JEDDAH: Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), has expressed his concern at the deaths of innocent people, mainly from OIC member states, as a result of a recent rise in terrorism.
Islam is known to have stigmatized terrorism as a heinous crime and wanton outrage, said Ihsanoglu in a press statement. Islam has penalized this horror with exceptionally harsh punishment in consecration of the sanctity of human life, he added.
Reiterating the OIC’s strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, the secretary-general said that the global war on terrorism has not yielded convincing results as it is mainly focused on military means. This approach in addressing this scourge, besides betraying its inherent shortcomings, seems to have helped stoke the fire of radicalism, he said, adding that the main reason for this is a focus on the symptoms of the disease while leaving its root causes to fester unattended.
He added that he firmly believes that it is time to seek a new remedy for terrorism that is based on an integrated approach that encompasses political, economic and social aspects, and puts emphasis on using the art of convincing or resorting to local approaches while employing diplomacy, reconciliation and financial and economic measures, and encouraging moderate trends.
Based on the aforesaid, he also called for a general reviewing of the present policies of combating terrorism and addressing the disputes that plague the Muslim world through integrated and joint actions, which open the way for reconciliation and diplomacy.
