Baku-hosted conference condemns growing Islamophobia across world The West must take action

Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazek has expressed concern over rapid growth of Islamophobia in Western countries as he addressed the international conference on "Preserving Diversity: Combating Islamophobia in 2024" held in Baku.

“Islamophobia is rapidly growing in Western countries, it is necessary to strengthen measures to combat this negative phenomenon,” Mazek said, Report informs.

He described the religious and racial discrimination as the greatest double standard.

"Provocations such as the burning of the Quran, sacred to Muslims, are against freedom of religion. Unfortunately, in Europe there is no punishment for this. If Christian scriptures were burned in any country, it would immediately be called an act of Islamic terrorism."

Mazek emphasized that terrorism has no religion, but when Muslims express any public opinion, they are called terrorists. He called for an end to the growing Islamophobia, racism and discrimination in the world.

The Council chair said Islamophobia is growing rapidly in the West and countries in the region should strengthen measures to combat this negative phenomenon.

"We must not allow Islam to be turned into a political tool. Double standards in any form ultimately lead to social injustice. It can also lead to the growth of racist attitudes in societies. Interfaith and intercultural dialog must be ensured equally," he added.

Meanwhile, addressing a plenary session on the sidelines of the conference, Sadek Hamid, Research Fellow at University of Wales Trinity St David, said that European leaders are neglecting the issue of Islamophobia, ignoring the threat to peace and stability that can arise from such attitudes and approaches.

"Islamophobia is a social, global challenge. Most of our European societies, unfortunately, the governments themselves do not consider it a problem, a challenge. It has become the norm and it has been incorporated into the political and media discourse of many societies. It is no longer a theoretical or academic statement, it is a reality," he said.

The researcher noted that Islamophobia increases fear and creates tensions that the world really hasn't seen in a long time.

Sadek Hamid noted that Muslim women suffer the most from the brutality and aggression caused by Islamophobia in Europe.