Addressing his muslim counterparts in Kampala, Sahin speaks out against Islamophobia

Addressing the Fourth Conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Kampala, Uganda over the weekend, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin said that some circles are fueling Islamophobia around the world through campaigns based on fear and prejudice. Stating that last year's Swiss referendum to ban construction of new minarets in the country portended the continuation of such campaigns, Sahin talked about a number of major issues facing the Islamic world, such as the Middle East peace process, the Palestinian issue, Afghanistan and Pakistan, concerns over Iraq's future, and recently rising tension in Yemen. Calling on Muslim parliaments across the world to take a more active stance to defuse prejudices and misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, Sahin said Turkey is already doing this on all international platforms. "The fight against this mentality nourished by prejudices will be a challenging one," he said. Calling for the revival of all efforts to solve the Palestinian issue, Sahin urged the Israeli government to end the construction of new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Stressing that Turkey can't remain indifferent to developments in Gaza, Sahin also urged the Israeli government to lift its blockade of the strip to allow humanitarian assistance to arrive there and ease its disastrous state. Sahin said the OIC should assume a lead role on the issue, and that Turkey supports all initiatives to resume peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Sahin also urged Muslim countries to do more to end the unfair international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.