-
OIC and Saudi NGO in Europe Sign Cooperation Agreement
June 08, 2015
Leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC"), the global multilateral organization whose charter is based on commitment to the principles of sharia law and protection of the interests of Muslims worldwide, and the King Abdullah Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue ("KAIICID"), a Saudi-government-funded nongovernmental organization based in Vienna, have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on dialogue and education initiatives to "combat incitement to religious hatred and negative stereotyping," an issue which both organizations have mainly understood as "countering Islamophobia" through activism in the United Nations and in European fora.
-
Education of Women Is Critical to Countering Islamist Extremism
June 04, 2015
The recent 2015 U.S.-Islamic World Forum sponsored by the Brookings Institution in Qatar heard reports which underscored the critical importance of education of girls and women for developing literacy and labor skills and for fostering social inclusion and sustainable development, keys to building local communities which reject the violence and exclusion promoted by extremist Islamism.
-
OIC Tries to Manipulate UN Resolution on Intolerance as Global Blasphemy Law
June 04, 2015
International human rights groups have expressed concern that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC"), which is hosting the fifth meeting of the "Istanbul Process" for implementing the UN Human Rights Council ("UNHRC") Resolution 16/18 on "Combating Incitement to Hatred, Discrimination and Violence Based on Religion or Belief," is pushing for an application of the resolution in a manner that is tantamount to a global blasphemy law by criminalizing free speech related to religion and, especially, Islam.
-
Islamic State Combines Brutality and Protection to Make Dangerous Legitimacy Gains
June 04, 2015
The Islamic State ("IS") has begun to make dangerous gains in building legitimacy as an alternative state in Syria, Iraq, and potentially, Lebanon, by crafting a political message that IS is the protector of Sunni Muslims against both authoritarian regimes and Shiite expansionism, as well as by continuing the use of brutal tactics to respond to any opponents of IS's hyper-fundamentalist brand of Islamism.
-
OIC Hosts International Meeting to Push for Defamation of Religions
June 04, 2015
The Jeddah-based Secretariat General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC") is convening experts from international human rights and multilateral organizations to discuss implementation options for UN Human Rights Council ("UNHRC") Resolution 16/18 on "Combating Incitement to hatred, Discrimination and Violence based on Religion or Belief," with OIC leaders' pressure for an interpretation of the 2011 resolution according to defamation of religions criteria standing at odds with Western countries' commitment to free speech and conscience protections as part of the effort to combat intolerance and hatred.