NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations to approach the office of the United Nations secretary general to appoint an envoy on Islamophobia.
The foreign minister was addressing a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Muslims in Europe which was held on the sidelines of the General Assembly’s 77th annual session in New York.
He said Islamophobia continues to find strong resonance in political spheres in Europe, ultimately leading to the institutionalisation of Islamophobia through new legislations and policies such as discriminatory travel bans and visa restrictions.
He said the momentum generated by this resolution should be maintained.
Zardari said one of the worst manifestations of such Islamophobia was in Hindutva-inspired India, where, driven by the ideology of hate against Muslims, the ruling regime is executing its century-old plan to obliterate the country’s Islamic legacy and to transform it into an exclusive Hindu state.
He said the gender aspect of Islamophobia is also gaining prominence, with Muslim girls and women being targeted due to the mode of their dress and the general notion that Muslim women are oppressed and thus must be liberated.
