A United Nations expert on racism on Friday branded the defamation of religions - in particular, critical portrayals of Islam in the West - a threat to world peace.

"Islamophobia today is the most serious form of religious defamation," Doudou Diene told the U.N. Human Rights Council, which is holding a three-week session in Geneva.

Diene cited a caricature of the Muslim prophet Mohammed in a Swedish newspaper, a protest by far-right groups in Belgium on Tuesday against the "Islamization of Europe" and campaigns against the construction of mosques in Germany and Switzerland as evidence of an "ever increasing trend" of anti-Islamic actions in Europe.

"We see the initiatives and activities of many groups and organizations which are working hard to bring about a war of civilizations," he said, adding that right-wing groups are trying to equate Islam with violence and terrorism. [Link]