OIC to focus on Islam's image in West
OIC to focus on Islam's image in West
JAKARTA (JP): The upcoming meetings of the Organization of
Islamic Conferences (OIC) in Morocco next month will discuss ways
of improving the image of Islam in the world, Minister of Foreign
Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday.
Alatas told reporters after meeting with President Soeharto at
his residence that the head of state would not be able to attend
the OIC summit, scheduled for Dec. 13-14, due to his heavy
domestic agenda.
In his place, Alatas said he had been asked to head the
Indonesian delegation to the summit. Alatas will also represent
Indonesia at the OIC ministerial meeting on Dec. 10-11.
One of the subjects at the OIC conferences is the negative
image of Islam in the West which Alatas said had been created by
the negative writings about the religion and its followers.
Asked to elaborate, Alatas said: "Islam is often associated
with terrorism and various violent actions. This is the negative
image that is often portrayed of Islam. They're not based on
facts."
"Terrorism and violence exist everywhere. It has nothing to do
with religion, but more on the socio-political conditions in each
country," he said.
Alatas said all OIC countries have strongly condemned
terrorism.
"But we also have to differentiate between terrorism and
struggles for independence. They're not the same."
Alatas said the OIC meetings will discuss a host of other
subjects, including the Palestinian issue, the situation in
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan. The meetings will also
discuss the need for OIC countries to coordinate their steps in
facing the rising trend of economic regionalism.
On a separate occasion, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi
Taher yesterday reported to Soeharto on his discussions of
religious harmony with Bill Clinton, when the American president
was in Jakarta earlier this month.
Tarmizi said the discussions took place when he escorted
Clinton on his visit to the grand Istiqlal Mosque.
"It appeared that Clinton had a deep knowledge about Moslems
in Indonesia, the largest Islamic community in the world,"
Tarmizi told reporters after briefing Soeharto.
He said he explained to Clinton how Indonesia has managed to
build harmonious relations between the various religions. "That's
Indonesia. That's the Pancasila state," he said.
Tarmizi also reported to Soeharto on the preparations for the
meeting of OIC's propagation organizations slated for the third
week of next January.
The meeting, which Soeharto is expected to open, will be
attended by representatives from 36 countries, he added. (emb)