Muslim nations call for measures vs Islamophobia after New Zealand attack

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Muslim nations on Friday, March 22, called for “genuine” measures against Islamophobia after the attack on two New Zealand mosques that killed 50 people.

Violence driven by Islamophobia requires “genuine, comprehensive and systematic measures to address this affliction,” ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation said in a statement after a meeting in Istanbul.

The OIC said attacks against mosques and murders of Muslims showed the “brutal, inhumane and horrific outcomes” of hatred of Islam.

It called for countries with Muslim communities, minorities or migrants to refrain from “statements and practices that associate Islam with terror, extremism and threats” to society.

During the March 15 attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant killed 50 men, women and children – the victims aged between 3 and 77 years old – and left dozens injured.

The self-avowed white supremacist livestreamed much of the attack and spread a manifesto on social media claiming it was a strike against Muslim “invaders.” – Rappler.com