Shirin Ebadi Threatened with Death
Photo of Shirin Ebadi courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi has described receiving an increasing number of death threats.

They included notes pinned to the door of her office building in Tehran, warning her to "watch your tongue".

Ms Ebadi, an outspoken critic of Iran's leadership, said she had forwarded the threats to the chief of Iranian police.

She said last month: "When you believe in the correctness of your work, there is no reason to be afraid of anything."

In an interview, she told Reuters news agency that Iran's human rights record had regressed in the past two years, saying more dissidents were being jailed and more people were being executed.

Ms Ebadi, 60, won the Nobel prize in 2003 for her work in defending human rights.

She has received death threats before, but in a statement on Monday, she said: "Threats against my life and security and those of my family, which began some time ago, have intensified."

One of the anonymous, handwritten threats said: "Shirin Ebadi, your death is near."

They warned her against making speeches abroad, and defending Iran's minority Bahai community.

The Bahai faith is an offshoot of Islam, regarded as heretical by Iran's Shia establishment. [Source: Top Iranian Dissident Threatened] | April 14, 2008

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The Pope’s Challenge in the States: Sex Abuse
Photo of Pope Benedict XVI courtesy of TIME
TIME: Pope Benedict XVI's trip this week to the United States will include high-profile visits to the White House, United Nations and Ground Zero. But no matter what political issues or media angles may be buzzing before take-off, the Vatican tends to stress the pastoral aspect of any papal journey. The six-day itinerary is above all stacked with church services, baseball stadium masses and Catholic institutional encounters to allow the pontiff to tend to his flock, and to the priests and bishops who do the ministering when he's back in Rome.

The American visit, however, poses an unprecedented pastoral challenge for the 80-year-old pontiff. Benedict's is the first papal trip to the United States since the priest sex abuse crisis erupted in 2001. It is a controversy that has left much of the American laity bitterly disillusioned with their Church's leadership. For many of the 67 million American Catholics, how the Pope confronts the lingering fallout from the pedophilia scandal may largely determine the success of this visit.

Benedict's arrival in the U.S. is being seen as a make-or-break moment for Rome to regain the trust of its American flock, the third largest national contingent within a worldwide Catholic Church of 1.1 billion faithful. In recent days, the Vatican has confirmed that on at least one occasion Benedict will specifically address the issue. The Vatican's No. 2 official, Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, told FOX News that the Pope will confront the "open wound" of sex abuse during the April 19 morning mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral for New York-area clergy. It is unclear whether his words will amount to a Mea Culpa similar to those pronounced by John Paul II back in 2000 for the sins of the Church over past centuries, including persecution of Jews and heretics. Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, who heads the Vatican office for the clergy, sent a letter to bishops around the world in January, urging special prayer sessions for the victims of sexual abuse by priests. The Pope’s Sex Abuse Challenge >>> By Jess Israely in Rome and David Van Biema in new York | April 11, 2008

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Israel Snubs Carter and Declines Security Help
REUTERS: JERUSALEM - Israel's secret service declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders shunned him over his plans to meet Hamas, U.S. sources said on Monday.

"They're not getting support from local security," one of the sources said, on condition of anonymity. Israel Snubs Carter and Declines Security Help >>> | April 14, 2008

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Point de vue: Réinventer la charia
MARRAKECH: Asim Siddiqui : Londres - L'archevêque de Canterbury est un personnage remarquablement intelligent et réfléchi. Son intervention du 7 février dernier se voulait une réponse aux problèmes complexes que pose la cohésion communautaire. Il tentait de répondre au sentiment d'aliénation qu'éprouvent certains secteurs des communautés musulmanes britanniques afin qu'ils se sentent mieux intégrés à ce pays.

Si les tabloïds se sont déchaînés, il importe que nous, nous gardions la tête froide. Toute analyse de la charia (principes islamiques de jurisprudence) se heurte à la difficulté suivante: il s'agit d'un concept très vaste, qui englobe à la fois le domaine public et le domaine privé. Il est également susceptible d'une grande diversité d'interprétations. Pour ma part, je serais enclin à affirmer que les objectifs fondamentaux de la charia – protection de la vie, famille, dignité, intellect et propriété – sont tous couverts par la loi britannique. Le but fondamental de la charia est de faire régner la justice. Or ce pays le fait, et plus encore. Pourquoi alors rajouter de la charia à notre système?

