THIS is with reference to the report ‘UN designates March 15 as Day to Combat Islamophobia’ (March 16). This is indeed a landmark decision by the United Nations to approve a resolution describing March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. The credit goes to Pakistan which relentlessly made efforts at different platforms to counter Islamophobia and debunked the false belief that Islam is a religion that promotes violence or terrorism. This resolution is a confirmation that it is an issue that requires corrective measures by the organisation.
The resolution, adopted with consensus by the world body and co-sponsored by 55 mainly Muslim countries, laid emphasis on the right to freedom of religion and belief, and recalled a 1981 resolution demanding an end to all forms of intolerance and discrimination on the basis of religion.
As the world has remained in the grip of horrible consequences caused by the issue, it is time to take instant actions against Islamophobia. Looking briefly at the issue from a historical perspective, it is an undeniable fact that the Western world has been propagating against Islam since the 9/11 incident.
However, in the lead up to the disintegration of the erstwhile Soviet Union and much afterwards, the Afghans and Muslim fighters across the world were armed, trained and hailed as Mujahideen in Afghanistan by the United States. But as soon as the United States achieved its objectives in defeating the communist bloc, the Mujahideen were left in the lurch only to be demonised later as ‘terrorists’.
However, the current predicament is linked to the events of 1979 when the US-sponsored regime of Shah of Iran was toppled by Imam Khomeini. It resultantly brought about revolutionary changes in the history of political Islam.
Following the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Western powers felt threatened by the rising tide of Islamic movement to take over the world order. It was considered a threat to the West-sponsored world order spanning over 200 years.
It was the time when suicide bombings and other forms of violence started against Western targets, which also created fundamentalist and extremist narratives that continue to date.
There are many contradictions that need to be set aside given the needs and trends of current times. To counter the narratives and project a positive image of Islam as a peace-loving religion, the UN resolution can serve as a decision in the right direction, because discrimination, intolerance, religious disharmony and violence have raised serious concerns and killings on religious grounds.
This phobia is not limited to Islam only; rather, it is directed against members of other religions and other communities in many parts of the world, including cases encouraged by Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and deep-set prejudices against the followers of other religions, like Christianity.
Why this resolution is more discernible is because of the reason that it raises a collective voice of all countries, UN bodies, international and regional organisations, civil society, the private sector and faith-based organisations to organise and support high-visibility events, effectively increasing awareness at all levels about the need to curb Islamophobia.
Abdul Qadeer Seelro
Larkana
Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2022
