DOHA, 6 March 2003 — Islamic nations said yesterday they “totally rejected” the anticipated US war on Iraq at the close of an extraordinary summit here during which Baghdad traded insults with Kuwait.
Muslim leaders declared “their total rejection of any strike on Iraq and any threat to the security of any Islamic state,” said a statement issued by the leaders of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
The statement called on Islamic countries to “refrain from taking part in any military action targeting the security and territorial integrity of Iraq or any Muslim nation.”
The declaration had to satisfy Iraq, Kuwait and summit host and current OIC chairman Qatar which is expected to serve as the command center of the anticipated US military campaign.
Referring to US threats to topple Saddam and reshape the Middle East, the Islamic leaders said they opposed “any attempts to impose change in the region and interfere in its internal affairs.”
The OIC welcomed Baghdad’s cooperation with UN arms inspectors and backed calls for the inspectors to be allowed to continue their work and for diplomatic efforts to be given a chance to resolve the standoff over Iraq.
The Iraq crisis “should be resolved by peaceful means within the context of the United Nations,” the statement said.
It urged Iraq in turn to “reaffirm its respect for the independence and sovereignty of Kuwait” within its internationally recognized borders and called for an end to the trading of accusations between the two sides.
Iraq, which occupied Kuwait for seven months before being driven out by a US-led coalition in the 1991 Gulf war, was involved in a public row with the emirate during the summit.
Iraqi number two Ezzat Ibrahim hurled insults at Kuwait’s junior foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Sabah, when he interrupted him for accusing Kuwaiti leaders of “plotting with Zionism against Iraq”.
“You are small, a valet and a monkey,” Ibrahim charged.
“Shut up,” Sheikh Mohammad lashed back, prompting an appeal for calm and decorum from the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al-Thani, who had called the summit in a bid to forge a unified Islamic response to US threats to invade Iraq.
But only a handful of Islamic heads of state or government, notably President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, turned up for the one-day session, with most delegations represented by senior officials.
Sheikh Hamad said in an opening address that the goal of the OIC should be to help “Iraq get out of this crisis in such a way that spares it and us a costly price or irremediable grave damage”.
Ezzat Ibrahim, Saddam’s deputy on the ruling Revolution Command Council, vowed that Iraq would teach the United States “an unforgettable lesson” if it attacked Baghdad.
“We will give the invaders an unforgettable lesson,” he warned, adding that Iraq was capable of raising an “army of seven million armed and well-trained men.”
He appealed to fellow Islamic states to refrain from “according facilities to our common enemy” and insisted that rejecting aggression against Iraq was a religious duty for Muslims.
Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul underscored the need for Iraq to cooperate fully with UN directives to identify and destroy its banned weapons.
He appealed to Iraq to “demonstrate a real change in its orientation” toward compliance with UN Security Council disarmament demands.
