E/CN.4/2003/66 page 18 A. Freedom of religion or belief in the post-11 September 2001 context 93. In the report he submitted to the Commission at its fifty-eighth session, the Special Rapporteur expressed very grave concern at the implications that the terrorist acts of 11 September 2001 might have for the human rights protection system in general and for freedom of religion or belief in particular. 94. He also voiced his fears about a rise of Islamophobia among public opinion in the West and, conversely, of feelings of coolness and mistrust towards the West, particularly the United States, in the Arab and Muslim world. 95. It is an unavoidable fact that the hyperbole and the implicit and explicit calls for a clash of cultures or civilizations heard at the time have continued without let-up, with indiscriminate abuse heaped on entire communities and religions. 96. This issue has acquired a particular immediacy as a result of the simplistic - and all too frequent - identification of the Muslim faith with religious extremism. Political leaders and the media continue to dwell on religious identity, using language that encourages the very generalizations they purport to avoid. Books have appeared whose purpose is to lend credence to the idea of a war of religion, describing Muslims as sympathizers with, or even parties to, Islamic terrorism, inciting hatred and presenting Islam as a dangerous and archaic religion, in clear violation of, inter alia, article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 97. The expression “holy war” has been regularly brandied about in the media in the crudest fashion and the haphazard use of the terms “Islam”, “fanaticism”, “terrorism”, “fundamentalism”, “integrationism” and “Islamism”, as if they are interchangeable, has only added to the confusion, arousing anti-Muslim racism that could easily spread through a bewildered and fearful populace. 98. Generalizations such as these are the product of a combination of intellectual error and moral dishonesty, in the sense that they gloss over the fact that the Muslim world comprises a billion people and dozens of countries, societies, traditions, languages and, naturally, an infinite number of different experiences. 99. At the same time, the fact that Islam’s highest authorities have unreservedly condemned the attacks and all forms of violence perpetrated in the name of religion has received scant attention, like the efforts made by the same authorities to explain Islam and dispel misunderstandings. 100. In this climate of widespread and at times, deliberately cultivated, mistrust - one might even say suspicion - acts of intolerance and discrimination have continued to be committed against Muslims or those assumed to be Muslims.