought police meet in istanbul

The Thought Police Meet in Istanbul

Over the weekend, the International Conference on Islamophobia was

held in Istanbul. The purpose of the conference was to counter a

perceived increase in hostility towards Muslims from the Western

world. Here's what they said in their concluding statement. Story from

ANSAmed.

"Islamophobia should be accepted as a crime, just like

anti-semitism". So read the final statement of the The

International Conference on Islamophobia", organized by the Union

of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW), which ended in Istanbul

yesterday.

As Anadolu news agency reported, the statement also said that

national and international law mechanisms should enact legislations

and take decisions against Islamophobia. The fight against

Islamophobia should be carried out politically, legally and

economically both in the national and international arena and in a

systematical and strategical way, the statement said. "The fight

against Islamophobia should be a basic duty for everybody, every

institution and every government," the statement added.

The head of the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) was also

present at the conference so I thought I'd add part of his statement

also. Story from the OIC.

In his address at the occasion, Prof. Ihsanoglu [Secretary General

of the OIC] commended the UNIW for organizing the conference and

informed the participants of the various endeavours of the OIC in

countering Islamophobia.

Prof. Ihsanoglu mentioned that causes of Islamophobia are many and

rooted in historical animosity, and currently it is the principle

of freedom of expression that is being used as a cover to foment

the phenomenon in the West, although many international and

national legal instruments do not allow incitement to religious

hatred. He also advocated the importance of moral and ethical

responsibility in practicing democracy.

This is nothing new, it is part of a recurring pattern of many in the

Islamic world trying to criminalize speech that they don't like. The

OIC and other nations in the Islamic world have made statements such

as these repeatedly, see examples here, here, here, and here.

The concluding statement of the conference clearly shows the agenda of

those involved in the conference. They want to criminalize

"Islamophobia". What that really means is that they want to

criminalize speech that is against Islam. They clearly understand the

Western concept of freedom of speech, but they despise it. They like

the idea of freedom of speech so long as that speech does not offend

them. Such a concept is totally opposed to the idea of freedom of

speech enshrined in the US Constitution and descended from the ideas

of the Enlightenment.

Voltaire was right 300 years ago, and he is still right today. As he

famously stated in the 1700s, "I detest what you write, but I would

give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write."

Freedom of speech is not limited to friendly speech. It extends to all

speech, including insults, racism, etc.; granted such speech is not

defamation or direct incitement to violence. The idea of freedom of

speech enshrined in the US Constitution is what freedom of speech

should be, and is worth defending.

The OIC and some of its member nations want to impose their backwards

version of freedom of speech upon the rest of the world. It should be

clearly understood that their mission is opposed to the idea of

Western liberal democracy and especially freedom of speech. Because of

that, their demand should be strongly condemned and refused.

(Hat tip: Gates of Vienna)

Categories: 1st Amendment, freedom of speech, Islamists, Istanbul,

OIC, Turkey