Türkiye calls on international community to fight Islamophobia

The international community should take action to fight Islamophobia, a threat facing the entire world, Türkiye's communications director said on Saturday in Istanbul.

"Indeed, one of today's global threats is undoubtedly Islamophobia. Hostility towards Islam and Muslims is intensely evident all over the world," Fahrettin Altun said at the opening of the 12th Conference of the Information Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

During the conference, ministers and high-level representatives from 57 countries will discuss issues, seeking to deepen cooperation in the fields of media, communications, and information in the Islamic world.

The conference, meeting under the theme "Combating Disinformation and Islamophobia in the Post-Truth Era," aims to develop and strengthen the cooperation of Islamic countries in the field of media and communications.

Altun said disinformation accelerates the spread of Islamophobia around the world.

"Islamophobia also has a feature that divides the world community and threatens global peace and stability. Therefore, the whole world needs to see Islamophobia as an open hate crime, a crime against humanity and to fight against this crime effectively.

"In other words, fighting this crime should be one of the main duties of not only Muslims but also of the international community," he added.

The role played by the international media and global think tanks in spreading Islamophobia is "undeniable," Altun argued.

"Unfortunately, international media paints an extremely negative portrait of Muslims," he added.

Türkiye and its institutions are making strenuous effort to combat Islamophobia and raise awareness of this issue, Altun said.

At the conference, a Saudi representative handed over to Türkiye the term presidency of the OIC Information Ministers Conference.