Japan regrets anime insult to Quran

Japan regrets anime insult to Quran
Sat, 24 May 2008 09:55:36

Tokyo calls for more respect for religions after an offensive anime sparked Muslim fury with its tacit attempt to provoke Islamophobia.

''While it resulted from carelessness, the Japanese government considers it regrettable that Muslims' feelings were hurt by the content of some of the cartoon,'' Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama said Friday.

''In any case, we think it is important to prevent a recurrence by fostering understanding and respect for other religions and cultures.''

The statement came a day after the cartoon creators, Shueisha Inc and Another Push Pin Planning Co, apologized for 'inappropriate scenes' in their anime series.

While the company apologized for offending Muslims, they insisted the details had simply been overlooked, claiming they meant no disrespect to the Quran.

The offensive cartoon depicts a villain picking up a Quran from a bookshelf and apparently examining it as he ordered the execution of the hero and his friends.

NAT/AA
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=57118&sectionid=351020406

Haddad Adel: Islamophobia major concern of contemporary era

Tehran, Jan 30, IRNA
Iran-Egypt-Haddad Adel
Majlis Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said on Wednesday that 'Islamophobia' which has escalated in the West in the aftermath of September 11 incident is regarded as a major concern in the contemporary era.

The speaker arrived in Cairo on Tuesday heading a high-ranking delegating to attend a biennial inter-parliamentary meeting of the Islamic countries where he is to give a keynote speech.

Addressing the fifth inter-parliamentary meeting of the Islamic countries, he underlined that it is about hundred years that world Muslims have fallen victims to terrorism.

The enemies try to depict a rough and inhuman image of Islam and Muslims through false propaganda and vicious slanders, Haddad Adel pointed out.

Another challenge threatening world Muslims is attempts by their enemies to sow discord among them, he said and invited fair western intellectuals to sit at negotiating table with Muslim intellectuals to help remove such unfounded slanders.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has designated the current Iranian year as the "Year of National Unity and Islamic Solidarity" to urge world muslims to forge unity, he said.

"We should prepare grounds for parliaments of Islamic countries to play a much more active role in the world of Islam," he said.

Referring to massacre of the Palestinians by the Zionist forces, he said "We are now witnessing heinous atrocities by the Zionists in the Gaza Strip being perpetrated with support of certain big powers," he said.

The Iranian Majlis speaker also pointed to the threats posed by the Zionist regime against Lebanon and its supporters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur and other Islamic regions.

On Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, he said Iran and IAEA have had very good cooperation and the reports issued by IAEA along with the report released by 16 US intelligence agencies confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

He strongly criticized the Zionist regime for possessing hundreds of nuclear warheads and for refusing to abide by international rules and regulations.

1430**1412
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http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0801301475154147.htm

Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy

Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy
By Judith Latham Washington 08 January 2008

In their new book, Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, coauthors Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg explore a largely unexamined phenomenon – the “deeply ingrained anxiety” some Westerners, and especially Americans, experience when considering Islam and Muslim cultures. Peter Gottschalk, professor of religion at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the author of Beyond Hindu and Muslim, says that in times of crisis, such as the 1979 Iranian hostage situation or the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the long-simmering resentments and suspicions “inherited along with a European Christian heritage, manifest themselves.” Professor Gottschalk and his former student Gabriel Greenberg explore those anxieties through the political cartoon, the print medium with the most immediate impact.

In prejudices such as racism, sexism, and more recently Islamophobia, Peter Gottschalk says there are historical conditions that enable certain groups to feel an antagonism toward another group that seem to “justify” that antagonism. Speaking with host Judith Latham of VOA News Now’s Press Conference USA, he explains that such attitudes form a “constantly reaffirming, re-substantiating perspective.” Gabriel Greenberg notes, for example, that from the time of the Crusades, Islam was experienced by surrounding cultures as a “competitor.” Some of the things many non-Muslim Americans today tend to associate with Islam are characteristics that are “negatively valued” Professor Gottschalk says, such as terrorism, the oppression of women, and associations with “Arabs” or the Middle East.

