ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday joined the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in observing the maiden “International Day to Combat Islamophobia”.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has time and again urged the United Nations to universally outlaw rising Islamophobia in many countries, including neighbouring India. In his address to the UN General Assembly in September last year, he had urged the world body to heighten efforts against a rising tide of Islamophobia across the globe.
In November, the government had presented a resolution to designate March 15 as a global day to fight Islamophobia at the 47th meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) which was held in Niamey.
The resolution was unanimously adopted by the participants. The OIC is now working with the international community to commemorate this day at the international level.
In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said that the Muslim group’s unanimous support for the designation of this Day was a reflection of the sentiments of billions of Muslims around the world.
Marking this occasion, the OIC will hold a high-level event in New York on March 17, it said.
“The scourge of Islamophobia, fuelled by populism, hate speech, and lack of knowledge and disinformation, is causing unimaginable suffering to Muslim minorities around the world,” the statement added.
It said that Islamophobia had taken many forms including inter alia negative profiling, mob lynchings by cow vigilantes, discriminatory laws, attacks on women for wearing hijab, ban on minarets, negative propaganda and disinformation campaigns, manifestos of far-right parties, deliberate vandalism of Islamic symbols and holy sites, and attempts to link and equate Islam with terrorism.
“Such acts imperil our shared aspirations for a peaceful world and harmonious future for all,” the statement added.
The FO said that Pakistan had always supported and continues to lead international efforts for building bridges between cultures and civilizations.
“Through the observance of this Day, we want to build a better understanding of Islam and Islamic precepts,” it said.
“We intend to send a message of international solidarity and cooperation. We remain determined to promote values of peaceful co-existence as well as inter-faith and cultural harmony,” the statement further said.