Les aspects de la charia auxquels songe l'archevêque se limitent à certains aspects du droit de la famille et du droit patrimonial, c'est-à-dire au domaine des affaires civiles. Nul ne songe à introduire le code pénal dit islamique – aussi, ne perdons pas notre temps à discuter d'une réalité que la plupart d'entre nous refusons déjà pour le monde musulman, et a fortiori pour la Grande-Bretagne.

Parlons donc du droit de la famille et du droit patrimonial, S'agissant de ce dernier, le Royaume Uni procède à une révision de sa législation financière afin de ménager une place aux produits conformes à la charia, tels que les hypothèques halal (conformes aux principes islamiques) et obligations islamiques. Pourquoi? En grande partie pour attirer les milliards de pétrodollars qui flottent en abondance dans les pays du Golfe. Ici, la loi obéit aux réalités de la finance mondiale pour conserver à Londres son statut de capitale financière de premier plan; ce n'est pas ce qui fera de notre ville un « Londonistan ». Réinventer la charia >>> D’Asim Siddiqui*

*Asim Siddiqui est président et administrateur fondateur du City Circle, réseau de jeunes cadres britanniques musulmans, membre de l’ Iraq Commission et de l'Institut international d'études stratégiques.

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Berlusconi: The Comeback Kid
Photo of Berlusconi courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Veteran centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, 71, has a narrow lead in Italy's general election, exit polls suggest.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire, is bidding for a third term in office. His main rival is centre-left leader Walter Veltroni, formerly Rome mayor.

Exit polls showed Mr Berlusconi's bloc about 2% ahead for both houses.

The election was held three years ahead of schedule, following the collapse of Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition.

Correspondents caution that it is too early to predict a winner with any certainty.

The new government will be Italy's 62nd since World War II.

Tricky coalition talks are expected in the coming days. The next government faces the task of reviving Italy's ailing economy. Zero growth is forecast for the coming year. [Source: Exit Polls Place Berlusconi Ahead] | April 14, 2008

BBC UPDATE:
Berlusconi Wins Election in Italy >>>

NZZ Online:
Berlusconi gewinnt die Parlamentswahlen: In Italien zeichnen sich klare Mehrheitsverhältnisse ab >>>

LE FIGARO:
Italie : Berlusconi proclame 
sa victoire >>>

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Gathering Storm Weekly Storm Report: Walid Shoebat & Yours Truly Interviewed By Always On Watch and WC

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Pope Will Pray for Terrorists and Call Them to Christianity at Ground Zero
THE TELEGRAPH: The Pope will pray for the redemption of Islamic terrorists when he visits the site of the September 11 attacks in New York next week.

The pontiff will call for terrorists to convert to Christianity, saying: "Turn to Your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred. 

"God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance". 



The prayer is likely to further incense the Muslim world, which has already attacked the Pope for publicly converting Magdi Allam, a journalist and one of Italy's most high-profile Muslims, at Easter.

Osama bin Laden accused the Pope of trying to provoke "a new crusade" against Islam.

Aref Ali Nayed, a leading scholar and proponent of peaceful relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Islam, said that there were "genuine questions about the motives, intentions and plans of some of the Pope's advisers on Islam".

He said that religious conversion should not be "made into a triumphalist tool for scoring points".

The Pope's first visit to the United States begins on Tuesday. He will visit Ground Zero on April 20 and the prayer is expected to be the emotional high-point of his tour.

The Pope will also ask for "eternal light and peace to all who died" in the tragedy. His prayer will remember "the heroic first-responders: our firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers… along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy".

Around 3,000 people died in the attacks on the World Trade Centre, including the 19 hijackers. The prayer will also mention the victims "on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania".

