At the United Nations, the West Precedes Muslim States in the "Fight Against Islamophobia"

In the "fight against Islamophobia," Turkey and Pakistan no longer need to position Muslims as unconditional victims; the West does it for them. Yet another church was set on fire this Thursday, October 3, 2024, in Poitiers, who is left to defend persecuted Christians?

Article published in the French weekly newspaper Valeurs Actuelles on October 5, 2024.

This Tuesday, October 1, 2024, on the sidelines of the 57^th session of the Human Rights Council, the United States Permanent Mission to the UN organised a conference entitled “Combatting Intolerance, Hate Crimes and Islamophobia”.[1] The event was sponsored by the Permanent Missions of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Pakistan. Apparently, this is an unlikely alliance, as these same states are typically divided between two blocs, one liberal and the other Islamic, and often oppose each other on issues of blasphemy and freedom of expression. The most recent example dates back to July 12, 2023, at the Human Rights Council, when Pakistan urgently and successfully pushed through a resolution explicitly condemning the “desecration of the Holy Qur’an” in the context of the wave of Quran burnings in Sweden.[2]

The submission of the West to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

At this moment, by organising an event at the UN on the “fight against Islamophobia”, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union submit to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) by adopting its terminology, and themselves position Muslims as victims, giving the impression that they are massively persecuted in the West. But what does 'Islamophobia' really mean? Etymologically, it refers to an irrational fear of Islam. Therefore, nothing reprehensible, since one can perfectly fear a religion. The term 'Islamophobia' does not have any agreed definition in international law, unlike freedom of religion or freedom of speech. In practice, the OIC uses the ambiguity of the term, which is understood as 'criticism of Islam,' something that has so far been permitted in the West, or as 'incitement to hatred against Muslims,' which is condemnable.

In subtitles, the event poster indicated three objectives:

• “Discuss the rise in Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.
• Present government initiatives and best practices to counter Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance, discrimination, and violence.
• Enhance collaboration to counter intolerance, discrimination and violence on the basis of religion or belief.”

Thus, Islam is presented as an untouchable religion. “Islamophobia” and anti-Muslim hatred become complementary, if not interchangeable, terms. The OIC tends to favour the use of the former, while the West leans toward the latter. The different titles of the panellists were the following: Turkish Mehmet Paçacı, former ambassador of Turkey to Pakistan, is the “OIC’s special envoy on Islamophobia.” However, he was ultimately absent from the event. As for Turkish Evren Dağdelen Akgün her title was: “OSCE Representative on Combatting Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims”. From France Marion Lalisse was: “European Commission Coordinator on Combatting anti-Muslim hatred”. It should be noted that Marion Lalisse recalled that the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights will publish a report at the end of October titled 'Being Muslim in the EU,' stating that anti-Muslim hatred has surged in Europe since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, but that it is largely underestimated.[3]

In 2022, the UN chose to accept Pakistan’s proposal by establishing March 15 each year as “International Day to Combat Islamophobia”, while acknowledging the limitations of the term: “Some experts prefer the label 'anti-Muslim hatred,' fearing that the term 'Islamophobia' risks condemning all critiques of Islam and, therefore, could stifle freedom of expression. But international human rights law protects individuals, not religions. And Islamophobia may also affect non-Muslims, based on perceptions of nationality, racial or ethnic background.”[4]

Since fighting against "Islamophobia" would also mean fighting against incitement to hatred, discrimination, or violence against Muslims and even non-Muslims, it no longer seems possible to refuse to participate in this fight, especially if, at the same time, the liberal West praises a universal and fraternal society. And so, all the panellists in turn promoted living together and interreligious dialogue, affirming their condemnation of the desecrations of the Quran. Rashad Hussain, an American of Indian origin, who knows the Quran by heart and is the head of the Office of International Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State, spoke of the pain he felt in his very being with each desecration, while the Western representatives offered their mea culpa, presenting themselves as proactive bulwarks against "Islamophobia from racists and the far-right."

At the UN: The prohibition of defaming Islam versus freedom of expression

At the UN, since the late 1990s, the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) has developed the concepts of "Islamophobia" and defamation of Islam, framing them within the broader context of defamation of religions. For instance, on April 30, 1999, the resolution proposed to the Commission on Human Rights by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC regarding "the defamation of Islam" evolved into a resolution on "defamation of religions."[5] Nevertheless, the centrality of Islam in the text is maintained, as the word appears twice, while Christianity and Judaism are not mentioned.[6]

The other tactic of the OIC, now validated by Western representatives, is to conflate the defamation of Islam with racism. By using a religious marker, Islam, to characterise a group that is ethnically heterogeneous, Muslims become a neo-ethnic group. Thus, people say “Muslims,” no longer referring to Arabs or Turks. Consequently, an attack on the Islamic religion becomes, moreover, a racist attack against the followers of this religion. In 1999, to justify its proposal for a resolution on the agenda under racism rather than under religious intolerance, Pakistan argued that “the phenomenon of intolerance against Islam concerned Muslims as a group because of what were presumed to be their religious beliefs.”[7] A shift in the subject of rights then occurs: it is no longer the reputation of a person that is being protected, but that of Islam.

