Islamic states back Palestine, leave defining terrorism to UN
Islamic states back Palestine, leave defining terrorism to UN
Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur
A high-profile meeting of Muslim nations gave a spirited defense of Islam and strong backing to the Palestinians on Wednesday, but failed to achieve its most ambitious task -- define terrorism.
Divisions between the countries over what constitutes terrorism -- notably in the attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians -- came at a time that the world's 1.2 billion Muslims were looking to their leaders to counter what they see as a defamation campaign against their faith since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The attacks, blamed on Saudi-born Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, were carried out by 19 Muslim hijackers, of whom 15 came from Saudi Arabia, home to the religion's holiest shrines and Washington's close Arab ally.
Many Muslims feel the attacks have brought their faith under unfair scrutiny by a West they see as bent on adopting the notion that Islam and violence are closely linked.
The foreign ministers and senior officials from the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting in this Southeast Asian country issued a declaration at the end of three days of talks that said no culture or religion could be linked to terrorism.
But while condemning all forms of terrorism, the declaration didn't label Palestinian suicide bombers as terrorists -- or leave much room for that interpretation, saying the Palestinian struggle against Israel was a legitimate struggle against foreign occupation. Period.
The conference kicked the question of defining terrorism up to the United Nations for a theoretical meeting on the issue that many believe will never be held due to U.S. opposition.
Not defining terrorism may also shelter some Muslim governments from charges of state terrorism in repressing critics or armed insurgencies.
During the meeting, delegates were split over whether an Islamic definition of terrorism would be useful, with some saying three days of debate were not enough.
Others said any definition that isn't globally agreed would make little difference.
"There's a great deal more to be done to arrive at a definition that's agreed upon and binding to all nations," said Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail, whose nation hosts the next meeting of OIC foreign ministers in June.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a key U.S. ally in cracking al-Qaeda, opened the meeting with a proposal that all attacks targeting civilians -- by the Sept. 11 attackers or Israeli troops or suicide bombers -- be considered terrorism.
Palestinian and other Middle East delegates said that the bombings were a reaction to state terrorism by Israel in Palestinian areas, where tanks and troops have invaded several towns and besieged leader Yasser Arafat.
"We reject any attempt to link terrorism to the struggle of the Palestinian people in the exercise of their inalienable right to establish their independent state," the declaration said.
Without mentioning the United States by name, the declaration criticized taking unilateral action against nations to combat terrorism, saying global cooperation would be undermined.
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney failed in a recent tour of the Middle East to win Arab backing for a possible military strike on Iraq, which the U.S. government accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction and fomenting terror.
"Unfortunately, some may want to define terrorism on case-by- case basis, according to their priorities and policies, and that is why they are preventing the international community from adopting a definition of terrorism," said Mohamad Zarif, Iran's deputy foreign minister.
The declaration also pledged commitment to "the principles and true teachings of Islam, which abhor aggression, value peace, tolerance and respect."
Fighting terrorism should "not result in ethnic profiling or the targeting of a particular community," the declaration said.