Al Habib made the remarks in his address to the General Assembly session on 'elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance - Item 72' on Tuesday.
He referred to the unsettling rise of a vast network of xenophobic propaganda outlets over the last few decades, which has resulted in "a political tolerance to hostility and discrimination as well as an incitement of hate have gained the ground against persons belonging to religious minorities in particular Muslims" in the West.
He stressed that such efforts to spread this propaganda are enabled by well financed institutions backed by affluent, government-tied tycoons.
The full text of Al Habib’s speech is as follows:
Madam President,
Allow me to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to H.E. Mevlüt Çavupžlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, for accepting the request to hold the recent emergency Ministerial Meeting in Istanbul.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to his distinguished colleagues here in New York for skillfully conducting negotiations on the draft resolution entitled 'Combating terrorism and other acts of violence based on religion or belief' to address the criminal terrorist attack against innocent Muslim worshippers in Christchurch.
Further, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our appreciation to the Prime Minister of New Zealand for her compassionate behavior vis-à-vis the victims of this tragedy.
Given the barbarity of such actions, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns this terrorist act in the strongest possible terms, offers its deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and wishes a quick recovery for the injured.
Regretfully, countless human beings continue to be victims of racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic attacks that are contemporary manifestations of ideologies and practices based on the racial or ethnic discrimination of superiority.
These abhorrent incidents are illustrative of the fact that the international community is far behind in attaining the primary objectives to combat terrorism, racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance because, mainly, the root causes of these instances were not adequately addressed.
In regard to the Christchurch attack, the anti-Muslim literature that the terrorist left behind is similar to the hate speech created in abundance by the mass media of some certain western countries in an obvious contradiction to article 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The ICCPR defines the legal framework in order to prevent the misuse of freedom of speech for propaganda for war or advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to hostility or violence.
Over the last few decades, there has been an unsettling rise of a vast network of xenophobic propaganda outlets masquerading as news platforms, hate groups masquerading as think tanks and even civic groups promoting a hostile and abusive environment against Muslims and other minorities, such as migrants, in the West.
As a result, we are witnessing a political tolerance to hostility and discrimination as well as an incitement of hate have gained the ground against persons belonging to religious minorities in particular Muslims, in recent years.
Such efforts to spread this propaganda are enabled by well financed institutions backed by affluent, government-tied tycoons.
If unchecked, this wicked network of xenophobia, with its socially motivated feelings of hate, has the capacity to undermine the stability of many societies and strain the relationship between states and great religions, thereby jeopardizing international peace and security.
Madam President,
It is essential that, the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these acts of terrorism conducted by members of racist and supremacist groups be held accountable and brought to justice.
We appreciate those Western politicians who condemn racist and white supremacist terrorism in the strongest terms.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are those officials who encourage Islamophobia, including through such measures as the Muslim travel ban, banning Muslim symbols such as headscarf and Minaret, and the abhorrent use of such ignorant terms as “Islamic terrorism” who should be reproached.
As a pretext for fanning their Islamophobic extremism, some authorities in the West cite extremist terror groups such as Da’esh and Al-Qaeda as purveyors of Islam, whereas, in reality, they have nothing to do with Islam. In this regards, we need to take a collective and resolute stand against exporters of hateful Takfiri ideologies.
At the same time, a serious dialogue, should be initiated in order to find ways and means to collectively combat Islamophobia, hate and discrimination. Furthermore, the initiation of innovative and holistic approaches that can both strengthen and enhance the practical and effective measures to combat these devastating evils of humanity with a view to their total elimination must be planned and implemented. A global fight against such phenomena, with their abhorrent and evolving forms and manifestations, must be a matter of high priority at the national, regional and international levels.
Thank you, Madam President.
MS/PR
Your Comment