Marokkaan Belkeziz (ICO) stelt achterstand islamitische wereld aan de kaak.

[Ron Haleber]

Marokkaan Belkeziz (ICO) stelt achterstand islamitische wereld aan de kaak.

Omdat de Marokkaan Belkeziz (ICO) iets kritisch laat horen, hierna voor de islamliefhebber de integrale engelse tekst...

Om het lange stuk wat leesbaar en benaderbaar te maken heb ik enkele opvallende passages en onderwerpen in vet gezet.

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Ik ruim even plaats in voor bericht dat ermee samenhangt:

http://www.ael-nl.org/images/news_top.gif

Democratisering van het Midden-Oosten

AEL voorzitter Dyab Abou Jahjah in debat...

Volgens een recent rapport van de UNDP wordt het het komende decennia erop of eronder in het Midden Oosten. De regio móet hervormen, moet democratiseren, moet zich transformeren tot een meer open samenleving. Maar hoe? Via buitenlandse agressie? Een zachte Europese diplomatiek? Of bottom-up, via grass root initiatieven?

AEL voorzitter Dyab Abou Jahjah in debat over democratisering van het Midden Oosten op het Festival Globalisering. Onder leiding van Bertus Hendriks (Wereldomroep) gaan Abou Jahjah, Wilders (VVD), Jan Jaap van Oosterzee (IKV) , Maurits Berger (Instituut Clingendael), Negad El Borai (mensenrechtenadvocaat en initiatiefnemer van de Group for Democratic Development, Egypte) en Isam Al Khafaji (voormalig adviseur voor de Amerikanen in Irak, thans directeur van het kritische Iraq Revenue Watch). Voertaal: Engels.

Datum: zaterdag 26 juni 2004

Tijd: 15:00-16:30

Waar: UvA, Roeterseilandcomplex aan de Roetersstraat 11-15 in Amsterdam.

Openbaar Vervoer: metro 51, 53, 54 (halte Weesperplein); tram 9, 14 (halte Plantage Kerklaan); tram 6 (halte Roetersstraat); tram 10 (halte Korte 's Gravesandestraat).

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Nestbevuiler Abdelkader Benali vond het overigens - erg cynisch - holle frasen... Benali is niet te citeren wegens het zelf houden van auteursrecht...


Kritiek moslimleider:
'Islamitische gemeenschap onmachtig'


Door een onzer redacteuren


ROTTERDAM, 15 JUNI. De achterstand van de islamitische wereld en haar onvermogen zich daaruit los te maken zijn gisteren onverbloemd aan de kaak gesteld door een van haar leiders.


De Marokkaan Abdelwahed Belkeziz, secretaris-generaal van de Islamitische Conferentie Organisatie (ICO), lanceerde zijn aanval in een nietsverhullende toespraak tot een bijeenkomst in Istanbul van de ministers van Buitenlandse Zaken van deze grootste overkoepelende islamitische organisatie.

De achterstand van de islamitische wereld kwam eerder al tot uiting in het Arab Human Development Report, dat zich vernietigend uitliet over een islamitische deelregio, de Arabische wereld. Ook de toenmalige Maleisische premier Mahathir Mohamad heeft zich vorig jaar zeer kritisch uitgelaten over de situatie waarin de moslims zijn terechtgekomen. Maar Belkeziz' (zelf)kritiek ging een stuk verder.

,,De werkelijkheid van onze Umma [islamitische gemeenschap] toont een scherp contrast tussen haar heden en haar verleden'', zei Belkeziz. ,,Gisteren nog waren we sterk, zegevierend en ontembaar, wentelden we ons in wetenschappelijke vooruitgang, baanbrekende ontwikkeling en bloeiende renaissance. Maar hier staan we nu, verspreid, verdeeld, verzwakt en vernederd. Zo overweldigd zijn we allemaal door een slopend gevoel van onmacht dat we toeschouwer blijven, afwachtend maar niet in staat om enige verandering te bewerkstelligen in onszelf of onze omstandigheden.''

Belkeziz verklaarde in zijn lange toespraak dat meer dan 30 procent van de islamieten onder de armoedegrens leeft. Het totale Bruto Nationaal Product (BNP) van alle islamitische landen, die meer dan 15 procent van het oppervlak van de wereld beslaan en worden bewoond door meer dan 20 procent van de wereldbevolking, bedraagt nog geen 4,5 procent van het BNP van de wereld. Het gecumuleerde BNP van alle lidstaten van de ICO is lager dan dat van Frankrijk of Groot-Brittannië, hoewel hun totale aantal inwoners ten minste 20 keer zo hoog is als dat van elk van deze ontwikkelde landen afzonderlijk.

Volgens Belkeziz is ,,de onmacht van de islamitische wereld en het onvermogen oplossingen te vinden voor onze rechtvaardige zaken'' - hij noemde onder andere de Palestijnse kwestie - reden achter de groei van het extremisme. ,,Fanatici zien hierin een gelegenheid om afschuwelijke en laakbare daden te begaan om de aandacht van de wereld te trekken. Als resultaat daarvan is de wereld de islamitische gemeenschap gaan zien door de lens van die extremisten die onze waarden en onze beschaving te schande hebben gemaakt.''

