28/05/2010 President
Strasbourg, 28.05.2010 – Extremists who abuse Islam should not be invoked to justify a negative approach to Islam and Muslims in general, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu has said, speaking at a roundtable on Islamophobia co-organised by the UN Alliance of Civilisations, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Council of Europe ahead of the Third Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilisations in Rio. Yet Muslims should also be the first to condemn “political extremism under the cover of Islam” and work to transmit core European values within their communities, he said, by highlighting their compatibility with Islam as a religion.
The President said Islamophobia was “mostly the result of ignorance, misperception and a lack of communication and dialogue”. He listed the ways governments could combat it by addressing the root causes of poverty, ending discrimination, encouraging immigrant communities to participate in public life, eliminating stereotypes and fighting terrorism in line with human rights.
Addressing a separate meeting of parliamentarians earlier, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the President said international assemblies were “the perfect ground” for dialogue between cultures and religions, bringing together parliamentarians from many cultures, and offering a tribune for prominent religious leaders from around the world. Parliaments from regions neighbouring Europe could participate in the work of the Assembly through its “Partner for democracy” status, he pointed out.
The President is addressing a thematic session of the Forum, focusing on democracy, good governance and cultural diversity, later today.