The Pope will conclude: "Bring Your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth." He will then sprinkle the crater with holy water and bless the site. Pope Will Pray for Terrorists at Ground Zero >>> By Malcolm Moore in Rome | April 14, 2008

Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch

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Falling at the Feet of the Saudis
THE TELEGRAPH BLOG: I’m not sure that people have properly grasped the enormity of the BAE–Saudi affair. I mean, look at the language the high court used. The judges dismissed Labour’s contention that British jobs (let alone national security) would be at risk. It was, they said, a clear-cut case of our criminal justice system buckling under pressure from a foreign power. This ought to be such stuff as hauls down governments, pulverises reputations. Yet, after a day of harrumphing, the newspapers moved on.

Why is the nation not more outraged? “We fear for the reputation of the administration of justice if it can be perverted by a threat,” said the judges. “It is not difficult to imagine what they [the Saudis] would think if we attempted to interfere with their criminal justice system.” Quite.

So why are we taking it lying down? Why are people who normally care about British sovereignty not up in arms that we should have thrown ourselves at the feet of foreign despots?

The answer is that the whole affair has been brilliantly spun as a principle versus pragmatism issue. Unless you have been following the case with unusual interest, you will probably have formed the inchoate impression that it one of those questions that pits hard-headed hommes d’affaires against woolly-minded peaceniks. Seeing a coalition of anti-arms trade Guardianistas arrayed on one side, many Tories have unthinkingly lined up on the other.

In fact, the contention that British jobs or British interests were at stake appears wholly groundless. The judges who have picked over the whole sorry business believe that the Saudi Prince Bandar “went into Number Ten and said ‘get it stopped’”. All the bluster about security was, they thought, “a useful pretext”. Falling at the Feet of the Saudis >>> By Daniel Hannan

THE TELEGRAPH BLOG:
Grovelling to Oil Despots Demeans Us All >>> By Daniel Hannan

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UK: Communities Declining at ‘Fastest Rate Ever’
THE TELEGRAPH: The hastening decline of community life in the countryside is highlighted today in a new Government report.

Nearly half of all neighbourhoods have lost key amenities such as surgeries, post offices, shops and schools in the past four years, figures from Oxford University show.

The report suggests that towns and villages across England are losing basic services at "their fastest rate ever", prompting claims that Labour is overseeing "the slow death of community life".

The news comes after Stuart Burgess, Gordon Brown's "rural advocate", warned that poorer people in the countryside, who already face housing shortages and have little chance of a good education, "form a forgotten city of disadvantage".

The report, published quietly on the Department of Communities and Local Government website last month, reveals which parts of the country have lost out because of their distance from services such as doctors' surgeries and post offices.

It found that 45 per cent of the neighbourhoods in England - 14,493 out of 32,439 - have become more "geographically deprived" since the last such study was conducted in 2004. Communities Declining at 'Fastest Rate Ever' >>> By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Correspondent | April 14, 2008

TELEGRAPH LEADER:
Our Countryside in Peril >>>

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Fighting for Free Speech in Turkey
BBC: Hundreds of writers have been prosecuted in Turkey for "insulting Turkishness", but Sarah Rainsford discovers that there are still some people willing to publish controversial books.

It is a very difficult time to be a writer in Turkey.

Last year the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, was murdered. This year, an ultra-nationalist gang allegedly had the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk on its hit list.

Both men had been prosecuted for "insulting Turkishness".

Today, many writers once known for their forthright views have fallen silent. But one man is still putting himself on the line in a fight for free speech.

I found Ragip Zarakolu in one of the dimly-lit corridors of the Sultanahmet courthouse waiting to be called for his latest trial.

A small man with grey curls and crinkled kindly eyes, Mr Zarakolu is a publisher on a mission to shatter every taboo in Turkey.

As a result, he once admitted to me with characteristic chuckle he is now the most prosecuted publisher in the country.

This time he is also accused of "insulting Turkishness" under article 301 of the penal code.

The case was opened after he published the work of a British writer. It was the story of the writer's family in 1915, when hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Armenians were deported as traitors during World War I. Turkey's taboos >>>

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BlogTalkRadio: Atlas Shrugs Interviews Ibn Warraq on Fitna

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Receiving a Personal Call from God
BBC: With the number of seminary entrants rising yearly, has the problem of the Roman Catholic Church's ageing priest population been solved?

