Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 14/11/2013
At his Monday Soiree (Umsiya Alithnainiya) held in Jeddah on Monday 11 November 2013, Sheikh Abdul Maqsood Saeed Khoja, hosted a ceremony to celebrate the contributions of the OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Sheikh Khoja remarked that the Secretary General discharged a difficult reform task. As a first-rate academician and researcher, his goal since assuming office was reform, which he made a strategic slogan and sought to achieve it with equanimity and moderation, while reforming all aspects and organs of the Organisation. Khoja noted that the additions Ihsanoglu made in his work were driven by the notions of moderation and equanimity on the issues of human rights, women empowerment and other issues that resulted in a quantum leap in the OIC’s plan of action, the Ten-year Programme of Action, starting with the new OIC Charter and the establishment of new departments in the Organisation. He added that he never hesitated to support Muslim minorities and the political issues of the Islamic ummah. Ihsanoglu expressed gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz, to his loyal Crown Prince, to HRH the Foreign Minister and the Saudi People. He stated that were it not for the support given by the King, he would not have achieved what he achieved. Ihsanoglu explained that, following the change in the political reality of the world, the OIC needed to assume a new role. Having observed this change, he emphasized that reforming the OIC became necessary for the Organisation to have a role in the world as the second largest organization after the United Nations. He stressed that OIC General Secretariat had laid the foundations for many guidelines in the political, economic and legal fields, among others. He also stated that the OIC had recorded numerous successes in many domains, a reason why the world’s great powers seek to establish strategic relations with it. For his part, the incoming Secretary General of the OIC, Iyad Amin Madani, who attended the occasion, praised the achievements of his predecessor despite the many thorny issues that continue to face the Organisation, notably the Arab – Israeli conflict and the African Sahel issue. He noted that the OIC did not have a monopoly of decision on these issues, as numerous international organizations also have a role in solving them. He said that there was no doubt that the current Secretary General had raised the profile of the Organisation, and given it a respectable position in the world. He observed that the OIC had become an influential player to be reckoned with. He referred to the latest UN Security Council session held on 28 October 2013, which underscored the keenness of the big powers in the OIC’s role, and described the development as a source of pride. The Director General of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Al Mukarrama Branch, Ambassador Muhammad Ahmad Tayib, noted that Ihsanoglu had proved to meet the level of his country’s confidence and the aspiration of the Muslim world in him, with the OIC recording unprecedented achievements under his stewardship. The Head of the Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies, Anwar Eshki, said that the Secretary General brought the OIC to maturity, in reality and not a matter of courtesies, and gave it weight in the international community, such that it has become the second biggest international organization after the United Nations representing 1.5 billion Muslims. For his part, Ambassador Abdullah Alim, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, remarked that Professor Ihsanoglu proceeded with determination and wisdom the journey towards joint Islamic action, in terms of the brilliant initiatives he introduced since taking office, and described them as the clearest indication of his wisdom and enlightened leadership of our Organisation.
