ISTANBUL (Anadolu) – Populism is fueling Islamophobia across the world, especially in Europe, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. Speaking in Istanbul at an international conference on human rights violations against Muslims, Mevlut Cavusoglu said current prevailing political rhetoric in parts of Europe was serving to legitimize rising Islamophobia in these countries. Merely opening new mosques and maintaining existing ones posed significant challenges, Cavusoglu said in a video message to the conference, co-hosted by the Turkish justice and foreign ministries, as well as the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).