THE Organization of the Islamic Conference brings together the world’s Muslim countries. Yet, the existence of the OIC, let alone its deliberations, impinges hardly at all on the consciousness of most ordinary Muslims. It is not so much that it is seen as remote and unconnected; it is not seen at all.
For that reason, it has to be accepted that its three-day forum in Makkah which ended on Sunday is most unlikely to raise any passions in the cafes of Casablanca, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur or anywhere in between where people gather and debate the issues of the moment. The fact that the conference covered as wide a range of issues as possibly imaginable — from education and good governance within the Muslim world to Islamophobia and the political and human rights of Muslims in non-OIC countries as well as terrorism, conflict resolution and a number of other issues for good measure — is another reason why it was never going to set the Muslim world alight. Had it dealt with just one issue, such as education in underdeveloped Muslim states and come up with just one simple but actionable recommendation, that would have been different.
At the same time, these facts do not mean that the conference was inconsequential. The issues debated, such as the position of the Muslim Ummah in the contemporary world, Islamic solidarity or Pan-Islamic action, need to be discussed and new ideas developed. That is because while there is intense solidarity across the Muslim world, it is at times based on false premises. Nowhere is that more so than in the clash of cultures theory. A clash of civilizations is a road to ruin; there would be no winner. Islam is also under scrutiny in the non-Muslim world as never before and it needs to act with one voice — a voice that is compassionate, convincing and educated. At times it seems that that voice has been hijacked by militants with a warped and bitter understanding of the faith, received from teachers who were themselves uneducated. This fuels Islamophobia, in turn raising resentment among Muslims and bringing the clash theory one step closer to reality.
But it is not only what is happening outside the Muslim world that is important; the need for reform, political and social, within the Muslim world, is overwhelming, as King Abdullah has made clear on several recent occasions. So too is the need for a giant leap in education across the Muslim world. This is a time of great challenge to the Muslim world — from new ideas, from new technology, from new discoveries.
The Muslim world was certainly able to take new ideas, discoveries and technologies on board in the past. It can again. That is what the OIC Conference was about. The task is enormous, but informed steps are being taken. That is for the good. But — and this must be stressed — it is not Islam that needs reform; it is societies that have elevated local social tradition and customs to equality with the faith — blasphemously so — societies where traditions have become ossified and counterproductive, even destructive. That is where change must happen.
