Iyad Madani commends OIC-Arab league relations

Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has affirmed that relations between the OIC and the Arab League are of a fundamental and pivotal character, with the causes of Palestine, Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, at the forefront, particularly under recurrent and systematic Israeli violations aimed at judaizing Al-Quds and the stifling and brutal constraints meted upon the citizens of Jerusalem. The Secretary-General paid tribute in his address at the inaugural session of the 25th Session of the Arab Summit held in Kuwait on 25th - 26th March, to the close cooperative and consultative relations between the two organisations in their joint stand in the face of their common issues and challenges, and the OIC's keen interest in further advancing its coordination with the Arab League. Mr. Madani said, "The advancing danger and the serious challenges facing us all take the shape of discord and mutual killings which have gained ground in our ranks. This is a strife where there is no victor. It would rather invite perils for all." He said that the Extraordinary Islamic Summit which was held in Makkah in 2012, had adopted the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, for the establishment of a Centre for Dialogue among the Islamic Doctrines for the benefit of mutual understanding. He went on to say that the OIC is striving hard to ensure that the Centre becomes a reality in the near future. The OIC Secretary-General also drew the attention of the conference attendees to the extremist voices and groups that have "hijacked Islam and misappropriated the right to speak on its behalf, whereas in actual fact, Islam with its established values and aspirations and with its advocacy of justice, equality, concord, coexistence and mutuality, is totally unrelated to them and to their ideologies and what they call for." In addition, the Secretary-General brought up a number of other challenges facing the OIC and the Arab League, including the identity challenge, the challenge of achieving an innovative approach to coexistence that is mindful of the legitimate national interests of states, and that lays the foundations at the same time for regional and inter-regional concord and coexistence, maximising mutual interests and benefits rather than engaging in conflicts and mutual killings. He noted that the OIC and the Arab League are the two organisations most capable of providing the necessary channels and fora for the consideration of such an approach and its alternatives. The Secretary General concluded his remarks by paying tribute to the Arab League as the older organisation representing a powerful political, economic, social and coherent bloc within which Arab citizens are capable of living in full honour and dignity.