In Fight Against Terror There is No Room for Islamophobia, Says John Kerry

Davos, Switzerland: In an emotional speech on the horrors inflicted by extremist groups, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday told an audience in Davos that in the fight against "terror", there was "no room for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia".

"Violent extremism has claimed violence at every corner of the globe and Muslim lives most of all," Mr Kerry said.

"There is no room for sectarian division. There is no room for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia," he added.
Mr Kerry said he would visit Nigeria "in a couple of days" as part of a Washington push to counter extremist groups, including Boko Haram.

"In the weeks to come we...have to strengthen our efforts in Somalia, intensify our efforts to end violence in Nigeria, that's why I m going there in a couple of days," he said.

After the speech, a spokesman for Mr Kerry confirmed that he would be in Lagos on Sunday and meet with President Goodluck Jonathan.

In his speech, Mr Kerry listed a multitude of attacks perpetrated by extremists, including a December 17 attack on a school in Peshawar that killed 150 people, mostly children.

"This kind of atrocity can never be rationalised," he said.

But he added: "We can't change minds without knowing what's in them".