De - aftredende - secretaris-generaal onderstreepte dat gezamenlijke actie nodig is om deze crisis te overwinnen. Daarbij wees hij erop dat er in principe onbeperkte mogelijkheden zijn voor openheid in het islamitisch recht, die echter zijn opgegeven ten tijde van het verval van het islamitische rijk. Dat heeft de islamitische wereld zijns inziens in de ideologische impasse gestort die haar huidige probleem is. Hij riep dan ook op tot zelfkritiek en ,,een vernieuwende interpretatie [..] om te voldoen aan de eisen van nieuwe wereldlijke en ruimtelijke ontwikkelingen.'' Het was niet meteen duidelijk hoe de aanwezigen hadden gereageerd.

[Ron Haleber]

SPEECH OF H.E. DR. ABDELOUAHED BELKEZIZ, THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE,

BEFORE THE THIRTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS



ISTANBUL—REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

26-28 RABIUL THANI 1425H

(14-16 JUNE 2004)

Your Excellency President Ahmed Necdet Sezer,

Your Excellencies the Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,



Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh,



I have the privilege to extend my deep appreciation and sincere gratitude to H.E. President Ahmed Necdet Sezer for graciously chairing this inauguration session of the Thirty-First Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers and for his key-note address, which I am confident will be a source of inspiration for us all in this meeting. I am also delighted to express my heartfelt thanks to His Excellency and to the Turkish Government for hosting this ministerial conference in this magnificent Islamic city of Istanbul, the city of a thousand and one glories, where East meets West in the timeless osmosis of cultures and civilizations. My appreciation and gratitude also go to the ingenuous people of Turkey for their legendary warm welcome and generous hospitality.



Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,



Here is the Islamic Ummah gathered today, represented by the delegations of its peoples, in this flourishing historic city, which only yesterday was the seat of the glory, inviolability, political prosperity, and civilizational radiance of Islam. Yet, the reality of our Ummah today shows a sharp contrast between its present and its past, for just as yesterday we stood strong, victorious, and indomitable, basking in scientific progress, pioneering development, and blooming renaissance, here we are today dispersed, divided, diminished, and debased—so overwhelmed are we all by a debilitating feeling of impotence that we stand as the spectator, expectant but incapable of effecting any changes in ourselves or in our conditions.



This chronic crisis of impotence and our hesitant, expectant stance have brought us to a point where we have seen ourselves degraded, our rights downtrodden, our sanctities defiled, and our just causes defeated.

Consequently, the Islamic world today stands unquestionably at a cross-roads where it must embark upon a civilizational self-examination—a systematic and balanced, rational assessment of its present reality aimed at working an internal reform by transforming the negative facets of that reality, renewing its democratic, political, social, and economic institutions, and strengthening its external relations and interaction with the outside world so as to foster higher standing for the Islamic Ummah in the forum of nations.



It has become abundantly clear that the Islamic world cannot remain stuck in a stance of defensive apology for certain positions, nor can it live outside the confines of its own age as a pariah of history, condemned to the back-seats of civilization, and writhing in contradiction with others. On the contrary, it is duty-bound to be one of the pioneers and shapers of this era by working to command the basic components of autonomous efficiency, competence, and ability to perform on a proactive, competitive basis.



That is an effort where hesitancy and procrastination must have no place, for the gap yawns ever wider—in such rapidly distant progression that it is bound to soon turn into an unbridgeable divide needing generations to redress its negative repercussions.



Nor is it any longer possible to hide behind the notions of self and identity in the midst of this sweeping torrent and super-highways of the information revolution that has brought with its huge advances in information and technology, reduced all distances, and created a world of overlapping elements and intertwined interests, where the other simply cannot be excluded.



Just a quick glance at our political, economic, informational, technological, ideological, or civilizational position in the world today is sufficient to fill some with an overwhelming feeling of bitterness. Therefore, it is evidently high time for the Islamic world to take a decisive position on democracy since much hinges on that position, if we are to move away from being the passive objects of others’ influence to the active agents of a positive influence on international affairs. But for us to succeed in conquering the tools of modernization so as to keep abreast of these modern times does not mean that we would or should lose our identity and values, nor does reaching these goals imply that we would or should have to follow a reform path fashioned by others or forcibly imposed on us. That is because in our very civilizational heritage, we enjoy a system that not only fully integrates spirituality with secularity —concerned as it is with the beginning as much as it is with the end and with man’s journey through life here as in the hereafter—but also governs relations between the members of society, between them and the ruling group, and, for that matter, our interaction with the other and with time and space. Such a rich heritage has proved, through centuries of experience, its ability to generate an Islamic discourse that certainly vies with the greatest of modern secular systems. That is why our Islamic world of today is in no way wanting for an ideological interpretation of Islam that is capable of fully embracing modernity in all its aspects by enabling our specialists to derive from that Islamic heritage an Islamic system rooted in the immutable principles of the moderate and tolerant Hanifite school. For this school epitomizes the path of moderation and balanced rationality in that it repudiates fanaticism and extremism and stands lofty—with all its ramifications and offshoots—in the horizon of what is today described as modernity. Thus, we can work such a renewal of our systems of government that guarantees the peaceful, legitimate alternation of power while ensuring the respect of public rights, justice, equality, as well as intellectual and cultural openness. Then and only then can we become part of the fabric of the world-wide moderate movement.



