Dakar, March 14, SPA -- The 11th Islamic conference, which lasted for two days in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, concluded tonight.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led his country's delegation to the event.
The final communiqué emphasized the pivotal nature of Al-Quds issue and the Arab Islamic identity of the occupied Eastern Al-Quds and underscored the importance of defending the sanctity of the Islamic and Christian holy places, condemning the continuation of Israel's aggression against the holy places, particularly the illegal excavation and digging constructions in the beneath of the holy haram.
The statement said the Islamic countries leaders have confirmed their support for the contents of the Arab Foreign Ministers statement issued in Cairo recently.
The confirmed full solidarity with Lebanon and called for the provision of political and economic support for the pro-presidential-elections national unity government to ensure Lebanon's stability and sovereignty over all its territories.
The leaders said they have been informed of Kosovo's independence and expressed support for the people of the Balkan country.
They condemned the Israeli recent military attacks against Gaza, considering them a flagrant violation of human rights.
They expressed concern over Israel's excessive use of force against the Palestinian people and civilians and its brutal large-scale destruction of houses and infrastructure in addition to arrests, killings and siege.
The statement called on the quartet and world community to exert more immediate effort to settle the political and economic crisis and expressed concern over the differences of the Palestinian factions, calling on them to unite ranks, restore the role of legitimate authority and form a national reconciliation.
The communiqué underscored the importance of increasing constitutional cooperation among the OIC member states for combating the Islam phobia phenomenon.
The statement called on the United Nations Secretary General to pay special attention to the OIC statement on the phenomenon of defaming Islam by foreign media, strongly denouncing the Danish newspapers for re-issuing cartoons blaspheming Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).
The communique welcomed the announcement by Iraq to establish good relations with its neighbors, confirming the principle of no interference in others internal affairs.
The statement also denounced the attempts aiming to find a link between terrorism and any race or religion or culture, reiterating its call to hold an international conference under the patronage of the UN to set a definition for terrorism and differentiate between it and the legitimate resistance.
The conference urged the member states of the OIC to sign and/or endorse the agreements concluded within the OIC, welcoming the convening of the Islamic Economic Forum in Kuwait next month.
The final communiqué thanked the leaders of the member countries who contributed to the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Qatar, Algeria and others.
The leaders also welcomed the offer of Egypt to host the 12th Islamic summit in 2011.
© Saudi Press Agency 2008
