Muslim world stands united with Syrian people, suspends Syria's OIC membership, warns Myanmar on Rohingya Muslims, appreciates King Abdullah's efforts to unify Muslim ranks.

Makkah: The Islamic Solidarity Summit, which was convened by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, ended on a high note of optimism, pragmatic focus on inter-sectarian harmony and Islamic unity, and a clear and unambiguous stand against the brutal Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria.

"A regime that kills its people has no right to continue in power," said Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, while addressing a joint press conference with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nizar Obaid Madani at the Al-Safa Royal Palace early yesterday.

"The summit has sent a clear and strong message from here in Makkah to the Syrian regime that the massacre of unarmed civilians is unacceptable ... The bloodshed has to stop," he said. "And, therefore, the summit has decided to suspend Syria's membership in the OIC and all its subsidiary organs."

The decision stemmed from the resolve of the Muslim heads of states to take a united stand along with the oppressed Syrian people "who are manifestly and patently suffering from tyranny and subjugation and facing odious aggression under the barrels of artillery and missiles aimed at defenseless civilians."

Nizar Obaid Madani said the focus of the summit was on Islamic solidarity, the crisis in Syria, the genocide of Muslim Rohingyas in Burma and the unrest in the west African state of Mali. "All decisions on these major issues were taken through consensus," he said.

The summit expressed gratitude and appreciation to King Abdullah for convening the extraordinary summit with a view to strengthening Islamic solidarity, and to the government and the people of Saudi Arabia for their characteristic hospitality.

In the final communique, it was declared that the Islamic Ummah should pursue every means to achieve unity, solidarity and mutual aid among its members and should endeavor to overcome any obstacles impeding the achievement of those goals.

The summit emphasized the importance of the question of Palestine as the central cause of the Islamic Ummah. "Hence, the termination of the Israeli occupation of the Arab and Palestinian territories, occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem and Syrian Golan, constitute a vital demand by the entire Islamic Ummah," said the final communique.

The Muslim world leaders lauded the efforts of Saudi Arabia, under King Abdullah's leadership, to defend Islamic holy places in Al-Quds through his generous and constant support to the holy city, its institutions and inhabitants in order to enable them to stand up to Israel's attempts to Judaize their city.

Ihsanoglu said it was made very clear to the Burmese government that 1.5 billion Muslims of the world and the 57 nations of the OIC stood solidly behind the Rohingya Muslims. "The summit denounced the policy of brutalization and violence exercised by the Myanmar government against the Muslim Rohingya community, which is contrary to all the principles of human rights, values and international law," he said quoting from the final communique.

The summit referred to the historical marginalization of the Rohingya Muslims and called on the Myanmar government to ensure an all-inclusive policy towards it's minorities, including Rohingya Muslims, as an integral part of the ongoing democratization and reform process in the country. The summit asked the government to allow full access for humanitarian assistance to the affected people.

It was stated that the policy of repression and violence that the Myanmar government against the Muslim Rohingya community and which can be characterized only as crimes against humanity must be denounced as a source of grave concern for the people and states of the Islamic world in particular, and the rest of the world in general. "Myanmar must immediately cease those practices and grant the Rohingya people their rights as citizens, and the international community must assume its legal and moral responsibility," the summit said in its final declaration.

The summit expressed deep concern over the humanitarian tragedy in Mali and the Sahel region and mandated the OIC chief to take the necessary measures to mobilize the needed resources to help overcome the difficulties confronting the hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people in Mali and neighboring countries.