Muslims in several countries hold up banners, protesting against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspape two years ago

In the case of the political cartoon, it simultaneously amuses one group with its stereotypical presentation and simultaneously offends another. For example, two years ago Danish cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammed appeared in several European newspapers and deeply upset Muslim readers, bringing about a very public outcry. Gabriel Greenberg says political cartoons seem to have greater emotional impact than do newspaper editorials. In the process of stereotyping, Peter Gottschalk says, the cartoon takes the “presumed qualities of a whole people and broadcasts them by use of a single image” – for example, the “violence of Muslim men.” An effective antidote to that kind of belief, the authors point out, is first-hand experience – going to school with, or working with, people of different ethnic or religious backgrounds.

Professor Gottschalk and Mr. Greenberg say it is also important for leaders to use “less general and more nuanced language.” Instead of talking about “the Muslim world,” which comprises more than a billion people spread across the globe, one could be more specific and talk about certain people in country X. By contrast, in the United States, which is a majority “Christian country,” there is whole spectrum of views about the intersection of “Christianity” with personal faith, social identity, or political positions on various public issues. Similarly, Professor Gottschalk explains, there are a variety of movements within Islam that may be “authoritarian, revival, or reform” in nature. And that, he says, is quite different from what some people call “Islamofacism,” which tends to lump together the Taliban, terrorism, and the politics of a democratic country such as Turkey, thereby creating a “monolithic enemy.” Gabriel Greenberg notes that the media have a responsibility to inform people and to create “mutual understanding” rather than to spread fear of the “other.” So what individuals and groups need to cultivate instead is a sense of a “common humanity” rather than a contest of “us against them.”

For full audio of the program Press Conference USA click here..

For Dutch educators, Islamophobia can be a teaching aid for Holocaust studies

Tags: Yad Vashem, Israel
The Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority this week hosts a week-long seminar for 21 teachers, the first run by the museum for Dutch educators, with one day devoted to discussions about teaching Holland's Muslim minority about the Shoah.

When teaching Holocaust studies to Dutch Muslim teenagers in Amsterdam, Mustafa Daher says he first has to defuse his pupils' own hostility toward Jews and Israel.

"If I don't capture their interest, then I have done nothing. So I use the rising Islamophobia to help them connect to the persecution of the Jews," the seasoned educator says.

"For example, I tell them that when the Nazis suspected someone was Jewish, they would pull down his pants to see if he was circumcised. Then I remind my Muslim students they are also 'snipped.' So they, too, would've ended up in a concentration camp," says Daher.

Judith Whitlau, who teaches groups about the Holocaust at the Dutch Theater in Amsterdam, says she has to contend with another analogy.

"Some point to media reports from the occupied territories, and they want to know what exactly Israel itself is doing to internalize the Holocaust's lessons as it preaches others should do."

But not all the teachers in the group have Muslim students. Franca Verheijen teaches at an affluent school in Leiden, some 35 minutes by train from Amsterdam. There, drawing parallels between Islamophobia and anti-Semitism can be counterproductive.

"If I make this connection, some students usually reject the analogy, saying that unlike the Muslims, the Jews never engaged in terrorism," she says.

Another charged issue for the teachers is the question of complicity. Some 100,000 Dutch men and women belonged to the country's Nazi party during the war, openly collaborating with German authorities.

Despite this, Meir Villegas Henriquez from the Hague-based Jewish non-profit Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), said he wouldn't want to see a whole chapter in the school curriculum on Dutch Nazis.

"We're here to educate, not blame," the delegation organizer said.

Other participants in the seminar - which is partly funded by the Dutch government's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies - were also hesitant about the issue.

"For many people this is taboo and we can't afford to waste our two weekly hours [for history] on it," said Wout Claessens from the eastern Netherlands.

One advantage Dutch teachers have over colleagues abroad, they all agreed, was the diary of Anne Frank, the world-famous manuscript written in hiding in Amsterdam by the young girl who later died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Her story, which is mandatory reading in Dutch elementary schools, is still very useful in helping young pupils connect to the Holocaust, the teachers said. According to Henriquez, Frank's image is so indelibly etched into the Dutch psyche, that it can sometimes overshadow current problems.

"When our organization, CIDI, released its annual report last month on a 64-percent hike in anti-Semitic incidents, the study received less exposure than the decision to fell the tree outside Anne Frank's hiding place," he complained.

"Her story is a big frame of reference, but the Netherlands still has a Jewish population which is facing some challenges."

