The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which represents 57 member states, has issued a strongly-worded declaration highlighting the position of the body on issues of core interest to the Muslim Ummah. Adopted at the end of the 15th OIC Summit Conference in Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, the declaration called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and cessation of the all-out aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and urgent delivery of aid to the besieged Gaza Strip in an unhindered and adequate manner. It also emphasized the need for a just resolution of the Middle-East problem, implementation of the UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, measures to protect life and property of Muslim minority in India, steps to combat Islamophobia, immediate end to atrocities against Rohingya Muslims and condemned in the strongest terms the repeated incidents of burning copies of the Holy Quran in a number of European countries.
The clear-cut stand adopted by the OIC on these and other issues of concern to people in the Islamic world is a source of inspiration for the second largest religious community on the planet earth, which is facing extreme persecution and discrimination on different accounts besides being target of baseless propaganda aimed at maligning Islam and its followers. Of course, in view of the gravity of the situation, the ongoing genocide in Gaza has become a source of anguish not just for Muslims but also for all just-minded people all over the world, the conference put across a strong message of solidarity with Gazans, demanding of the world community to take action to stop the crime of genocide committed by the Israeli occupation forces and implement the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice. In fact, the international community has spoken both from the platform of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice but regrettably the Jewish State is not listening to their demands and continues with the large-scale killing of Palestinian people. In the absence of any effective penalty, Israel is emboldened to persist with its killing spree, expanding the scope of the conflict and preventing free flow of much-needed humanitarian aid for the besieged population. As for the Kashmir dispute, the conference reaffirmed its continued political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people. In line with its consistent stand on the issue, the OIC summit called upon the United Nations Security Council to take effective measures to implement its resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir to enable Kashmiri people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a UN-supervised plebiscite. The leadership of the Ummah also put across a strong message to India where Muslims have become a favourite target of discrimination by the Hindu majority as well as governmental policies. Therefore, the OIC expressed deep concern over the increasing systematic persecution of Muslims and other minorities in India that had led to their political, economic and social marginalization, demanding an end to this in future. As some influential countries of the world are spearheading a campaign to label Muslims as extremists and terrorists, the Conference emphasized the need for a fair and just approach as it condemned all forms of intolerance, terrorism, violence, extremism leading to violence, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and discrimination of any kind based on ethnicity, tribe, colour, and religion. The strong support that the OIC has expressed for the oppressed Muslims around the globe is surely a morale booster for them. However, there are hardly any chances of any improvement in the ground situation be it in Palestine, Kashmir or any other hot spot involving Muslims or protection of basic human rights of Muslims in some countries until and unless the OIC agrees on a strategy to translate its political and diplomatic support into an effective implementation plan. There is logic in the demand that the OIC member states should cut ties with the Jewish state and place severe embargoes on the commercial and arms dealings to help stop genocide in Gaza. Similarly, collective penalty measures are needed to pressurize India to stop atrocities against Kashmiris, agree to a just settlement of the dispute in line with the relevant UN resolutions and to grant full citizenship rights to its Muslim population.
