PERMATANG PAUH, Aug 6 — Malaysia and Turkiye will form a movement to tackle Islamophobia globally, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
The matter was discussed during a tele-conversation with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday, he said.
“We discussed Islamophobia. Erdogan and I agreed to head this effort together. Erdogan said could we both start a movement and do something to counter attacks against Islam, especially in the United States and Europe.
“I agreed and said we will prepare a (working) paper to discuss the matter, and he replied he intends to visit Malaysia as soon as possible,” he said during his speech at the Prime Minister with the People gathering at Dataran Rakyat Guar Perahu here last night.
Anwar said Erdogan asked for a meeting at the United Nations general assembly in September to discuss how to tackle Islamophobia.
Anwar said Islamophobia, especially in Western countries, has led to acts like the burning of Qurans in Sweden.
“On Quran burnings, I issued a very strong statement condemning such acts and I then instructed the order to print a million Qurans, including those in the Swedish language, to be distributed worldwide,” he said.
Anwar, in his capacity as Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) chairman, also urged voters in Permatang Pauh to deliver a handsome victory for the Harapan-Barisan Nasional alliance.
The prime minister, whose working visit to Penang ended yesterday, said voters here need to support unity government candidates, especially those contesting in Seberang Jaya, Permatang Pasir and Penanti.
Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan will elect their state governments on August 12, with early voting on Aug 8.
— Bernama
