Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said Islamophobia grew after the 9/11 terror attacks and went on unchecked because the Muslim countries did nothing to check the wrong narrative that Islam was equated with terrorism.
Addressing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Islamabad, Imran Khan said that there is not any difference between types of Islam, and added that the faith has nothing to do with terrorism.
He asked how the western world can differentiate between moderate and radical Muslims when they equate Islam with terrorism.
"I have spent a lot of my life in England, touring all over the world as an international sportsman. I understand western civilisation probably much better than most people. ...I saw this growing (Islamophobia) after 9/11," Imran Khan said.
"This Islamaphobia kept growing and the reason was -- I am sorry to say -- we the Muslim countries did not do anything to check this wrong narrative. How can any religion have anything to do with terrorism? How was Islam equated with terrorism? And once that happens, how does a man in the western country differentiate between a moderate Muslim and a radical Muslim. How can he differentiate? Hence this man walks into a mosque and shoots everyone," the Pakistan Prime Minister said while referring to New Zealand's Christchurch Mosque shooting incident 2019.
"Unfortunately, what should have been done, but wasn't... the head of Muslim countries should have taken a stand on this. But a lot of heads of states said that they were moderates," he added.
This speech comes under the shadow of Imran Khan facing a no-confidence motion by opposition parties. Under the leadership of the cricketer-turned-politician, the Pakistan government is also faced with a severe economic downturn.
The 48th Council of the Foreign Ministers (CFMs) of the OIC began earlier today in Islamabad.
The summit is taking place under the theme: "Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development."
Pakistani media said that over 100 resolutions will be considered during the two-day session. Although the meeting is being convened to promote OIC efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan is likely to rake up the issue of Kashmir even as it fails to speak about Shia Muslims in their own country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
