Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 31/10/2011
Vienna, October 28, 2011 At the outset I would like to thank the OSCE and the ODHIR for the kind invitation to extended to me to participate in this important Meeting Due to prior commitments, I would like to express my sincere regrets for my inability to be personally present at the important meeting . I have therefore decided to sent this message to this august gathering. important Meeting. We at the OIC are interested in pursue our ongoing cooperation on global issues including the issue of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims. The OIC has been cooperating intensively with the OSCE and the ODHIR on the issue of faith based combating intolerance and discrimination . It is important that continue the momentum of to our existing cooperation through increased interaction and consultations. Intolerance of Islam and Muslims in the West existed in one form or the other for historical reasons. This has surfaced again in recent years and the activities of the anti-Islam elements to demonize Islam and subject Muslims to face intolerance and discrimination is on the rise. Despite the fact that the Muslim world spoke out in a loud voice in condemning the 9/11terrorist act, that they categorically rejected terrorism in all forms and manifestations, and that Muslim states have paid a heavy price for their rigid and staunch position against the terror, did not receive due recognition in the Western world. Rather, the anti-Islam and Muslim elements had their way in pursuing their agenda of hate by distorting the image of Islam and to victimize Muslims. The momentum in the anti-Islam campaign or Islamophobia was kept alive by persistent publication of the insulting material including caricatures of the holiest symbols of Muslims in the name of freedom of expression. This apart, the electronic and the social media have been handy tools to globalize the hate campaign and to provoke angry backlash from Muslims. To counter and combat Islamophobia, the OIC undertook a multi pronged strategy to address the issue that included : (1) to establish an Observatory in the General Secretariat in Jeddah to monitor Islamophobic incidents on a daily basis and to produce monthly and annual reports that would be available in the OIC website, (2) to engage with international community to raise global awareness on the grave dangers posed by Islamophobia to international peace and security; (3) to project the correct image of Islam as a religion of moderation, compassion and tolerance; (4) to promote and strengthen effective inter-civilizational dialogue, based on mutual respect; (4) to highlight the rich Islamic culture which has contributed so much to modern world civilization, and (5) to sensitize the media of their responsibility against incitement on ground of religion or belief.. The OIC took the initiative to engage with concerned stakeholders in the Western countries including political leaders, academics, media personalities, civil society activists, professionals and international organizations both bilaterally and in larger forums. We were able to deliver our concerns effectively as we did not come up with any opposing view to undermine the gravity of the Islamophobia phenomenon. The situation at the grass roots however did not mirror the optimism to stem Islamophobia and eliminate the anti Islam tirade. Our active engagement with western stakeholders including the EU, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and participation in conferences such as this particular one and 2011 US –Islamic World Forum , April 12, 2011 ‘in Washington DC bear testimony to our commitment and determination to address the issue intolerance and discrimination against Muslims through dialogue and constructive engagement. The institutionalization of Islamophobia was brought into open with the amendment of the Swiss Constitution that brought about a legal ban on construction of minarets in mosques. The impact of the Swiss amendment was felt elsewhere in Europe with an increase in hate attack on Mosques and general hostility against both indigenous and immigrant Muslim population in Europe. The rightwing extremist elements were successful in their design to establish a negative image of Muslims of being “ a threat” to so called Western civilization leading some of the European Government to impose restrictions and ban on Muslim cultural traits such as wearing veils by Muslims women and the leaders speaking out against multiculturalism. The extent and outreach of the anti-Islam diatribe of the Islamophobes on the ordinary citizens to harbor hatred of Islam and Muslims was manifest in the recent horrendous Norway Massacre by a single man consumed by hatred of Muslims and motivated by the ant-Islam campaign. The infamous “Burn A Quran Day” by a hitherto non-entity Florida Pastor Terry Jones and his subsequent actions at hate mongering, the Congressional hearings by the Chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on the “radicalization of American Muslims” in Washington DC on March 11, 2011 and his statement that “We (the US) are under siege by Muslim terrorists” along with other anti Muslim events, were ominous signs of Islamophobia taking roots in the USA, a country that has a history of embracing religious and cultural diversity. Intolerance of religious diversity and acts of incitement reflected in hate speech, provocative publications and discriminations targeting a particular faith were too frequent to escape attention of important European institutions and stakeholders including the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. I have always upheld that Islam formed an integral and indispensible part of Abrahamic faiths and that the commonalities between Islam and Christianity and Judaism outweighed the differences. The OIC’s adherence to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights underpinned our commitment to Human Rights, and other basic freedoms including the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression. The OIC at the same time had been underscoring the urgency and importance of defining limits to this freedom in the light of article 19(3) and article 20 of the ICCPR with a view to combating incitement to violence or hatred not only against Islam but all faiths. The OIC position is that commitment to freedom