The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has said that to combat Islamophobia, the world must focus attention and call for action to stamp out the poison of anti-Muslim hatred.
In his message to mark the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, Guterres said the world’s nearly 2 billion Muslims reflect humanity in all its magnificent diversity.
UN Boss stated that Muslim often face bigotry and prejudice for no other reason than their faith. “Beyond structural, institutional discrimination and the wholesale stigmatization of Muslim communities.
“Muslims suffer personal attacks, hateful rhetoric, and scapegoating. We see some of the worst impacts in the triple discrimination against Muslim women because of their gender, ethnicity, and faith”.
He emphasized that the growing hate Muslims face is not an isolated development but part of resurgence of ethno-nationalism, neo-Nazi white supremacist ideologies.
“And violence targeting vulnerable populations including Muslims, Jews, some minority Christian communities, others. Discrimination diminishes us all. And it is incumbent on all of us to stand up against it”.
Guterres called to strengthen the world defenses by pushing for policies that fully respect human rights and protect religious and cultural identities.
“We must recognize diversity as richness and ramp up political, cultural, and economic investments in social cohesion. And we must confront bigotry by working to tackle the hate that spreads like wildfire across the internet”, he said.
UN Chief noted that for over a millennium, Islam’s message of peace, compassion, and grace has inspired people the world over.
“Every great faith and tradition summons the imperatives of tolerance, respect, and mutual understanding.
“At the heart, we are dealing with universal values: they animate the United Nations Charter and lie at the core of our quest for justice, human rights, and peace.
“Today and every day, let us strive to realize these values and counter the forces of division by reaffirming our common humanity”, UN Secretary- General concluded.
Islamophobia is a fear, prejudice and hatred of Muslims that leads to provocation, hostility and intolerance by means of harassment, abuse, incitement and intimidation of Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the online and offline world.
Motivated by institutional, ideological, political and religious hostility that transcends into structural and cultural racism, it targets the symbols and markers of being a Muslim.
This definition emphasises the link between institutional levels of Islamophobia and manifestations of such attitudes, triggered by the visibility of the victim’s perceived Muslim identity.
This approach also interprets Islamophobia as a form of racism, whereby Islamic religion, tradition and culture are seen as a ‘threat’ to the Western values.
Some experts prefer the label ‘anti-Muslim hatred,’ fearing that the term ‘Islamophobia’ risks condemning all critiques of Islam and, therefore, could stifle freedom of expression.
But international human rights law protects individuals, not religions. And Islamophobia may also affect non-Muslims, based on perceptions of nationality, racial or ethnic background.
