International Day To Combat Islamophobia

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International Day To Combat Islamophobia
Official nameInternational Day To Combat Islamophobia
Observed byWorldwide
Liturgical colorGreen
TypeUnited Nations Declaration
ObservancesInternational
Date 15 March
Next time15 March 2025 (2025-03-15)
FrequencyAnnual
Related toIslam

International Day To Combat Islamophobia is an international observance designated by United Nations in 2022, [1] [2] taking place on 15 March every year in 140 countries worldwide. The date, March 15, was chosen as it is the anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings, in which 51 people were killed during Friday prayer.

Contents

Background

Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with 1.9 billion followers representing 24.9% of world population. [3] Islamophobia is the unreasonable dislike or fear of, and prejudice against, Muslims or Islam. [4] [5]

Throughout history, many incidences of ethnic cleansing of Muslims were reported across the world, most notably the Circassian genocide, the Srebrenica massacre, the Sabra and Shatila massacre, and the ongoing Rohingya, Uyghur, and Palestine genocides. [6] Islamophobia escalated after the September 11 attacks, which caused great distress to Muslims in Europe and the United States. [7]

In 2020, addressing the general debate of Seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan first time suggested an international day to combat Islamophobia [8]

Official recognition

On 15 March 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus which was introduced by Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation that proclaimed March 15 as 'International Day to Combat Islamophobia'. [9] [10] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan</span> Country in South Asia

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, 9th largest in Asia and the second-largest in South Asia. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</span> Declaration adopted in 1948 by the UN General Assembly

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the 58 members of the United Nations at the time, 48 voted in favour, none against, eight abstained, and two did not vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organisation of Islamic Cooperation</span> International organisation

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 48 being Muslim-majority countries. The organisation states that it is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony".

Religious intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs, practices, faith or lack thereof.

Islamophobia is the irrational and unjustified fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution</span> Systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group

Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, imprisonment, internment, fear or pain are all factors that may establish persecution, but not all suffering will necessarily establish persecution. The threshold of severity has been a source of much debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Muslims</span> Overview of hostility, discrimination and persecution of Muslims

The persecution of Muslims has been recorded throughout the history of Islam, beginning with its founding by Muhammad in the 7th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh Liberation War</span> 1971 Bangladesh–Pakistan armed conflict

The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Zafarullah Khan</span> Pakistani diplomat (1893–1985)

Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarullah Khan was a Pakistani jurist and diplomat who served as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan. After serving as foreign minister he continued his international career and is the only Pakistani to preside over the International Court of Justice. He also served as the President of the UN General Assembly. He is the only person to date to serve as the President of both UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice.

Persecution of Christians in the post–Cold War era refers to the persecution of Christians from 1989 to the present. Part of a global problem of religious persecution, persecution of Christians in this era is taking place in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.

Hindus have experienced both historical and ongoing religious persecution and systematic violence, in the form of forced conversions, documented massacres, genocides, demolition and desecration of temples, as well as the destruction of educational centres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladesh genocide</span> 1971 genocide of Bengalis by Pakistan

The Bangladesh genocide was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis, especially Bengali Hindus, residing in East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as Operation Searchlight was launched by West Pakistan to militarily subdue the Bengali population of East Pakistan; the Bengalis comprised the demographic majority and had been calling for independence from the Pakistani state. Seeking to curtail the Bengali self-determination movement, erstwhile Pakistani president Yahya Khan approved a large-scale military deployment, and in the nine-month-long conflict that ensued, Pakistani soldiers and local pro-Pakistan militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 Bengalis and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women in a systematic campaign of mass murder and genocidal sexual violence. In their investigation of the genocide, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists concluded that Pakistan's campaign involved the attempt to exterminate or forcibly remove a significant portion of the country's Hindu populace.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Pakistan. Although there have been numerous amendments to the Constitution, there is yet to be a provision prohibiting the death penalty as a punitive remedy.