This weekend is a significant one in the Catholic calendar. It marks Vocation Sunday, an annual day of prayer for vocations into the priesthood and other forms of religious life.

This year, the church has distributed 4,000 posters and other publicity materials to parishes, schools and university chaplaincies across the UK.

Such determination to raise awareness of the possibility of a religious life may seem surprising given recent increases in the number of young men entering the priesthood.

Over the past five years, the number of would-be priests beginning formation, or training, has almost doubled - from an all-time low of 24 in 2003 to 44 in 2007.

"The death of Pope John Paul II and ascension of Benedict XVI were an important time for us", says Father Paul Embery, director of the National Office for Vocation.

"People became more encouraged to make an enquiry into joining the priesthood.

"We're also beginning to recognise a lot of people who have become priests, monks or nuns because they have been asked to do so. Sometimes, just being asked can be a crystallising moment.

"We're regaining the confidence to be able to ask young men to enter the priesthood." Receiving a Personal Call from God >>> By Amy Blackburn, BBC News | April 12, 2008

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Moqtada Sadr: US Will Always Be the Enemy
Photo of Moqtada Sadr courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has said the US will always be his enemy "till the last drop of blood".

Mr Sadr was responding to a statement by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who said that all those within the political process were not enemies.

"I have no enemy but you. You are the occupier," Mr Sadr's statement said. Sadr Says US Will Always Be Enemy >>> | April 12, 2008

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Daniel Pipes, I Totally Disagree with Your Conclusion! Islam and Democracy, in My Opinion, Are Immiscible, Immiscible, Immiscible!
Give Muslims Time to Find Democratic Feet >>>
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Eternal Damnation Awaits Muslims Who Eat Thousand Island Salad Dressing!

YNET NEWS: Website calls on Israeli Arabs to avoid dressing after consumer discovers it contains alcohol

A website affiliated with the northern branch of Israel's Islamic Movement warned its readers to avoid a brand of Thousand Island dressing produced by a well-known Israeli company. The warning was issued after a local Arab discovered that the dressing contains alcohol.

The Palestine 48 website called on its readers to stay away from the dressing after being approached by Majdi Khatib.

"In recent days, another product was added to the list of products forbidden to Muslims because they contain alcohol," the website said. "Khatib discovered that the dressing contains alcohol and is sold naturally and inadvertently at Arab and Muslim shops." Thousand Island Dressing Stirs Muslim Row >>> By Roee Nahmias

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Maggie and Ron: The Transatlantic ‘Love Affair’
Photo of Ron and Maggie dancing courtesy of The Sunday Telegraph
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ronald Reagan's last official act as President of the United States on January 11, 1989 was to sign a letter of thanks and appreciation to Margaret Thatcher, then beginning her last two years in Downing Street. That letter marked the end of a great political partnership - one as important historically as the wartime alliance between Churchill and Roosevelt but arguably both warmer and more successful.

Reagan and Thatcher sincerely liked each other and shared almost identical political views. There was no fundamental gulf between them similar to Roosevelt's suspicion of a British Empire that Churchill had pledged not to dissolve.

Their joint policies led to a victory in the Cold War that was more complete and less morally uncomfortable than Yalta's division of Europe into a continent half-free and half-slave. When Soviet communism collapsed peacefully along with the Berlin Wall ten months after Reagan left office, his penpal was generously quick to give him credit: Reagan had won the Cold War, she said, "without firing a shot". Their names have been historically linked ever since. How Margaret Thatcher Went from 'Madam Prime Minister' to 'Dear Margaret' >>> By John O'Sullivan | April 13, 2008

The Margaret Thatcher Years

What Is Margaret Thatcher’s Real Legacy? Have Your Say

Margaret Thatcher: The Patriot Who Vanquished Failure: After decades of decline, Margaret Thatcher's leadership brought courage and conviction to a nation that had grown used to second best, says Charles Moore

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Sheikh Qaradawi: A “Provocative and Hostile Act Against Muslims”
GULF TIMES: PROMINENT scholar Sheikh Yousuf al-Qaradawi has denounced Pope Benedict’s baptism of a Muslim-born journalist during the last Easter Mass at the Vatican as a “provocative and hostile act against Muslims”. 


