“UN, international institutions, and organizations should prevent this and take steps to ensure freedom of belief and worship,” Şehzade Demir said.

Noting that the anti-Islamism that develops in the West, especially in European countries such as France, Denmark, and Germany, has reached an alarming level, Demir said that almost every day discrimination and ban against Muslims come into play in a country.

“Enmity against belief is a crime against humanity, a violation of international law”

Reminding that the latest example of this happened in Sri Lanka on March 13, Demir said that the proposal demanding the approval of the Council of Ministers to ban the burqa in the country was signed by the Minister of Public Security.

Demir said: “The reason was that the burqa had a direct effect on national security and that it was an indication of extremism. It has been announced that the bans will not be limited to the burqa, and Islamic schools and madrasahs in the country will be closed if they do not comply with the national education program.”

Stating that anti-Islamic disinformation in the western media has an important role in the increasing of anti-Islamism, Demir went on to say: “Last week, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at the event organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the International Day of Combating Islamophobia. His words are remarkable: 'Unfortunately, some people with media power are increasing prejudice against Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry is in line with other trends such as ethnic nationalism and Neo-Nazism, which is increasing globally.' Enmity against belief is a crime against humanity. It is a violation of international law. The UN, international institutions and organizations should prevent this and take steps to ensure freedom of belief and worship.”

“The implementation of vaccine passports should be halted”

Pointing out that the EU Commission recently announced its proposals on how to implement the digital certificate, which can be referred to as the vaccine passport, Demir said: “According to this, all vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be accepted and considered valid by the member countries, and the decision on vaccines that the agency has not yet approved will be left to the member states.”

“It is certain that a new type of discrimination will be faced with the implementation of this practice” Demir added.

“While there is no consensus on the side effects and rates of effects of vaccines against coronavirus around the world, it is unacceptable to make vaccination compulsory. Many countries will use certification as a commercial and political weapon and will take steps to enforce their interests. As a result, it is seen that many rights can be restricted, especially residence permits, work permits, and freedom of travel. If this practice is put into effect, the European Union will turn it into an instrument of pressure on non-member states, violating many fundamental rights and freedoms of both citizens of other countries and their own citizens. In this sense, it is important to withdraw this practice and to launch a vaccination process in which the world acts jointly.”  (ILKHA)