World’s Biggest Muslim Society Slams Czech Republic Over ‘Islamophobia’

In response to Prague rallies demanding to curb Muslims' rights in the country, the multinational Organization of Islamic Cooperation calls to end negative stereotypes about Islam and stop its discrimination.

PRAGUE, January 19 (Sputnik) — A group of 20 Muslim countries with embassies in the Czech capital Prague have accused the Central European country of rising Islamophobia, according to a joint statement sent to journalists on Monday.

The so-called Prague group of countries, member-states of the world's biggest Muslim organization, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said they were "concerned that Islam has been increasingly mixed up with terrorism" and pointed to a spike in "Islamophobia" in the post-Charlie Czech Republic.

Following the deadly Islamist attack at the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the killing of four hostages in a kosher supermarket in France, the leader of a Czech right-wing party, Tomio Okamura urged Czechs to take their dogs out for walks outside mosques and boycott halal restaurants. He also said that "every kebab sold is a step closer to the veil".

The Muslim union called to end negative stereotypes about Islam and its discrimination and stigmatization as a religion of violence and terror.

This follows Czech Minister of Culture Daniel Herman saying earlier that he had postponed an upgrade of Muslim community's rights in the Republic to the level of the 21 registered churches and religious societies with special rights until at least 2024.

Last Friday, hundreds of people rallied outside the Czech president's residence in Prague to demand that rights of the Muslim community in the country be curbed in the wake of the French atrocities.