Cairo: The State of Qatar has taken part in the Second International Conference to Combat Discrimination Against Islam and Muslims, opened yesterday at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
The conference convenes under the theme “Islamophobia: Concept and Practice in the Current Global Context”.
Representing the State of Qatar are Dr. Yousef Al Siddiqi, Member of the Board of Directors of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID), and Amna Abdulrahman Al Sulaiti from Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the Arab League.
The two-day event discusses several keynote themes, chief among which are the role of religious institutions and Islamic centers in consolidating moderate religious rhetoric, as well as best national, regional, and global practices to combat hate speech.
The conference also delves into the role of educational enterprises in promoting the ethos of tolerance and accepting the other, alongside the role of civil society institutions in combating discrimination against Islam and Muslims.
In addition, the event is set to explore empowering young people to help propagate the culture of coexistence and mutual respect, bringing together stakeholders involved in dialogue among civilisations and religious tolerance, including governments, international and regional organisations, as well as civil society groups and youth.
The agenda features the inaugural meeting of a permanent multilateral institutional platform to combat discrimination against Islam and Muslims, designed to strengthen coordination among regional and international institutions and turn the conference’s recommendations into practical programmes and initiatives to help curb hate speech and advance dialogue and coexistence.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr. Al Siddiqi said the conference is one of the consequential gatherings that offers an opportunity to assemble, listen to others, and directly relay the voice.
He stressed that this would contribute to fostering shared understanding and rectifying the perceived image of Islam and Muslims, pointing out that massive technological advances and social media have turned the world into a global village, prompting the need to relay the correct and true image of Islam to European communities and others, as well as properly boost shared understanding.
Al Siddiqi went on to highlight that DICID has been undertaking a crucial role through holding a periodic conference that focuses on interfaith engagement and evaluating experiences in this field.
He emphasised Qatar’s commitment to Islamic studies through a scientific and values-based approach.
Overall, this convention comes as part of executing the recommendations of the inaugural International Conference on Combating Islamophobia, held in collaboration and coordination between the Arab League’s General Secretariat and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ICESCO), to confront the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia.
The recommendations were intended to unify combined regional and global efforts to combat all forms of hate and religious discrimination, in addition to promoting the culture of dialogue and peaceful coexistence, as well as respecting cultural and religious diversity.