Sheikh Qaradawi, who is the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) and the European Council for Fatwa and Research, said the public baptism of Majdi Allam has provoked Muslims around the world.


“We do not feel regret over the conversion of that person. He has been a Catholic for more than five years. He was always attacking Islam, the Qur’an and me. The problem is that he was baptised by the Pope in public and in front of satellite TV cameras. This is a hostile act against Islam,” he told Doha-based Al Jazeera television.


“It is not strange that Allam, who betrayed his country and supported Israel, left his religion. We know that he is an agent of Israel. He would not contribute to Islam if he were a Muslim,” he said.


Qaradawi said the public baptism has worsened relations between the Vatican and IUMS. “We were looking for a different approach from the Pope after his anti-Islam remarks two years ago. But the Pope’s baptism of a person who was known for his enmity to Islam and the Qur’an made us stick to our previous decision to suspend the IUMS relationship with the Vatican,” he told Al Jazeera.


The scholar also blamed the West for worsening relations with Islam. “We try to seek peace with the Vatican and the World Council of Churches but in vain. They keep provoking us by their hostility.”


Egyptian-born Allam, 55, is married to a Catholic and has infuriated Muslims with his books and columns in the leading Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, where he is a deputy editor. The title of one of his books is Long Live Israel. [Source: Qaradawi Flays Pope’s ‘Hostile Act’] | April 12, 2008

Hat tip: Jihad Watch

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BBC Chief Warns of ‘Over-Cautious’ Islam Coverage
THE TIMES: Mark Thompson, the Director General of the BBC, tonight warned broadcasters against becoming overly-cautious in their reporting on Islam for fear of causing offence to Muslims.

Speaking at Westminster Cathedral Mr Thompson, a practising Catholic, said there was “a growing nervousness about discussion about Islam and its relationship to the traditions and values of British and Western society as a whole”.

He said that the BBC and other major channels “have a special responsibility” to ensure that debates about “faith and society” and about any religion “should not be foreclosed or censored”.

In an effort to demonstrate that his remarks were not targeted solely at ensuring that Islam received journalistic scrutiny, Mr Thompson also referring to his decision to broadcast Jerry Springer, The Opera despite an avalanche of complaints from Christians unhappy at the depiction of Jesus in the satire.

“There is no point having a BBC which isn’t prepared to stand up and be counted; which will do everything it can to mitigate potential religious offence; but which will always be forthright in the defence of freedom of speech and of impartiality,” he said.

The lecture, Faith and the Media, also discussed how religious broadcasting at the BBC developed from the secularist perspective of the 1960s and 1970s, when Mr Thompson worked on Everyman, to faith-oriented programmes that tap a “sharp revival of interest in the spiritual potential”.

He contrasted The Passion, a traditional portrayal of Jesus Christ’s last days written by Frank Deasey, with the previous attempt to tell the story of his life, Dennis Potter’s 1969 version of a self-doubting prophet in Son of Man[.]

“It is quite simply inconceivable that the BBC in the 1970s or 80s or indeed the 90s would have [shown] a drama about Christ’s passion across BBC One’s primetime schedule”. [Source: BBC Chief Mark Thompson Warns of 'Over-Cautious' Islam Coverage]

Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch

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Austria Wary of Banning Smoking
YAHOO NEWS (UK & IRELAND): VIENNA (AFP) - While many European countries have imposed smoking bans in bars and restaurants, Austria, afraid of hurting businesses, has so far resisted legislation preventing people lighting up where they please.

After a six-month break, the ruling Social Democrats and conservatives returned to the negotiating table this week to discuss a no-smoking policy in public places, an issue that has deeply divided politicians.

Conservative Health Minister Andrea Kdolsky and the Social Democrats want to protect non-smokers without hurting businesses, while the environmental Greens and trade unions are calling for a total ban.

A compromise deal, due to be presented in mid-May, suggests that all pubs, cafes and restaurants have a sectioned-off area for non-smokers, unless they are protected property or safety requirements make it impossible.

A new piece of legislation introduced at the beginning of the year required any place of 75 square metres (807 square feet) or more to offer a non-smoking area, while smaller businesses could choose whether or not to serve smokers.

