Pakistan asks International community to stop defamation of Islam
By Tariq Bashir - Pakistan Times Foreign Correspondent

GENEVA (Switzerland): Pakistan speaking on behalf of the OIC countries, Monday called on the international community to stop defamation of all religions, especially Islam, through education and promulgation of laws in Western countries.

Ambassador Masood Khan, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights that the phenomenon of Islamophobia was on the rise in the Western countries.

He said that Muslim and Western leaders should demonstrate leadership to reverse this trend and collectively promote tolerance and respect for all religions.

Khan drew the attention of the Sub-Commission that this phenomenon had led to verbal abuse, slurs, and hostility against Muslims.

Islamphobic Episodes

"In one European country, the UK, alone 1,200 suspected Islamphobic incidents have been recorded, out of which 269 fall into the category of religious hate crimes", he told the Sub-commission.

He commended the efforts of the British Government to reach out to the Muslim communities to assure them that they would not be discriminated.

The Sub-commission is a permanent body comprising 26 independent members who meet in Geneva annually to develop and strengthen international human rights law.

Ambassador Masood Khan, who is the current chairman of the OIC Group in Geneva, speaking on behalf of the 57 Islamic countries, said that after the London bombings on July 7, 2005, one Muslim had been murdered in the UK.

Elsewhere, Mosques had been attacked, vandalized and burnt, racial profiling had increased and discrimination had spread to work places and business.

"A report from British Scotland Yard published on August-4, 2005 confirmed 'a startling surge in crimes related to religious hatred'.

Figures made public showed a 600% increase in faith-hate crimes since July-7, compared to the same period last year, affecting Muslim immigrants largely", he said.

Ambassador Masood Khan said that OIC countries had strongly condemned terrorist attacks in London and Sharm Al Sheikh as despicable criminal acts, which were repugnant to the tenets of Islam, a faith of peace, harmony and tolerance.

He expressed concern that an orchestrated campaign had been mounted to demonize Muslims and Islam. The concept of Jihad was being distorted by equating it with extremism and terrorism, he addded.

Ambassador Khan said there was an emphasis on scrutinizing text books in Islamic countries but similar efforts in the Western countries were being opposed in order to drive a wedge between Islam and Christianity and between Islam and other religions.

Warning bells for West

Commentators and academics, he said, were sounding warning bells for West European governments that Muslims, because of high birth rate and immigration, would gain demographic dominance in Europe and turn the continent to "Eurabia". This he said, was distortion.

Masood Khan said that the forces that are opposed to Islam were attacking policies of multiculturalism, tolerance and diversity in Western Europe.

"If we read the trends closely and connect the dots, it is obvious Muslims are being dehumanized. This is painfully reminiscent of the pre-world War II era. That dark chapter of history and programs must never be repeated, this time involving Muslims", he said.

Of Co-existence

Ambassador Masood Khan asserted that the majorities of Muslims and Western societies wanted co-existence, not conflict.

"Islamophobia is a recipe to pit neighbour against neighbour, country against country, civilization against civilization", he said.

Ambassador Masood Khan called on the Sub-Commission experts to play their role in arresting these Islamophobia trends by urging governments to prohibit dissemination of xenophobic ideas as well as discrimination on grounds of religion.

He said that some forces were bent upon stoking the fires of hatred and resentment to trigger clash of civilizations, but the Western and Muslim leaders should collectively persevere in their efforts to promote tolerance and respect for all religions.

"They should initiate and sustain a dialogue of civilizations to promote a culture of tolerance and peace to avert a looming catastrophe", Ambassador Khan remarked.●