Ilham Aliyev sent an address to the participants of the international conference on Islamophobia

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev sent an address to the participants of the international conference held in Baku on the topic "Islamophobia: Exposing Bias and Destroying Stigmas".

As reported by BAKU.WS, the message states:

"Dear conference participants,

I welcome you to the international conference "Islamophobia: Exposing Bias and Destroying Stigmas" held in Baku.

Today's conference is dedicated to the third anniversary of the UN's establishment of the "International Day to Combat Islamophobia." This important event, traditionally organized in our country, serves to raise attention to the concerning problem of Islamophobia facing humanity.

Azerbaijan welcomes the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly on combating Islamophobia and calls for the immediate implementation of the measures specified in these documents.

Unfortunately, in recent times, Islamophobia has been taking on an increasingly noticeable and systematic character on a global scale. Currently, this negative trend is observed not in any specific country, but in many parts of the world. Hostility toward Islam, hatred and intolerance toward Muslims, and anti-Islamic sentiments are growing in scope and intensity.

Islamophobia manifests in various forms, including racism and discrimination against Muslims in everyday life, hate speech, physical attacks, stigmatization in media and social media platforms, institutional discrimination, and more. Such unfair and biased treatment creates significant obstacles to the integration of Muslims into society, preventing them from feeling like equal members.

In some countries that once engaged in slave trade, conducted occupation and colonial policies, committed genocide, and now position themselves as democratic countries standing guard over human rights, Islamophobia has become a kind of state policy. In these countries, under the guise of protecting secular values, laws are adopted that restrict the rights and freedom of religion of Muslims, violating their rights to education, housing, employment, and other rights.

At the same time, actions insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), burning of the Holy Quran, attacks on mosques and places of worship, desecration of Muslim cemeteries, and other acts are among the growing anti-Muslim incidents aimed at offending the feelings of Muslims. Attacks on Islam and Muslims under the cover of "freedom of speech" are unacceptable.

It is regrettable that against such a universal evil and threat as Islamophobia, not only is there no fight being waged, but in a number of countries, its