It is with pleasure that I will take part in the Forum on Minority Issues. I will be glad to take the floor under the 4th point that you suggested and I would like to speak about Managing the Other in Islam in four points: 1. In an international context where Islam is the subject of all fears, phobias and worries, it is important to explain what Islam teaches on the management of the Other, i.e. those who do not think like us. 2. The second point will be about the protection of the identity of Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries. Any unrelenting attack against these religious minorities is a threat to democracy and human rights. For instance in France, the Parliament prohibited religious signs in public schools. This law raised questions, perplexities, and sometimes outrage in other countries like Canada or the United States as it is against the American definition of religious freedom as a fundamental individual freedom that is confirmed by the principle of the free exercise guaranteed by the First Amemdement of the American Constitution. Europe, again, is still quibbling about the size of minarets, the content of sermons, or circumcision – forbidden in the name of the right of the child, while some are outraged by a chain of organic food supermarkets wants to sell halal products... In light of this situation, it is legitimate to ask the following question: based on which right are these European states entitled to intervene in the regulation of religious practices? This intolerance brings us to the heart of citizenship, that is, not only the right of Muslims only, but the right of all religious minorities victims of ostracism. 3. As a former employee of the Islamic Development Bank, the third point of my speech will recall the implementation of various policies by this institution to protect and promote Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries through scholarships. 4. Finally, as a Senegalese, I will show how religious minorities are integrated in Senegal and how this integration is an example for the whole world. Senegal, a country that is 96% Muslim, has been governed for over 20 years by a Christian president who was supported mainly by the two big Muslim brotherhoods. These are the points on which I will articulate my speech. Thank you, Mansour

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