NEW YORK — Islamophobia is unfortunately rampant everywhere, and campaigns based on hate speech and disinformation on social media have made it increasingly difficult to confront and eliminate the phenomenon, said Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations. The Saudi envoy made the remarks during a high-level event organized virtually by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He stated that it is important to realize that the threat to freedoms in society threatens religious freedoms on a large scale, highlighting the "Makkah Document" issued by the international conference on the values of moderation which was organized by the Muslim World League in Makkah last year. He explained that this document provided Muslims with all the instructions that help them clarify the true meaning of Islam based on a number of principles that highlight the relationship between Islam and different religions and philosophies, and among those principles is that religions and philosophies are innocent of the sins committed by their followers and a true understanding of Islam requires an objective viewpoint free from stereotypical and biased notions. Ambassador Al-Muallami expressed his grave concern about the escalation of individual attacks against Muslims, and that these personal behaviors should not be attributed to any religion or nationality, stressing that spreading hate speech endangers the security of society and serves the extremists' agenda by feeding the idea of hatred in them. He stressed the negative impact of disproportionate measures that target Muslims and lead to restricting their rights, which will lead to an increase in racial and religious intolerance, discrimination, and violence, calling for the abolition of these measures and the protection of Muslims' intellectual freedom. The Saudi envoy indicated that the media has played a fundamental role in perpetuating stereotypes of Muslims and providing disproportionate coverage of individual crimes committed by some people believed to be Muslims. In fact, some modern social media platforms have been participating directly in spreading the idea of hatred and advocating for it, he added. He reiterated his condemnation of such actions, calling on the international community to stand together in the face of this threat, affirming full support for all efforts to understand and respect diversity and protect and treat all people equally. Speaking on the occasion, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for greater investment in promoting social cohesion and tackling bigotry and underlined that "diversity is a richness, not a threat", "We must continue to push for policies that fully respect human rights and religious, cultural and unique human identity", the UN chief said. "As the Holy Qur'an reminds us: nations and tribes were created to know one another." 'Epidemic' of hatred Nearly 60 countries are members of the OIC, which designated 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. The secretary-general cited a recent report to the UN Human Rights Council which found that suspicion, discrimination, and outright hatred toward Muslims has risen to "epidemic proportions". Examples listed included disproportionate restrictions against Muslims manifesting their beliefs, limits on accessing citizenship, and widespread stigmatization of Muslim communities. The study also highlighted how Muslim women face "triple levels of discrimination" because of their gender, ethnicity, and faith, he added, while the media and some persons in power have further compounded stereotypes. 'Distressing trends' globally "Anti-Muslim bigotry is sadly in line with other distressing trends we are seeing globally — a resurgence in ethnonationalism, neo-Nazism, stigma and hates speech targeting vulnerable populations including Muslims, Jews, some minority Christian communities as well as others", the secretary-general said. Stressing that "discrimination diminishes us all", the UN chief called for safeguarding the rights of minority communities, many of whom are under threat. "As we move toward evermore multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies, we need political, cultural, and economic investments to strengthen social cohesion and tackle bigotry," he stated. The Secretary-General underscored that fighting discrimination, racism, and xenophobia is a priority for the United Nations. Promoting respect among religions Following a fall-out in relations between many Muslim countries and some Western nations in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States — and subsequent attacks in London, Madrid, and Bali — the Organization established the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in 2005. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the current UNAOC High Representative, recalled the initiative was launched as a "political soft power tool" whose objectives include promoting mutual respect among diverse cultures and religions. "Despite progress made in building bridges of understanding through the promotion of intercultural and interfaith dialogue, manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred persisted and morphed into different forms", he said. "Islamophobia cannot be seen in isolation from the worrying increase in xenophobia and hate speech against minorities including immigrants and other faith communities." Moratinos said mutual respect, interfaith harmony, and peaceful co-existence can be achieved "when there is broad space for everyone to practice the rituals of their religions or beliefs freely and safely."
