A plenary session entitled "The importance of an intersectional approach in the fight against Islamophobia and new perspectives" 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 at the plenary session discussed Islamophobia, its spread, the problems it creates and other issues.

Professor Salman Sayyid, Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, UK, said in his speech that Islamophobia is not a sudden problem, research has been conducted on it for more than 30 years:

"Islamophobia can be found anywhere in the world. It can be in a country where Muslims do not live or in countries where many live. Islamophobia is a form of racism and discrimination. After the September 11 terrorist attack, the first Muslim in the United States was killed in this context."

A professor from Britain warned that Islamophobia can go from everyday events to genocide:

"Meanwhile, the Koran is being burned, the hijab is forced to be removed, at the airport "you are subjected to strict checks because you are a Muslim" and similar practices are becoming serious and systematic. Of course, there can be other dangerous cases, for example, committed in New Zealand as an act of terrorism".

Salman Sayyid noted that Islamophobia tends to target women more than men, so it is also a gendered issue:

"Women are not allowed to participate in public life, women who wear hijab are treated as if they are doing something wrong in society."

He added that Islamophobia has already gone global from the local level:

"As for the press, they have already become the party spreading the messages about it."

He stressed that scientific research on Islamophobia should be conducted.

"Islamophobia is not related to religion, it is related to Islam. It is related to attempts to humiliate Muslims. The burning of the "Quran" is not a religious criticism, but rather aims to humiliate and frighten Muslims, and this is not related to illiteracy. Islamophobia is a political struggle and we must unite against it. Scientific circles and their job is to promote a systematic approach to this, superficial approaches cannot be allowed. We must investigate the fundamental causes of this problem. Islamophobia is a dangerous narrative for the future of the world."

The rector of the Egyptian University of Islamic Culture from Kazakhstan, Muhammad al-Shahat al-Jindi, said in his speech on "Islamophobia creates enmity against Islam and Muslims" that hatred of Islam and hatred of Muslims is obvious:

"It is claimed that wrong ideas are being voiced about Islam being against women, we must respond to these claims. Islam encourages dialogue, women are given a high status, Islam calls for peace and tranquility. There are hadiths about this in the "Quran".

He said that planned steps are being taken against Islam and wrong ideas about Islam are being formed.

"Even Muslims themselves sometimes do not present Islam correctly. We must work in this direction."

The rector said that sometimes it is presented as freedom of expression of hatred and malice against Islam, which is unacceptable.

"Many steps are being taken against Muslims and we are aware of them.

Actions against any religion should be held accountable, but it seems that officials in the West are not interested in this.

As Muslims, we want to live together in peace in different parts of the world.

Muslims have the freedom to express their rights and rights," said Muhammad al-Shahhat al-Jindi.

The President of the Bosnian Academy of Science and Arts, Farid Muhic, a participant from Macedonia, spoke on the topic "Fighting Islamophobia: A Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Global Stability and Peace".

Speaking about the causes and motives of Islamophobia, Farid Muhich said that this is an ideological project:

"One of the reasons for Islamophobia is related to the falsification of historical facts, it is claimed that Islam came from Asia and invaded Europe.

Three centuries after Islam entered Europe, Christianity was adopted in many parts of Europe.

While Islam ruled Andalusia and Cordova, no Christian monuments were destroyed there, but after Christianity returned there, examples of Islamic culture were destroyed.

Now there is a campaign of lies against Islam, they are running it as a political concept.

Islam has never encouraged conflict, rather it encourages tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Europe even took some of its values ​​from Islam.

There are certain grounds for fighting Islamophobia: respect for higher moral values ​​and human rights, fighting against hate speech that is dangerous for the future of humanity."

Sultan Ahmed Sahibzadeh, chairman of the Muslim Institute Think Tank, spoke about the manifestation of Islamophobia in South Asian countries.

"Islamophobia is also growing in South Asian countries. Islamophobia and steps in this direction have expanded greatly in India over the past 10 years. Discrimination and prejudice against Muslims is clearly demonstrated. For example, we remember that India refused to build another temple on the site of a destroyed mosque. The destruction of Muslim mosques, cases of genocide against them, and issues of aggression are historical facts.

The number of ethnically motivated crimes is also increasing in India.

Suppression and similar negative steps are being taken against Islamic culture and history.

For example, changing the names of cities is one of them," he stressed.

Saeed Ahmed Khan, Associate Professor of Middle East, Asian and Global Studies, shared his thoughts on the general perception of hatred and oppression against Muslims:

"Incidents against Muslims in New Zealand and Canada show the extent to which Islamophobia has spread. Also, the fight against the hijab, the presentation of Muslims as devils, and other such points are a serious threat. Unfortunately, in civil society, both ideological and we are also witnessing a pathological struggle against Muslims.The cases of organizing against Muslims are the clearest example of this.

In India, Modi's government expresses ideas like "We have no business with Muslim countries, we have relations with them, we have cooperation."

This actually makes the matter even more dangerous.

Because this idea, unequivocally, serves to distract the mind.

Or the Trump Administration imposed a travel ban on Muslims in 2017.

This ban was also an initiative for the concept of Islamophobia.

Muslim states, Muslim organizations should jointly fight Islamophobia, which is widespread in Europe and the world."