İhsanoğlu accuses West of institutionalizing Islamaphobia

LONDON – Doğan News Agency

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. AA photo

Western governments are institutionalizing Islamaphobia and using religious matters in foreign policy-making process, said Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), yesterday in London.

“Islamaphobia is rising across the Europe. Cases like Quran burning, the Utoya massacre in Norway and production of anti-Islam films such as ‘Innocence of Muslims’ are increasing this sentiment even more,” İhsanoğlu said during a press conference in London, where he had official talks.

The secretary general said these reprehensible incidents have bigger effects in longer term. “In the last five years, Western governments have taken unfortunate steps that institutionalize and structuralize Islamaphobia,” İhsanoğlu said in a high-level meeting on religious intolerance and fight against discrimination.

Underlining that the most disturbing part was the use of Islamaphobia in local, regional and international politics as an instrument, İhsanoğlu said: “When calculating international politics, religion plays an important role. Economic crisis inflames this situation. Our beliefs have become a part of our strategic accounts. We should deal with this situation instead of rising tension.”