Islamophobia and the Islamist Scarecrow

The wave of terror that was unleashed on the world in the past few decades is widely referred to as "Islamic terrorism" (or Islamist terrorism); the term is an apt description of the facts, and has a strong credibility among academicians, in the international media and with the ordinary citizen all over the world, with the exception of the Muslim countries.

In return, The Muslim world, and specifically the Muslims of the West, introduced defensive terms such as "Islamophobia", which has become the current favorite for dozens of Islamic organizations in the West. The term "phobia" denotes an unreasonable, perhaps imaginary fear, one that is a mental disorder. The new term "Islamolphobia" has served those organizations well in their fervent promotion of two false concepts:

• First, that the legitimate fear that Islam is being misused by Terrorists is in fact a prejudice against Islam itself and a kind of phobia; and

• Second, that Terrorists do not represent Islam.

If Terrorists do not indeed represent Islam, then why do religious authorities in Muslim countries refrain from voicing an absolute condemnation of the Terrorists, why aren't they called infidels and renegades, and why allow them to remain part of the Islamic Body?

After all, in Muslim countries, all sorts of things have become subject to religious edicts (fatwas), from the most trivial to the most bizarre: the camel's urine, the Prophet's urine, adult suckling, the ant's backside which may excite a person fasting in Ramadan, the ban on flowers in special occasions, and the significance of the fly which carries sickness in one wing and healing in the other!! Yet, virtually none of the Islamic scholars (sheikhs) were inclined to condemn Bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, Al-Zawahiri, Mohammed Atta, and others who follow the same path. I have yet to find a single fatwa that renounces their actions, and plainly state that they are considered infidels and should not be counted as Muslims.

To the contrary, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Negeimy -- member of the Saudi Fiqh assembly -- has furiously denied that Mohammed Atta and his companions have been sent to Hell! Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi, the most popular preacher in the Arab countries, has tackled an extremely wide range of subjects in his speeches, and in his Al-Jazeera TV program Al-sharia wal hayat. He had no problem devoting an entire episode of that program to discussing the intimate relationship between a man and his wife in a level of detail that is suitable for a porno movie and not a religious program; however, he didn't find it convenient to address the issue of Bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, Al-Zawahiri, and others.

A considerable number of individuals and organizations endorse the concept of "Islamophobia", the most notable being Tariq Ramadan in Europe and the Islamic organization CAIR in the States, and none of those has ever explicitly rejected the Terrorists as infidels who have renounced Muslim faith. Instead, the statements issued by those individuals and organizations carry a vague and general condemnation of terrorism, while their actions serve to stir up Muslims' indignation. By persistently pushing the concept of Islamophobia, they are adding to the feelings of resentment and anger among the Muslim communities in the West and making it easier for terrorist organizations to recruit their members of those communities.

The U.S. Department of State's report on the global patterns of terrorism for the year 2006 deduced as much:

"The radicalization of immigrant populations, youth and alienated minorities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa continued. It became increasingly clear, however, that such radicalization does not occur by accident, or because such populations are innately prone to extremism. Rather, there was increasing evidence of terrorists and extremists manipulating the grievances of alienated youth or immigrant populations and then cynically exploiting those grievances to subvert legitimate authority, create unrest and convert them to extremist viewpoints."

The report called this devious machination "the terrorist conveyor belt."

Despite the fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, and that there are millions of open-minded, peace-loving Muslim individuals, the truth is that most contemporary terrorists happen to be Muslims, and the majority of terrorist operations are carried out by Muslims -- a fact that is acknowledged by Muslim intellectuals such as Abdel Rahman Al Rashed. Furthermore, all Muslim terrorists draw on religious scriptures to justify their actions, recruit new cells and motivate Muslims to provide funds for terrorist organizations. Keeping in mind that the majority of terrorists are Muslims, and that all of them use the religious scriptures as a sound basis for their actions and to receive supporting funds from Muslim countries, then how can anyone have the gall to interpret acknowledging this situation as Islamophobia?

According to the "Global Patterns of Terrorism" report, the incidents of terrorism in 2006 highlight the extremely serious nature of the current situation. As most of these incidents have been carried out by extremist Islamist factions and Muslim terrorists, we can clearly deduce that the deliberate promotion of the concept of "Islamophobia" was a supporting factor in stirring up the feelings of resentment and anger against the West, thus adding more fuel to the fire of terrorism. The term itself can also be perceived as some form of blackmail that has had an intimidating effect on Western societies, with the intent of dissuading those societies from hunting Muslim extremists and terrorists, and putting them in a situation where they are required to coddle the Islamic organizations instead of subjecting most of those to lawful trials.

