OIC is now Organization of Islamic Cooperation

[somebozo]

OIC is now Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Arab news
By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS

Published: Jun 28, 2011 19:11 Updated: Jun 28, 2011 19:11

ASTANA, Kazakhstan: The OIC dropped "Conference" in preference to "Cooperation" and unveiled a new emblem Tuesday at the start of its Council of Foreign Ministers annual meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana. It will now be called the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov introduced the resolution to make the change and said it will become a symbol of modernization, unanimity and competitiveness of the Islamic world.

"We should strengthen our cooperation, both internal and external, in all fields," Kazykhanov said. "Our internal cooperation means consolidating Islamic integrity and solidarity while external cooperation would aim to solidify the Ummah's position in the world."

“The key word is cooperation,” OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told delegates. “We need to focus on avenues of cooperation among OIC countries and the world bodies at large.”

He said the OIC has come a long way to make its impact felt not only within its member states but internationally, as well. “Many circles at the regional and international level have expressed their continued interest in nurturing a sustained dialogue and in opening lines of communication with our organization,” he said. “Inspired by the new vision and lofty objectives, we have managed to elevate the OIC profile ... the OIC now enjoys greater visibility on the international scene and has become a more active and an indispensable actor among international institutions.”

“Conference denoted something that is academic in nature and that which begins and ends," said a close adviser of Ihsanoglu. “Cooperation is a continuous process, and it can be at many levels — political cooperation, economic cooperation and security cooperation."

The name change has been on its agenda since the OIC adopted a new charter during the 2005 extraordinary summit in Makkah.

During previous meetings there was much deliberation on the new name. Some member states maintained that the group should be called Organization of Islamic Countries to give it more weight; others disagreed contending not all 57 member states were Islamic or Muslim-majority countries. Some countries are members by virtue of having large Muslim populations. Among the new membership rules, it is mandatory that the country should have a Muslim majority and also be a member of the United Nations.

“The renaming of the OIC will add to the package of reforming the organization into a modern, rule-based organization, able to respond to the multiple global challenges affecting us all,” said Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

However, he said, the organization needs to move beyond a name change and listed a couple of stark details for the delegates to consider.

“Statistics reveal that only four Muslim majority countries are considered among the biggest 30 economies of the world,” he said. “Muslim-majority countries are not in the Top 10 world traders.”

Among the most competitive countries in the world, again no Muslim-majority country is on the list. According to UNICEF, there are still more than 4.3 million children under 5 in OIC countries who die each year from preventable disease and malnutrition.

The new emblem contains three main elements that reflect the organization's vision and mission as incorporated in its new charter. These elements are: the Holy Kaa’ba, the globe, and the crescent.







© 2010 Arab News

 

[somebozo]

Kazakhstan is probably the most achieving nation is CIS and Islamic countries today. In 12 years it has made a complete turn around from hydrocarbon dependent economy to rapidly growing industrial base. However all of this ground work is useless when Arabs are busy debating how Arabs of GCC share common culture and values against Arabs or non-GCC states and how to punish two muslim adult getting married without government permission.

If the Saudis think they can ride on the sucess of Islamic world with their Khaleeji nationalism then the world then fortunately for Saudis, they are continuing their fifth gear into stone age.
SR100,000 fine for violators of new marriage law - Arab News

As of yet, Saudis are not even employable at simplest jobs which their country hands out by thousands each year to foreigners.

Arab news
Kazakhstan leader pushes for progress, urges OIC states to rethink priorities

By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS

Published: Jun 28, 2011 19:47 Updated: Jun 28, 2011 19:47

ASTANA, Kazakhstan: President Nursultan Nazarbayev called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to become the United Nations of the Muslim world, reminding member states of the urgent need for real progress.

“The Islamic community desperately needs peace, modernization, scientific and technological development, and education,” Nazarbayev told OIC delegates. “The combined economic potential of the Ummah is inexhaustible, and we need to unite efforts to develop effective mechanisms for cooperation, mutual aid, and promotion of development.”

He said current statistics emphasized the need for action.

“Average GDP per capita at purchasing power parity in the OIC countries equals nine-and-a-half thousand dollars, while the similar figure for European countries equals more than $24,000,” the president said. “There is a serious imbalance in development among the OIC countries. For example, GDP per capita between the most developed and least developed states differs by more than 100 times. OIC countries control 70 percent of global energy resources; however, they account for only 7.5 percent of global GDP and 11 percent of total volume of global trade, and this situation is totally unacceptable.”

