MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's tolerance of various religions should be an example for Europe, which is facing a rise in Islamophobic sentiment amid the ongoing migrant crisis, Secretary General of the IRA (Al Azhar Islamic Research Academy) told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"The example of Russia's tolerance today can and should serve as a lesson for all places, including Europe, where the rise of religious intolerance in connection with the rise of extremism and the migration crisis is taking place," Mohi El-Din Afifi, who headed the Al Azhar delegation, said.
He praised Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that his country would always support multiculturalism and religious tolerance, and is committed to intercultural exchange.
In recent months, Europe has faced the largest wave of refugee movement since World War II, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence and poverty in primarily Muslim regions of North Africa and the Middle East.
As Islamic terrorism advances, most notably in the form of the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group, many Europeans fear that extremists could cross into the European Union under the guise of refugees.
In Russia, Islam is the second-largest religious confession, with an estimated 15 million to 23 million followers, according to census data.
"The flow of migrants to Europe is not an additional spur to the growth of Islamophobia in Europe. The main factor that leads to an increase in Islamophobia and strengthens nationalist sentiment in Europe is extremism," Mohi El-Din Afifi said.
There are countries that support extremist movements deliberately to fulfil their geopolitical objectives, and many extremist groups came about through funding by the West, Afifi said.
"The eradication of Islamophobia [in Europe] is directly related to addressing the issue of extremism," the Secretary General of the IRA claimed.
