ROBERT BLITT ON DEFAMATION OF RELIGION. “In the face of the OIC’s repeated assertion that defamation of religion continues to enjoy international legitimacy, the US and other concerned states have remained virtually silent. The illusion of a consensus ending years of acrimonious debate at the UN has apparently caused these governments to lose sight of the crux of this debate: whether international law should countenance privileging the subjective ideas and beliefs of various religions at the expense of individual human rights. . . . Malaysia’s deplorable decision to abide by Saudi Arabia’s request for Kashgari’s return is deadly evidence that an international norm authorizing criminal prosecution – and even extradition – for defamation of religion offenses is alive and well. This reality should be deeply disconcerting to those concerned with maintaining the integrity of the international human rights framework.”

Personally, I have come to doubt whether that “integrity” exists at all.