IOC must reject harboring of terrorists

IOC must reject harboring of terrorists

By Anak Agung Banyu Perwita

ADELAIDE, Australia (JP): Debate is growing following the
U.S.'s controversial plan of "retaliation" against terrorists.

Some in the Muslim world say the U.S. must be more cautious
and others implying support for the prime suspect, Osama bin
Laden, and his suspected protector, Afghanistan.

What role can the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC)
play as the Islamic-based inter-regional organization?

The OIC evolved from the ideals of "Pan Islamism", to promote
solidarity and unity of the Islamic ummah (community). In the
post World War II era, decolonization, particularly in Asia and
Africa, provided the setting for an Islamic forum.

For many of the newly independent countries, Islam provided "a
strong moral force and source of identity" vis-a-vis their ex-
colonial masters.

The OIC now does not aim to restore Islamic unity as the pan
-Islamic movement of the 19th century did, nor is it an
indication of the desire to re-establish the traditional Islamic
system of external relations. Instead, it is a desire to
cooperate as an Islamic bloc within the community of nations.

A crucial milestone was when Pakistan took the initiative and
convened the first conference in 1949. Its main goal was to
establish a commonwealth of Muslim nations which envisaged
Islamic unity leading to the formation of a third bloc of Muslim
states.

This conference's goal has never been achieved, particularly
due to changes in the foreign policy of some Arab countries and
Pakistan when they entered an alliance with the West under the
military umbrella of the United States.

Again, the main objectives of the OIC, established in 1969,
could not be completely achieved due to major differences. Egypt,
for instance, was too preoccupied with its "pan Arabism" in its
foreign policy, while Saudi Arabia stressed Islamic orientation.

The number of members increased dramatically in the 1990s, yet
its institutionalization as a modern international organization
has not progressed smoothly. Apart from egos and indifference of
some member states, there has been political, economic, social
and cultural differences.

Nevertheless, as the scholar John O. Oval wrote, the "OIC has
become a global formal network of official linkages among states
in which the majority of the population is Muslim" and is the
most significant institution of global political Islam.

The formation of the OIC reflected a strong political response
from the Islamic world to an emotional religious issue. Hence the
political value of Islamic solidarity among members has shaped
the OIC's development. This can clearly be seen from the
objectives and the principles of its Charter, which states that
its priority is the promotion of Islamic solidarity among
members. Yet, it is quite difficult for all the members to
cooperate when they have to face the West.

In the post-Cold War era, Islam has often been associated with
terrorism. The sharp increase in the threat of "Islamic
fundamentalism" has been one of the important issues that the OIC
has had to solve. Even though this issue was a priority of its
seventh summit in Casablanca, Morocco, in December 1994, the OIC
seemed to be incapable of dealing with terrorism.

To improve the tarnished image of Islam, the OIC members
should first increase its internal cohesion and erase the Arab
and non-Arab axis which has weakened its internal unity.

Second, they should agree to review an unprecedented plan to
stop the export of violence. The OIC needs to call on members to
refuse finance or support for "terrorist acts" and to make sure
that their territory is not used by violent groups to plan or
carry out such acts.

OIC members should be asked not to host, train, arm, finance
or provide facilities for violent groups claiming to represent
Islam. The OIC needs to restore and clean up Islam's image and
its position in relation to the West and stress that Islam is not
the enemy of the West.

Only by taking these options can the OIC maintain its
relevance in a rapidly changing map of world politics.

The writer is a Ph.D candidate at the Asian Studies Department of
Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.