Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA)

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — Seeking to bolster relations with Muslim countries angry about Western characterizations of Islam, the Obama administration has gathered representatives from more than two dozen governments this week in an effort to address religious intolerance around the world. Some, though, are fearful that the U.S. government will be convinced by Islamic participants to crack down on Americans’ free speech rights.


To critics, the three-day conference in Washington smacks of appeasement toward hardline Islamist governments with often dismal anti-discrimination records of their own. U.S. officials say they’re simply promoting education and understanding, while also rejecting any demands from Arab states and other countries that want restrictions on free speech.

Last month, Fox News reported the following about the conference:

A looming meeting with Islamic leaders hosted by the State Department has religious scholars and advocacy groups warning that the United States may “play into” the push by some Islamic nations to create new laws to stifle religious criticism and debate.

The meeting on religious tolerance, which is scheduled for mid-December, would involve representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation — a coalition of 56 nations which more or less represents the Muslim world. [...]

A key worry is that the meeting could become a platform for Islamic governments to push for hate-speech laws which, in their most virulent and fundamentalist form, criminalize what they perceive as blasphemy.

“We know that some people distort various religious doctrines to justify intolerance, foment violence or create strife that serves their narrow political purposes,” said Suzan Johnson Cook, U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. She said offensive speech ought to be denounced, but that “religion must never be used as an excuse to stifle freedom of expression.”

CONTINUED:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/will-the-obama-admin-cave-to-islamists-demands-during-this-weeks-religious-tolerance-conference/