A Congressional Task Force for International Religious Freedom (TIRF) will hold an off-the-record briefing to discuss the "defamation of religions" resolutions at the United Nations' Human Rights Council and their impact on the freedoms of religion and expression. While Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Conference) has sponsored these resolutions at the UN to counter "Islamophobia" since 1999, the effect has been a dangerous increase in restrictions on the freedom of religion and expression throughout the world that go beyond traditionally accepted international standards. The briefing is open to the public and will discuss the implications of these resolutions and how concerns of "Islamophobia" can be addressed while maintaining fundamental international standards.

During the last session of the Council, the body's Romanian president appeared to support an intervention by Egypt calling for an end to the discussion on sharia as it relates to human rights abuses. This call, which was supported by many other Islamic states, has reinforced concerns raised by many non-governmental organizations and Western states that the defamation resolutions prevent legitimate critique of human rights violations resulting from religious practices or states which use religion to legitimize authoritarian practices. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, also voiced her concern over "taboos" on these discussions, but the debate continues.

Many states have justified restrictions on freedom of religion and expression through blasphemy, apostasy, and defamation laws. Some recent examples of the impact of such laws include:

• a British teacher in Sudan was sentenced for blasphemy when her students named the class teddy bear "Mohammed';
• prominent Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman Amer was sentenced to three years for 'insulting Islam';
• Afghanistan journalist Parwiz Kambakhsh was sentenced to death for blasphemy for downloading an article of the Internet; and, closer to home,
• Author Mark Steyn faces charges of "subject[ing] Canadian Muslims to hatred and contempt" and being "flagrantly Islamophobic" for an article from his book, America Alone, that Maclean's magazine published.

In the U.S., where freedom of religion and expression receive broad protection under the Constitution, several members of Congress introduced H.R. 6146 to address recent challenges to these freedoms. This bill will prohibit domestic courts from recognizing or enforcing a foreign judgment concerning defamation unless the domestic court determines that the foreign judgment is consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Many international analysts following these resolutions believe that the movement for greater restrictions on freedom of religion and expression to protect religions rather than the rights of individuals is one of the greatest threats to human freedom at this time, both internationally and in the United States.

With this in mind, this briefing will address these important issues with expert witnesses:

• Angela Wu serves as International Director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty where she regularly offers interventions before the United Nations Human Rights Council and has led international efforts to address the religious defamation issue there. She has published numerous articles on religious freedom issues in major newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times. Additionally, she has worked on many international religious freedom cases, including the case of Lina Joy in Malaysia.
• Ziya Meral is a Turkish researcher and journalist who recently published a comprehensive report on apostasy laws throughout the Middle East. He has travelled widely throughout the Middle East and Asia as part of his research and frequently contributes to journals and Turkish newspapers. His first book in Turkish, Ve Tanri Agliyordu (And God was Crying; Essays on Life, Hope and God) was published in 2006 and a shorter book Bir Turk Teolojisine Dogru (Towards a Turkish Theology) was published the same year in Istanbul.
• Ezra Levant was the publisher of a Canadian magazine which, in 2006, reprinted the Danish cartoons of Mohammed, as part of a news story. He was subsequently accused of "discrimination" and brought before the Canadian Human Rights Commission to defend himself. If convicted, Levant could face a large fine, a lifetime order not to talk about 'radical' Islam, and even an order to issue an "apology". If Levant does not comply with these orders, he could be imprisoned for nine months.
• David Harris serves as the President of Democracy House. In April 2004 he was sued for libel by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Canada (CAIR-CAN) and its then-Chair, Dr. Sheema Khan, for remarks he made as a regular national-security guest during an interview with host Mr. Steve Madely on the Ottawa radio station CFRA. David Harris is Director of the International and Terrorist Intelligence Program, INSIGNIS Strategic Research Inc and a former Chief of Strategic Planning of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Mr. Harris has appeared on programs ranging from television's "America's Most Wanted," CBS's "60 Minutes," "NBC Dateline" and "The Today Show," to "The CBS News with Dan Rather" and CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports".

The breifing will also be joined by a Representative of the Pakistan Embassy to offer a statement on their position on the "defamation of religions" resolutions. Members of Congress and their staff are strongly encouraged to attend and hear firsthand reports of the impact of these resolutions and challenges to international standards on the freedom of religion.

For more information about this briefing or to RSVP, please contact Tina Ramirez with Representative Trent Franks (5-4576) or Cassandra Young with Representative Emanuel Cleaver (5-4535).