By: Aeneas Lavinium
ICLA
Our recent mission to the OSCE in Warsaw focused on the fact that sharia compliance is being used by our governments as a vehicle to restrict some of our most basic freedoms and human rights. It therefore did not come as much of a surprise when one of our eagle-eyed activists spotted Salam Al-Marayati playing a key role as an official representing the United States Government.
Mr. Al Marayarti is well known as a founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). He is also known for his statements suggesting that the state of Israel was behind the 9/11 atrocities. His presence as part of the United States delegation illustrates clearly why we are concerned about the apparent flirtation between the United States Government and the Muslim Brotherhood and that Government’s apparent willingness to back initiatives of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that would undermine the First Amendment rights of American citizens.
There has been a massive push in recent years to put severe restrictions on freedom of expression due to a combination of OIC agitation and the desire of Western governments to restrict criticism of their unpopular and highly damaging polices. Initiatives such as UNHCR resolution 16/18 purport to confront religious persecution but in reality help to facilitate it. It is clear that such a resolution promoted by the OIC which has member states guilty of some of the most blatant acts of religious persecution is not aimed at preventing persecution. It must be remembered that it is freedom of expression that guarantees freedom of religion and not the other way around. Restrictions that are placed on freedom of expression are therefore likely to result in severe restrictions being placed on freedom of religion.
It is abundantly clear to us at ICLA that the OIC and its lackeys and apologists in key positions of power within Western Governments are out to destroy meaningful freedom of speech. This was the key reason why we established the 2012 Brussels Process that we launched at a conference in the European Parliament back in July.
The 2012 Brussels Process, and the associated 2012 Brussels Declaration To Safeguard Individual Liberties And Human Rights, was a response to the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, to the more recent Istanbul Process, and to other deliberate efforts to undermine basic freedoms and human rights. We have been publicising the 2012 Brussels Process at the same OSCE meeting attended by Mr. Al Marayarti and the American delegation. We call upon all OSCE member states to become engage with the Process and start advocating basic liberties and human rights as a matter of urgency.
The Brussels Process is the antidote to the anti-free speech and anti freedom initiatives that Governments are increasingly resorting to. The trend in the direction of tyranny often comes in the form of attempts to enforce sharia compliance. The Brussels Process is a framework to protect human rights:
The Brussels Process aims to:
- Educate and inform the public to ensure that laws that undermine our freedoms are repealed and laws that enhance it are enacted.
- Demonstrate that sharia compliance is against human rights and should not be embraced when human rights decisions are being made.
- Encourage human rights practitioners to consider rulings such as that made by the European Court of Human Rights in 2003 which said that Sharia is incompatible with democracy.
- Create a framework for individuals and organisations to stand up and protect liberty from the sharia threat.
If you think that you or your organisation can help contribute to the 2012 Brussels Process then we would like to hear from you. It is vital that as many groups that value our basic liberty and human rights become involved so that we can have a stronger voice when lobbying the policy makers and opinion formers. You can contact us at: brusselsprocess[AT]gmail[DOT]com
It must be remembered that any initiative put forward by the OIC is grounded in the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam which makes all human rights subordinate to the principles of sharia. This allows OIC member states to claim that any blatent human rights abuses within their borders are not human rights abuses at all because they are carried out in accordance with the principles of sharia. This is a very odd approach defending human rights! To paraphrase the popular TV series Star Trek – It’s Human Rights Jim, but not as we know it! In fact it is quite the opposite of what the drafters of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarded as human rights!
Please stand up for liberty human rights – what can you do to help take the 2012 Brussels Process forward?
