Marriyum Aurangzeb urges OIC states to step up efforts against Islamophobia

ISTANBUL: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday underscored that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should more proactively play its role in protecting the fundamental rights of Muslims across the globe, especially in those areas where they were in minority.

Addressing the 12th session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers, she said it was high time for the OIC to step up efforts for combating Islamophobia.

“The abhorrent phenomenon of Islamophobia is not abating. In South Asia, hate speech and hate crimes against Muslims remain a source of increasing concern. Despite our efforts to the contrary, there has been a constant rise manifested in mob lynching, pre-planned communal riots and negative portrayal in electronic and social media in India,” she said. As a representative of the collective aspirations of the Muslim Ummah, she stressed, the OIC was uniquely poised to lead the endeavour and must throw its full political and economic weight and clout into protecting the fundamental rights of Muslims and the interests of Muslim minorities across the globe.

She put forward multiple recommendations coupled with observations regarding the challenges faced by Muslims, especially their faith Islam in the information domain. The minister highlighted the deliberate use of instruments of information control that define perceptions about Islam and Muslims. She cited that many Muslim countries now had independent media which had made inroads into the people’s minds about the stereotype image of Islam.

Information colonialism has to be fought, she said, suggesting that a new independent information regime was established. More needs to be done in terms of creating information synergies among the Muslim states. The Muslim states should look within, and tackle those currents and trends at home that were feeding misperceptions about Islam and Muslim societies, she stressed.

More democracy, more public participation, more inclusivity and focus on freedom of speech that is culturally sensitive and internationally projectable should be our goal to tackle the motivated misrepresentation, she said while highlighting the steps required for taking the hate-mongers to the task. “We must fight fake news with real news; fight bots with real people’s aspirations and fight trolls with genuine polls. Laws are needed to identify and prosecute promoters of hate and deception. However, we must continue to uphold basic freedoms.” The minister emphasised that the OIC member states must capitalise on the momentum generated by the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution, designating 15th March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.