Ali Bareini, Iran’s ambassador and permanent president of the UN office in Geneva, has strongly criticised the growing prevalence of Islamophobia in the West.
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating International Day to combat Islamophobia on Tuesday, Ali Baleini defined Islamophobia as “an unreasonable and unjust fear of the existence and expansion of Islam in a primarily non-Islamic society.”
He said that this continuing presence of fear and hostility, accompanied by negative stereotypes directed towards Muslims, has caused “discrimination, exclusion from social, political and civic life, and verbal harassment and physical violence against Muslims in host societies.”
Iranian envoys have drawn particular attention to the surge in hate speech in Western countries and expressed concern over the use of modern technology and media platforms to spread Islamophobia sentiment.
rhm/