According to the report, 14,352 terrorist operations took place across the world in 2006, and as a result 74545 military persons and 20,570 civilians were killed; 1800 children were wounded and killed, 430 students, 215 teachers and 129 reporters lost their lives; 8,200 policemen were wounded and killed, in addition to 1300 public leaders and guards. The number of individuals abducted during 2006 is estimated to be around 15,855; and the number of buildings, schools and governmental institutions targeted amounted to 19,500; 300 terrorist groups took responsibility for these operations, in addition to the individual incidents of terrorism.

The report indicates that at least 50% of those operations targeted Muslims and were carried out by Muslims as well, and during that same period, 350 mosques were subject to terrorist attacks. When so much death and destruction takes place during a single year, and given that 90% of that horror was unleashed by Muslim terrorists, it is highly absurd to talk about Islamophobia in relation to the current state of affairs. Fear and misgivings are completely warranted in this situation. People are entitled to react in fear when they face a lethal situation, otherwise they would be lacking sensibility and good judgement.

The term "Islamophobia" is a tool of deception that serves to mislead the world, blackmail the West, terrorize whoever dares to criticize Islam, fuel the anger of Muslim youth, and minimize the danger of Islamic terrorism, in addition to being a threat to the freedoms of thought, creativity and criticism in the West, ultimately the term can serve the interests of the terrorists.

While Tariq Ramadan holds the first place among the promoters of the concept of "Islamophobia", Saad Eddin Ibrahim takes the lead in using the term "Islamist scarecrow". The term is meant for the ears of the West as well, and suggests that the autocratic governments play on the fear of the West that an Islamist rule will be the alternative if those regimes fall, so that by waving this "scarecrow" around, and alluding to the ominous repercussions of reform for Western interests, for non-Muslim minorities, and the Middle East as a whole, they have managed to scare off the West and stall the reform project. Though I agree with my dear friend Prof. Ibrahim that the autocratic regimes in the Middle East have skillfully used this scare tactic to alarm not only the West, but also the non-Muslim minorities in the East, the liberals and women, nonetheless the term itself is inappropriate if not misleading, and plays right into the hands of Islamists and their plans to establish a religious state.

The Islamists should not be compared to a scary looking but harmless scarecrow; they are by no means an empty threat, but rather a genuine menace that alarms the advocates of civil society, who realize that if Political Islam gets its chance to take control of the Middle East, the region will plunge into total darkness. The Islamists would not let go of their detrimental vision of a religious state, and there are two recent cases that support this view: the way Hamas renounced the terms of democracy and went back on its agreement, shattering the Palestinian experience; and the way the Muslim Brotherhood have affected life in Egypt, even though they have no part in the government. Considering that the Muslim Brotherhood's proposed reform project is for a religious state that is governed by scholars concerned with camel urine, where the law submits to shari'a and science to superstition, where national belonging is discarded in favor of religious belonging, and political posts turn into religious assignments, where political power bows down to religious power, and to the instatement of welayat al-faqih (guardianship of the Islamic jurists) that mirrors Iran -- considering that this is only a proposal, one has to wonder how much worse reality will be if they gain the power to implement their vision?

The Islamists are certainly no scarecrows; basically, they are a major obstruction standing in the way of real democracy, citizenship and civil state. They do not endorse the supremacy of the law and a civil constitution that separates state and religion. They do not sanction laws that protect and expand freedoms. They reject genuine equality between Muslims and non-Muslims, and they are engrossed with religious interpretations to the point of complete obsession. Hence, it is reasonable to say that any attempts to defend or bolster their image can only lead to the obliteration of whatever little is left of the civil state to the advantage of an extremely dark religious state.

Yes, the Middle East regimes are autocratic, corrupt and do use the Islamists' card in a dangerous game inside and outside their countries. Nevertheless, to stand by the Islamists is a reckless and extremely risky gamble, and much like "Samson choice", the whole region may not survive its outcome.

