Austria

Fox News 27 November 2012

• See also Slavery in Saudi Arabia 2012

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other dignitaries are attending the inauguration of a Saudi-sponsored center for inter-religious dialogue that opens later Monday.

The project is co-sponsored by Austria and Spain. Its board will consist of three Christians, three Muslims, a Jew, a Buddhist and a Hindu.

The center has ignited debate. Backers hope it will promote increased tolerance in Saudi Arabia, a kingdom that now prohibits any religion other than Islam.

Gates of Vienna 19 October 2012
By Baron Bodissey

In a series of articles earlier this month (see the bottom of this post for a complete list) we reported on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw.

The "Human Dimension” is one of three general categories within the OSCE. It gives governments, NGOs, and members of civil society in all the member states of the OSCE the opportunity to send representatives to meetings where human rights policies and initiatives are discussed.

ICLA 4 October 2012
By Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

This report was written by Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff. She was part of a team representing the civil liberties organizations ACT! For America, Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE), the Stresemann Foundation, and the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA).

Below is a photo of the seven team members:

From left to right:
Alain Wagner (France) is the leader of the Stop Sharia campaign and a co-founder of the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA).David Erzet (Belgium) represents the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA).Dave Petteys (USA) represents ACT! for America 5280 Coalition. Felix Strüning (Germany) is the managing director of the Stresemann Foundation — A Lobby for Freedom. Henrik Ræder Clausen (Denmark) represents the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA).Liz Schmidt (Germany) represents Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE-Austria). Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff (Austria) is a board member of Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE-Germany).

Jihad Watch 4 October 2012

Canada's National Post takes aim at a word that is being used to stifle debate and destroy foes of jihad and Islamic supremacism. "Opinion: Stop calling criticism of Islam ‘Islamophobia,’" by Jackson Doughart and Faisal Saeed al-Mutar in the National Post, September 26

The English language needs a moratorium on the word Islamophobia, a term often used to describe bigotry against Muslims. Unfortunately, it is also used reflexively to denounce critics of Islam, who contribute to a valuable and ongoing debate concerning the relationship between the West and the worldwide Islamic community. This subject is important because several Western countries, such as Denmark, Great Britain, and the Netherlands, are being forced to reconsider their approaches to immigration and culture in light of deep clashes between the Muslim immigrants and the native population.

National Post 27 September 2012
By Jackson Doughart and Faisal Saeed al-Mutar

The English language needs a moratorium on the word Islamophobia, a term often used to describe bigotry against Muslims. Unfortunately, it is also used reflexively to denounce critics of Islam, who contribute to a valuable and ongoing debate concerning the relationship between the West and the worldwide Islamic community. This subject is important because several Western countries, such as Denmark, Great Britain, and the Netherlands, are being forced to reconsider their approaches to immigration and culture in light of deep clashes between the Muslim immigrants and the native population. These tensions have captured much attention in recent weeks with the series of violent protests that have spread to over twenty countries, emanating from the controversial Innocence of Muslims film.