August 26, 2005

Behind the Scenes at the U.N.

PAKISTAN FIGHTS AGAINST A MOVEMENT AT THE U.N. TO CONDEMN CALLS TO KILL OR TERRORISE IN THE NAME OF A RELIGION.

As reported here previously, in a July 26th speech to the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion & Protection of Human Rights, David Littman, historian and an NGO representative of the Association for World Education to the United Nations in Geneva, called for the Commission to “unequivocally condemn any call to kill, to terrorise, or to use violence in the name of God or religion.” The speech was interrupted on multiple occasions, in an effort by the representatives of Pakistan, Morocco, and Cuba to prevent Mr. Littman from delivering it.

Mr. Littman forwards a link that provides insight behind the scenes at the U.N., into efforts to promote the policy he described in that speech.

...in an unprecedented ad hominem attack on our spokesman [Mr. Littman] on 26 July, three members of the Sub-Commission attempted to censor his oral joint statement to the Sub-Commission. Following this incident, a formal letter of complaint was delivered on 2 August to the chairman of the Sub-Commission, who circulated it to all 26 members. But in an 8 August oral statement Pakistan’s ambassador, speaking on behalf of the OIC, stated that "some NGO representatives are packaging their crass propaganda as scholarly research in their bid to spread hatred against Muslims".

Commenting on the OIC statement, Roy Brown, president of IHEU said:
“This gratuitous insult has no basis in fact. Instead of providing leadership to the Islamic world on this important issue, the OIC has again chosen to demonise the messenger. This is part of a continuing campaign of misrepresentation by the OIC against NGOs and their representatives at the Commission and Sub-Commission. The OIC statement hides behind accusations of 'Islamophobia' in order to block any discussion of those extremist clerics who call to kill in the name of Islam.” [emphasis added]

That's a look into movements to further this important policy at the U.N.

Let's review what Mr. Littman was trying to say at precisely the point at which he was interrupted on July 26th:

Mr Littman: 16 years ago we warned both the Commission and the Sub-Commission on the lethal danger of the genocidal 1988 Hamas Charter. The slogan of that Charter in its article 8 – borrowed from the 1928 Charter of the Muslim Brotherhood – has since …

Okay, Mr. Littman is about to discuss the slogan of the 1988 Hamas Charter, included in its article 8. Bam -- Mr. Sattar of Pakistan interrupts. They get past that and Mr. Littman continues:

Mr Littman: 16 years ago we warned both the Commission and the Sub-Commission …

Immediately Ms. Warzazi of Morocco interrupts. After that Mr. Littman continues, and actually gets to complete the sentence:

Mr Littman: 16 years ago we warned both the Commission and the Sub-Commission on the lethal danger of the genocidal 1988 Hamas Charter. The slogan of that Charter in its article 8 – borrowed from the 1928 Charter of the Muslim Brotherhood – has since become the Islamist blueprint for global terror: “Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its Constitution; Jihad is its path, and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.”

He is then immediately interrupted again, as follows:

Mr. Martinez [of Cuba]: There are already two charges that we cannot tolerate by the speaker. First, citing something that none of us has the possibility of confirming if it is an accurate text [i.e. Hamas Charter, art. 8 quote], or if it is one more invention by Mr. Littman – it would not be the first time.
[Note: The Hamas Charter may be found on various web sites via Google; in 20 years no State or other delegate has ever been able to show that Mr. Littman has provided inaccurate data.]

The representatives of Cuba and Pakistan spoke extensively thereafter in objection to Mr. Littman's speech, and were permitted to take some time away from Mr. Littman's allotted time for his remarks. (Transcript). 

However, not only are there various web sites listing the Hamas charter as Mr. Littman describes it -- there is also this recent video of Hamas preaching the identical message to new recruits.

Pakistan, Morocco, and Cuba would prefer it if you didn't think about that. 

Australians Rock!

This is the best statement on extremist Islamists I've seen yet from high government officials of any nation: 

Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament.

"If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he said on national television.

"I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that that is false.

"If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country which practises it, perhaps, then, that's a better option," Costello said.

Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked move to the other country.

Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values should "clear off".

"Basically, people who don't want to be Australians, and they don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off," he said.

Muslim schools will have to denounce terrorism as part of an effort to stamp out home-grown extremism under measures announced after Howard's meeting with 14 Islamic leaders Tuesday.

That is great.

France, England, Italy, and now Australia -- the Western world is waking up.