The Muslim World. September 2004 ISSUE

Current Affairs
The Ummah rally round the Kaaba; support call by
Khadim Al-Haramain Abdullah Ibn Aziz for moderation
and tolerance and opposing extremism.

The pilgrimage to Kaaba each year signifies the unity of the Muslim Ummah, with every pilgrim seeking divine grace and guidance. Acting under similar inspiration Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia succeeded in his efforts to convene the Third Islamic Summit meeting in Makkah Al Mukarramah during the current Hajj season and helped through his sagacity and wisdom in the adoption of the Makkah Declaration and the 10-year OIC Action Plan that promise a proactive role of the Muslim Ummah in promoting moderation and tolerance along with the commitment to fight terrorism in all its dimensions, and activate the Organisation of Islamic Countries so that it becomes a dynamic organisation representing the aspirations, ideals and achievements on the ground of the Muslim Ummah.

Convening the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah Al Mukarramah was not an easy task. It involved the participation of all the fifty-seven members of the OIC at summit level along with their proposals for reshaping the entire working of the OIC in such a manner that it reflects the dynamism and movement forward of the Muslim Ummah.
Among the countries that were important to the successful holding of the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah Al Mukarramah were Malaysia, which has the Chairmanship of the Islamic Summit by virtue of holding the last Islamic Summit, the state of Senegal, where the next Islamic Summit is to be held in 2006, Egypt as the leading Arab-African country and Pakistan as the frontline state in the international fight against terrorism and being one of the founders of the OIC along with Saudi Arabia. The participation of Indonesia as the largest Islamic country of the world had also to be ensured. Secondly, the proposals for the revamping of the OIC as also its charter along with a ten-year plan of action had also to be readied for discussion and adoption at the Makkah Summit. That all the required agreements were finalised in time, the revamping proposals worked out with the help of Eminent Islamic Persons in their meeting in Makkah Al Mukarramah on September 11, 2005 and the final touches to the main resolutions for the Makkah Islamic Summit discussed and approved by the Islamic Countries Foreign Ministers in their emergent meeting in Jeddah on December 6, 2005, speaks highly of the new energy generated within the OIC by initiatives from Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and President Pervez Musharraf at the Malaysian Islamic Summit in 2003 where the need for reform and invigoration of the Organisation of Islamic Countries was strongly emphasized. It was at the last Hajj in 2005 that Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz gave the call at Mina for the convening of the Makkah Summit, which, is his words, will permit us, together to work towards common views that urge us to unite and work together’. Urging OIC Summit Chairman Premier Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddine Ehsanoglu, Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, in his capacity as Crown Prince then, had also declared that the Summit in Makkah would be preceded by a meeting of both Muslim thinkers and scientists for the purpose of meditating on the state of our Ummah, and at the same time of defining their points of view regarding its future. Abdullah had stressed that the primary purpose of the call for the Summit of the OIC in Makkah Al Mukarramah was “to seek what we have in common, to build the unity of our ranks and strengthen our cohesion.”

The call materialised on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 when the 57-member OIC convened the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in the Holy city of Makkah and the opening session, presided over by Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, demonstrated the unity of the Ummah as also its agreement on the new goals of progress and achievement set for the Ummah along with the pledge to adhere to the path of moderation and tolerance and to totally reject extremism and the reiteration of the pledge to fight international terrorism as also to preserve and improve the image of Islam as a religion of peace and enlightenment.

As the Heads of States and Governments of the Islamic countries assembled round the Kaabatullah in the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah Al-Mukarramah led by Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and raised their hands to seek divine grace and guidance on December 8, 2005 at the Zuhr prayers, I was totally overwhelmed by the majesty of the occasion and the message it carried round the world, through TV channels and wire services, underlining the unity of the Muslim World with the Kaabatullah as the rallying point. There could not be better finale to an extraordinary session of the Islamic Summit than this great event of the Muslim Heads of States and Governments praying together, symbolising the common bond of Islam, in the very precincts from which emanated the call for Islam to the faithful followed by the rally round the Kaabatullah, which holds together over 1.2 billion Muslims together.
The event also reminded me of another such occasion in Pakistan when the Second Islamic Summit was held in Lahore and the Islamic world leaders, after successful adoption of the Lahore Declaration by the Summit meeting, assembled for the Friday prayers in the Badshahi Mosque Lahore where Muslim world leaders prayed for the glory of Islam and the liberation of Al-Quds from Zionist hold. Leading among the Islamic Heads of States was the Saudi Arabian King, late King Faisal Ibn Abdul Aziz, whose hands raised in divine supplication seeking forgiveness for the sins of the Ummah and the rebirth of Islamic solidarity remain etched in the hearts of those who were present that day in the Badshahi Mosque as also those who watched it on TV screens round the world. I was also reminded of the collective prayers by the Heads of Muslim States and Governments at the imposing Faisal Mosque in Islamabad on the occasion of the Extraordinary Islamic Summit held there to mark, on March 23, 1997, the Golden Jubilee of Pakistan’s birth as an ideological Islamic state and where Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, had lad the initiative for removal of differences and promotion of better understanding with the Islamic Republic of Iran. And I was again reminded of the Extraordinary Summit meeting of the OIC convened by His Highness Shaikh Hammad Al-Khalifa Al-Thani at Doha to specially consider the situation in Arab Palestine and Iraq.

