Interesting the writers are from across the political spectrum in Pakistan.
By Agha Shahi, Sardar Asif Ahmed Ali, Gohar Ayub Khan, Sartaj Aziz, Abdul Sattar
The OIC summit is meeting at Kuala Lumpur on 16 and 17 October under the shadow of the gravest crisis facing the Muslim Ummah since the inception of OIC in 1969.
The war on terrorism is being widely perceived as a war against Islam. The western media has played a major role in widening the gulf between the western countries and the Muslim world, by equating terrorism and extremism with Islam and by portraying militant Islam as the most important threat to western civilization. As a result, hostility towards Muslims is increasing in the US and some other countries and discrimination against them in education, employment, and business opportunities is growing rapidly.
The doctrine of pre-emption and unilateral military action against sovereign nations without the mandate of legitimacy by the United Nations is being pursued with greater defiance. After the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, other Islamic countries are being targetted on one pretext or another.
Four Muslim countries have been identified for a contingent pre-emptive nuclear first strike even though they are non-nuclear states. Two of these four have been branded as members of the “axis of evil” by the sole superpower. And in the last several months, a new coalition for unilateralist and illegitimate pre-emption in the name of preventing terrorism, has further exacerbated the insecurity of these countries.
Israel has already attacked civilian targets in Syria and proclaimed that it reserves the right to attack any target, anywhere, any time. This escalation of pre-emption is tantamount to notice of aggression that could lead to wider regional conflicts.
The 57 members of the OIC, who will be meeting at the first summit since the horrendous events of September 11, must face this looming challenge and evolve a realistic practical strategy to deal with it.
This strategy has to be based on the resolve of the Muslim world, to collectively counter such threats and pressures that are growing against different Muslim countries. The OIC summit should consider the creation of a Standing Committee consisting of eight to ten foreign ministers, who can meet at short notice at the request of any member country facing an imminent threat or pressure and act on behalf of OIC in accordance with the terms of reference given to the Committee.
The OIC summit should also convey to the rest of the world, as forcefully as possible that global terrorism cannot be eradicated through the use of pre-emptive military force alone, it is no less necessary to deal with the underlying causes of extremism and terror.
The summit should also emphasize that these scourges are as much a problem for the stability of the Muslim world as they are for the western world. A common approach worked out in consultation with the Islamic countries and institutions could be more effective in dealing with them. In this context, the proposed Standing Committee should be authorized to hold high level consultations with the countries concerned on regional conflicts like Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya or deal with any specific threats from terrorist and extremist groups.
In regard to Palestine, the Quartet’s moribund roadmap almost ignores Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah’s plan for the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces to the 1967 borders in return for normalization of relations in the Middle East.
On Kashmir the OIC summit needs to play a pro-active role to promote the resumption of Pakistan-India dialogue that would take into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
As for Chehnya, the summit cannot afford to ignore the massive violation of human rights that continues unabated.
The situation in Iraq will undoubtedly be the most burning issue on the summit’s agenda. The urgency of restoration of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and setting a timeframe for ending the occupation of their country by the coalition forces, have become self-evident since the end of major combat operations declared on May 1. Multilateralism as embedded in the United Nations system must be enabled to play its essential role that reflects the consensus of the world community of civilized nations on the democratic evolution of the political order in Iraq.
As part of their strategy OIC countries should also focus on internal reform within the Islamic world. The Organization should recognize the imperative of a democratic Islam countering extremism and intolerance and call upon all its member states to denounce violence and terrorism in all its forms, take effective steps to control and eliminate them from their own societies and demonstrate, through sustained policies amid concrete actions, that Islam is fully compatible with the universal values of fundamental human rights, the rule of law, good governance and a tolerant and democratic internal order.
We, as the concerned citizens of the civil society of the Muslim world, are addressing this appeal to the OIC summit in the expectation that the leaders attending it will, at this most critical juncture, act decisively to face the grave challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah.
The writers are former Foreign Ministers of Pakistan link