"Islam means peace. There are hundreds of (references) in the Holy Quran where peace, justice, freedom and equality are taught," Satyarthi said at the opening of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Forum held under the auspices of the Norwegian Nobel Institutehere yesterday.
Satyarthi, who shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with Pakistani girls' rights activist Malala Yousafzai, was asked by a young boy from Cyprusduring a live global Q&A about the backlash against Muslims and rhetoric used against them by some politicians as well as the subsequent resentment against refugees amid fears that terrorists could hide among the millions fleeing conflict in countries like Syria and Iraq and seeking asylum in the western world.
"A handful of people are manipulating the religion...And even creating deep fundamentalism, brainwashing young people. We all know how ISIS and all these terror groups are functioning under the garb and name of Islam," he said.
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With children being the worst sufferers in the unprecedented refugee crisis engulfing the world, the Nobel laureate stressed that "no child wants to be a refugee" and no child has ever been responsible for war, insurgency or conflict.
"But children are the worst victims. They are forced to be refugees. We should not victimise them further," he said making a strong call to nations and its citizens to welcome refugees and not generalise them based on the actions of a few who have "tarnished" the image of Islam.
Satyarthi said while progress has been made across the
world to improve the condition of children and ensure basic rights to them, the work will not be complete if even a single child is forced into slavery, labour and prostitution.
"Children in Nigeria, India, Pakistan are rising up and demanding good quality education. They are saying they do not want to marry at an early age, do not want tools in their hands," he said.
"Despite of all the good work all of us have done, 168 million children are still calling not for our attention but our action. They are not just numbers," he stressed.
"The world cannot be civilised, cultured if even a single child is enslaved. If one single girl is forced to work as child prostitute, then we cannot call ourselves religious, cultured and developed world," he said.
Satyarthi kicked off the three-day 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Forum by engaging in the live-streamed global conversation moderated by Norwegian Nobel Institute'sResearch Director Asle Tojewith Forum delegates and youth from United Nations Children's Fund offices around the world, including Rajasthan, Tunisia and Ghana.
"The SDGs require genuine political will, strong social will and basic honesty among global leaders to fulfill and respect the promises they have made and to ensure that the SDG agenda is properly implemented," he said.
Having worked tirelessly his life to save children from slavery, bonded labour and trafficking, Satyarthi lamented that slavery still exists in the world and said failure of the judicial system and political will is to blame for this.
He urged young children across the world to follow the "3 Ds" of dreaming big, discovering and doing to not just ensure a better future for themselves but help others less fortunate than them.
The Forum provides an important international platform focusing on the work of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, as well as leading peacemakers and peacebuilders.
Over the course of the three days, Satyarthi will join leaders and experts on issues related to child slavery in conflict and commercial sexual exploitation.
The forum will also host dialogue sessions led by members of Satyarthi's organisation 'Bachpan Bachan Andolan', the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Asset India Foundation.