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Showing Original Post only (View all)At U.N., free speech divides West and Muslim nations [View all]
Source: L.A. Times
UNITED NATIONS The annual U.N. General Assembly meeting, which is intended to celebrate the world's common values, this year is exposing instead the gulf between Western and Islamic perspectives on freedom of expression, posing an unexpected challenge for President Obama when he speaks here Tuesday.
Prompted by the anti-Islam video produced in California that has stirred deadly riots around the world, delegations from major Muslim nations have arrived at the U.N. prepared to demand international curbs on speech or media that they believe defame their religion or the prophet Muhammad.
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Erdogan, whom President Obama views as a key ally, has declared that all 57 Islamic nations "should speak forcefully with one voice," and has called for "international legal regulations against attacks on what people deem sacred."
These leaders consider anti-Islamic material a kind of hate speech that should be banned around the world. They are expected to demand those regulations when debate begins Tuesday in the General Assembly.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-un-free-speech-20120925,0,1193527.story
This really troubles me for a number of reasons. It illustrates an enormous gap.