A/HRC/2/3 page 6 and lasting manifestations of racism and xenophobia are the result of long-term intellectual constructs which postulate cultural inferiority, religious demonization and the natural inhumanity of entire races, ethnic groups, communities and peoples. The impact of these ideas in education systems, arts and literature have shaped sensibilities, outlooks and value systems and thus nourished the consolidation or emergence of cultures of racism, discrimination and xenophobia. 14. The Special Rapporteur considers that, because of the combination of their political use and trivialization and their intellectual legitimation in words, ideas and action, racism and xenophobia are to be considered as the most serious threats to democracy. 3. Defamation of religions: specificities and commonalities 15. Incitement to racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerance and the defamation of religions and religious hatred are often observed as two interconnected issues. Discrimination and intolerance against religious communities and their members, which have deep historical and cultural roots, are facilitated in an environment where religions and beliefs are degraded or maligned through a deliberate intellectual and/or political discourse which demonizes them. Intolerance of any form or expression of religion is becoming a very negative outcome of certain forms of radical secularism. 16. The analysis of the phenomenon of defamation of religions clearly shows the link between these connected trends. This was substantially dealt with in the Special Rapporteur’s report on “Defamation of religions and global efforts to combat racism: anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and Islamophobia” (E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.4). 17. While it is true that acts of defamation of religion are common in various regions of the world, it must be recognized that each one of these phenomena bears its specificity. In their manifestations, expressions and frequency, these forms of defamation of religion present distinctive features. One should be cautious in any attempt to designate a general framework for their understanding and analysis, given the link between defamation of religions and discrimination and intolerance. 18. Indeed, although the term “Islamophobia” was created in response to the recent reality of increased discrimination against Muslims, discrimination against Islam and its practitioners dates back to the first contacts between Islam and other religions, cultures and civilizations and is illustrated by the Crusades. Islamophobia refers to a baseless hostility vis-à-vis Islam and, as a result, a fear of and aversion towards all Muslims or a majority of them. It also refers to the practical consequences of this hostility in terms of discrimination, prejudices and unequal treatment of which Muslims - individuals and communities - are victims. The political dimension of Islamophobia, which has clearly prevailed over the religious dimension since the attacks of 11 September 2001, is the result of a climate of deliberate intellectual and political legitimation of such hostility. In this context, manifestations of Islamophobia take very different, sometimes cumulative, forms. These include individual acts of discrimination against Muslim populations - including physical and verbal attacks, profanation of their places of worship and culture; the development of a logic of suspicion which associates Islam with terrorism and refuses to acknowledge the cultural diversity of the religion; and the adoption of