ANKARA

 Islamophobia is a long-established and growing problem in the U.S. and EU and Muslims are being intentionally discriminated against, the poet and writer Roni Margulies has said.

Referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, U.S. which left thousands of people dead, Margulies told the Anadolu Agency: "Of course this (Islamophobia) became more loud after the attack on the twin towers."

The 59-year-old Istanbul born poet of Jewish origin said in the interview in Koln, Germany, that, especially during George W. Bush's Presidential term, Islamophobia was amplified by both the U.S. and EU and has resonated among people at a basic level.

 London-based Margulies said that the U.S. had invaded Iraq on one side and Afghanistan on the other.

"They were forced to justify to their people that (the invasions),” he said, as the leaders of both the U.S. and EU had come to power through elections.

Killings 'unacceptable'

The writer said that Islamophobia was a problem not only for Muslims but for people who protested against racism.

He said that, despite open racism not being something that is welcomed generally, the U.S. and EU were to blame for growing Islamophobia through their policies.

Margulies said a very big difference in the value of the life of a European and someone from the Middle East was clear to see.

Referring to the fatal attack on staff at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Jan. 7, he said: "Of course, attacking a magazine and killing the journalists and caricaturists is an unacceptable thing."

'Millions should march'

But he added: "Nobody speaks a single word if five people die in the Middle East or in Muslim, Arab countries."

"In Iraq, Syria … five people are dying every single minute," Margulies said, asking why millions of people did not march on their behalf in the West.

Islamophobia is widely known to have grown bigger in the EU in recent years, with anti-immigrant and racist movements gaining popularity.

 The far-right movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, also known as PEGIDA, has been holding marches across Europe since it was established in Germany last year.