DAKAR, Senegal - The Muslim world has created a battle plan to defend its religion from political cartoonists and bigots.
Concerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world's Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. It was a key issue during a two-day summit that ended Friday in this western Africa capital.
The Muslim leaders are attempting to demand redress from nations like Denmark, which allowed the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 and again last month, to the fury of the Muslim world.
Though the legal measures being considered have not been spelled out, the idea pits many Muslims against principles of freedom of speech enshrined in the constitutions of numerous Western governments.
"I don't think freedom of expression should mean freedom from blasphemy," said Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade, the chairman of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference. "There can be no freedom without limits."
Ah, there's the rub. Shouldn't limits be determined the laws in one's own country, and not by the laws in another nation which may have significantly different definitions of propriety and good conduct?
There's no question that a portion of the world's Muslims would have their brand of repressive Islamic law thrust onto the rest of the world so that a handful of "clerics" could control the lives of everyone. The concept of suing nations or individuals for blasphemy is just another step in that direction.
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