"We cannot overly regulate. A total ban would cause problems," Kdolsky's chief of staff Michael Kloibmueller said, referring to claims that it would infringe on businesses' rights, an argument used by a German court to relax a total ban on one-room bars. Austria Wary of Banning Smoking >>> By Luc Andre | April 9, 2008

THE GUARDIAN:
The death of the village pub: They are closing at a rate of two a day. Have you lost yours? By Allegra Stratton

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Obama Rues “Bitter” Voter Remark
BBC: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said remarks about "bitter" working-class people "clinging to guns or religion" were ill-chosen.

After a storm of criticism from his rivals, Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, Mr Obama said he "didn't say it as well as I should have".

He made the contentious remarks at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Sunday.

The Illinois senator is ahead of Mrs Clinton in terms of delegates won in the Democratic primaries so far.

Mrs Clinton is hoping to reduce his lead when Pennsylvania holds its key primary election on 22 April.

However, the majority of polls published last week suggested Mrs Clinton's lead in the state had narrowed to the low single digits.

'Out of touch'

Mr Obama was accused of taking a condescending view of small-town voters after he was filmed at the private fundraising gathering last weekend, during which he said he understood why residents of some hard-pressed communities grew angry.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," he said.

"And it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he added. Obama Rues “Bitter” Voter Remark >>> | April 12, 2008

THE SUNDAY TIMES:
Barack Obama 'Belittles' Small Town America: Obama, the “arrogant elitist, with little feeling for ordinary voters”? By Tim Shipman in Washington | April 13, 2008

‘Terrorist’ link puts Barack Obama under fire: Another dubious contact is dogging the Democrat hopeful | April 13, 2008

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Obama’s Mask Slips >>> By William Kristol | April 14, 2008

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Blue-Collar Distrust of Obama in the Rust Belt >>> By Cordula Meyer in Reading, Pennsylvania | April 14, 2008

REUTERS:
Obama Defends "Bitter" Remarks as McCain Attacks >>> | April 14, 2008


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Deadly Blast Strikes Iranian City of Shiraz
BBC: At least eight people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in an explosion in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, Iranian media reports say.

The blast occurred in a mosque in the city either during or after evening prayers, the reports said.

Iran's Fars news agency was quoted as saying that the explosion was caused by a bomb. It said at least three of the wounded were seriously hurt.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast[.]

Fars said the death toll was expected to climb. [Source: Deadly Blast Strikes Iranian City] | April 12, 2008

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How Wrong Could the EU Foreign Ministers Have Been?
EURACTIV.COM: EU foreign ministers on Saturday (29 March) broadly condemned a controversial film released by Dutch MP Geert Wilders which portrays Islam as a religion which incites violence, but defended the filmmaker's freedom of expression.

"The film equates Islam with violence and this view is sharply rejected," the ministers said in a statement released after their meeting in Brdo, Slovenia on 29 March. "The problem is not religion, but abusing religion as a pretext for sowing hatred and intolerance," the EU foreign ministers added.

Among other scenes, the 15-minute film includes footage of the September 11 terrorist attacks superimposed alongside verses quoted from the Qur'an, beheadings of hostages and executions of women wearing the hijab (covering the head and body of the wearer).

Muslim organisations condemned the film. Describing it as a "deliberate act of discrimination against Muslims," the secretary general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, said the footage was designed to "provoke unrest and intolerance".

Similarly, EU foreign ministers condemned the content of the film, but were quick to defend Mr. Wilders' right to make it. "The production of this movie falls within the exercise of the rights all our citizens have," they insisted.

Likewise, the Council of Europe defended Wilders' freedom of expression, albeit "in this case with disappointment and concern," describing its release as a "sad day for European democracy". The principles of European democracy were being used "to promulgate intolerant and deeply offensive stereotypes," said Terry Davis, the secretary general.

Perhaps mindful of the extent of the reaction to the publication of the Mohammed cartoons in 2005, EU foreign ministers stressed that "feeling offended is no excuse for aggression or threats". EU Foreign Ministers Condemn Dutch Film on Islam >>> | March 31, 2008

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