Oic To Hold Media Workshop To Address Smear Campaign Against Islam

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is to hold a media workshop in Brussels on Feb 15 to 16 pertaining to the smear campaigns against Islam in newspapers and media institutions in the West. The objective of this first-of–its-kind workshop is to develop media-related mechanisms to address the smear campaigns, the OIC said in a statement. It said the workshop will discuss at length the reasons behind and the results of the Western media’s offensive campaigns against the symbols and sanctities of Islam and Muslims, which it added still occur from time to time. "The workshop will represent a quantum leap in media action, as it discusses, beyond rhetoric, the practical steps to address the phenomenon of Islamophobia," the OIC said. Muslim and non-Muslim leading civil society organisations, journalists, intellectuals and academicians are among the participants of the workshop, which will consist of brainstorming sessions to develop mechanisms for cooperation with external partners, and to develop an action plan to address the phenomenon of Islamophobia. The OIC said the recommendations of the workshop will be presented for endorsement and implementation to the 9th session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM) which will be held in Libreville, Gabon (west central Africa), in April. The organisation noted that the workshop is of particular importance as it will be held only weeks before the convening of the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in March, at which Resolution 16/18 will come to a vote for the second time after its unanimous endorsement in the previous session. Resolution 16/18 aims to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief. The resolution was an outcome of bilateral talks between the OIC and a number of Western countries, including the U.S. Two meetings were held in Istanbul and Washington, respectively, to develop operational mechanisms to implement the resolution at the level of the United Nations. Reports say Resolution 16/18, which was adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2011, was backed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the most recent Istanbul Process Conference in Washington in December. This is widely viewed as a significant step forward in OIC efforts to advance the international legal concept of defaming Islam. -- BERNAMA