France, the European Union and India objected to the creation earlier this week of a United Nations-recognised international day to combat Islamophobia. Members of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution proposed by Pakistan to mark the annual day on 15 March, the anniversary of the 2019 attack on two mosques in New Zealand which left 51 people dead. The resolution was supported by 55 Muslim-majority countries of the Riyadh-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Syria, Algeria, Morocco and many other countries in the Gulf and North Africa. Welcoming the resolution on Wednesday, OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha said it would “consolidate global awareness of the threat of hatred and fanaticism against Muslims”. But it was also co-sponsored by a number of other states including Russia, currently waging an illegal war in Ukraine, and China, drawing condemnation by Uighur activists. Representatives from France and India, which have also faced accusations of Islamophobia by their own Muslim communities, both spoke against the resolution, though neither opposed its adoption by consensus. Describing the resolution as “unsatisfying” and problematic, Nicolas de Riviere, the French permanent representative to the UN, told the General Assembly that France supported the protection of all religions and beliefs but questioned the singling out of a specific religion. CONTINUE READING