JEDDAH, 5 December 2005 — The Islamic nation is going through a turbulent time. The state of collective injustice that the nation suffers from and the spread of poverty, social illnesses and inaccurate perceptions and concepts have all led it into a state of desperation. As a response to these major crises and challenges, the member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have decided to hold the organization’s third extraordinary summit on Wednesday in the holy city of Makkah.
At a news conference at the Conference Palace in Jeddah yesterday, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal announced that this summit aimed at the restoration of the Islamic nation’s lost hopes and self-confidence. The existing conditions are not extraordinary.
However, this summit is extraordinary because it witnesses, for the first time in the history of the OIC, the actual involvement of Islamic scholars in the preparation of the summit’s agenda.
“The summit’s agenda is the responsibility of OIC foreign ministers,” said Saud, but this year, scholars have prepared a detailed report of all the nation’s problems and predicaments that will be presented as the agenda.
The report examines the future challenges to the nation and it proposes comprehensive solutions for overcoming them. The solutions take into consideration political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the nation.
“The report has been turned into a 10-year plan to restructure the Islamic nation,” said Saud, “and the plan will pave the way for more Islamic integration and cooperation.” The announcement of the plan illustrates that Muslims have finally realized the importance of long-term strategies for achieving collective goals.
The presence of the Libyan delegation at the summit adds to its importance and indicates an increase in solidarity among Muslims. The summit will also focus on economic issues and challenges facing the nation. “The reduction of poverty and the increase of trade and economic integration between Islamic countries are two major issues that the summit will give attention to,” said Saud. To enhance the efficiency of OIC’s role in Islamic economic affairs, Saud revealed that a proposal for expanding the OIC budget would be presented to the leaders during the summit.
Another major economic challenge for the nation has resulted from the limitation on economic activities that the World Trade Organization imposes on interaction between Islamic countries which are WTO members. “We are aware of the economic constraints that WTO membership might impose on us, but we are trying to increase economic cooperation between Islamic countries without it coming into conflict with WTO rules,” Saud said.
He confirmed that OIC countries would do their best to eliminate trade barriers among member countries, especially administrative ones. Saud said that increasing trade among Muslim countries and improving the lives of all Muslims were two of the main points on the summit’s agenda.
The establishment of crisis funds and funds for the poor by the Islamic Development Bank will also be taken into consideration during the summit, according to the foreign minister.
Saud emphasized the important roles that Islamic institutions, such as the Islamic Fiqh Academy, play in protecting Islamic beliefs and ideology.
The institutionalization of Islamic ideology is a critical step for combating the deviant groups that are misleading some Muslims. Saud explained that by issuing unified religious edicts (fatwas), the academy would prevent the deviants from spreading their false ideology and that would facilitate the interaction and integration of the nation.”
