Once again, Pakistan has been given this prestigious moment to hold the OIC meeting at a time when the world is plagued by an emerging international issue in the midst of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. When the 48th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is held in Pakistan on March 22 and 23, officials from the 56 countries that make up the OIC are likely to talk about important issues like Palestine, Afghanistan, and Kashmir, among other things.
Unfortunately, the organization has not met the expectations of Muslim issues, even though they were able to continue holding their meetings till today.
Raising the voice, passing the resolution of major issues, and not practically acting on them, is one of the major failures of the organization.
Voice for Kashmir Issue
Pakistan is the only country that has taken advantage of such a platform to raise its voice against India’s cruelty against the Kashmiri people. Despite extreme efforts, Pakistan failed to defend the atrocities act played by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said "J & K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India."
The 48th session of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
By keeping in mind all the failures of the OIC, Prime Minister Imran Khan pointed out the key issues at the inaugural session of the 48th session of the Committee of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad on Tuesday. He stressed the main concern that Muslims are facing, i.e., Islamophobia, as the United Nations has declared March 15th as a day to combat Islamophobia.
It is because when the gunman walked into the mosque in New Zealand and shot dead 50 people, Why did he shoot them? because he felt all Muslims were terrorists. Where did this Islamophobia grow and was allowed to keep growing after 9/11? Unfortunately, this narrative of Islamic terrorism went on unchecked.
He did not show any reluctance and depicted the fragile nature of the OIC as such an organization failed to act on any sort of issue.
Since I’ve lived in England and better know their civilization than others, the reason for Islamophobia kept growing after 9/11, and I’m sorry to say that we, Muslim countries, did not do anything to check this wrong narrative. How has Islam been equated with terrorism? "
As a Muslim advocate, Imran Khan emphasized how Prophet Muhammad (SAW) began a great revolution in the state of Medina.
Our prophet was given the title of "Rehmatu lil aalmeen"—mercy for mankind, not mercy for Muslims. He came to unite humanity, not to divide it."
He further pointed out that the highest crime rate in Pakistan is due to ill-advised ways of using the internet and social media apps.
I was amazed to know that sex crimes, child abuse, and rape are the fastest growing crimes in this country. We discovered that mobile phones and pornographic material are available to children on mobile phones. This is causing havoc in our society. Through this forum, we should plan how to combat this. "
Moreover, he thrashed out on two well-known political issues that are always in the news with no action, i.e., Kashmir and Palestine. He accepted the fact that the OIC had failed to do anything for both countries. The issue has been raised more by the social media than by the action of the OIC.
We have failed both the Palestinians and the Kashmiris. I am sad to say that we have been able to make no impact at all. We are a divided house. "
Lastly, he urges us to assist financially strapped Afghanistan and raise our voice against the Russia-Ukraine war. Khan appeals to the foreign ministers about how they can cease the war between these two countries. Otherwise, the conflict between these countries will have great consequences for the rest of the world.
Chinese financial minister Wang Yi was the honorable chief guest at the OIC and personally met with Imran Khan. There was a general consensus in Ukraine that both sides should stop fighting right away and work even harder to find a diplomatic solution.
Now the world will observe and hope if this session will create an impact on Muslims or if this year will be another failure like the rest of the past sessions.
Image by Javad Esmaeili from Pixabay
A Brief history of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
The most sacred religious place for Muslims, the Al-Aqsa mosque, was burned by Israeli forces in the 1960s, which motivated Muslim Ummah across the globe to form a global organization, thus safeguarding the sacred religious places of Muslims around the world. The OIC came into being in 1969. This intergovernmental body is considered the second-largest organization in the world after the United Nations.
OIC's Objectives
The slogan of the OIC itself says, "the collective voice of Muslims." It aspired to improve coordination and integration across the Muslim world in fields such as science, economics, and cultural interaction to create a more established and united Ummah. The members of the states will settle the tension through peaceful means. Furthermore, the organization declares that it seeks to preserve Islamic values, continue to protect member states' national sovereignty, and contribute to peace and justice.Unfortunately, the organization has not met the expectations of Muslim issues, even though they were able to continue holding their meetings till today.
Why has the OIC Failed?
Despite the passage of more than 50 years, the OIC has failed to resolve many critical issues due to a lack of unity and unrepresentative leaders.Raising the voice, passing the resolution of major issues, and not practically acting on them, is one of the major failures of the organization.
The OIC's Role in the Palestine Issue
The organization of Islamic cooperation badly failed to protect the lives of Palestinians from the brutality of Israeli forces. In order to solve the problem of Palestine, only rhetorical speeches have been used. There have been no real actions taken to solve the problem.Voice for Kashmir Issue
Pakistan is the only country that has taken advantage of such a platform to raise its voice against India’s cruelty against the Kashmiri people. Despite extreme efforts, Pakistan failed to defend the atrocities act played by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said "J & K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India."
Genocide of Rohingya Muslims
The Burmese military continues to persecute and murder Muslim Rohingya people in order to decrease their popularity. Important members of the state, especially Saudi Arabia, remained silent on such issues due to economic ties with the Myanmar government. Except for a few so-called speeches, the organization has not lived up to the expectations and failed the Ummah miserably.The 48th session of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
By keeping in mind all the failures of the OIC, Prime Minister Imran Khan pointed out the key issues at the inaugural session of the 48th session of the Committee of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad on Tuesday. He stressed the main concern that Muslims are facing, i.e., Islamophobia, as the United Nations has declared March 15th as a day to combat Islamophobia.
It is because when the gunman walked into the mosque in New Zealand and shot dead 50 people, Why did he shoot them? because he felt all Muslims were terrorists. Where did this Islamophobia grow and was allowed to keep growing after 9/11? Unfortunately, this narrative of Islamic terrorism went on unchecked.
He did not show any reluctance and depicted the fragile nature of the OIC as such an organization failed to act on any sort of issue.
Since I’ve lived in England and better know their civilization than others, the reason for Islamophobia kept growing after 9/11, and I’m sorry to say that we, Muslim countries, did not do anything to check this wrong narrative. How has Islam been equated with terrorism? "
As a Muslim advocate, Imran Khan emphasized how Prophet Muhammad (SAW) began a great revolution in the state of Medina.
Our prophet was given the title of "Rehmatu lil aalmeen"—mercy for mankind, not mercy for Muslims. He came to unite humanity, not to divide it."
He further pointed out that the highest crime rate in Pakistan is due to ill-advised ways of using the internet and social media apps.
I was amazed to know that sex crimes, child abuse, and rape are the fastest growing crimes in this country. We discovered that mobile phones and pornographic material are available to children on mobile phones. This is causing havoc in our society. Through this forum, we should plan how to combat this. "
Moreover, he thrashed out on two well-known political issues that are always in the news with no action, i.e., Kashmir and Palestine. He accepted the fact that the OIC had failed to do anything for both countries. The issue has been raised more by the social media than by the action of the OIC.
We have failed both the Palestinians and the Kashmiris. I am sad to say that we have been able to make no impact at all. We are a divided house. "
Lastly, he urges us to assist financially strapped Afghanistan and raise our voice against the Russia-Ukraine war. Khan appeals to the foreign ministers about how they can cease the war between these two countries. Otherwise, the conflict between these countries will have great consequences for the rest of the world.
Chinese financial minister Wang Yi was the honorable chief guest at the OIC and personally met with Imran Khan. There was a general consensus in Ukraine that both sides should stop fighting right away and work even harder to find a diplomatic solution.
Now the world will observe and hope if this session will create an impact on Muslims or if this year will be another failure like the rest of the past sessions.