THE Saudi king won much praise last week for convening talks at the United Nations ostensibly meant to promote peace and "religious tolerance." He even snagged a private audience with President Bush.

But if you take a close look at King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud's agenda, some of it is hardly praiseworthy. In fact, if he gets any traction at the UN (or anywhere else), it'll mark a giant step backward for both peace and tolerance.

Indeed, behind Abdullah's Kumbaya facade was a downright scary agenda: Essentially, he wants the world's moral blessing to restrict any and all speech about Islam, its adherents and regimes that promote them - except, of course, that which is approved by official censors. He also wants to throw the UN's moral weight behind punishments meted out to those who violate such restrictions, even if he doesn't say that explicitly.

Meanwhile, Abdullah failed to make even the slightest gesture toward softening his own regime's brutal intolerance of other religions and cultures. Some parley on "religious tolerance."

Consider one key draft resolution at the event. Introduced jointly by the Philippines and Pakistan, it openly seeks to limit press freedoms. Sure, as read by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, the language pays lip service to the notion of freedom of expression.

But the document then goes on to emphasize the "special duties and responsibilities necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others, protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals."

Translation: Don't even think of publishing those Danish cartoons or anything even close to them. And forget about questioning authorities in places like, say, Riyadh.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a dominant UN voting bloc, plans an additional resolution, to be voted on tomorrow in the General Assembly, that would openly frown on any speech that is considered defamatory toward religion.

But it's not like the censors - and, specifically, their efforts to establish Islam as a dominant, superior religious and political force - need encouragement.

Last month, an appellate court in Afghanistan sentenced a student, Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, to 20 years in prison for distributing "blasphemous" material regarding the role of women in Islamic societies. Arrested a year earlier, Kambakhsh was accused of downloading material from the Internet and passing it to other students, according to a recent State Department report on international religious freedom.

Mohammad Shafeeq was cited in the same State Department report. He was sentenced to death in Pakistan in June for blasphemy after he allegedly defiled the Quran and used derogatory language to refer to the Prophet Mohammad. His arrest in 2006 was based on a complaint by local religious leaders.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is among the worst of the bunch. In May, the Saudi government charged a lawyer and businessman, Ra'if Bedawi al-Shammary, with "setting up an electronic site that insults Islam." The prosecution asked for a five-year prison sentence and an $800,000 fine.

What exactly did Shammary do? His online writings detailed abuses by the religious police and questioned the government's interpretation of Islam. As a result of the charges against him and several physical threats, Shammary and his family were forced to flee the country.

Meanwhile, conference participants showed just how tolerant they were: Famously "moderate" Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad directly challenged Jewish sensibilities by suggesting that Jerusalem was not holy to Judaism.

King Abdullah insists that everyone refer to him as "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" - that is, the biggest of the big-cheese Muslims. To that title, he now hopes to add a new one: Brave King of the Muslim Moderates.

Indeed, some of his back-stabbing brothers at home, I'm told, are already sharpening their knives - labeling him a traitor for merely suggesting that a dialogue with other religions is possible. And pressure at home, his backers say, is limiting just how far Abdullah can go in reaching out to non-Muslims.

That might be believable, however, if the king took just one small step toward curbing Arab/Muslim hostility toward non-Muslims or easing restrictions on free expression. Seeking greater support for sanctions on speech is not exactly a sign of moderation.

In the end, the Saudi UN p.r. coup may end up encouraging repression and intolerance around the world.

Until he makes significant changes at home, let no one be fooled by his stunts.