“Thus We have made you a moderate nation so that you may testify against mankind” (Surat Al-Baqara, 143).



Therefore, such a path will be the optimal one to good governance inasmuch as it will be based on upholding Shura, democracy, pluralism, the right to conscious difference, and the respect of all public rights without contradiction whatsoever to our values. That is because both the form and foundation of Sharia are based on government and peoples’ interests, to borrow an adage from jurists. Moreover, such is the path that will provide us with the means to install internal, social peace in our countries, on the one hand, and peaceful coexistence with the global environment in which we live and with which we interact, on the other. Likewise, it would be our path to becoming an integral and proactive part of the mainstream and noble values of the collective human progress of this modern age. And, ultimately, it would be our Islamic alternative to the turbulent reality that has brought us to the nadir of our present predicament laden with our feelings of despondence, impotence, and disenchantment.



Already, signs of a trend in that direction may well have started to emerge in the resolution adopted by the Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Kuala Lumpur, moved by the perceptive initiative of His Excellency Mr. Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, who has called for a roadmap to disseminate the ideas of enlightened moderation in Islam both at the domestic and foreign levels, as well as a strategy and a plan of action to help the Islamic Ummah meet the challenges of the twenty-first century and reform the OIC system. Consequently, an international Islamic symposium has been organized in the last few days in Islamabad to deepen the study and consideration of all dimensions of this subject.



Our liberation from the shackles of defeatism requires that we should effect a conscious and single-minded mobilization of all our potentialities by deploying exceptional efforts in all fields because accession to a suitable standing among the world nations hinges upon a set of requirements and obligations without which our lot runs the risk of remaining doomed to the sidelines of disregard, indifference, and the loss of our rights.



Pertinently, “human development” reports published by specialized international institutions monitoring growth and development levels worldwide highlight the extensive and multifaceted backwardness of the Islamic world compared to other countries, including the developing ones.



Just a cursory reading of the statistics purveyed by these reports shows the gravity of our responsibility to keep abreast with other countries of the world, including developing nations we have fallen behind, even with their modest progress.



Over 30% of our peoples still live below the poverty line while the aggregate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Islamic world, which covers a sixth of the world’s surface and is inhabited by more than a fifth of its population, does not even attain 4.5% of the global GDP, and that includes oil production. Nearly half the poorest nations of the world are among the OIC Member States while 22 OIC States suffer under the heavy burden of indebtedness. In addition, Muslims account for 70% of the refugees of the world. Suffice it to say that the aggregate GDP of all our Member States remains lower than that of one single advanced country, such as France or Britain, despite the number of our inhabitants surpassing their respective populations by at least twenty times.


As for other development indices—such as education ratios, health and social services, life expectancy, adequate housing, unemployment, poverty, and professional, digital, and computer illiteracy, they also paint a gloomy picture that does no honor to our Ummah and is no different from the preceding portrait.



Given this dismal reality and gloomy prospects, there can be no hope in an individual way-out of the crisis our Member States are suffering. Instead, living experience has demonstrated that—even for the advanced super powers—the solution lies in collective action. And this calls for a joint, concerted, and integrated action in order to address our economic conditions and build economic infrastructures to alleviate poverty, develop human capital, achieve sustainable development, and face the negative impact of globalization. Such a task is necessarily a long-term endeavor. Therefore, pending the achievement of these major objectives—whose implementation we still pursuing within the framework of our general programs to promote greater intra-OIC trade and fulfill the provisions of the Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among OIC Member States, there is an urgent need to immediately start working hard to explore and identify new, innovative modes to strengthen joint Islamic economic action by effecting focused measures to reach our goals, and to break the deadlock and defeat the red-tape.



In this respect, there are, for instance, unconventional Islamic initiatives to combat the problems of poverty and achieve food security in Islamic countries through voluntary funding sources, Zakat funds, voluntary charitable and philanthropic donation funds, or the creation of banks for the poor, for the eradication of poverty and illiteracy, or for the funding of small enterprises. These are quick-wins that are ever so deserving of greater support from philanthropists, Zakat-fund officials, and Islamic banks—particularly the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which we highly commend for its laudable role in these endeavors.