of expression could not and must not form a pretext or a license to incite religious hatred and intolerance. The OIC’s initiative with the US and European Governments in drafting UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 entitled “combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief” and its unanimous adoption on March 21, 2011, broke the myth that a meeting of minds on the issue of intolerance was not possible. In my address to the 15th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2009, I outlined a new approach towards evolving a consensus against incitement to violence and intolerance on religious ground that could plague peaceful coexistence and as such was antithetical to the very notion of a globalized world. The eight points in the proposed approach went well with all the negotiating partners and formed the basis of the consensus reflected in HRC Resolution 16/18. The OIC believes in sustaining and building on the same spirit while implementing consensually evolved initiatives – like the HRC resolution 16/18 – with a view to effectively addressing Islamophobia, Christianophobia, Judeophobia and other exponents of incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds that continue to threaten multicultural fabric of societies jeopardizing efforts at global peace, security and stability underwritten by interfaith harmony. The Istanbul Ministerial Meeting held on 15th July 2011 that was co-chaired by the US Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton and myself and participated by Foreign Minister of a large number of OIC Member States and Western countries, government representatives as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Catherine Ashton, lent strong support to the need for implementation of Resolution of 16/18 to combat religious and belief bases intolerance. I strongly believe that the international community should make the best out of this opportunity to address the issue of religious intolerance. I have to underscore the need and urgency for forging a new relationship and understanding between the West and the Muslim world through respect for cultural diversity. The OIC has been consistent at emphasizing the importance of cultural and interfaith dialogue to promote world peace and stability, seeking a historic reconciliation between the Muslim world and the West with a view to curbing the ascendency of Islamophobia in particular and intolerance and incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds in general. The call, over the past decade, induced a multiplicity of event based agreements reflecting expressions of good intent. It would, however, be important to move beyond this stage towards translating words into action by evolving, on a consensual basis, a normative solution to deal with the threat posed to peaceful coexistence. As part of the strategy to combating Islamophobia and anti- Islam and Muslims tendencies and trends in the Western mind and media in particular, I may refer to recommendations brought in the latest Report by the OIC Islamophobia Observatory, the fourth one, released during the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States, held in Astana, Kazakhstan, last June: a) Enhancing and broadening the knowledge and understanding of Islam in non-Muslim societies, as outright ignorance, insufficient knowledge and motivated disinformation have contributed to the somewhat general misperception in various strata of public opinion in the West and non-Muslim . b) Improving the dissemination of information about Muslim countries being major victims of the contemporary manifestations of terrorism and extremism compared to other parts of the world. The lack of both dissemination and coverage of the firm rejection of terrorism and extremism by the Muslim have contributed significantly to the growth of Islamophobia. c) To tackle the media misrepresentation of Islam through a programmes and projects on media literacy as a step towards concerted action and confidence building between Muslim world and the West. d) Ensuring swift and effective implementation of the new approach signified by the consensual adoption of HRC Resolution 16/18 in both letter and spirit. e) Constructively engaging to bridge divergent views on the limits to the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in a structured multilateral framework with regard to the interface between articles 19 (3) and 20 of the ICCPR based on emerging approaches like applying the ‘test of consequence’. f) Effectively reversing the exacerbation of Anti Muslim sentiments after 9/11, which intensified stereotypes, generalizations about Muslims, and the ongoing infliction of ‘collective punishment’ on all Muslims through a frequency of assertions and reassertions on the part of international political and religious elite that the Muslim world did not condone and must not be associated with the acts and utterances of marginal and misguided individuals. g) Engaging with the West in order to build a political will and commitment to entering into a serious and action and result oriented discourse that would generate reconciliation between faiths, cultures and civilizations. OIC has been reiterating its availability as a credible partner in that endeavor and would encourage the civil society in Member States to join. h) Reaching out to other international organizations with a view to benefiting from existing mechanisms mandated to combat religious intolerance, including UN treaty bodies. The approach aims at both keeping all relevant counterparts fully aware of new forms and manifestations of Islamophobia, by providing them with clear material evidence and highlighting emblematic cases while at the same time enhancing cooperation and creating synergies to unite efforts in dealing with such issues. i) Encouraging Muslim community members living in western societies to monitor and counter anti- Islam and Muslim incidents in the respective societies while exercising restraint and enhancing participation in local political and social life. The OIC believes that the rising trend of Islamophobia can be stemmed through the collective will and determination to combat faith based “phobias” with confidence building mechanisms between peoples of all faiths and belief and to develop a culture of tolerance and respect for diversity. I thank you for your attention.
