İSLAM ÜLKELERİ AKADEMİSYENLER VE YAZARLAR BİRLİĞİ

ACADEMICS AND AUTHORS ASSOCIATION OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES

اتحاد الأكاديميين والكتاب للعالم الإسلامي

CALL FOR COOPERATION AND SOLIDARITY AGAINST BLATANT ACTS DESECRATING HOLY BOOK AND VALUES

CALL FOR COOPERATION AND SOLIDARITY AGAINST BLATANT ACTS DESECRATING HOLY BOOK AND VALUES

CALL FOR COOPERATION AND SOLIDARITY AGAINST BLATANT ACTS DESECRATING HOLY BOOK AND VALUES

Islamophobia is on the rise in many parts of the world as evidenced by the increasing number of incidents of religious intolerance, hate crimes, hatred, and violence against Muslims and Holy Qur’an. The already fragile climate of peace between religions, cultures and societies is being damaged by these attacks. Such actions condoned by some Western countries on the grounds of "freedom of expression" make it impossible to develop a common understanding between nations and societies. Although the Islamic World has given intense reactions to the acts of hatred against Islam and its holy book, the Qur'an, led by European countries such as Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, the increase in these heinous acts shows that the condemnation with a groundling and diplomatic discourse is not enough. Regardless of the religion, the urgency and necessity for considering the acts of insulting against holy books and religious symbols/values as hate crimes by all international structures and states is clear.

In line with the decisions taken by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on July 2, 2023, Muslim states and non-governmental organizations must fulfill their responsibilities to take solid actions and to direct the world to develop feasible remedies. In fact, the blatant acts against the copies of the Holy Qur’an and other sacred Islamic symbols harm world peace and stability. Therefore, we believe that every state and every non-governmental and international organization must show the necessary reaction and take concrete steps against desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an and other Islamic symbols, which is a clear abuse of the freedom of thought and expression.

The UN General Assembly's latest resolution based on Morocco’s proposal on 25 July 2023 that deplores “all acts of violence against holy books as a violation of international law” is a step in line with the aforementioned expectations. This resolution, which can be considered as the continuation of the resolutions 73/328 and 75/309 taken in 2019 and 2021, respectively, is an appropriate decision for the protection of international public order and contributes to the formation of the appropriate ground for the need to improve the practice on the ground by taking concrete steps.

In this context, as Academics and Authors Association of Islamic Countries (AYBIR), we emphasize once again that hate speech, acts of violence and