He said it was time for Muslim nations to capitalize on both innovations and existing strengths and offered to share Kazakhstan’s financial expertise with OIC member states.

“The global economic crisis has shown that the Islamic financial and economical model is stable and viable. One of the useful and effective products that the Ummah can offer the world is the system of Islamic financing,” Nazarbayev said.

“Kazakhstan opened the Islamic bank. We are actively promoting the Islamic financing and creation of benchmarking in the area of Islamic finance instruments in the region. I propose that an international conference on Islamic banking takes place in Almaty, as well as to develop Almaty as a regional financial center that is actively engaged in Islamic finance.”

He said the growing population of Muslim nations requires a shift in thinking from leaders of the Muslim world.

“International experts have estimated that by the year 2030 the population of the Muslim Ummah will account for more than 2.2 billion people, which will be more than a quarter of the world’s population,” Nazarbayev said. “These immense human resources require adequate levels of education and science. The creation of intellectual elite capable of generating new ideas that would serve the renaissance of the Islamic civilization must be our common goal.”

He spoke of the intellectual dominance of the Muslim world in earlier times and said it was time for a rebirth of scholarship and science.

“In the early days of the Renaissance, the peoples of Christian Europe wore oriental dresses and read philosophic works of the Muslim authors. The introduction of Arabic figures and counting system led to breakthroughs in mathematics, algebra, and geometry, which created the ground for the subsequent development of teaching system, architecture, trade — and further prosperity for all of Europe. Relying on this powerful historical foundation, we are obliged to unite our efforts to revive the intellectual role of the Islamic civilization. It is crucial to understand the reason for the loss of intellectual mightiness and constructive dynamism by the Muslim Ummah,” Nazarbayev said.

“Why are Islamic countries — with their immense natural and human resources, and financial capacities — at a modest level in the hierarchy of the global development? Why are Islamic universities not in the top leading higher educational institutions of the world? Why have there been no world-scale discoveries in natural sciences and technology in Muslim countries over the last twenty years? It is impossible not to notice these realities. Apparently, neither money, nor rich natural resources will play a defining role in achieving innovations and the development of Islamic civilization. But the intellectual environment and socio-political climate will.”

He urged OIC support to establish nuclear weapon free zones in Central Asia and the Middle East. Nazarbayev also stressed the importance of tolerance and respect for other religions and cultures toward Islam regaining respect among the peoples of the world.

“Kazakhstan is a secular state with a Muslim-majority population. We stand for unity of all Muslims on the basis of enlightenment, moderation and tolerance both toward each other and toward representatives of other religions,” Nazarbayev said. “Preserving cultural and religious traditions and peculiarities of different ethnic groups, we put social and economic modernization — improving peoples’ standard of living — at the top of our priorities. The more successful Muslim countries are, the more attractive the image of Islam will be throughout the world.”

© 2010 Arab News

 

[somebozo]

AJK PM to leave on chartered plane for OIC summit
Updated at: 1505 PST, Tuesday, June 28, 2011
AJK PM to leave on chartered plane for OIC summit ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Sardar Attique, who was stopped at the Islamabad airport prior to his departure for the OIC summit, will leave on a special chartered plane, Geo News reported.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has now driected that the AJK PM should be sent to the OIC conference on a chartered plane.

Earlier, PM AJK was stopped briefly at the airport when he was about to leave for the OIC summit in Kazakhstan.

Speaking to Geo News, the AJK Prime Minister said that he had received a message from the Foreign Ministry stating that he does not need to travel to the summit.

Sardar Attique added that it was essential for him to take part in the summit because he was specially invited by the OIC Secretary General and would be representing the Kashmiri people.

 

[Leader]

from conference to cooperation, hmmm........slow but still its progress... had Bhutto not been killed, we would have had our own EU by now...

 

[somebozo]

Look at the well fed lazy arab turd..some progress indeed..partying up with the Zionist is really bad for health!

OIC chief calls for 'decade of action'
Arab news

By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS

Published: Jun 28, 2011 22:30 Updated: Jun 28, 2011 22:30

ASTANA, Kazakhstan: The secretary-general of the renamed Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called for a decade of action on political reforms and peaceful resolutions for Palestine, Libya and Syria.

