Islamophobia remains a matter of transcendental priority for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This explains the efforts of the OIC over many years along with the United Nations (UN) and other international partners to advance this issue in the framework of defamation of religions aiming for an appropriate remedy that preserves security and stability for all countries.
Islamophobia remains a matter of transcendental priority for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This explains the efforts of the OIC over many years along with the United Nations (UN) and other international partners to advance this issue in the framework of defamation of religions aiming for an appropriate remedy that preserves security and stability for all countries.
Many UN resolutions have reflected the international community's loud and clear stance against the defamation of all religions, including Islam, and expressed that the escalation in Islamophobia in many Western countries has indeed become significant. In this context, these resolutions accentuate the magnitude of the issue of Islamophobia and validate the OIC's concerns with regard to its adverse implications toward the multicultural fabric of societies and peaceful coexistence, underwritten by interfaith harmony.
Fortunately, a sustained frequency and intensity of Islamophobic incidents over the past years did not escape the attention of the international political and religious elites. In this regard, the OIC appreciates the stance taken by many prominent Western officials against the proponents of religious hatred and discrimination against Muslims. The clear positions of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who spoke out against the dangers of intolerance and the worrying state of religious freedom and warned against a "dangerous trend" of intolerance toward Muslim immigrants in the West, are good examples.
On his part, former British Foreign Secretary David Milliband's analysis in his article in The International Herald Tribune of November 2010, which underscored the need for cooperation and dialogue to address religious intolerance, was another case in point in line with the OIC position to develop a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Still, many Western officials, politicians, and academicians have expressed their worries about the dangerous trend of religious intolerance and a new politics of polarization in the West playing on people's fears and ignorance.
In my address to the 15th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva I, on behalf of the OIC, outlined a new approach toward evolving a consensus against incitement to violence and intolerance on religious ground that could plague peaceful coexistence. In the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council, however, the OIC's initiative along with the US and European Governments in drafting UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 and its unanimous adoption on March 21, 2011, broke the myth that a meeting of minds on the issue of intolerance was not possible. It was indeed a triumph of sustained, structured and serious engagement that the OIC had long been advocating and promoting.
Now, we have a new resolution that calls for combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons based on their religion or belief. While creating a new consensual platform, the resolution was quite substantive and provided for a multipronged approach calling for various administrative, political and legislative actions to be taken at both national and international levels.
Over and above, the OIC has also called for the establishment of an observatory, similar to that of the OIC, within the UN system to monitor acts of religious intolerance from around the world as a first concrete step toward concerted action at both monitoring as well as combating Islamophobia, Christianophobia, Judeophobia and other manifestations of intolerance, incitement to violence and discrimination on religious grounds around the world.
The OIC has frequently stated that Islam formed an integral and indispensable part of Abrahamic faiths accordingly establishing that the commonalities outweighed the differences. Based on that, the OIC member states have always adhered to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN conventions such as the ICCPR that underpinned its commitment to Human Rights, and other basic freedoms including the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression. It is absolutely not true and baseless allegations that the OIC has ever called for or supported any limitation of these rights. Instead, the OIC has been calling for differentiating between specific rights acquired through constitutional process and insulting the rights of people to respect their beliefs acquired through a process of faith.
Moreover, it is OIC's belief that tolerance, stability and prosperity can only be ensured in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust among different components of societies. In a globalized world diverse cultures should naturally be complementing each others. In this direction, and starting in 2005 the OIC has introduced its vision of "moderation and modernization", its Ten-Year Program of Action (TYPOA), and in 2008 the New OIC Charter, which was unanimously approved by the Member States in which primacy was given to cultural diplomacy as an important element on the OIC Agenda.
In implementing the TYPOA the OIC has been consistent in demonstrating ability to forge consensus on even the most sensitive issues of cultural and interfaith significance within multilateral frameworks and has principled its position against defamation of any religion, dehumanization of the followers, denigration of symbols sacred to all religions or incitement to hatred or violence on national, racial or religious grounds.
Furthermore, the OIC has on many occasions stated that democracy and Islam are compatible. In accordance with its charter the OIC believes that respect for human rights, good governance, and transparency are all prerequisite for political success by any political player in our today's world. Moreover, the OIC believes that achieving real progress at any level for the societies in the Muslim world would inevitably require drawing clear lines and defining the relationship between the religious and political establishments. This relationship would have to be built upon mutual respect, pluralism and democratic values. Therefore, the OIC has decided to undergo a substantial reform process since 2005 that have cemented its commitment to democracy with the support of its member states. Most prominent example was the establishment of the OIC Independent and Permanent Commission of Human Rights.
In this connection, the OIC position toward the dramatic changes that took place in many OIC countries in 2011 should be comprehended. The OIC has clearly supported the demands of the peoples in the Arab world during their recent revolutions, deeming these demands as unique and legitimate because they are not driven by a single philosophy or ideologue but rather by grassroots movement.
In conclusion, being the second international organization after the United Nations, the OIC's clear call to all peoples around the world would be a call for peace, stability, mutual understanding, and rejecting stereotyping of each others. The OIC has not and will not support any limitation of natural or legal rights in any place in the world as long as these rights are not abused or misused by the few for evil purposes. In today's world peoples regardless of their religions, race, language, and beliefs are more than ever in need for knowledge, better communications and understanding, and most importantly mutual respect. This can be easily achieved if people distance themselves from prejudges and preconceptions of others and resort to the language of dialogue.
© Arab News 2012
