Islamic United Nations representatives blocked an attempt to have the world body condemn killing in the name of religion.
The International Humanist and Ethical Union said it submitted the request to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva in response to moves by Islamic clerics to legitimize the current wave of terror attacks.
IHEU representative David Littman tried to deliver a prepared text in the names of three international NGOs – the Association for World Education, the Association of World Citizens and the IHEU – but was blocked by the "heavy-handed intervention" of Islamic representatives of the panel.
Littman said that after repeated interruptions, he was unable to complete his speech.
The Muslims members said they saw the text as an attack on Islam.
The IHEU argued Littman's speech was a report on recent critical comment on Islamist extremism by a number of notable Muslim writers.
The intent was for the U.N. Human Rights Commission "to condemn calls to kill, to terrorize or to use violence in the name of God or any religion."
The text referred to recent decisions by high-ranking Muslim clerics to confirm that those who carry out suicide bombings remain Muslims and cannot be treated as apostates.
