Alwaght- An emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held in the Turkish city of Istanbul Friday following a deadly terrorist attack on Muslims in New Zealand.
The OIC emergency meeting came on Iran's request during a phone conversation between Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu last week after the massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand where at least 50 Muslim worshippers were killed by an Australian terrorist during Friday prayers in two mosques.
Addressing the session attended by OIC foreign ministers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the world to fight rising Islamophobia as they did against "anti-Semitism after the Holocaust".
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also attended the gathering and reassured the gathering that Muslims living in the country would be "safe and secure" despite the deadly attacks in Christchurch.
In his speech, Iran’s Foreign Minister said certain countries in the West must be held accountable for the attack on two mosques in New Zealand.
"The terrorist attack in New Zealand represents a very dangerous tide in the West that is Islamophobia," he said.
Certain Western officials and institutions, he said, are aiding and abetting crimes against Muslims with their silence.
Zarif criticized "those who prevent citizens of Muslim countries from entering their countries," referring to US President Donald Trump and "those who prevent the use of Islamic symbols in their countries," meaning Europeans.
"Unfortunately those who claim to be promoting freedom of speech are both suppressing the freedom of expression of Muslims and allowing all forms of insult against Muslims in the name of the freedom of expression," he said.
"And we are seeing the consequences of this in various parts of the West," Zarif added.
"At this meeting, we plan to try to establish a consensus not only to condemn this (terrorist attack in New Zealand), but also to take necessary measures for the Islamic countries to prevent the repetition of such events," he said.
Representatives from the UN, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also participated in the event.
Among the victims of the terrorist attack were nationals from Syria, Jordan, India, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
