ISTANBUL 

Several panels were held Saturday in Istanbul as part of the in Istanbul with the participation of dozens of academics from all around the world.

An academic from Istanbul Medipol University drew attention to increasing xenophobia and Islamophobia. “Islamophobia is currently taking on its most tragic form in the genocide occurring in Palestine and Gaza,” said Bekir Berat Ozipek.

Ozipek said liberals need to consider the "support and complicity of some democracies, particularly the US, in the genocide."

Stating that the Gazan people are facing “the destruction under one-sided violence rather than a war,” Ozipek said: “It is actually operating under the ironclad umbrella provided by the US. Israel is committing this crime in this manner.”

Criticizing liberals on the Gaza issue, Ozipek further said: “I don’t think liberals in the West, East, America, Europe, and Türkiye have passed this test well."

Measuring liberty, development in Muslim-majority countries

At a panel titled, “Measuring Liberty and Development in Muslim Majority Countries,” an academic from International Sarajevo University in Bosnia and Herzegovina said he tried to measure the indices of religious, political, and economic freedom in the member and observer countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Edo Omercevic said the countries have "the best indicators of freedom in the economic field" but "the worst indicators in the political field."

Another academic from Türkiye’s Giresun University, Ozgur Kanbir, said, according to 2018 data, OIC countries perform "above the world average in social solidarity, international aid, and low crime rates."