Orbán cabinet: Islamophobia often gets more attention than the persecution of Christians

Protecting cultural and religious heritage in crisis areas can help create and sustain peace as well as prevent migration, Hungary’s state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians said in Brussels on Monday.

Tristan Azbej told MTI that the European Union Foreign Service (EEAS), at Hungary’s initiative, has forged a concept for protecting cultural heritage in crisis areas, and the European Union Foreign Affairs Council approved the concept at the end of June.

At a conference today, Hungary emboldened European Union institutions to include support for persecuted Christian communities in their external policy portfolio. Experience suggests that preserving religious sites instils hope for the future in people caught up in conflicts and tempers their desire to emigrate, he said.

Azbej insisted that EU institutions had been indifferent to persecuted Christians, and persecuted Christians had generally received less attention and support than other persecuted or discriminated religious communities.

Islamophobia often gets more attention than the persecution of Christians, he added.