<span style="color: #222222;">Maldives has said it cannot support any action within the Organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC), that singles-out or targets India.<br />''<br />'' This was stated by Maldives Permanent Representative to United Nations Ambassador Thilmeeza Hussain in a recently organized virtual meeting of OIC Ambassadors to the UN where the issue of growing Islamophobia in South Asia was discussed.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Maldives ambassador stated that singling out India, the largest democracy in the world and a multicultural society and home to over 200 million Muslims, would be factually incorrect. He said it would be detrimental to the religious harmony in the South Asian region as Islam has existed in India for centuries and it is the second-largest religion in India, with 14.2% of the country's population.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The ambassador said Maldives stands firmly against Islamophobia, xenophobia or any form of violence to promote political or any other agenda but targetting a specific country will be like side stepping the real issue. The issue was raised by Pakistan ambassador to UN.</span><br />''