“The Muslim world is confronted with some serious developments with direct impact on its stability, unity, prosperity and development. Unfortunately, the Ummah — in certain parts — still lacks the necessary internal cohesion, strength, solidarity and capacity that are required in order to overcome these daunting challenges,” said OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. “The Muslim world is going through a defining moment in its history, which further affirms the dire need to speed up the process of concretizing the peoples’ aspiration to good governance, the rule of law, human rights, broader political participation and dedicated national dialogue.”

He said the OIC Charter and the 10-Year Program of Action are guided by the principles of moderation and modernization. “Both documents are based on a perceptive vision that carries in its folds appropriate solutions for such unrest as we are witnessing today in the Muslim world. This is an opportune occasion for me to renew my appeal to all our member states to kindly see to the implementation of the 10-Year Program of Action — particularly in the domain of good governance and rule of law.”

Ihsanoglu called for member states to recognize the Palestinian state and said Israel’s continued violations of international law had brought the peace process to a stalemate.

“It is our duty and firm position, therefore, to support the Palestinian decision to resort to the United Nations and have its say in the solution of this protracted conflict,” Ihsanoglu told delegates. “As I speak here, 116 countries so far have recognized the State of Palestine including 55 from OIC member states. We urge countries including OIC member states and observers to recognize Palestine on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Ihsanoglu said he had dispatched a delegation to Tripoli to broker a peaceful resolution to the Libyan conflict and seek unhindered access for humanitarian aid.

“In Libya, we call for a political solution based on the recognition of the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people for democracy, justice, rule of law and political reforms,” he said.

At a press conference later, he said that it was not for the OIC to recognize the opposition Transitional National Council and said member states would make their own decisions. “OIC is an organization, and organizations do not interfere in matters of a country’s sovereignty.”

Ihsanoglu welcomed the democratic changes in Tunisia and Egypt as a result of an internal popular revolution in these countries. “During my recent visits to these two countries I expressed the hope that these changes would strengthen good governance, rule of law, democracy and economic development in them.”

On Syria, he said the OIC was following with deep concern the violent events there. “We have called for national dialogue and a speedy implementation for the reforms declared by the Syrian leadership in order to stop violence targeting both civilians and security forces,” the secretary-general said.

In what is seen as a major development, Ihsanoglu announced the establishment of an Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights (IPCHR). “We have been acting swiftly, through an open and credible process, in taking concrete steps toward establishing the IPCHR. The adoption of the commissions statute followed by election of experts that would form the commission must be seen as a landmark exercise that would make the Astana conference stand out in the history of the OIC,” the secretary-general said.

The situation in Kashmir, Turkish Cypriot State, Kosovo, occupied Azerbaijani territories including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and Bosnia Herzegovina continue to be a matter of concern for the OIC, he added.

© 2010 Arab News

and here comes the islamic rapper

 

[EjazR]

Some countries are members by virtue of having large Muslim populations. Among the new membership rules, it is mandatory that the country should have a Muslim majority and also be a member of the United Nations.

This doesn't make any sense. Already there are countries that are not Muslim majority. Some countries like Uganda have 12% Muslims only. Infact, Kazakhstan itself has less than 50% muslims. The picture of the FM of Togo that somebozo posted earlier under the heading "Islamic rapper" is not even a muslim. Muslims form 20% of Togo's population and he is most likely a follower of one of the indigenous tribal religions.

So why the need for having a muslim majority. Some really "smart" people coming up with these rules.

 

[Mosamania]

Does not matter what it is called. We are all one heart one soul and one body.

We may not be one country but that is not by our choice. But if someone as much as looks at another muslim funny I am hurt as much as they does.
We may not be able to yet to come together and wage wars together but in time my friends. In times the former glory of our Ummah shall be realized.
If not in our generation the generation after that or the one after that. what is our job now? We are to make sure that the next generation carry the mantel of change and the dream of glory with it.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

This organization has lost its relevance , SCO is the organization worth joining and its the future

 

[somebozo]

Arab news
OIC sets up its own rights watchdog

By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS

Published: Jun 29, 2011 18:02 Updated: Jun 29, 2011 18:02

ASTANA, Kazakhstan: In a monumental step forward, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has established a human rights panel to safeguard basic freedoms for Muslims.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu described the creation of the Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights (IPCHR) as a seminal event in the organization’s history. “We have been acting swiftly through an open and credible process in taking concrete steps toward establishing the IPCHR.”

He said the new commission will cooperate with the United Nations human rights body. “The new commission will be totally independent. The 18 human rights experts from 18 different Arab, Asian and African member states will decide their own agenda.”