[Ron Haleber]

The expansion of the volume of intra-OIC trade has been both our starting and focal point in the area of strengthening cooperation among the Member States. In fact, the entry into force of the Framework Agreement on the Trade Preferential System among the OIC Member States has opened the door for conducting several rounds of negotiations between the States that have ratified it. At this point, I should like to emphasize that this is a major step forward in our collective action to boost the volume of intra-OIC trade. Indeed, I was most gratified and filled with optimism at the convening of the First Meeting of the First Framework Agreement Trade Negotiation Rounds from 6 to 9 April 2004 in Antalia, Turkey, which was able to adopt specific measures for the Negotiation Strategy. That is why, I must express my deep interest in the launch of these trade negotiations as I look forward to the day they will be expanded to include all the Member States. Moreover, I exhort those Member States that have not yet signed or ratified this agreement to accelerate these procedures in order to be able to participate in the First Rounds of Trade Negotiations and take advantage of the benefits and preferences accorded them under the agreement. In this connection, I am particularly delighted to pay tribute to the commendable and sustained efforts deployed by the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) in order to develop Islamic economic action under the High Patronage of H.E. Mr. Ahmed Necdet Sezer, the President of Turkey. I am equally pleased to extend my appreciation to the Islamic Center for Development of Trade (ICDT) in Casablanca for its praiseworthy cooperation with COMCEC to accomplish this major Islamic enterprise.



In the same vein, I would like to underline the importance of boosting Islamic investments in the Member States in view of the sizeable returns accruing to the investor and the investment recipient-country, let alone the consolidation of solidarity between Muslims and public and private Islamic institutions. Also, many Islamic States clearly boast a huge potential to assimilate important investments in an impressive array of profitable projects, particularly in the private sector. In this regard, I should like to urge officials both within the joint-Islamic-action system and in the Member States to cooperate amongst themselves in order to develop a thorough study on investments for the use of investors.



At this point, I would like to express my thanks to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for its considerable efforts to promote joint Islamic action in the fields of investments and intra-OIC trade, as well as my deep appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for increasing its funding in support of IDB activities on strengthening intra-OIC trade.



Mr. Chairman,



Culture is unquestionably the strongest tie that binds the citizens of the one nation, each to the other, fortifying in them the feeling of belonging as well as the building blocks of identity and sense of self through the diffusion of common views, ideology, and aspirations, shared values and ideals, and therefore united goals and objectives, and a common destiny.



The Islamic culture —which unites virtually a quarter of the population of the globe in feelings, views, spirituality, and values—is the largest and most widespread, perennial culture in the world. Its roots reach deep into the long evolution of history, firmly withstanding the test of time while safeguarding the network of its firm interconnections, despite the frailty that has come to tarnish it due to the all-pervasive inertia of the Islamic world in recent decades. Consequently, Islamic culture has been lagging behind the times; the Muslim peoples have remained deprived—on the whole—of a satisfactory level of benefits from modern human knowledge; and our culture has been displaced to a diminished position in terms of knowledge and has thus been sidelined by the enormous scientific and conceptual innovations spawned by this modern era. Yet, Islamic culture and thought—like any other culture or thought—must live in a constant process of adaptation with the facts of the rapidly-accelerating, global ideological and cultural development. That is why we have to strengthen the role of culture in our societies and peoples. We must nurture that role through renewal and sustainable adaptation to a changing world so as to inaugurate a fresh renaissance based on contemporary values and science. Thus, no proponent could ever deny that the Islamic world has so far been unable to assimilate the scientific and ideological feats that the West has. Nevertheless, accommodating the beneficial exploits of Western knowledge and thought could never be said to constitute a transfer, a replication, or a even deviation from our immutable principles because, in fact, “it would be no more than our own merchandise returned to us” since Muslims did made a significant contribution to the shaping of these very scientific and ideological achievements by laying the groundwork and providing the backbones of this contemporary civilizational edifice. For all these reasons, we are called upon to prioritize modernization, development, and enlightenment as well as intellectual and cultural openness so that we can claim our rightful place in the modern world, regain self-confidence, and be assured of close proximity to the human cultural heritage.



For example, there are unlimited options for openness in Islamic jurisprudence—or Fiqh— that have historically been abandoned with the onset of the fall and decline of the Islamic empire. The resultant weakness of the jurisprudential institution in the Islamic world, together with its incoherence and failure to produce adequate output to meet the requisites and issues of this modern era—just as was the case in the past—have landed us in the ideological impasse that is our present predicament. Hence, reopening the door to interpretation—or Ijtihad—to the maximum extent possible as well as renewing the ideological and jurisprudential discourse of the Islamic world calls for a genuine ideological transformation coupled with the institution of a new jurisprudential thought based on interest or priorities in the broadest sense of the term.



In other words, what we need is an innovative interpretation, not an imitative interpretation, to borrow a common saying. Such an endeavor requires us to perform an act of self-criticism, which was the hallmark of the traditional discourse of our noble predecessors, and hence could never be considered an alien view imported from the West. What’s more, we are called upon to achieve a rational, enlightened reading of our fundamental religious references to meet the dictates of new temporal and spatial developments.


