Muslims in Europe are facing Islamophobia and racism, Türkiye’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic Egemen Bağış said on Thursday, underlining the rise of such trends across the globe.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Czech Foreign Ministry in Prague, Bağış said that the fight against xenophobia and hate speech regarding ethnic origins and religions should be the main agenda item of international meetings in order to eliminate multidimensional problems.
"Muslims, who make up the majority of immigrant communities in most European countries, are currently the main target of this approach," Bağış said, indicating that the real number of racist attacks is higher than stated in official documents as many do not report the mistreatment they face in everyday life.
"Racist and discriminatory practices in education and social life clearly trigger the tendency of immigrant communities to withdraw into themselves and hinder integration efforts."
Noting that immigrants are seen as a security problem in Europe, Bağış underlined that multidimensional international platforms must increase efforts to raise awareness about the difficulties they face.
Bağış said that new platforms should be established where victims can directly report negative acts such as hate speech, xenophobia and anti-Muslim attacks.
"I would like to state once again that Türkiye actively supports international efforts aimed at raising awareness for people who are exposed to violence and intolerant behavior because of their religion and worldview."
Turkish officials have criticized their Western counterparts for remaining indifferent to anti-Muslim sentiment and fueling the ideology, while experts believe Türkiye can lead the fight against it. Türkiye has continuously called on world leaders to take action to stop the demonization of Muslims and has been taking action to tackle the growing problem.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently said that Western countries insist on not taking measures against growing anti-Islam sentiment. Erdoğan also called on Turkish institutions to take action on issues related to Muslims and Turks in these countries.