Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 02/06/2010
Rio de Janeiro, 27 May 2010, 16.30 - 18.00 1. Let me begin by thanking the Alliance of Civilizations, Council of Europe and the British Council for co-sponsoring this special Roundtable organized by the OIC. The subject that we would be deliberating upon is most important and relevant in the context of addressing incitement to hatred and intolerance of religious beliefs, in particular Islam. 2. I have come to Rio with feelings of great optimism. The concept papers that were circulated in advance of the event uphold the reasons to feel so. The high level participation at this event, together with the fact that the Roundtable is being co-sponsored by reputed international organizations, assure me of the global awareness of the gravity of the phenomenon of Islamophobia and the urgent need to address it. 3. A major impediment to the global quest to combating incitement and religious intolerance and to the Alliance of Civilizations’ efforts towards bridging the Muslim-West divide is the steady rise of the phenomenon of Islamophobia. 4. Looking at the issue dispassionately and objectively, we see that it is a new form of xenophobia and racism that is being pursued by right wing extremist elements in the West. These elements may not be large in number, but they have proved themselves effective in corrupting the minds of the ordinary people of Europe and other Western societies to take a negative and distorted view of Islam and Muslims. This trend is gaining in strength by the day and unless we can take a collective stand against it now, its dangerous implications would be far beyond of what we can imagine. 5. The issue of Muslim-West divide and Islamophobia, which is a reflection of this divide, has been dealt extensively and in depth in the Report of the High Level Group, which led to the establishment of the Alliance of Civilizations. I am pleased to note that Mr. Andre Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation, one of the authors of the Report, is a panellist at this forum. 6. Over the past year, we have witnessed a surge in Islamophobia in the wake of a succession of high profile and far reaching events that was manifest in developments such as far right political parties gaining representation in the EU parliamentary elections and signs of their rising popularity in many traditionally liberal European countries. 7. Violent incidents such as the brutal murder of the Egyptian lady Marwa Al Sharabini in a German courtroom, the desecration of graves of the Senegalese soldiers who sacrificed their lives defending the French flag during the Second World War, the unabated publication of provocative and insulting material, including publications and reprints of cartoons of revered personalities, including those of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Prophet Jesus (PBUH), and in particular the constitutional amendment that imposed a ban on construction of minarets in mosques in Switzerland are only a few examples in this context. The amendment of the Swiss Constitution was first in contemporary history of a state legislation that is directed against a particular religion, in this case Islam. As such, Islamophobia has now become institutionalised and constitutionalized, much to the regret of the prominent quarters of our globe. 8. Muslims are not aliens in Europe. This is a fact, which Europeans must come to terms with. I am pleased to note that the Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in its Report on “Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia in Europe” has admitted that Muslims in Europe feel socially excluded, stigmatized, discriminated and have become victims of stereotypes because of their religious and cultural traditions. I am also pleased to note that the Committee has recognized that Europe was home to Muslims for many centuries and has noted the contribution of the Islamic civilization to European culture. 9. The attack on Islam by radical groups and insecurity and insults felt by Muslims living in Western societies violates their fundamental human rights, thus threatening the multicultural fabric of these societies. The stereotyping of Muslims leads to discrimination and violence, defying justification on both political as well as economic grounds. It poses grave and multidimensional challenges to global as well as regional peace, security and stability. The situation merits a concerted effort on the part of the international community to evolve norms that would underwrite, promote and protect inter-faith and inter-communal understanding and harmony. 10. The OIC, unfortunately and erroneously for that matter, is seen by many as a religious body. To the contrary, the OIC is an intergovernmental organization comprising 57 member States, and is the second in size only to the UN. Its goals and objectives in addressing extremism, intolerance and for removing misperceptions and prejudices against diverse religions and civilizations through dialogue and related projects are similar to those of the UN and other international organizations and institutions, including the AoC. The OIC is firmly opposed to extremism and fanaticism and pursues a policy that would contribute to developing a culture of respect and understanding of diversity of civilizations and religious and cultural backgrounds. 11. To address the phenomenon of Islamophobia, it is necessary to diagnose the issue and to determine the causes behind this phenomenon and to come up with appropriate remedies. 12. The OIC has undertaken a strategy that is based not on confrontation but on constructive engagement. On the other hand, we believe that such an engagement must involve all segments of the society, beginning at the community level. If we restrict ourselves to diplomatic and academic discourse and to political rhetoric, we will not be able to have tangible results. The outcome of the Swiss referendum bears testimony to what I say. 13. An important element of the OIC strategy to address Islamophobia is designed to raise global awareness to the basic tenets of moderation in Islam and to the dangerous implications of the phenomenon of Islamophobia on the entire global community. 14. To implement this strategy, we are involved in various international inter-cultural and inter-civilizational events on dialogue. We are actively engaged in maintaining our close contacts and cooperation with the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the ODIHR, the AoC, the EU, the various bodies of the UN and other international organizations and reputed think tanks and academic institutions. 15. The OIC has pioneered the Dialogue among Civilizations for the sake of promoting inter-faith and inter-communal harmony. I must mention here that the initiative on interfaith dialogue taken by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2008, to which Heads of the State and Government, as well as political leaders, diplomats, academics and religious leaders participated in Madrid and at the UN in New York, was one of the most laudatory initiatives taken at the political level to combat religious intolerance. The OIC gave its full support to this initiative not because it came from a member state, but because it was a political message from an outstanding statesman that need to permeate to the ordinary person. 16. The OIC also used every opportunity to highlight the dangerous implications of Islamophobia on global stability and peace and took dialogue among civilizations forward. I have raised this issue in all my meetings with world leaders as well as with academicians and members of the civil society and urged them to take this issue seriously before it goes out of hand. 17. The fact that Islam is a religion that preaches peace and that Muslims are peace-loving people must be reached to the grass roots. The available means to do it goes through effective use the youth, media and educational institutions, and the civil society including community level leaders. The negative propaganda that Islam is violent and fascist and that it preaches terror and therefore is a threat to the Western world must not me allowed to take root in the mindset of the ordinary people. 18. The UN Resolution on Defamation of Religions has repeatedly been adopted by the Human Rights Council (HRC) and by the UN General Assembly. The stance taken by the Western Group on the inadmissibility of the concept of defamation of religions (owing to a lack of legal persona) in the human rights framework continues to impede constructive engagement in this field. I feel that the Western Group at the HRC in Geneva and at the UN General Assembly should not look at this resolution with suspicion or as a shrouded mechanism of the OIC group to achieve an anti-western agenda. The resolution seeks protection of individuals to uphold their human rights. When hatred and incitement is unleashed in the pretext of freedom of expression, it arouses sentiments and gives way to violence and avoidable loss of innocent lives. I do hope we will be able to overcome this rather artificial misunderstanding by accommodating mutual perspectives. 19. Another effective means in addressing Islamophobia, in my view, is to bring about a ”Historical Reconciliation” between Islam and Christianity. I presented this idea at various international seminars and conferences and I am pleased to note that many have responded positively. The process that would lead to the reconciliation no doubt would need to be deliberated in depth. We would have to: i. agree on the points that we cannot agree upon, ii. agree on the elements that we agree, and iii. then proceed on to reconcile by accommodating all towards a solution. We are working on a major Conference on this next year and I would hope many of the distinguished participants assembled here will be able to attend the conference.
