Summit Gives Hope to the Muslim World

The extraordinary Islamic summit in the holy city of Makkah was a resounding success as it approved a 10-year action plan for the overall development of OIC member countries and gave the world's 1.5 billion Muslims a new hope about a bright future.

Unlike the previous summits of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Makkah summit was well prepared and presented a future-looking agenda for the Muslim world. It also wanted a complete facelift of the organization in order to play an effective role on the world stage.

The 10-year action plan focuses on reforms and human rights and urges the member states to adopt a united stand on all issues at international forums. It has given the OIC secretary-general more powers and additional financial resources to carry out his mission.

The progressive action plan calls for greater political participation, equality, freedom and social justice for people in OIC countries, and it demands transparency and an end to corruption. It called for cooperation of member countries to achieve amicable settlement of regional conflicts.

The summit authorized the board of governors of the Islamic Development Bank to take necessary steps to increase the bank's capital and strengthen the International Islamic Organization to Finance Trade. The board is also instructed to set up a special fund to fight poverty as well as to study prospects of either reducing or writing off the debts of certain deserving governments owed to the member states.

Before the summit, a group of leading intellectuals and scholars met in Makkah and presented a new vision for the Muslim world. They stressed the fact that the thoughts and energies of Muslims should be directed toward formulating answers rather than repeating questions. What is needed is a change motivated by and within the Islamic world and not imposed from outside.

"The new vision presented by the scholars was designed to call upon the member states to radically reform their international organization with a totally new mandate," said OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. "A new OIC based on the principles of transparency, accountability, effectiveness, flexibility and pro-activeness must take the initiative to deal with the urgent problems of our day and age."

A new OIC will have a more comprehensive and larger scope of activities. These activities include monitoring, coordinating, agenda-building, advocacy and raising awareness about such crucial issues as conflict prevention and management, minority affairs, disaster relief, policy harmonization, economic and commercial development, science and research, education and cultural issues, women's and children's rights, preventing extremism of all kinds, and easing religious, sectarian and ethnic tensions through the guidance of scholars and leaders.

The Makkah summit and its main architect, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, drew applause from Saudis as well as expatriates. According to Abdullah Omar Naseef, former deputy chairman of the Shoura Council, the summit was a big success. "It has presented a number of ambitious and forward-looking programs for the renaissance of the Islamic Ummah," he said.

The summit has taken concrete steps to strengthen the OIC. "For the first time, we hear the OIC secretary-general talking in a new language, explaining the weaknesses and emphasizing the need for change in order for the OIC to play an effective role on world stage," he said.

Naseef hoped that the secretary-general would follow up implementation of the decisions taken by the summit.

Abdul Ilah Saati of King Abdul Aziz University said it was the most successful OIC summit in terms of attendance and adoption of vital resolutions such as the 10-year plan, the firm stand against terrorism and the call to reform school curriculum. "I have not seen such resolutions in previous summits," he added. He said the summit was one of the biggest achievements of King Abdullah.

Ali Hekami, a journalist who covered the summit, attributed the success to non-indulgence in thorny political issues.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, however, said the summit had discussed issues such as Palestine, Iraq and Kashmir.

Badr Olayan, director general of the Islamic Education Foundation in Al-Hamrah, said he was satisfied with the summit's resolutions. "I believe if our leaders continue to hold such meetings in order to solve our problems they would have tremendous impact," he said.

Olayan emphasized the importance of collective decision and action by OIC countries. "Individual action will not be enough and will be very weak," he pointed out. He said all member countries should follow the decisions taken by the majority.

He said the whole Muslim world would soon enjoy the result of the Makkah summit.

Businessman Khaleel Bahadur praised the resolution calling for increasing trade between OIC states by 20 percent in 10 years.

Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, a well-known Makkah businessman, called upon OIC leaders to establish a permanent exhibition center for the products of member countries in the holy city.

Mustafa Hashim, editorial assistant of "Muslim Youth", published by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, commended the king for his initiative that resulted in the 10-year plan, which includes programs to cultivate the spirit of moderation among Muslims and lead the Ummah on the path of modernization through science and technology.

In his comment, Saifudeen Thassim, assistant manager of the Samba Financial Group, made a pointed reference to the 10 fundamental principles outlined by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. He said the Malaysian model called for harnessing the resources of the OIC countries for the development of science and technology in the member countries. Another important aspect of the Malaysian model plan, he said, is increasing transparency and accountability among the member countries. He predicted that this would go a long way in promoting good governance and combating corruption, which is endemic to some of the member countries.

"The proposals were really encouraging, but they need the right Islamic spirit for effective implementation," said Habib Badr, a freelance journalist.