Populism is fueling Islamophobia across the world, especially in Europe, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Wednesday.
Speaking in Istanbul at an international conference focused on human rights violations against Muslims, the Turkish top diplomat said the prevailing political rhetoric in parts of Europe serves to legitimize the rising Islamophobia in these countries.
Opening new mosques and maintaining existing ones even posed significant challenges, Çavuşoğlu said in a video message to the conference, co-hosted by the Turkish justice and foreign ministries in collaboration with the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
In Western understanding, Çavuşoğlu said, competition and conflict are the main dynamics behind societal development, whereas Islamic civilization encourages harmony, respect and solidarity.
Noting that the OIC marked March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia following the 2019 terrorist attacks that targeted two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, Çavuşoğlu called on Muslim nations to work towards a similar decision at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
He also highlighted the international isolation the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is subjected to and Greece depriving its Turkish minority of their most basic human rights, saying that Muslim countries should seek solutions to these major problems.
Turkey will also continue to keep the challenges the Palestinians face on the world agenda, he added.
Turkey normalizing relations with Israel would not mean a change in Ankara's Palestine policy, Çavuşoğlu also said last week.
Despite the recent rapprochement, Turkish officials continue to criticize Israel’s policies targeting Palestinians, including the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Known for its unbreakable solidarity with the Palestinians, Turkey has been voicing support for the Palestinian cause in the international realm for decades. Turkish authorities emphasize that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East is through a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue within the framework of international law and United Nations resolutions.
In a separate video message, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop asserted that Islamophobia has been embraced as a state policy by some countries, becoming one of the widespread forms of racism.
Obvious examples of Islamophobia can be observed in almost every sphere of daily life, including public spaces, the media, academia and in international organizations, Şentop said.
Commenting on the treatment of the Turkish minority in Greece, Şentop said its members have faced serious problems and systematic human rights violations. He called on OIC members to respond to Athens in a robust way.
Turkey's justice and foreign ministries, in collaboration with the IPHRC of the OIC, are hosting the two-day conference that kicked off Wednesday to discuss human rights violations faced by Muslims across the world.
In a statement, the organizers said that the conference aims to "establish a multi-stakeholder dialogue to objectively analyze to counter growing acts of Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims in different parts of the world, as well as to identify practical ways and means to protect and promote the rights of Muslim communities and minorities."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to address the event via videoconference.
During the discussions, the organizers said the participants "seek to trace the roots and practices of discriminatory behavior and policies against Muslim communities to understand the context in which Islamophobia has developed and the role it plays in undermining their human rights."
International experts on the subject, government representatives, human rights institutions, civil society members, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and academia are among the participants.
"Participants are expected to have an open and in-depth discussion on existing practices, policies and behaviors that have led to increased discrimination against Islam and Muslims," the statement said.
Turkish officials have criticized their Western counterparts for remaining indifferent to anti-Muslim sentiment and fueling the ideology, while experts believe Turkey can lead the fight against it. Turkey has continuously called on world leaders to take action to stop the demonization of Muslims and has been taking action to tackle the growing problem.
President Erdoğan has frequently said that Western countries insist on not taking measures against growing anti-Islam sentiment. Erdoğan also called on Turkish institutions to take action on issues related to Muslims and Turks in these countries. Some European countries, particularly France, have embraced a hostile stance against Muslims in recent years.