God permitting, when we do establish that which is permanent and everlasting and that which is transient and interpretable, we can forge ahead with confidence towards that which is called modernity , whose foundations were in fact laid down by Islam in its very early days. And that will not only help us to rectify the distorted Western image of Islam in a practical, concrete manner, but will also consolidate our position in the area of Dialogue among Civilizations, which we have inaugurated with the United Nations starting in 2001 and with Europe in 2002 on the very soil of this historic, glorious city. It is this same process that we are continuing today with UNESCO with the aim of convening an international conference for an interactive, inter-civilizational dialogue, which will in itself constitute a quantum leap moving us beyond the level of theoretical debates on dialogue to a practical, tangible level that highlights common grounds and works the desired rapprochement of views. And this is indeed the work of organizations active in the field of thought as well as the institutions of civil society on both sides.



Another important aspect of our work to develop Islamic culture and thought lies in the Cultural Strategy for the Islamic World. The projects and programs of this strategy, which are submitted by the Member States, are being implemented by a Consultative Council with the assistance of the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), whose budget we have happily seen increased of late to help it push forward with the implementation of these programs.



Yet another aspect of importance to us in connection with Islamic culture is to continue extending support to the two Islamic universities established by the OIC in Niger and Uganda with the generous contributions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Kuwait, and the State of the United Arab Emirates. In fact, these two universities are exerting commendable efforts to disseminate Islamic culture in their environment. It is our hope, therefore, that your continued generosity will enable them to pursue their outstanding cultural role with the support of fixed financial resources as a stable source of revenues for their operational budgets.



Many of the problems of Muslims today arise from the marginalization of women, which itself is the consequence of the survivals of misguided thinking patterns that have fossilized through obsolescent yet dying customs and traditions. Yet, it is imperative that we should give high priority to this issue which affects half of our society and negatively impacts on the future of upcoming generations, who are raised by women. Accordingly, our aim should be to guarantee women’s full intellectual and material rights and needs in order to empower them to accede to the standing reserved to them by Islam on a par of full equality with men. The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference accorded particular attention to the issues of women, children, and the family, which will be crowned with the convening of the First Islamic Conference of Ministers in charge of the Child scheduled to be held later this year in collaboration between ISESCO and UNICEF. The General Secretariat is also exerting analogous efforts on the issues of youth through arrangements to organize the First Islamic Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports to be graciously hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.



In this regard, I must acknowledge the excellent work undertaken by the Research Center for Islamic History, Art, and Culture (IRCICA) in Istanbul, which has made a significant contribution to increased awareness of the Islamic civilizational heritage. The same goes for the Islamic Fiqh Academy which continues to enrich Islamic Fiqh though invaluable studies and is expected to make an even greater contribution with the new structural transformation of its jurisprudential system in accordance with the guidelines of the Tenth Islamic Summit Conference.



While science has been one of the radiant features of Islamic civilization, the Islamic world, which is the inheritor and custodian of this civilization, has regrettably seen its status dwindle to an inconsequential position in matters of science that has impeded its development. However, a new awakening to this reality has been gestating with recently renewed interest in liberation from the science and technology and information cul-de-sac entrapping us. Indeed, the Tenth Islamic Summit Conference has adopted resolutions on this very subject while the Standing Committee for Science and Technology (COMSTECH) in Islamabad has graciously been engaged in pioneering work in this area under the high patronage of H.E. President Pervez Musharraf, in furtherance of that Summit’s conviction that this sector has become the vital force for development in the age of information.



This reality calls for a stimulation of investment in the information industry in the Islamic world through the recruitment of competent, expert Muslim researchers who are equally versed in traditional and modern learning—whether they be residents of the Islamic world or living abroad —and whose expertise and specializations can be tapped so as to unleash a true renaissance according to present-day international, civilizational standards. Everyone knows today that supporting the information industry spawned by advanced research centers constitutes the pillar of scientific and informational progress in the developed countries besides being the cultural and learning capital of twenty-first century man. Indeed, the true wealth of societies in this century has come to lie in intelligence and innovation in addition to exploiting the new technology media as the very bases of the Information Society. Such an endeavor calls for special, individual as well as collective efforts, for tax incentives and appropriate legislations, and for an Islamic partnership strategy of information propped by an integrated educational system. But this has to be a system based on a specific multi-phased plan with clearly defined and known objectives to form, train, and habilitate generations to assimilate and keep up with advances in science and technology. Moreover, this endeavor calls for providing a climate of total freedom in favor of research.



In this connection, I believe the 2020 Vision project adopted by the Tenth Islamic Summit Conference with the aim of setting up an Islamic Fund endowed with billions of dollars to develop science and technology in the Islamic world offers a strategic vision of far-reaching implications. Therefore, our hope is that the Member States will work very hard to implement this vision as much as I look forward to bolstering this trend through the convening of annual conferences on science and technology to coincide with the sessions of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers. Only by doing so will we be able to lay the foundations of the Information Society to promote science and technology in our Member States.



Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,



As the political situation in the Islamic world today—insofar as we live it and are affected by it—represents a depressing, disturbing reality, it can only spur us all towards a deeper thinking and to work to change that reality to achieve dignity, prosperity, and progress.



What is taking place—right before our very eyes—in Iraq, in Palestine, and elsewhere calls for urgent action and international initiatives to defend our just Islamic causes.

[Ron Haleber]

Our top priority should be to take immediate and effective initiatives to support the Iraqi people so that the transfer of power and sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government in about two weeks’ time can secure, for the Iraqi people, tight, full, and true control over their territories, just like any independent, sovereign state—without equivocation or ambiguity. We should also underline the necessity for the United Nations System to play a fundamental and pivotal role in leading Iraq towards the restoration of its full rights. We must meet any needs formulated by the new government for the purposes of running the country and its reconstruction; and extend our financial, moral, and diplomatic support to its political, economic, and social projects. Our support will help the new government to move beyond this critical and perilous transition period and guarantee the sovereignty, independence, security and safety, and national and territorial integrity, of Iraq and the Iraqi citizens.


Palestine has been the scene for successive crises arising from the Israeli prevarications designed to stall the peace process and thwart the many proposed plans and initiatives by means of well-known political maneuvers coupled with the escalation of tensions through military practices that fall within war crimes or state terrorism. Given this political impasse blocking the prospects for a solution, it is imperative that we should resort to available legal, deterrent means to expose these illegitimate practices before international justice authorities, such as the International Criminal Court or other judicial bodies, to make this procedure a deterrent to the perpetrators or masterminds of such crimes. At the same time, we must not give up on urging the dispatch of international forces to protect the Palestinian people from the Israeli aggressions and to officially document such aggressions.



We are still calling for the implementation of the Roadmap together with the provisions of the Islamic Arab peace initiative despite attempts to derail the Roadmap by contriving parallel schemes to render it void of its original content and drive the Palestinian cause into yet another impasse. In view of the difficult humanitarian conditions which the Palestinian people are going through, I call upon Islamic States to double their efforts in extending assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).


Similarly, we express our solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the false accusations periodically leveled against it. We believe that while it is Iran’s duty to adhere to the conditions of its membership of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which it is doing, it equally has the right to have full freedom to use and develop nuclear energy for peaceful development purposes.



By the same token, we must express our rejection of the unjustified threats and sanctions, and the false accusations directed against Syria and Lebanon while proclaiming our full solidarity with these brotherly countries.



We hope that the notable improvement in Pakistani-Indian relations in recent weeks and the expected continuation of this improvement with the advent of the new Indian government will be conducive to finding a suitable solution to the issue of self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy so as to put an end to the disturbing tension in southern Asia.



At the same time, we commend the efforts being deployed in Afghanistan to restore security and national reconciliation across the country preparatory to conducting parliamentary elections next September. In this connection, the OIC has participated in the recent Berlin meeting, which has urged the international community to focus greater attention on the reconstruction of Afghanistan, while the OIC Afghan People’s Assistance Fund has started to develop the reconstruction programs it will be funding there.



The Cypriot issue has entered a new phase with the organization of the referendum on the international plan to settle this problem as proposed by the United Nations Secretary-General. Briefly, this plan consists in installing a federal Cypriot government based on the principle of two co-existing constituent states, a Turkish Cypriot state and a Greek Cypriot state. The Turkish Cypriot side has voted in favor of the international plan while the Greek Cypriot side has rejected it, thus positioning the Turkish Cypriots on the side of international legitimacy and opening the door to ending their international isolation, with both the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) starting a promising cooperation with Turkish Cypriots, including providing them with assistance of various forms. It is particularly gratifying for me to congratulate the Turkish side on this diplomatic position which will enable it to win greater international sympathy. Just a few days ago, I carried out a visit to Cyprus where I held useful talks with the leaders of the Turkish side on what should be done to take advantage of this international détente in their favor and win them even greater support to guarantee their legitimate rights as a fundamental component of the Cypriot people represented by the Turkish Cypriot state. Therefore, I would call upon the Member States to bear these recent developments in mind and take appropriate measures thereon.



Similarly, I must reaffirm the solidarity of the OIC with the Republic of Azerbaijan on recovering its territories occupied by Armenia and the latter’s refusal to abide by the United Nations resolutions on this matter while underlining the need to extend support to Azerbaijan to enable it to regain its rights and solve the problems of Azeri refugees displaced from their homes.



Likewise, while we welcome the progress made on national reconciliation in the Sudan and the preservation of its national and territorial integrity and stability, we hope that the Sudanese government will be able to find a just solution to the problem of tension in the Darfour region, which has recently captured international interest. I have dispatched for this purpose a delegation of General Secretariat to assess the situation there, and the matter will continue to be followed up.



