PAKISTAN prime minister Imran Khan has called for action against Islamophobic websites and urged the international community to holistically counter the “prejudice” against Muslims.
He said the pattern of recent attacks on Muslims in western countries pointed to “growing Islamophobia” and this requires a better understanding of the community to negate the wrong notion about Islam.
The term “Islamic radicals” indicates there is something wrong with the religion, although terrorism has no religion and extremists are found in every society, he said in an interview with CBC TV.
He said world leaders should commit to fighting online hate which divides humanity and “whenever they decide upon taking action, this will be dealt with”.
Khan’s remarks came days after four members of a Pakistan-origin Muslim family were killed in the Canadian city of London in what the police called a “hate attack”. The family had moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2007.
Some Canadian laws also contributed to Islamophobia, Khan said, referring to Quebec’s Bill 21 which banned public servants, including teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols at work.
Khan called such laws “secular extremism” that led to “intolerance against Muslims”.
“You want humans to be free to express the way they want to, as long as it doesn’t cause pain and hurt to other human beings,” he said.
He wondered why wearing a hijab or growing a beard should be an issue in liberal democracies.
“People objecting to hijab and a beard is quite bizarre for me.”
Father John Davis, mayoress Rosie Winnington, Keshavjee and mayor Mark WinningtonPaul-Milgate Scarrott
