The Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) of Pakistan taking serious note of
the recent blasphemous incidents insulting the Holy Prophet
through republication of caricatures in France and the desecration of
the Holy Quran in Norway and Sweden,
Condemns in strongest terms the resurgence of blasphemous and
Islamophobic acts by mischievous elements in some parts of the
world;
Expresses serious concern at the highly disturbing statements
and hate-mongering by a few politicians in some countries, justifying
unlawful provocation and insult to sentiments of more than a billion
Muslims through such hate driven acts, under the garb of freedom of
expression;
Recognizes that the exercise of the right to freedom of
expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities, and that
the dissemination of racist ideas, defamation and ridicule of other
religions, hate speech, incitement to violence, hurting or insulting
cannot be justified as legitimate exercise of this fundamental freedom;
Greatly alarmed at the rising incidents of systematic
Islamophobia around the world resulting in horrific violence and hate
crimes against Muslims, even during the global pandemic;
Recognizing with serious concern that Islamophobia has taken
many forms including denigration of the Holy Prophet
desecration of the Holy Quran, negative profiling by security
agencies, killing of innocent people by cow vigilantes, attacks on
women for wearing hijabs, ban on minarets, negative propaganda and
disinformation campaigns by some media groups, manifestos of farright and neo-fascist parties that call for expulsion of Muslims, etc.;
Expresses concerns on the politicization of Islamophobia and
hate speech against Muslims by some politicians for their partisan
electoral and political gains;
Condemns unequivocally the practice of blasphemy and of
insulting Prophets of Islam, Christianity and Judaism alike;
Condemns strongly all acts of terror or violence in the name of
religion or belief;
Deplores equating of Islam and Muslims with terrorism which
goes against the international consensus and spirit of mutual respect
and peaceful co-existence;
Seriously concerned that illegal and Islamophobic acts fanning
inter-religious hatred, hostility and confrontation, are the very basis of
horrendous terrorist acts like Christchurch, thereby imperiling
harmony and peaceful co-existence among civilizations;
Appreciates the efforts undertaken by Pakistan at the United
Nations and other multilateral fora for combatting intolerance,
stigmatization, negative stereotyping and discrimination on the basis
of religion or belief and also in highlighting the negative consequences
of Islamophobia on the enjoyment of all human rights of Muslims;
With the intention of effectively addressing the issue of
Islamophobia,
1. Urges the Government to work within the OIC for
designating 15 March as an International Day to Combat
Islamophobia;
2. Further urges the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to closely
engage with different regional and political groups for
developing mutual understanding and respect for all
religions, faiths and beliefs;
3. Calls on the Secretary General of the OIC to continue to
monitor the phenomenon of Islamophobia and take
necessary actions for presenting Islamic countries’
common position on the matter especially the issue of
blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet
and desecration of the Holy Quran;
4. Urges all non-OIC countries to review anti-Muslim
discriminatory policies and to refrain from practices that
fan intolerance, discrimination, hatred or associate Islam
with terror or extremism and ban unlawful provocations;
5. Calls upon all non-OIC countries to provide legal avenues
to Muslims residing in their territory for redressal of their
genuine grievances.