Excellencies,



As for current international issues, the problem of international terrorism, in particular, continues to command our attention. To begin with, the political initiatives, legal procedures, and practical measures adopted by the OIC to combat this scourge are well-known to everyone. Regrettably, terrorism in our countries has come to be associated with religious extremism and its own ideas on dispensing heresy and allegiance vouchers.



Yet, it would seem that the reality of the Islamic world of today, which has been marred by impotence and dead prospects for a solution to its just causes, has unleashed in some quarters in our countries the motives to embrace rampant extremism, thus providing the opportunity for hardened fanatics to embark on their heinous and condemned acts in order to capture world attention. As a result, the world has come to see the Islamic Ummah through the lens of these extremists who have disgraced our values and our civilization.



This calls upon us to face such extremism firmly as we seek to rectify the image of Islam in the world.



On another front, the issue of human rights continues to command international attention as strenuous efforts are being exerted to secure the respect of these rights. And that is not to say that human concerns have ever been far from Islamic thought. On the contrary, the emergence of humanistic Islamic thought predates the appearance of the humanitarian movement of the Western renaissance in that it came into the world and flourished in the fourth century Hijra in the literature of the Mutazila School and others.



In this respect, we had adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam in 1995 as a binding convention on the Member States. In this context, what is important is that we should reaffirm our stance in support of respecting the principles of International Law, International Humanitarian Law, international legitimacy, and the imperative need to settle disputes through peaceful means and the mediation of the United Nations System. We must reiterate our rejection of any solutions that resort to unilateral measures in international relations and thus sideline the United Nations role. Therefore, we have welcomed the International Criminal Court’s entry into operation and called for it to be supported and for its objectives and statute to be safeguarded so that it can fulfill its role in championing international justice.



Moving to information, Islamic mass media have been able to reach neither the ears nor the hearts of the other in order to carry to him the true image, values, and just causes of the Islamic world. This has exacerbated the West’s already glum picture of Islam and Muslims, fuelling hostile feelings towards them, which is why the Islamic world is in dire need of a robust mass media to refute the vicious campaigns targeting our Ummah. In this regard, we look forward to the implementation of the Islamic Information Strategy and its Information Plan. Of these, I would particularly note the Islam Vision project for an Islamic satellite channel and the Islamic Programme for Development of Information and Communication (PIDIC), hoping that we will be able to remedy the shortage of necessary funds for the implementation of these projects by putting into practice the proposals mooted to that end by H.E. Maitre Abdulaye Wade, the President of Senegal and Chairman of the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC).



Excellencies,



We have always paid special attention to Muslim communities and minorities living outside our Member States with the objective of empowering them not only to preserve their sense of self, identity, and connectedness to the Islamic heritage, but also to resolve their problems and defend their interests in keeping with internationally agreed conventions and the laws of their countries of residence.



For these reasons, the OIC is maintaining contact with these minorities by organizing symposia in locations across the globe which can provide the opportunity to meet their leaders and representatives for deliberations, exchange of experiences, and coordination of activities.



In this connection, the General Secretariat is deploying focused efforts to resolve some of the challenging problems of these minorities as is the case with the situation of Muslims in southern Philippines, where we are pursuing our endeavors with the Islamic Ministerial Committee of Eight constituted for that purpose while working to implement the Peace Agreement signed between the Government of the Philippines and the representatives of the Islamic Moro Front and to implement also the Comprehensive Development Plan for the Autonomous Region. We look with concern on the critical situation of Muslim minorities in Myanmar, which are suffering harrowing hardships that have led to the displacement of large numbers turned into refugees fleeing the country. In the same vein, we express our growing concern over the harassment and violation of the human rights of Muslim minorities in East Timor.

[Ron Haleber]

Excellencies,



The institution entrusted with preparing the Study on Restructuring the General Secretariat has not yet completed certain major aspects of that study, which may require more time. In addition, there is an Islamic committee in charge of rationalizing the OIC resolutions whose conclusions and findings will be submitted to you in order to take appropriate decision thereon. In recent weeks, the OIC has been the focus of world attention as many states express the desire to join it in one way or another. These are all positive signs that indicate growing confidence in the OIC, prompting us to raise the question of resources allocated to the General Secretariat to fulfill its functions in all its fields of specialization and activities as it finds itself in a difficult and unenviable position whose negative repercussions are poignantly felt in its performance. These difficulties are compounded by the failure of some Member States to settle their annual contributions or at least to do so on a regular basis, which simply throws our operations into disarray in many cases. Therefore, I must appeal to the Member States to expedite the settlement of their contributions and arrears so as to enable the General Secretariat to carry on with its mission.



What’s more our reality shows that the OIC has not yet been able to become the strong voice that can represent Muslim causes at the international level, because the strength of any organization depends, in the first place, on the unswerving and cohesive confidence of its member states, the clarity of its goals and objectives, the existence of the political will for collective action by these states, the financial support extended to it, and commitment to the implementation of adopted resolutions. Should any of these elements fail to materialize, then the performance of such an organization will necessarily suffer.



