Anti-Islam Rhetoric

In the wake of the recent alarming rise of religious hatred, dozens of nations attending a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the lack of tolerance for the beliefs of others, which they said has led to the incitement of discrimination, hostility and violence.

The debate was triggered by the June 28 burning of a Quran by a far-right extremist outside a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden.

The hate-filled act, which coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, was widely condemned by Islamic and other nations around the world.

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said: These and other incidents appear to have been manufactured to express contempt and inflame anger; to drive wedges between people; and to provoke transforming differences of perspective into hatred and, perhaps, violence.

Mr Türk added that every state must prohibit the “advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to violence, discrimination and hostility,”.

Nazila Ghanea, special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on behalf of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, said that, “We stand against those who willfully exploit tensions or target individuals based on their religion or belief.”