United Nations Boss Links Islam To Violence

A statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the film Fitna:

I condemn, in the strongest terms, the airing of Geert Wilders' offensively anti-Islamic film. There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here. I acknowledge the efforts of the Government of the Netherlands to stop the broadcast of this film, and appeal for calm to those understandably offended by it.

The United Nations is the centre of the world's efforts to advance mutual respect, understanding and dialogue. We must also recognize that the real fault line is not between Muslim and Western societies, as some would have us believe, but between small minorities of extremists on different sides with a vested interest in stirring hostility and conflict.

Plain enough. The working assumption here is that unless dissuaded, Muslims are inclined to react to offensive things with violence. What I cannot understand is how the Secretary-General can be so bold as to make the assertions in the second paragraph. The UN is at "the centre of the world's efforts to advance mutual respect"? It's critical of "small minorities of extremists"? UN Watch would beg to differ:

To the sound of cheers, and by an overwhelming majority of 40 out of 47 votes, the UN Human Rights Council today elected Jean Ziegler, the co-founder of the "Muammar Khaddafi Human Rights Prize," as an expert advisor representing the Western world. And for its new Palestine expert, the council chose Richard Falk, who, like Ziegler, accuses the US of being responsible for many of the world's ills and describes Israel in Nazi terminology.

Past winners of the, ahem, "Muammar Khaddafi Human Rights Prize" include Fidel Castro, Louis Farrakhan and Hugo Chavez. It might not have been Jonah Goldberg's idea but the time really has come to form something like his League of Democracies. The sooner the better.