Ihsanoglu reiterated that promotion and protection of human rights including the rights of women, children, youth, the elderly and people with special needs, as well as the preservation of Islamic family values, have been enshrined in the OIC Charter. “It requires the member states to uphold and promote good governance, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, at both the national and the international levels,” he said.

“The commission will be composed of 18 high-ranking jurists and human rights specialists from member countries,” he said. “Since the OIC has three major geographical groups, namely African, Asian and Arab, each region will have six members on the commission. Each region has selected its six members, and the commission has now become a reality,” he said.

The commission will basically monitor human rights violations in OIC countries. “This is the first time that such an exercise is being carried out in the Muslim world. It will be 100 times better to hear what is happening in our countries from our own people rather than from the outside world,” said one delegate. “Of course, we are not in the habit of hearing any criticism from fellow member states, but eventually we will learn to set our houses in order to avoid attracting criticism.”

The concept behind the IPCHR was approved in principle last year during the OIC meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, but Saudi Arabia and Iran could not agree on where the panel would be headquartered. This year that barrier came down, and Jeddah was selected as its base of operations.

Ihsanoglu persuaded the Council of Foreign Ministers to agree to set up the commission's headquarters at the OIC Secretariat in Jeddah. “Iran agreed to the proposal,” said a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Iran saw the OIC Secretariat as a neutral ground, and those who attended the meeting said Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi welcomed it.”

Some independent sources suggested that the decision to house the commission in Jeddah was temporary. “This is not permanent; it was only decided to set up in Jeddah till a final decision is taken,” said one source.

Saudi delegates refused to comment on the issue, but member states close to the Saudi position expressed immense satisfaction. “The OIC Secretariat is in Jeddah, and Jeddah is in Saudi Arabia. You can put it in many different ways, but the fact remains that the commission will be headquartered in Saudi Arabia — that is it,” said one delegate.

© 2010 Arab News

 

[somebozo]

Arab news
‘Muslims must adapt to change’

By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS

Published: Jun 29, 2011 23:46 Updated: Jun 29, 2011 23:46

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's finance minister on Wednesday urged Muslim countries to adopt suitable economic reform programs and adapt to the changing global economic atmosphere to confront the challenges facing them.

“We should also strengthen our joint efforts to overcome development obstacles,” Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf told the annual conference of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank.

Opening the 36th annual meeting of the bank’s board of governors, the minister underscored IDB’s contributions toward boosting the progress and prosperity of Muslim countries. He underscored the Kingdom’s continued support for the bank.

Al-Assaf called for greater efforts for manpower development and achieving sustainable economic progress in the member countries. The minister’s call is significant in the backdrop of anti-government protests in some Arab countries as a result of unemployment, poverty and political corruption.

Al-Assaf said Saudi Arabia is the largest contributor to the IDB, holding 25 percent of its capital. “We have also contributed immensely to the capital of other regional and international development organizations. Moreover, we have been at the forefront of donors providing emergency assistance to countries hit by natural calamities,” the minister said.

Referring to IDB’s annual report, Al-Assaf highlighted the assistance offered by the bank to member countries to help them overcome the global economic crisis.

The IDB had given a package aid of $250 million to tackle the problem of unemployment in member countries, by providing manpower training, and financing small and medium enterprises.

The minister welcomed a joint IDB-World Bank initiative to finance infrastructure projects. He supported the program proposed by IDB President Ahmed Mohamed Ali to transform the bank into a source of knowledge and efficiency to mobilize resources.

Al-Assaf, who is Saudi Arabia’s governor to the bank, lauded the success of the IDB sukuk. “We hope that the bank would continue its efforts to make use of the excellent rating it has obtained for mobilizing funds at reasonable cost,” he added.

He urged all member countries to pay their contributions to the $10 billion Islamic Solidarity Fund. Saudi Arabia has paid fully its contribution of $1 billion to the fund aimed at fighting poverty in the least developed Muslim countries. “We also request those countries that made nominal contributions to revise those offers in order to help the fund realize its objectives,” he said.

Al-Assaf backed the proposal made by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) to increase its capital from 150 million to 400 million Islamic dinars. “We hope that ICIEC would make greater efforts to increase its operations and raise its revenues,” he added.

Speaking to Arab News, Al-Assaf noted the growing popularity of Islamic banking and finance. “It’s making big annual growth. Islamic financial institutions are now operating not only in Muslim countries but also in non-Muslim societies. After the last global financial crisis, Islamic finance has gained greater recognition.” He said the governors would discuss ways and means of strengthening cooperation.