The Extraordinary Islamic Summit at Makkah Al Mukarramah was a summit that encompassed the pride and the agony of the Muslim Ummah and reflected the urgent realization by all Heads of States and Governments that the Muslim Ummah was faced with the most crucial challenges since its formation of the OIC in 1969. Almost every Head of State and Government voiced this feeling of pain and urgency in fighting these challenges with all the resources at the command of the Ummah.

Abdullah’s landmark address
In his pace-setting opening address at the Makkah Summit, Khadim Al-Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz declared, without mincing words: “It is heartbreaking for us to see how our glorious civilisation slipped from the exalted graces of dignity to the ravines of frailty. Let us bid farewell to the age of division and disintegration to usher in a new era of unity and dignity (for the Muslim Ummah)”. Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah made an equally emphatic appeal for moderation and tolerance and a rejection of extremism and violence. He warned that Islamic unity could not be achieved through bloodshed as claimed by the deviants (in an obvious reference to the terrorists led by Al-Qaeda). King Abdullah also called upon the Islamic Fiqah Academy, the jurisprudence arm of the OIC, to assume its historic role and responsibility in resisting the extremist ideology. He called for greater educational effort by way of reforming the curricula to promote tolerance. King Abdullah declared on the occasion: “Developing the curriculum is essential to building a tolerant Muslim identity – and to having a society that rejects isolation”.

The Malaysian Prime Minister Mr. Abdullah Badawi in his address at the opening session of the Makkah Summit declared that the Muslims of the present day appear hopelessly divided and added that “we cannot any longer afford to be in a state of denial”.

The OIC Secretary General Dr. Ekmeleddine Ehsanoglu unlike previous Secretary Generals of the OIC, had the longest speech at the inaugural session in which he analysed the problems and challenges faced by the Makkah Summit and the Islamic Ummah and the line of action as suggested in the proposals for reform of the OIC Charter and the 10-year Programme of Action.

Addressing the concluding session of the Makkah Summit, Khadim Al-Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz hoped that the summit will open a new chapter in the history of the Islamic Ummah. “Some of its most significant resolutions have stressed the values of tolerance and compassion and unity among Muslims to ensure a prosperous future for the Ummah”, he said.

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan in his address at the closing session of the Makkah Summit and at his press conference on December 8, in the main Press Lounge of the Al-Safa Palace, declared that the Islamic Summit at Makkah had proved a turning point for the Muslim world. Declaring his full support for the decisions taken at the summit, including Palestine, President Pervez Musharraf said that the onus was on the Muslim world to make the Makkah Summit a beginning for their socio-economic emancipation and scientific and technological advancement. President Musharraf also received accolades in the closed sessions of the summit for his forth right analysis of the state of the Ummah, the need for coordinated action and the resolve to work together in fighting extremism, terror and backwardness. Representing the only nuclear power of the Muslim world, President Pervez Musharraf found ready acknowledgement of his call for action to reform the OIC and its working on more dynamic lines. His formula on more contributions to the funds for the OIC specially by the richer Islamic countries won great favour specially from the less developed Islamic countries. President Pervez Musharraf’s categorical assurance on supporting Arab Palestinian rights also evoked warm applause in the closed door session and at his press conference. His meeting with King Abdullah and other Islamic countries leaders including Iranian President H.E. Mahmud Ahmedinijad were very cordial and productive. Equally important were his meetings with President of the UAE H.E. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and bilateral relationship with these countries were further strengthened.

Joint Communique
The joint communiqué of the Makkah Summit specially stressed the need for joint Islamic action in the face of natural calamities as also ‘foreign threats that jeopardize the security of any OIC member state in a collective manner’. Another important decision was the rejection of unilateral sanctions against any Islamic country, which is member of the OIC. On the way forward in respect of improved understanding between the Islamic another countries, the Summit supported dialogue among civilisations based on mutual respect, understanding and equality between peoples, which was a pre-requisite, in the opinion of the Makkah Summit, for establishing a world marked by tolerance, cooperation,
peace and confidence among nations.