Magdi Khalil is a Middle East Freedom Forum Director.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/10/islamophobia_and_the_islamist.html

Boro refuses to tackle Islamophobia

By Elham Asaad Buaras

When The Muslim News probed Middlesbrough FC on its handling of the incident in which Mido, their Egyptian forward, was subjected to Islamophobic chants, the club merely said having a multinational team will be their “strongest anti-racism message”.
Mido, whose real name is Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid, was subjected to 90 minutes of “terrorist” and “Mido, he’s got a bomb” chants by Newcastle fans in the 2-2 draw at the Riverside Stadium on August 26.
Having scored the first of Middlesbrough’s two goals, Mido celebrated in front of the Newcastle fans by holding his index finger to his lips. Adding insult to injury, the referee decided to book him. Speaking after the match, Middlesbrough Manager, Gareth Southgate, fumed, “Its okay for 3,000 to abuse one person. But when the boot is on the other foot, he gets punished.”
Yet Middlesbrough have refused to disclose a report to the Football Association (FA) or exchange intelligence with Cleveland police. They have not inspected CCTV or TV footage around the stadium. They will not even browse online Youtube videos recording some of the taunts.
Writing in the Match Programme for the home match against Wigan Athletic, Newcastle’s Chairman, Chris Mort, called for all parties to “work hard together to make sure the Mido incident is a one-off.”
Preposterously glossing over the fact that Mido faced similar abuse from Southampton and West Ham fans two years ago playing for Tottenham Hotspurs, the 24- year-old’s new club have decided not to take any action, “We trust and believe that the incident involving some Newcastle United supporters was a one-off and sincerely hope that it will not be repeated again in the future by fans of any club.”
Yet denial and complacency over Islamophobia in English football is not exclusive to clubs. Football’s anti-racism body Kick It Out told The Muslim News it received numerous complaints about the manner in which sections of the media have addressed the matter. “In discussing the abuse received by Mido, one of the presenters (on a national sports radio station) has been classifying it as a bit of fun” read one complaint.
Some of the discussions have gone as far as to suggest the abuse was not Islamophobic. “Obviously, it was not claiming that all Muslims are terrorists. It’s just a chant,” said one fan. Some of the views expressed on a Newcastle fans message board were defiant. Ian Cusack, of the fanzine Players Inc said, “The Mido chants were very unsavoury but I don’t think they were racist, Newcastle have Muslim players, Emre is a Muslim. They were just a way of winding the opposition up but they didn’t work as Mido scored. The chants should be placed in the context of local rivalry.”
Kick It Out said they are adamant the chanting was Islamophobic. Kick It Out spokesman said they were “disappointed by Cleveland Police for not taking any action”, putting the onus on the clubs to find witnesses and make complaints.
Declining to comment on why no arrests were made on the day despite having officers scattered around the grounds, Cleveland police spokesperson told The Muslim News Middlesbrough had not made an official complaint but confirmed five arrests not related to the chanting were made on the day. They would, however, cooperate with the FA investigation.
On its part the FA, which wrote to the two clubs to ask for their observations, told The Muslim News it is “taking the matter very seriously” but said it would not be able to carry out an adequate investigation without the co-operation of the clubs. “We want to root out those fans. Nobody wants to go to a football match with those kinds of fans. We need court-orders to ban those fans from football grounds around the country, but we need witnesses and assistance to achieve that.”
In a statement to The Muslim News, the Commission for Racial Equality condemned the “completely unacceptable” incident, insisting, “There should be no place for racists and Islamophobes.” Yet, like the FA, the soon to be defunct CRE washed its hands of the incident. A spokesperson for the Commission said it was not “in the position” to call for action from the FA or the police.

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http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=3142

UK Muslims launch campaign to counter Islamophobia

UK Muslim Campaign-Islamophobia
An advertising campaign was launched by British Muslims Monday to counter an new surge in Islamophobic attacks following attempting car bombings in London and at Glasgow airport in July.

"In the current atmosphere of suspicion and fear about Islam and British Muslims, truth is often confused with fabrications and stereotypes," said Ifhat Shaheen-Smith, one of the organizers of the 'Islam is Peace campaign'.

"Prejudice has become entrenched and sensationalistic media reporting is creating a climate of paranoia. There is a desperate need for openness, mutual understanding and a mature debate," Shaheen-Smith said.

