A plenary session entitled "Islamophobia: European and national legislation" was held at the international conference on "Islamophobia as a specific form of racism and discrimination: New global and transnational challenges" dedicated to the International Day of Combating Islamophobia.

APA reports that the speakers discussed the fight against Islamophobia, as well as bringing the mentioned cases to a certain legislative level in European countries.

Taha Ayhan, president of the Youth Forum of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, particularly emphasized that the issues of Islamophobia and racism are widespread in some European countries: "The Youth Forum of the Islamic Labor Organization immediately reacted to the issue of burning the Quran. In general, we witnessed that the burning of the Quran was very badly received." , led to certain clashes. From that point of view, this also means a blow to the political environment in the world."

Taha Jamal also touched on Armenia's policy of aggression.

"Aggression and destruction have been carried out by Armenia against Azerbaijan for 30 years. This is a fact. OIC recently called for the implementation of global measures against religious discrimination. In order to fight Islamophobia, relevant laws should be adopted in the countries. This is hatred against Muslims. The world must understand that Islam is a religion for all times and peoples. Islamophobia is a crime not only against Muslims as a whole, but against people and humanity as a whole."

Ambassador Ismet Jahan, permanent representative of the OIC in the European Union, said in his speech that Islamophobia is increasing in Europe, it should be fought against, and appropriate measures should be taken.

According to him, Islamophobia manifests itself in the form of hate speech and violence against Muslims: "Muslims live in different parts of the world, so it is not recorded only in Europe. The fight against Islamophobia must be carried out by governments at the highest level. We must remember what happened in Myanmar. The gender aspect of Islamophobia is also unfortunate. that has strengthened in Europe. There is such an idea that women are not free and they should be freed. Unfortunately, this is not only among society, but even in the legislation of some countries. Muslims in Europe are not invaders, they do not encourage violence, Europe should understand this."

He emphasized the importance of solidarity against Islamophobia and the importance of education.

"In Europe, they think that all Muslims are terrorists, unwanted migrants. However, on the contrary, these people are dignified people, they contribute to the countries they live in. We must penetrate all layers of society, work in the field of education, media, and NGOs."

The ambassador stressed that the EU has taken many important initiatives and allocated resources against Islamophobia and hate speech: "We must work against Islamophobia in a systematic and planned manner. If we want to protect Muslims living in different countries, we, as Muslim countries, must protect our non-Muslim population, ethnic minorities, who are our citizens. Islam encourages it."

The President of the European-Turkish-Islamic Union, General Director of the Center for Strategic Studies of Asia, Musa Sardar Çelebi, pointed out that the concepts of Turks and Muslims are equated in Europe: "Europe's first introduction to Islam began with the Muslim conquest of Spain. The process of Muslimization of the population there was not based on Islam being a fairer forum. Everyone probably knows how the process ended."

Head of the Department of International Relations and Political Science of the Turkish German University, Enes Bayrakli, noted that the issue of such oppression of Muslims requires serious investigation.

"The issue of the deprivation of certain rights of Muslims in Europe should be seriously investigated.

Perhaps what we see with Islamophobia is the tip of the iceberg.

Also, there is a need for an NGO to expose Islamophobia.

Also, people in Europe as a whole and elsewhere who have been and will continue to be subjected to Islamophobia must be educated.

They should be taught how and why this process is carried out.

On the other hand, the cases of Islam hostility should be brought to the courts and given a legal assessment," he added.

Leyla Malikova, representative of the Institute of Oriental Studies of ANAS, made a presentation on "Islamophobia in modern Europe (France): Its roots, mechanism and actors".

He said that Islamophobia is used as a tool in France: "Islamophobia and the anti-Muslim trend have shown themselves acutely in recent years.

Criminal cases are associated with Muslims.

In French society, Muslims are described as barbarians.

According to him, based on research, it is clear that Islamophobia appeared in France in the Middle Ages: "French colonists characterized Islam as an obstacle to modernity. Now, Islamophobia exists not only in France, but also in other countries. When France became a colony of Algeria, one third of the population was killed there. Some researchers described this process as a victory for France.

He added that some facts were revealed during Jacques Chirac's presidency: "France's dark past is not only related to Algeria, but also to Nigeria. Even French experts say that France has not yet faced its dark colonial past."

The researcher recalled French President Emmanuel Macron's apology in 2017 for what France had committed in Algeria in the last century.

Ibrahim Yerden, an employee of the "MaatSchappelijke Veerkracht" (Social Sustainability) Institute, touched on the unjust situations against Muslims in Western countries.

"There are several sensitive aspects of the policy against Muslims in the West. One of them is ethnocentrism. This means that the Westerner puts himself in the center and puts others, in a way, below him. The second is stigmatization. Muslims are stigmatized in a negatively charged way in the West. Another issue, Muslims each of them is considered the same there - in the Western countries. And finally, a common view is shown against them," he added.