Kashmir and Al-Quds
The emphatic support to the Kashmiris right to self-determination and the Palestinian Arab demand for complete independence with Al-Quds as the capital of the Arab Palestinian state, were also momentous decisions taken at this Extra-ordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah Al Mukarramah.

The comments of the man in the street about the Summit also deserve a nation. Therefore, I moved, during my ‘Umrah’ in the Masjid Al Haram among different groups of Hajj pilgrims, talking to them in Arabic, Urdu and Persian and asked for their opinion. They were candid in stating that what better place could there be for the Summit of the Ummah than Makkah Al Mukarramah and specially the Al-Safa Palace which is considered part of the Haram area now, because prayers in the prayer hall of Al-Safa Palace are considered as prayers within the precincts of the Holy Haram in Makkah. They were vocal in demanding unity in the ranks of the Muslims to face the challenge of Israel and the other forces opposed to Islam. Similarly, the people I met in Madina Munawwarah, were equally vocal in their demand for Muslim unity at this juncture of the Muslim world history and maintained that the Makkah Summit was going to play a crucial role in the future of the Ummah.

In Madina I had the occasion to pray and seek divine grace, while paying my homage to the Holy Prophet of Islam PBUH. The very site where the Mosque of the Holy Prophet is located now encompasses the area which comprised the town of Madina Munawwarah in the time of the Holy Prophet of Islam. The people I met in Madina Munawwarah were also vocal is urging more support for the Palestinian Arab state and for the freedom of the Kashmiri Muslims from Indian military rule. Equally emphatic were they on the need to resolve the Iraqi situation by the vacation of all foreign forces from there. But at the same time they condemned the continuous acts of terrorism in Iraq in which innocent people were losing their lives. I found among all of them a great reservoir of goodwill for Pakistan. We need to channel this reservoir which showed itself during relief fund collection for quake victims in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is the third largest contributor to the earthquake relief fund. People in Makkah and Madina also expressed their anguish over the sufferings of the quake victims in Pakistan. This feeling also found vocal expression in the Islamic Summit from different Islamic delegations who offered their sympathies, from the bottom of their hearts, to President Pervez Musharraf.
There are two aspects of the Makkah Islamic Summit which are important to note, in the context of the present day situation and the need for reform in the Islamic Secretariat of the OIC. Firstly, it must be appreciated that the Islamic countries coming together under the aegis of the OIC have the strongest link binding them together its their Islamic faith. However, almost all the Islamic countries are in one way or the other also actively engaged in pursuing regional goals in the smaller organisations that they are members in and which have shown a remarkable growth factor. These include the ASEAN that encompasses Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei Darus Salam, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in a grouping that has a total of over four hundred billion dollars annual exports to the European Union alone. Then there is the Gulf Cooperation Council that groups together Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Sultanate of Oman and its performance has been very good in the economic and defence fields specially. There is the ECG which groups together Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and the Central Asian Muslim states in a grouping that has many projects on the anvil though they are yet to materialise. There is also the SAARC which groups together Pakistan, India, Maldives, Srilanka, Bangladesh, India and Bhutan and now Afghanistan. SAARC has not made much progress because of Indian obduracy. Turkey is associated with NATO and the Black Sea grouping of countries. The African member countries of the OIC are also active players in the Organisation of African Unity. There is then the Arab League which carries on its own line of action within the Arab countries. The Organisation of Arab Petroleum exporting countries (OAPEC) is another important organisation in the context of present day soaring oil prices internationally. Given this situation, and the keenness of Malaysia to have a more prominent role within APEC, the involvement of all these Islamic countries with these regional groupings and organisations places new responsibilities on them to give more to the OIC, both by way of monetary contributions and initiatives for good work.

Secondly, at the Makkah Islamic Summit, Khadim Al Haramain King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz emerged as the leader of the Islamic world in his own right. As the Crown Prince he had contributed a lot to the OIC and the Islamic Summits from 1984 onwards. But in Makkah Al Mukarramah at the Islamic Summit he saw the materialization of his initiative and that initiative contributing a new era in the march towards Islamic solidarity of the Ummah. Mr. Ahmad Badawi, the Malaysian Prime Minister, also came into his own at the Summit because he got the opportunity to speak out in his own right as Prime Minister of Malaysia, without being under the shadow of Mahathir Mohammed, and lastly the Iranian President H.E. Mahmud Ahmedinijad found the opportunity to appeal to the galleries by calling for shifting Israel to Germany and Australia and challenging the veracity of the Holocaust. And lastly it gave Secretary General Ehsanoglu the opportunity to speak out boldly in the Arabic language, which he has learnt very well as a Turk scholar. All these factors and the venue, the Holy Haram in Makkah Mukarramah, made this Summit a historic event in the march towards Islamic solidarity.