OIC at the crossroads by j. iqbal

The recent OIC summit held at Makkah was an altogether different show from previous conferences in more ways than one. Perhaps for the first time in its history, the OIC dared to send out a loud and clear message to the United States in particular and the West in general that adventurism against Muslim countries might lead to the awakening of the Ummah's conscience. Members minced no words in the Makkah Declaration and Joint CommuniquÈ, asserting that the OIC would come out with a collective "condemnation" in case sanctions were thrust upon Syria or any other member state. Likewise they also warned against an attack on Iran. We should not lambaste the OIC for limiting itself to "condemnation" and not asking for the complete excommunication of the aggressor, bearing in mind the stark reality that most Muslim countries have been directly or indirectly acting as collaborators with despotic forces. It would therefore not be easy for them to completely change tack at once. In these circumstances the OIC's role acquires added significance for it has to liberate itself from this influence in order to become an efficient, independent and assertive body. At Makkah, the member countries agreed on crafting a mechanism for the solution of long-standing issues such as Kashmir, Palestine and Cyprus by involving other countries. They also called for promoting intra-OIC trade with a view to making the organisation more responsive to the challenges facing the Muslim world today. President Musharraf particularly emphasised the need to focus on the Muslim world's socio-economic development. He was even more specific when he said that the organisation should concentrate on poverty reduction and work towards the development of the Muslim world's human resources. Ostensibly, all these tasks can translate into reality only if there is political will and harmony among member states and, above all, a strong and efficient secretariat. Member countries are in the habit of inducting either apolitical figures or technocrats as secretary generals, people who do not have the knack of running gigantic organisations like the OIC. The current secretary-general, Mr Ekmeleddin, is a professor by profession and has been associated with the organisation in various capacities. But his apolitical status stunts his stature as a mediator, facilitator or, for that matter, a crisis manager when it comes to the settlement of dissent among member countries. In my view, the secretary-general should be a retired prime minister or at least a veteran foreign minister, with a charismatic personality and vast experience in politics. Popularity amongst member states would be an added bonus. For example, the OIC could have Mahathir Mohammad as its next secretary-general. I do not see any harm in emulating the European Union model where all key institutions, such as the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of Ministers, are spearheaded by former high-profile politicians. The Commission' s incumbent president is Portugal's former prime minister and his predecessor, Romano Prodi, served as the Italian prime minister. There can be no two views that team performance depends largely on the skipper's ability to lead and assert. A weak and uncharismatic captain can only cause frustration. Moreover, the OIC is obliged to take a bold stand on Kashmir, as demanded by most Kashmiri leaders. In their view, mere recognition of the Kashmiris' right to self-determination will not solve the problem. For that, the OIC had to exercise great courage and seriousness. Similarly on Cyprus, the Communique said that the matter should be resolved in collaboration with the United Nations. This is clearly a weak and irrational stand keeping in mind that the UN had already exhausted all its energy in this connection and in the end was forced to eat humble pie. Muslim leaders spoke at length on how to root out terrorism but failed to utter even a single word about countering propaganda against Islam or revered personalities. Much to the disappointment of all, OIC leaders did not even mention the Denmark incident where a newspaper had printed a blasphemous cartoon of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) with utmost impunity and no fear of any reaction. Adding salt to injury, the Danish prime minister, while speaking via international hook-up, not only defended the newspaper in question but also made it clear that everybody enjoys freedom of expression in his country. As such, he said, he would not take any action against the paper or anybody who commits blasphemy. The leaders at Makkah vowed to restore a moderate image of Islam, tarnished by a handful of extremists. The challenge for the Muslim Ummah is real, because there is no dearth of politicians in the West who would like to capitalise on all that has been going on since 9/11. Tackling this problem head-on can only be achieved through democratisation of Muslim societies. Among other causes, what feeds the terrorism directed against the West and, in some cases, against Muslims, is the absence of democratic institutions. Democracy cannot be imposed from without; rather it has to come from within, and the sooner it makes an appearance the better it will be for all and sundry. Unless democratic structures are raised within Muslim states and civil society comes to be considered a major partner in the process of democratisation, the OIC will continue to be nothing more than a government stooge. The performance of OIC countries in terms of trade and economy has also been extremely disappointing. They control 70 per cent of oil resources and as a whole comprise one-fifth of the world's population, one-sixth of the total land area and are rich in minerals as well. Unfortunately, 22 of the 49 countries are classified as least developing countries. Twenty-three are categorised as being in severe debt while 15 are moderately indebted. Their predicament is that they trade more with other countries than with each other, a trend that needs to be reversed as rightly pointed out by the Pakistani president during the conference. Besides, it is mandatory for the OIC to address the issue of brain drain on a war footing. Our scholars and scientists prefer to work abroad where they get better working conditions along with befitting compensation. Most of our misfortunes emanate from our backwardness in the fields of research and development. We can only hope that the ten-year action plan agreed upon at Makkah will also address the key issue of brain drain.