9-7-2010

The U.S. Helsinki Commission’s Chairman Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) released a slideshow with depictions of various acts of discrimination, including hate crimes, against Muslims in Europe and the United States. View the slideshow here.

The two U.S. congressmen also offered their commentary on the controversy surrounding the “Ground Zero” cultural center and mosque, saying that “the hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric from opponents of the Cordoba House, especially political leaders, is inexcusable.”

The slideshow offers a glimpse of “a disturbing trend of denying rights held by all others to Muslims in the 56-country OSCE region,” added Messrs. Cardin and Hastings. Some of the incidents highlighted by the slideshow—such as the heinous murder of a pregnant Muslim woman in Germany—have been profiled in Human Rights First’s latest report on Violence Against Muslims.

Human Rights First continues to call on governments to speak out forcefully against all violent hate crimes, including targeted violence against Muslims, and to take measures to hold the perpetrators of such violence accountable before the law. As chairmen of the human rights monitoring Helsinki Commission, Cardin and Hastings have consistently answered HRF’s call by speaking out against discriminatory policies in France and Switzerland.

Tags: europe, Fighting Discrimination, Hate Crime, Helsinki Commission, muslims
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