JEDDAH: The first Islamic-European forum for examining ways of cooperation to curb hate speech in the media began on Friday at the Press Club Brussels Europe, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

During the opening session, the head of the Council of Journalists Union in Brussels, Peter Knappen, spoke about the importance of press freedom and stressed that it should be used responsibly and follow ethical and professional values.

Director of Information Department of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Maha Mustafa Aqeel explained that the forum is part of the OIC’s media strategy to counter Islamophobia.

“Our strategy focuses on interacting with the media, academics, and experts on various relevant topics, in addition to engaging with Western governments to raise awareness, support the efforts of Muslim civil society bodies in the West, and engage the latter in developing plans and programs to counter Islamophobia,” she said.

Aqeel said that, since 2005, the OIC has adopted many resolutions that call for taking clear and tangible measures to address Islamophobia and counter-terrorism resulting from it. These efforts have included establishing the Islamophobia Observatory, which issues an annual report on countering Islamophobia.

She also pointed out that the OIC has made efforts to engage the media, Western governments, civil society, and regional and international organizations such as the European Union and UNESCO in order to fight Islamophobia.

Aqeel explained that the OIC established a ministerial Contact Group of European Muslims in 2016 in order to communicate more closely and regularly with officials and communities in Europe, in addition to establishing a correspondence center to respond to the arguments and fatwas of extremist groups.

“The OIC is in the process of establishing a global press award for journalists who contribute to the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue and tolerance,” she added.

Aqeel said that the two-day forum would explore ways to establish cooperation between media professionals from OIC member states and the EU to help curb hate speech, stereotyping, and fake news, “all of which negatively impact society and provoke intolerance.”

The forum’s sessions discussed press freedom from legal and religious perspectives and introduced attendees to the contents of the OIC Media Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and ISESCO’s Program for Training Media Professionals on Redressing Stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.

The event also explored ways to support coordination and cooperation between media professionals in OIC member states and their colleagues in Western countries.