The opening session at Jeddah Hilton was attended by more than 1,000 delegates including ministers, businessmen, bankers and economists. Abdul Karim Al-Arhabi, Yemeni deputy prime minister for economic affairs and minister of planning and international cooperation, presided over the meeting.

IDB chief Ali thanked Saudi Arabia and other member states for supporting the bank. “This helped our institution retain its distinguished AAA rating by international rating agencies and sustain the growth of its project financing operations, which stood at $3.7 billion in 2010,” the president said. IDB has given $70 billion worth of funding for development projects since its inception in 1975.

He said Muslim countries were incurring heavy losses due to lack of cooperation among them. “If we take Maghreb Union as an example, the figures are really frightening. Some studies indicate that the stagnating level of economic cooperation among these countries cost them 2 percent of their annual growth and lowered their GDP by 5 percent. It is indeed surprising that trade among the countries of this group constitutes less than 2 percent,” he explained.

The president also spelled out IDB’s plans and initiatives for the next four years. “We would like to improve the economic development facilities offered by the bank and stimulate the Islamic Solidarity Fund,” he said and urged more cooperation among member countries in the fields of knowledge economy and trade.

“Who will lead the world in the 21st century is the question raised by Arab youth,” Ali said, and urged Muslim countries to play a leading role on the world stage. He said the global financial crisis proved the relevance of Islamic banking and finance. “Our confused world is in dire need for financial, economic and social systems that are more balanced and more responsive to man’s material, moral and spiritual requirements.”

Ali emphasized IDB’s support for Egypt to rebuild the country. “For development work … failure is not an option. We have to work together to meet the urgent social needs by creating employment opportunities, and stimulate growth by attracting direct foreign investments,” he added. He noted the enthusiasm shown by the present Egyptian government to create a new economic and social model.

Commending the role of the youth in the revolution, the IDB president said the youth want the Ummah to seize the opportunity without delay, because they sense the dangers inherent in remaining spectators rather than players.

“The youth fully realize the fact that the world economy is now turning from the West to the East where the Islamic Ummah lies. They yearn for liberation and for restoring the position their Ummah deserves. They believe that competition in the 21st century will not be confined to industrialized countries and will include new countries that have become capable of competing with big countries with soft power, having learned how to use the tools of the new world.”

Ali said the renaissance of the Ummah sought by the youth was not different from the IDB’s Vision 2020. “Ours is a vision for human dignity and is inspired by the resolutions of the emergency Islamic summit in Makkah in 2005. The IDB has taken strategic initiatives aimed at combating poverty and unemployment,” he said referring to the Solidarity Fund.

He said the global crisis was the best answer to skeptics of Islamic finance. “The financial crisis has shown one of the wonders of divine revelation. It showed the harmful effects of engaging in fictitious transactions for making quick material gains and the danger of giving loans without adequate guarantees.”

The IDB chief also pinpointed some of the major shortcomings, calling for urgent remedial action. The development models in member countries are based on outdated systems; the role of the Zakat and Awkaf has become ineffective in containing economic upheavals; there is a lack of strategic orientation toward knowledge economy; and debt-based products outweigh financing tools and investments in the real economy, he said.

Ali said the IDB had signed an agreement with the UNDP to establish an effective mechanism for monitoring and taking preventive action in times of crises and disasters in favor of the citizens of member countries.

The IDB has signed a memorandum of understanding with Jeffrey Sachs, head of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, with the objective of benefiting from its millennium village experience.



© 2010 Arab News

 

[DV RULES]

from conference to cooperation, hmmm........slow but still its progress... had Bhutto not been killed, we would have had our own EU by now...

Step ahead from Bhatto and enough about his plans, now its time to work out parameters of future regional plannings which can support our interests. OIC is a good forum for getting voices for our Kashmir cause before any SCO membership.

 

[AUz]

This doesn't make any sense. Already there are countries that are not Muslim majority. Infact, Kazakhstan itself has less than 50% muslims.

Kazakhstan has 70.3 % Muslims

 

[mirage 5000]

Organization of Islamic Cooperation = Waste of money of poor Muslims .

 

[Kompromat]

This organization must come to life !

 

[Tshering22]

I think it would make more sense for these countries to cooperate like a normal economic-strategic body that can build better infrastructure, expand trade and business in each others' countries rather than having a religion themed organization that is spread on such a vast cultural landscape of different people. It simply is not strong enough to hold on other than lip service