By IINA
New York : World leaders, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and international bodies such as UN Human Rights Council condemned an anti-Islamic video broadcast in Holland. Ban Ki-moon described it as “hate speech and incitement to violence” and urged calm. In a statement issued by his spokesperson after Thursday’s airing of the film, Fitna, Ban acknowledged the efforts of the Dutch government to stop broadcast of the work produced by a Dutch opposition lawmaker, and appealed “for calm to those understandably offended by it.”
“Freedom must always be accompanied by social responsibility,” he said. “There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here.” The UN Human Rights Council passed late on Thursday, a resolution deploring the use of the media to blemish the image of Islam, hinting at a string of recent incidents that targeted the divine faith. The council’s resolution denounced using the media to “incite acts of violence, xenophobia or related intolerance and discrimination towards Islam,” reported AFP.
The document, which was put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, “expresses deep concern at attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations.” The resolution was adopted by 21 of the council’s 47 member states, while 14 abstained and 10 states objected.
A recent British study accused the media and film industry of perpetuating Islamophobia and prejudice by demonizing Muslims and Arabs as violent, dangerous and threatening people.
Famed U.S. academic Stephen Schwartz had also criticized the Western media for failing to meet the challenge of reporting on Islam after 9/11. And Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the US largest Jewish movement, has accused US media and politicians of demonizing Islam and portraying Muslims as “satanic figures.”
Dutch private and state channels decided earlier this month not to show a controversial anti-Qur’an documentary produced by far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders, who had not option but to post it on a video-sharing website. A U.S.-based web service has also suspended the site originally dedicated for displaying the documentary after receiving Muslim complaints.