The annual United Nations General Assembly session was opened on Tuesday, September 25. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his opening remarks said, "I am here to sound the alarm about our direction as a human family". World leaders will address the session in coming six days.

In the first day of the session, Ban Ki-moon and President Obama largely focused on the wave of violent reaction in Middle East and South Asia in the wake of the infamous anti-Islam video on YouTube. Mr. Ban said, "A disgraceful act of great insensitivity has led to justifiable offense and unjustifiable violence." He added that freedom of speech was a fundamental right, and emphasized that it should not be used to incite violence.

The US President Barack Obama also started his speech with a tribute to former US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens who was killed by a mob in Benghazi during the anti-Islam film riot. The wave of violent reactions remained the main theme throughout his speech.

He urged world leaders to speak honestly about the deeper causes of the crisis. He said freedom and self-determination are not unique to one culture. These are not simply American values or Western values – they are universal values. He said the US government had nothing to do with the video. "It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well."

President Obama said the hateful video could not be banned under the US laws of freedom of expression. He said, "Our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech. Here in the United States, countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs.  We do so because in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can become a tool to silence critics, or oppress minorities.

We do so because given the power of faith in our lives, and the passion that religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech – the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect."

President Obama urged world leaders particularly those from the Muslim world and Middle East "to address honestly the tensions between the West and an Arab World moving to democracy. It is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism. It is time to marginalize those who – even when not resorting to violence – use hatred of America, or the West, or Israel as a central principle of politics. For that only gives cover, and sometimes makes excuses, for those who resort to violence."

Words of President Obama should be a call to the leaders of Muslim world, particularly the Organization of Islamic Conference to mobilize religious scholars for a debate on how to avoid Muslims being provoked to violent reaction each time a piece of crap comes on internet.