Pakistan Calls for Collective Efforts to Stop Vilification of Islam in the Garb of Right of Expression

Islamabad; 03 May 2021 – Prime Minister Imran Khan met the Islamabad-based Ambassadors of countries belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) today. Recalling the two letters addressed by him to the leaders of the Islamic world last year, the Prime Minister briefed the envoys on Pakistan’s efforts at the international level to create awareness about Islamophobia and the need to collectively address the phenomenon.

The Prime Minister stressed that Pakistan’s initiatives were aimed at building mutual understanding and promoting inter-faith harmony. Noting that Islamophobic acts fan inter-religious hatred and disharmony among civilizations, the Prime Minister called for addressing the underlying reasons for the rise in such incidents worldwide.

Falsely equating Islam with radicalism and terrorism, he added, was leading to the marginalization and stigmatization of Muslims.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the vilification of Islamic precepts and religious personalities, wrongly justified under the garb of the right to freedom of expression or opinion, hurts the sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.

The Prime Minister urged the OIC to work together for making the international community understand the deep-rooted love and reverence of all Muslims for the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and the Holy Quran.

The Prime Minister also underlined the need for instituting legal safeguards aimed at protecting the sensitivities of all religious groups.

He underscored the imperative of OIC’s collective efforts to project the true image of Islam, and its message of peace and tolerance.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Pakistan remained committed to dialogue and cooperation with all members of the international community for promoting universal values of tolerance, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence among all nations and peoples.