Nevertheless, the Organization of the Islamic Conference can still become a habilitated and capable voice that can make itself heard on the international scene, what with its large membership, its demographic weight standing at one fifth of humankind, its wide geographical coverage spanning three continents and accounting for one sixth of the surface of the globe, and the abundance of its natural and energy resources comprising the largest sources of energy in the world.



Moreover, while the OIC Charter calls for strengthening joint Islamic action, it has not provided specific unitary objectives to attain that noble goal in any political, economic, cultural, or social field. Thus, cohesion among the Member States has remained confined to sentiments and the adoption of resolutions, recommendations, and statements in an era of major political and economic blocs that have left individual states no room for influence or useful action. Therefore, it is only proper that the OIC should evolve to fill this gap by gaining a progressive, collective character and unitary structures conducive to the formation of an Islamic, political, and economic grouping that can turn into an essential factor in the global balance of power. This is particularly relevant with the ongoing slander campaign against Islamic and Arab causes generally, which is stopping many Islamic States from openly giving voice to their ideas. Hence, the Member States’ adoption of robust, collective resolutions reflecting their joint responsibility will give such resolutions added international weight and credibility.











That is why we can still be optimistic about the future of our organization in view of the growing awareness in some leaders of Islamic States of the importance of uniting Islamic views as reflected in their calls for practical measures to that end. This optimism can be further strengthened by enhancing the role of specialized Islamic committees and subcommittees, particularly in the economic field, to empower them to begin to achieve tangible progress on joint Islamic economic action, intra-OIC trade, and the establishment of an Islamic common market. Such progress is even more pertinent with the entry into force of the Agreement on the Trade Preferential System, with growing awareness of the importance of investing Islamic capitals in Islamic States, and with thinking moving towards the creation of an international economic Islamic forum. Accordingly, economy is the key to any unitary action as shown by the process leading to the establishment of the EU modules and others. Similarly, certain trends are now taking root aimed at developing the OIC to make it a more effective unitary body in expanding the sphere of joint Islamic action.



Inn this regard, we may have a stake in seeking inspiration from the basic principles behind the constitutional evolution of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union, which now rallies its Member States under loosely unifying ties that require no changes in their respective constitutions and yet create an African body that is morally and materially united based on general conventions and obligations in addition to the NEPAD economic partnership. Consequently, the African Union is destined to gain more weight for African affairs on top of a more influential voice at the international level.



Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,



Next autumn, this city will be the venue for a ministerial conference of the official representatives of the Islamic world who will be meeting their EU counterparts. This is the second such meeting with the EU in the last three years and comes as the fruition of the worthy and wise efforts graciously deployed by the Turkish Government towards building bridges of understanding, rapprochement, cooperation, and dialogue between the Islamic and Western worlds in consecration of the ideas of Dialogue among Civilizations transmuted from an intellectual exchange to a political interaction. And that will be an opportunity to coordinate views and directions on major international issues and common causes.



Lastly, fortifying the bases of harmony between the Islamic world and major world players gains a strategic importance for the Islamic world in its critical hour of need at the threshold of this new millennium. For this reason, I would like, on behalf of all of you, to extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Turkish Government for this remarkable effort and staunch dedication as we look forward to the Turkish leadership of joint Islamic action in the next twelve months.







In conclusion, let me wish your deliberations unmitigated success in serving the interests of the Islamic Ummah towards a higher standing and united ranks.



Thank you.

Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh.

[Ron Haleber]

Ik ruim even plaats in voor bericht dat ermee samenhangt:

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Democratisering van het Midden-Oosten

AEL voorzitter Dyab Abou Jahjah in debat...

Volgens een recent rapport van de UNDP wordt het het komende decennia erop of eronder in het Midden Oosten. De regio móet hervormen, moet democratiseren, moet zich transformeren tot een meer open samenleving. Maar hoe? Via buitenlandse agressie? Een zachte Europese diplomatiek? Of bottom-up, via grass root initiatieven?

AEL voorzitter Dyab Abou Jahjah in debat over democratisering van het Midden Oosten op het Festival Globalisering. Onder leiding van Bertus Hendriks (Wereldomroep) gaan Abou Jahjah, Wilders (VVD), Jan Jaap van Oosterzee (IKV) , Maurits Berger (Instituut Clingendael), Negad El Borai (mensenrechtenadvocaat en initiatiefnemer van de Group for Democratic Development, Egypte) en Isam Al Khafaji (voormalig adviseur voor de Amerikanen in Irak, thans directeur van het kritische Iraq Revenue Watch). Voertaal: Engels.

Datum: zaterdag 26 juni 2004

Tijd: 15:00-16:30

Waar: UvA, Roeterseilandcomplex aan de Roetersstraat 11-15 in Amsterdam.

Openbaar Vervoer: metro 51, 53, 54 (halte Weesperplein); tram 9, 14 (halte Plantage Kerklaan); tram 6 (halte Roetersstraat); tram 10 (halte Korte 's Gravesandestraat).

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