A/HRC/4/19 page 15 political levels, particularly in Europe, there is a dogmatic and quasi-religious secularism demonstrated by growing intolerance of any form of religious or spiritual expression. Lastly, there is the politicization of the religious factor, which leads to religious violence. 38. In this context, the most serious current manifestation is the rise of Islamophobia and the deterioration of the situation of Arab and Muslim minorities in the world, particularly in the wake of the events of 11 September 2001. Three major developments bear witness to the seriousness of this situation. First, the growing tendency to associate Islam with violence and terrorism; this association, which is bolstered by intellectual constructs, used by political rhetoric and exaggerated in the media and which has a profound impact on the popular imagination, constitutes the main justification for the upsurge and spread of Islamophobia. Secondly, these ideological constructs are reflected in a purely security-based approach to the inspection and surveillance of places of worship and culture, and even of the teaching of Islam, and thereby in the resurgence of policies and the adoption of legislative, administrative and police measures that stigmatize or criminalize national or foreign minorities of the Muslim faith, as demonstrated by the increase in the number of imams who have been deported. Lastly, the rejection of diversity and multiculturalism is manifested by the creation of obstacles to the construction of mosques and by intolerance and repression of Islamic cultural expressions and symbols and attire, and therefore its very visibility. 39. Several recent developments testify to the rise of Islamophobia throughout the world: in France, the reinterpretation and unlawful extension of the prohibition of visible signs of religion in State schools, the workplace and acts relating to municipal life, such as marriage; in the Netherlands, the threat to prohibit the wearing of the burka in the street and public places recently made by the Minister of Immigration; in the United Kingdom, the growing tendency to question the progress made by multiculturalism in politicians’ statements claiming that the veil or the burka is antisocial; in many countries, the statements justifying the refusal to allow Turkey to join the European Union; and lastly, also in many countries, the selective profiling in airports, ports, stations and at borders of people with an allegedly Islamic appearance, whether physical (skin colour, beard, etc.) or because of their clothing. The resurgence of these manifestations attest to an insidious climate of undeclared wars between civilizations and religions which, because of their globalized images and their reciprocal effects, gradually poison and pervert movement and human, cultural and political relations at the global level, and create negative and antagonistic attitudes among the general public. 40. The rise of both old and new forms of anti-Semitism must be acknowledged. The tenacity and extent of anti-Semitism in European societies is demonstrated, directly or insidiously, both in statements by politicians, particularly in pre-election sparring, and in texts and publications that perpetuate old stereotypes. The contradiction of or doubt cast on the extermination of the European Jews during the Second World War are the latest manifestations of this deep-seated anti-Semitism. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the particularly grave situation of the Palestinian people give rise to new forms and manifestations of anti-Semitism in certain Muslim and Arab communities. The confusion of the State of Israel with all Jewish communities of the diaspora or living in Israel, whatever their nationality, the stereotyping of the Jewish people and the non-recognition of their cultural, religious and political diversity are the root causes of this new form of anti-Semitism. The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,