Defamation of religion is an issue that was repeatedly addressed by some member states of the United Nations (UN) from 1999 until 2010. Several non-binding resolutions were voted on and accepted by the UN condemning "defamation of religion". The motions, sponsored on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), now known as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, sought to prohibit expression that would "fuel discrimination, extremism and misperception leading to polarization and fragmentation with dangerous unintended and unforeseen consequences". Religious groups, human rights activists, free-speech activists, and several countries in the West condemned the resolutions arguing they amounted to an international blasphemy law. Critics of the resolutions, including human rights groups, argued that they were used to politically strengthen domestic anti-blasphemy and religious defamation laws, which are used to imprison journalists, students and other peaceful political dissidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed el-Tayeb</span> Egyptian Islamic scholar (born 1946)

Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb is an Egyptian Islamic scholar and the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Al-Azhar Al Sharif and former president of al-Azhar University. He was appointed by the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, following the death of Mohamed Sayed Tantawy in 2010. He is from Kurna, Luxor Governorate in Upper Egypt, and he belongs to a Sunni Muslim family.

The use of politically and religiously-motivated violence dates back to the early history of Islam. Islam has its origins in the behavior, sayings, and rulings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and the first caliphs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries CE. Mainstream Islamic law stipulates detailed regulations for the use of violence, including corporal and capital punishment, as well as regulations on how, when, and whom to wage war against.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yazidi genocide</span> 2014 ethnic cleansing and genocide campaign by the Islamic State in Sinjar, northern Iraq

The Yazidi genocide was perpetrated by the Islamic State throughout Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017. It was characterized by massacres, genocidal rape, and forced conversions to Islam. The Yazidi people, who are non-Arabs, are indigenous to Kurdistan and adhere to Yazidism, which is an Iranian religion derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition. Over a period of three years, Islamic State militants trafficked thousands of Yazidi women and girls and killed thousands of Yazidi men; the United Nations reported that the Islamic State killed about 5,000 Yazidis and trafficked about 10,800 Yazidi women and girls in a "forced conversion campaign" throughout Iraq. By 2015, upwards of 71% of the global Yazidi population was displaced by the genocide, with most Yazidi refugees having fled to Iraq's Kurdistan Region and Syria's Rojava. The persecution of Yazidis, along with other religious minorities, took place after the Islamic State's Northern Iraq offensive of June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohingya genocide</span> Ongoing ethnic cleansing in Myanmar

The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people by the military of Myanmar. The genocide has consisted of two phases to date: the first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 to January 2017, and the second has been occurring since August 2017. The crisis forced over a million Rohingya to flee to other countries. Most fled to Bangladesh, resulting in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp, while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, where they continue to face persecution. Many other countries consider these events ethnic cleansing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genocide recognition politics</span>

Genocide recognition politics are efforts to have a certain event (re)interpreted as a "genocide" or officially designated as such. Such efforts may occur regardless of whether the event meets the definition of genocide laid out in the 1948 Genocide Convention.

This is a timeline of events during the year 2022 which relate to religion.

References

  1. "General Assembly Unanimously Adopts Texts on Combating Islamophobia, Protecting Rangelands, Tackling Difficulties for Widows, Bicycles as Public Transportation". United Nations . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  2. "UN Designated March 15 as International Day To Combat Islamophobia". Dawn .
  3. "Most Practiced Religion". Encyclopædia Britannica .
  4. "What is Islamophobia, By BBC".
  5. "Cambridge Dictionary Islamophobia".
  6. "U.S. cites China, Myanmar, Ethiopia in genocide report" . The Hindu. 12 July 2021. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023.
  7. Mineo, Liz (9 September 2021). "Muslim Americans reflect on the impact of 9/11". Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024.
  8. "Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan warns of rising Islamophobia". un.news.org. UN News. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  9. "March 15, International Day To Combat Islamophobia". UNGA text on combating Islamophobia .
  10. "UN makes March 15 International Day to Combat Islamophobia". Arab News. 15 March 2022.
  11. "What is Islamophobia, By BBC".