A group of European leaders and humanitarian groups are convening a European-Islamophobia summit in Sarajevo, Bosnia, this week to discuss growing anti-Muslim sentiment in on the continent, and partially as a reaction to Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
Headline speakers include former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Bosnian President Bakir Izetbegovic, Doctors Without Borders founder Bernard Kouchner, and Sarajevo Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic, according to organizers.
“Against the backdrop of calls by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to ban Muslims from entering the USA and Hungary’s Prime Minister and upcoming EU President and Slovak Prime Minister [Robert Fico] both stating Islam has no place in their countries, the need for a summit uniting political, academic, media and civil society leaders against Islamophobia is timelier than ever,” said Salzburg University’s Farid Hafez, the summit’s academic adviser.
Slovakia assumes the EU’s six-month presidency next month.
Summit organizers hope to establish best practices for combating anti-Muslim sentiment and policies and produce a report for the European Union.
