1. Need to fight sectarian strife and divisions unitedly: King Salman
2. Out of the conflicts, the tyranny, only the Muslims suffer: Erdogan
CUSTODIAN of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has made a clarion call for a united Muslim Ummah in the fight against the scourge of terrorism and protecting the younger generation from its devilish implications.
Addressing the opening session of the 13th Islamic Summit Conference of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday, the King also called for adopting a strong position against attempts by some vested interests in blatantly interfering in the internal affairs of some member countries and thereby inciting sectarian strife and divisions.
“The present day realities make it incumbent on us to stand united more than ever to fight the scourge of terrorism as well as to protect the younger generation from its fierce attack. Terrorism targets the youths to get out of the path of their righteous religion and be driven by those who are creating turmoil using the name of our religion, which has nothing to do with them,” he said.
King Salman referred to the major initiative taken recently by the Kingdom in combating terror. “We have made a serious step in this direction through forming an Islamic military alliance, consisting of 39 countries, in order to coordinate all efforts through intellectual, media, financial and military initiatives based on the OIC’s principles and objectives.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the heads of state and government gathered for the summit to end sectarian divisions in the Muslim world and fight terror together.
Turkey will chair the pan-Islamic body for the next two years.
More than 30 heads of state and government as well as top officials from 56 member countries of OIC are attending the two-day summit with the theme of “Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace.”
“I believe the greatest challenge we need to surmount is sectarianism. My religion is not that of Sunnis, of Shiites. My religion is Islam,” Erdogan said in his opening speech.
“We should be uniting. Out of the conflicts, the tyranny, only the Muslims suffer,” he said, adding the summit meeting could be a “turning point” for the whole Islamic world.
Erdogan lashed out at the Daesh (the so-called IS) militants who seized swathes of Syria and Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria as two “terrorist organizations that are serving the same evil purpose.”
He said that the OIC had accepted a Turkish proposal to set up a multinational police coordination center for Islamic states to fight militants, to be based in Istanbul. “We need to establish an organization to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against terror,” he said.
King Salman, who arrived in Turkey for a state visit ahead of the summit, said by interfering in the internal affairs of others, some vested quarters were instrumental in further aggravating the sectarian division within the Ummah. “The Muslim world is reeling under conflicts and crises that are represented by the blatant interference in the affairs of a number of Islamic countries apart from sowing seeds of discord and division, and inciting sectarian strife. Armed militias are being used to destabilize our security and stability so as to spread their influence and domination,” the King said and called for a strong position to prevent such interference and maintain the security and safety of the Muslim world.
King Salman also called for finding solutions to the burning issues facing the Muslim world. “Finding a just solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with the Arab peace initiative and international legitimacy resolutions is in the forefront of these issues,” he said.
“Putting an end to the Syrian crisis in accordance with the decisions of Geneva 1 and Security Council resolution 2254, as well as to support the existing efforts to end the Libyan crisis are other top issues. On the Yemeni issue, we support the UN efforts for the success of consultations to be held in Kuwait in implementation of Security Council resolution 2216,” the King said hoping that the summit would come out with decisions that would further bolster solidarity and achieve more collaboration for the betterment of the Muslim Ummah.
In his keynote address, OIC Secretary General Iyad Madani said the pan-Islamic body has put the fight against terrorism as it main priority but at the same time he noted that only 21 member states have so far ratified the OIC agreement in this regard.
He urged all Palestinian factions to resolve their differences in order to form a consensus government. He announced that the OIC is working with Iraq to hold the 2nd Makkah Conference to achieve reconciliation in that country.
Madani appealed to the development of humanitarian work in the organization, and announced that the 14th session of the Islamic Summit will be held in Gambia in 2018.
Speaking on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, dwelt on the efforts made by his country during the period of its chairmanship. Referring to the state of turmoil in Syria, Yemen, and Libya, he warned that conflicts are spreading at an alarming rate, and they pose a significant threat to humanity”.
Shoukry noted that the OIC plays a major role in solving these issues. Stressing Egypt’s keenness on resolving Libya’s crisis, he welcomed the appointment of the new unity government in Tripoli. He also called for the preservation of Muslim minorities’ rights around the world.
