Manama: “Europe is good at fighting terrorism but not at fighting hate speech”, said Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday in a powerful intervention at the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

“Europe does not understand how offensive it is for a Muslim to be called an infidel or kafir, and authorities are often not aware of what is being said within their countries, and how hate is being created, said Shaikh Abdullah. “We are fighting for our religion, culture, heritage and our countries.”

Shaikh Abdullah also made several important political observations on current events in the region. First, he was outspoken about how much more constructive the new Iraqi government of Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi is compared to its predecessor under former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.

“The difference is between day and night,” he said commenting on his visit to Baghdad last week, and the change of atmosphere in the government that he observed.

He linked the war against Daesh in Iraq to finding a solution to the civil war in Syria. “I do not see how we can defeat Daesh without a political process in Syria,” he said, adding that “if there is no such process the slaughter in Syria will continue relentlessly.

In a quick comment on an ongoing debate in the Manama Dialogue meetings about how Iran might be brought into any future regional security arrangement, Shaikh Abdullah was blunt: “We cannot work with Iran while it supports its cronies in interfering in countries all over the region, and while it is an on-going occupying power in Syria.”

He closed his comments with some cogent advice to the Israeli public: “You have elections in Israel. You have one choice. You can either vote for Daesh or you can vote for the Peace Process”.