The advertising campaign on buses and trains, which is to be followed by a nationwide tour, is the second since Islam is Peace was formed in the aftermath of the 2005 bombings in London.

Muslim Labour MP Sadiq Khan welcomed the move as a "fantastic initiative," saying that "Islam is a faith whose primary focus is peace and submission to one God."
"This campaign will help to bust some of the myths about Islam and allow the true face of Islam to reach all parts of our country," said Khan, who is also a human rights lawyer.

Secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain Mohammed Abdul Bari said the move showed that "the silent majority of Muslims are coming forward and now challenging Islamophobia in sections of our media." He said it was a "brave undertaking."

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http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0710011493150652.htm

Fighting terror should not be Islamophobia: Uzbek FM

United Nations, Oct 03: Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov has called on the members of the United Nations (UN) to prevent the fight against terrorism from turning into Islamophobia.

"We are coming out most resolutely against the transformation of this fight into Islamophobia and into overt or covert confrontation with the Islamic world," he stated in the course of the Tuesday general political discussion at the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly.

Touching on the problem of regional security, the Uzbek minister noted that "the currently shaping up situation in central Asia is intertwined by many contradictory processes is an intertwined knot of numerous contradictory processes, which are apt to negatively affect the cause of security" not only in this region, but far beyond its bounds, too.

In connection with this, Norov urged the international community to exert every effort to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan. This problem should be resolved by demilitarising the country and tackling its most acute socio-economic problems, the minister noted.

He also went on record for measures to "stem the narcotics aggression, emanating from that country, which is now assuming dangerous dimensions".

Bureau Report
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=398822&sid=WOR&sname=&news=Fighting%20terror%20should%20not%20be%20Islamophobia:%20Uzbek%20FM

Islamophobia on the rise – UN report

Islamophobia on the rise – UN report

Islamophobia has been on the rise since the 9/11 attacks in the United States with Muslims living in Europe facing growing difficulties in carrying out their religious practices and establishing mosques, said a UN expert in racism.

"In the current context, Islamaphobia constitutes the most serious form of religious defamation," Doudou Diene, UN special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council on September 14, reported Reuters.

"Political parties with open anti-Islamic platforms have joined governmental coalitions in several countries and started to put in place their political agendas," he said.

"In sum, Islamophobia is in the process of permeating all facets of social life."

He said recent lampooning cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were an evidence on the rising Islamophobia in the West.

He said right-wing groups and the media are trying to equate Islam with violence and terrorism.

Some were seeking to "silence religious practices by banning the construction of mosques", he said.

Though Islam is the continent's second religion, Muslims across Europe are facing venomous campaigns against building stately mosques.

In Switzerland, the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) has launched a campaign to ban the construction of minarets in the country.

A similar move is also underway in the German city of Cologne.

Some European parties were resorting to the language of fear and exclusion, scapegoating and targeting ethnic or religious minorities in general, and immigrants and refugees in particular, said Diene.

"We see the initiatives and activities of many groups and organisations which are working hard to bring about a war of civilisations."

A recent report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia said that Muslim minorities in Europe face deep-seated discrimination in jobs, education and housing in addition to myriad barriers that give rise to feelings of hopelessness and exclusion.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said the rising Islamophobia in the West was alarming.

"Recent acts of defamation in the shape of blasphemous sketches in Sweden and posters in Switzerland reinforce this conclusion," said Pakistan's envoy Masood Khan, speaking on behalf of the OIC

"Such blasphemy should not be encouraged in the name of freedom of expression," accusing the media of fueling fears of Muslims.

"The international media continues to use the misguided actions of a small extremist minority as an excuse to malign the entire Muslim world, as well as the religion of Islam," he said.

Spain will host a conference early October to discuss discrimination and intolerance toward Muslims.

The conference, held under the aegis of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, will investigate the "roots of intolerance towards Muslims, the consequences and the role of the media", said the Spanish Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Diene, who was appointed as an independent UN expert in 2002, was presenting a report on defamation of religions to the 47-member council.

The report also includes sections on anti-Semitism and other forms of religious or racial persecution around the world.

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http://www.themuslimweekly.com/fullstoryview.aspx?NewsID=145F8243C05473108350550C&MENUID=INTNEWS&DESCRIPTION=International%20News