A research center for combating Islamophobia was opened in the capital, Ankara, on Thursday and attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Burhanettin Duran.
The center of the Ankara Science University aims to focus on work and research on the global phenomenon.
“Anti-Islam sentiment, racism and xenophobia, unfortunately, have reached a concerning level globally but especially in the West,” Duran said at the inauguration ceremony held at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
Reiterating that mosques and the Quran are often attacked abroad in hate crimes in front of Muslim countries’ embassies, Duran said that such acts to marginalize Muslims are disgraceful.
Duran underlined that provocative actions cannot be legitimized under the name of freedom of expression and added that protecting the rights and dignity of Muslims in the fight against hate crimes is vital for strengthening universal equality and social inclusiveness.
“As Türkiye, we carry out an active diplomacy both in the form of bilateral meetings with the relevant states as well as multilateral talks,” he added.
Indicating that Türkiye supports all efforts to raise awareness and combat this issue on international platforms, especially the U.N. and that the country leads initiatives, Duran expressed Ankara’s satisfaction with the decision to appoint U.N. High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Moratinos as the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative to Combat Islamophobia.
“We will actively continue our fight against anti-Islam sentiment during the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers council term presidency that we will undertake this year,” the deputy minister underlined.
Duran further said that the issue of Islamophobia, which poses a threat to the security and well-being of Turkish citizens living abroad, was discussed with the relevant countries.
“We are with our citizens against xenophobic and anti-Islam attacks.”
According to Turkish diplomatic sources, while incidents involving the burning of the Quran occurred 15 times in Europe in 2022, the Turkish Foreign Ministry detected 507 attacks against Islam's holy book in Western Europe in 2023.
Mosques were targeted 34 times in Europe in 2022, which increased to 68 in 2023, exposing the grave level of Islamophobia on the continent.
Türkiye has taken diplomatic initiatives to initiate criminal proceedings against the perpetrators and provides legal support to Turkish citizens facing similar attacks.
While officials explained to decision-makers and the public in countries where the attacks took place that the offenses have nothing to do with freedom of thought, diplomatic efforts are being made to criminalize Islamophobic actions and find a permanent solution.
Türkiye has also taken initiatives on multilateral platforms in 2023, leading efforts against Islamophobia with organizations such as the U.N., the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the OIC and the Council of Europe.
The U.N. adopted a resolution condemning the burning of the Quran on July 12, defining attacks on the Quran as "religious hatred."
