KUALA LUMPUR: The Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (Centhra) has commended the United Nations (UN) for adopting a resolution to designate March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
The resolution, that was co-sponsored by 55 Muslim-majority countries, was passed with consensus at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Centhra founder and chairman Azril Mohd Amin said the move would highlight injustices faced by Muslims across the globe due to Islamophobia and pave way for them to receive remedial measures.
"It is a welcome development that the United Nations has designated March 15 every year as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
"While this move is admittedly a largely symbolic gesture, it, nevertheless, draws attention to what has become an enormously dangerous and destructive phenomenon globally over the past 20 years.
"The resolution (passed on Tuesday) emphasises the right to freedom of religion and belief and recalls a 1981 resolution that pushed for elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief.
"Bans on Islamic dresses, including the niqab and hijab by a host of countries, individual hate crimes targeting Muslims and the normalisation of anti-Muslim prejudices and discriminations have had such devastating impact on members of the Islamic faith around the world.
"Of course, all these inevitably have led to fissures across society to crippling detriments, affecting social harmony and cohesion," he said in a statement today.
Besides the discriminatory practices and attitudes against Muslims in the West, Azril said Islamophobia has also triggered catastrophic and genocidal campaigns against Muslims in countries like China, Myanmar and India, where Muslim populations have been viciously attacked, imprisoned or forced to flee their homelands as refugees.
"These atrocities have not only taken place due to Islamophobia of the perpetrators of these crimes. But, it is also a result of worldwide bias against Muslims which either ignores, tolerates or endorses such savage and systematic, violent bigotry.
"It is hoped that the declaration of International Day to Combat Islamophobia will help to expose injustices endured by Muslims around the world, and more importantly, (lead to) remedial and timely measures to heal fractures in our societies created by blind anti-religious hatred and bigotry," he added.