On April 12, 2011, a compromise was reached at the Human Rights Council between the liberal West and the OIC. The notion of defamation of religions disappeared, replaced by “Combatting intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief.” It is thus recommended to adopt “measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence based on religion.”[8] But on the other hand, “the positive role that the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the full respect for the freedom to seek, receive and impart information can play in strengthening democracy and combating religious intolerance.” is reaffirmed. Indeed, in a counter-radicalisation that targets all religions, stripping them of any sacred character to be protected, the liberal West positions itself as the guarantor of total, almost excessive, freedom of expression, for example, supporting the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which was the victim of an Islamist terrorist attack on January 7, 2015.[9] Likewise, this is how Swedish justice, in its respect for the freedoms of assembly and expression, primarily refers to the specific circumstances of the case to determine whether there is incitement to hatred or violence against a population group, rather than automatically condemning any desecration of the Quran.[10]

The UN and the EU make anti-Christian hatred invisible

By organising this conference at the UN, the West is now taking the lead over Muslim states in the "fight against Islamophobia." So, who is left to defend persecuted Christians? Swedish panellist Ulrika Sundberg, Sweden’s Special Envoy to the OIC for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, mentioned the report by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Iranian Nazila Ghanea, following her visit to Sweden from October 11 to 20, 2023.[11] In the still heated context of the wave of Quran burnings, the word "Islamophobia" is mentioned six times. But what Ulrika Sundberg could have added is that the Special Rapporteur also mentioned, in one paragraph, the threats and assaults by other residents on Christian converts of Muslim background in migration centres, as well as the difficulty Afghan converts to Christianity face in obtaining asylum.[12]

The Maldivian Ahmed Shaheed recalled the recommendations from his report entitled “Countering Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hatred to eliminate discrimination and intolerance based on religion or belief”, published on April 13, 2021, when he was the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.[13] However, this report simply advises promoting the Islamisation of the West, in Islami-leftist musings that bear no connection to the international conventions developed under the aegis of the UN.[14]

For the sake of coherence, while Ahmed Shaheed had already published a report entitled “Combatting Anti-Semitism” in September 2019, we are still waiting for a report from a Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion entitled “Combatting Anti-Christian Hatred.” While there is an “International Day to Combat Islamophobia,” we are still waiting for one to combat anti-Christian hatred. While the European Commission has two coordinators for the fight against anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred, we are still waiting for one to address anti-Christian hatred.[15] The more than 365 million persecuted Christians worldwide[16] can no longer remain invisible.

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[1] EEAS, “HRC57 Side Event - Combatting Intolerance, Hate Crimes, and Islamophobia”, September 23,2024. U.S. mission to the UN Human Rights Council, Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/us-mission/54035450563/ and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqU1lvSVFfE.

[2] Human Rights Council, “Countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”, Resolution A/HRC/RES/53/1, July 12, 2023. Cf. ECLJ, ““Desecration of the Holy Quran”: Human Rights in the service of Islam?”, January 23, 2024.

[3] Lilith, “Occupation war in Gaza is new breeding ground for anti-Muslim racism in the Netherlands”, September 12, 2024.

[4] UN, “International Day to Combat Islamophobia, 15 March”.

[5] Aurore Schwab, “Between freedom of religion and freedom speech: the emergence of the United Nations idea of “religious defamation””, Revue du MAUSS, 2017/1 n° 49,O p.134-147.

[6] OHCHR, “High Commissioner for Human Rights urges peaceful resolution of conflict in Kosovo”, April 30, 1999.

United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Commission on Human Rights Resolution E/CN.4/1999/L.40/Rev.1:

“The Commission on Human Rights,

2. Also expresses deep concern that Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and with terrorism;
3. Expresses its concern at any role in which the print, audio-visual or electronic media or any other means is used to incite acts of violence, xenophobia or related intolerance and discrimination towards Islam and any

other religion.”

[7] ECOSOC, Commission on Human Rights, fifty-fifth session, summary record of the 62^nd meeting, , E/CN.4/1999/SR.62, November 17, 1999.

[8] Human Rights Council, “Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief”, Resolution A/HRC/RES/16/18, April 12, 2011, para 5 § f.

[9] ECLJ, “Blaspheme a Human Right?”, April 10, 2018.

[10] ECLJ, “Contribution to the Secretary-General’s Report on Combating Religious Violence”, April 2024.

[11] Human Rights Council, “Visit to Sweden”, Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Nazila Ghanea, A/HRC/55/47/Add.2, April 2, 2024.

[12] Cf. ECLJ, “The Persecution of Ex-Muslim Christians in France and in Europe”, March 30, 2021.

[13] Human Rights Council, “Countering Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hatred to eliminate discrimination and intolerance based on religion or belief”, Report A/HRC/46/30 of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, April 13, 2021.

[14] ECLJ, “Successful Islamic lobbying at the UN”, April 2021.

[15] ECLJ, ““No place for hate in Europe”…Except against Christians”, December 7, 2023.

[16] Portes Ouvertes, “365 million Christians persecuted and discriminated for their faith in 2024”.