Hawzah News Agency (Amesterdam, Netherlands) - According to al-Bayan daily, the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission condemned the move by anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders, leader of right-wing Party for Freedom, to announce plans for holding a competition of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

It also called on the Dutch government to ban such a contest.

The commission said that such a move could lead to enflaming and intensifying the culture of biases and prejudices and hurt the religious sentiments of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims.

Referring to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it underlined that freedom of speech is not unlimited but that the rights of others should also be protected.

The commission stressed that holding such a competition would be a stark violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Combatting hate and prejudices in the world, including in Europe, is only possible through enhancing the culture of tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions and encouraging interfaith dialogue at all levels, it went on to say.

Wilders is well known for his fierce criticism of Islam and has previously sparked fury in Muslim nations with a film about Islam. He lives under a round-the-clock guard following years of death threats.

Physical depictions of God or Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), even respectful ones, are considered blasphemous under mainstream Islamic tradition.