A year ago, the international community came together to designate 15 March as the International Day to combat Islamophobia.
By doing so, we upheld the very spirit of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which stipulates that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood’.
Malaysia is proud to be part of this timely and necessary international solidarity to address Islamophobia and all acts of hatred and violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief.
“Human beings, We created you all from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-fearing of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
(Holy Quran,49:13)
Islam is a religion of peace and its true teachings promote acceptance and appreciation of diversity. It is deplorable that in current times, Muslims are prevented from freely practising their religion and are subjected to violence because of their faith. Malaysia deeply regrets that suspicion, discrimination and outright hatred towards Muslims has risen to “epidemic proportions” as reported by the United Nations.
Manifestation of Islamophobic acts feeds into extremism and terrorism. They undermine efforts towards peace and harmony of our world.
The international community must look beyond rhetoric and identify tangible measures to address prevailing conditions and attitude that promotes these heinous acts. Moving forward, we must act collectively and collaboratively.
Malaysia’s success in fostering peace, harmony and stability is grounded in our own experience as a multi-racial and multi-religious democracy, which has been further espoused in ‘Malaysia Madani or Civilizational Malaysia’.
Malaysia stands ready to contribute to efforts that effectively address Islamophobia and all acts of hatred and violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief.
Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
15 March 2023