Azerbaijani scholar: Europe experiencing crisis of pluralism

Today Europe is experiencing a crisis of pluralism and multiculturalism, Associate Professor at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan Leyla Melikova said at the international conference "Islamophobia as a Specific Form of Racism and Discrimination: New Global and Transnational Challenges" in Baku.

"Western countries, including France, use Islamophobia as a means of regulating public perception," she said.

According to her, it was the French authors who introduced the concept of "Islamophobia" into scientific circulation at the beginning of the 20th century, when this term was first used in the works of the French colonialists in the context of studying various spheres of Muslim life in the French colonial empire.

And now Islamophobia is increasingly embracing France.

Melikova noted that in recent years the number of cases of Islamophobia in France has increased by 14%, and the number of threats against Muslims rose by 79%.