Statement made by H.E. Secretary General on the occasion of the reception Organized by the Muslim Aid in his honour

Date: 29/04/2008

Statement made by H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu secretary general of the organization of the Islamic conference (oic)on the occasion of the reception Organized by the Muslim Aid in his honour 29 April 2008 London – United Kingdom Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me immense pleasure to be together with you today under the excellent arrangements of Muslim Aid. I am grateful to Muslim Aid for their invitation and particularly to my old friend, Dr. Ebrahimsa. It is always a great pleasure and source of happiness for me to be able to meet, during my visits to the UK, my brothers and sisters who are an important component, committed citizens and one of the driving forces of this multicultural and dynamic country. On many occasions, I have expressed my positive assessment, based also on personal experience, of this country`s heritage and policies, promoting and upholding cultural diversity, pluralism, and interfaith dialogue. I have also always praised my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters who, within this multicultural society, have been living in harmony with their compatriots in peace and welfare, and contributing to the development of this country in various walks of life. Therefore, I will not talk about it today. Instead, I wish to talk about an important aspect which has recently become part and parcel of the OIC agenda in a prominent way. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen, We have been witnessing for quite sometime, tremendous development of NGOs and philanthropic associations, on a global level, which are striving to alleviate human sufferings caused by natural causes or man-made calamities. It goes without saying that they have been performing a sterling job in the field of humanitarian activities, given the limitations of states and governments when it comes to meeting the very needs of the people at grass-roots level. NGOs and Philanthropic bodies are necessary elements in our new globalized world. Furthermore, I feel proud to note the magnificent humanitarian work undertaken by Muslim Aid since its inception in 1985 all over the world. Muslim Aid perfectly embodies the teachings of our holy religion which requires Muslims to look after the sick, the needy, the orphans and the weak. Indeed, Islam is about caring, solidarity, strong family ties, love of country, seeking knowledge and advancement through education. Muslim Aid epitomizes all these positive attitudes and constitutes a shining example for our Ummah. The OIC appreciates the activities of Muslim Aid and its presence whenever hunger, disease, ill-nutrition, mistrust, despair and you name it are at work to destroy the social fabric in any given place in the world. The OIC has been quite happy to interact with Muslim Aid in Banda Aceh where we have joined hands in saving lives and supporting over 25,000 children who lost their parents following the deadly Tsunami in 2004. Let me also mention that in 2007, the OIC organized an international donors’ conference for the benefit of the Republic of Niger, an OIC Member State, which has suffered for a long time from intermittent periods of drought resulting in food deficits. I am further proud to note that the active participation of civil society contributed to the success of the conference. Within the framework of its humanitarian scope, the OIC is also present in Sierra Leone, Bosnia Herzegovina and Afghanistan, to assist them in their recovery, mainly in the process of peace building and post-conflict management. In the same vein, the OIC is due to launch an important programme for Somalia, in partnership with the UNDP South-South Cooperation Unit to help this ravaged country stand on its feet. NGOs and civil society at large are welcome to join the OIC initiative. By the same token, the OIC is engaged in provision of humanitarian relief supply to mitigate the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza. Bangladesh is also receiving our attention in the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Sidr. Let me also add that the Darfur humanitarian crisis is also one of our top agenda priorities. The OIC is planning to hold shortly a major international donors conference. I am urging all of you to lend your support for the success of this endeavour. Prior the 11th Islamic Summit Conference held in March this year, the 1st Humanitarian NGOs conference was convened in the Republic Senegal under the patronage of His Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade, where over 60 NGOs, including Muslim Aid took part. Besides the NGOs from the member states, UN institutions and many international observers also participated. The Forum dwelled upon how to raise the capabilities of the humanitarian NGOs in the OIC member states in order to compete in the international level and to make them partners in the development of their countries, and on how to manage their relations with the OIC. The Forum participants have all accepted to coordinate their efforts under the OIC in providing relief during the natural disasters and asked the OIC General Secretariat to lead this coordination task in the international fora through regular meetings with the NGOs and making programs under the Ten Year Program of Action. As you are aware, currently there is a looming food crisis the world over threatening millions of people, especially the poor who are facing hardships and starvation posing challenges to both governments and humanitarian actors. This worrying trend compels us to act collectively in devising a common strategy to tackle this serious issue which may undermine world stability. I, therefore, call upon the international community to intervene in a timely manner to save the situation. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some insights, in more general terms, as to what we have been doing lately within the new vision of the OIC, the sole representative and only spokesman of the Muslim world at the international diplomacy level. Our new vision which can be summarized in a few words, as “moderation, modernization, development and solidarity in action” has been concretized in both the Ten Year Program of Action and the new Charter and aims to raise the capabilities of the Organization and powers of the Secretary General so that the Organization can play a more active role in the settlement of political conflicts as well as in addressing peace, security and humanitarian matters in full partnership with the international community. The action towards realization of the new vision and of all its objectives has already started in earnest since the adoption of the OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action in December 2005. Within the new parameters, we have been fully engaged in endeavoring to develop road maps and frameworks to implement projects in the fields of human rights and good governance, women, children issues. Emphasize is being given to building capacity at the OIC General Secretariat to develop and implement, in cooperation with the member states, OIC institutions, international organizations and NGOs, concrete projects in humanitarian assistance, food security, sustainable socio-economic development, higher education, health, environment and science and technology areas. We have paid special attention to align the priorities of the Ten Year Program of Action with those of the UN Millennium Development Goals. As we speak, a fund for eradicating poverty in the Member States has been established with a targeted capital of US$ 10 Billion. A special Program for the development of Africa is being elaborated. From the sad orphans of tsunami-hit Banda Aceh to the desperate drought-stricken farmers of Niger have already started to feel the positive impact of our projects. We have been organizing intergovernmental meetings, academic conferences and workshops with a declared target of opening channels of political engagement with the Western countries and come to terms on a modus operandi or action plan to work together not to allow incitement of hatred, discrimination, stereotyping , prejudices and intolerance against Muslims to take a free ride under the guise of freedom of expression. My call for a ‘historical reconciliation’ between the Christianity and Islam and also for the ‘redefinition of the cultural and civilizational identity of Europe’, upon which I elaborated little bit yesterday during my lecture at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, accompany our efforts for political engagement. Since 2006, we have organized and sponsored important meetings, such as in Wilton Park and at Georgetown University. I addressed my think-tanks in the West. We have also been supporting the initiatives of the Member States aiming at contributing to fostering understanding and tolerance and furthering interfaith dialogue. We have been engaging on a bilateral basis with the Western Governments through contacts and visits, seeking ways and means of furthering cooperation with international and regional organizations, participating at all relevant international conferences and meetings. I sincerely hope that our efforts will complement the efforts of other at various levels in preventing a very dangerous and slippery slide and further confrontation. Ladies and Gentlemen, Expressing once more my gratitude and happiness to be with you today, I pray God Almighty to bestow upon you his blessings. I thank you all for your kind your attention.

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