Call for fighting Islamophobia through intellectual discourse

'Knowledge and wisdom are the only ways to counter the problem,' said Iqbal

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that the real cause of extremism is prejudice because it is a virus that destroys human rationale.

Speaking at the two-day international conference on the topic of “Islamophobia and its impact on relations between the Islamic & Western civilisations” held at the International Islamic University Islamabad, Iqbal said, “Today Muslims are undoubtedly facing a prejudice in the form of Islamophobia.”

He said Islamophobia was related to bigotry, which should be countered strategically instead of a conspiracy theory. “Knowledge and wisdom are the only ways to counter the problem,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2022.