UN chief warns against anti-Muslim hatred

CAIRO: UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people.

His remarks came during a speech at Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the Muslim world’s foremost religious institution, where he met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb. "Around the world, we are seeing ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia," the UN secretary general said.

He cited the March 15 New Zealand mosque massacre by a white supremacist as well as a 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people and is believed to be the deadliest against Jews in US history. Guterres warned of a surge in hate speech he said was "entering the mainstream, spreading like wildfire through social media".