June 29, 2001	atimes.com

India/Pakistan Islamic nations struggle with weak clout Analysis by Mushahid Hussain ISLAMABAD - A string of resolutions on issues facing more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide capped this year's meeting of foreign ministers of the 55-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which ended in Mali on Wednesday. But meetings of Islamic countries, which have tremendous potential still to be realized, often end up as a ritualistic repetition of resolutions without any action or meaningful follow- up. Among the issues at the meeting of OIC foreign ministers were Kashmir, Palestine and Afghanistan plus expressions of "concern" over human rights violations in Kosovo and Chechnya. In his opening remarks, OIC Secretary-General Abdelouahid Belkeziz expressed support for the struggle of the Kashmiri and Palestinian peoples. The OIC also decided to establish an Office for Relief in Afghanistan to help people affected by drought, dislocation and destruction caused by the decade-long civil war. However, no money was pledged on this count. The Islamic foreign ministers also opposed sanctions imposed against Muslim countries for a variety of reasons. Among those countries against which sanctions of one kind or other are in operation include Iraq, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. But whether such pronouncements will result in concrete action is another matter, since the OIC has limited clout in the international political scene. Muslim countries, from Malaysia to Mauritania and from Turkey to Bosnia-Herzegovina, cover a strategic part of the world. They have vast reservoirs of natural resources like oil and gas straddling key waterways like the Persian Gulf, plus billions of dollars in reserves stashed away, mostly in Western banks. However, they have yet to match their affluence with influence in international affairs. Take the case of key issues concerning Muslims like Palestine, Afghanistan and Kashmir. The OIC is a virtual non-factor in all of these. The United States is sending envoys to the Middle East to broker an accord between the Palestinians and Israelis, and the US-authored Mitchell Report remains the only worthwhile framework since the "intifadah" began in September 2000 to provide a basis for meaningful talks. Even the recent ceasefire was brokered courtesy of President George W Bush's special envoy, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director George Tenet, plus prodding from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In the case of Afghanistan, suffering its worst drought in memory, it is the United States which is the highest contributor for humanitarian relief, totalling US$43 million in 2001. The main task of looking after the 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and 1.5 million in Iran is also being managed by Islamabad and Tehran - without any organized relief effort or financial support from the OIC. As far as Kashmir goes, it is now left to Pakistan and India to settle this festering dispute. This they will attempt to do in the July 14-16 summit in India between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee. The OIC was not always so rudderless or ineffectual. Formed in October 1969 at a summit in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, after the burning of the Al Aqsa Mosque at Jerusalem enraged Muslims, the OIC was important in mobilizing Muslims after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war. That was the time when, in an effort spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, oil was for the first - and last - time used as a political weapon to punish Western supporters of Israel through the imposition of an oil embargo. In the summit that followed in the Pakistani city of Lahore in April 1974, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) under Yasser Arafat was, for the first time, accepted as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, it was an emergency meeting of Islamic foreign ministers convened in January 1980 in Islamabad that decided to reject and resist this occupation. This action bore results almost a decade later, when the Soviet Army was forced to withdraw in February 1989. These were some of the "finest hours" of the OIC. The OIC's credibility and ability to play effective roles were undermined largely as a consequence of two conflicts that were essentially intra-Muslim - pitting one Muslim state against the other. In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, which spawned an eight- year conflict perpetuated by the inability of OIC to condemn Iraq as the aggressor - a demand voiced by Iran as a precondition to peace. That split the Muslim world and weakened the OIC. In August 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait, resulting in the second Gulf War. The United States, backed by the Western countries and Israel, led a 28-nation coalition against Iraq, with a handful of Muslim states like Jordan, Yemen and the PLO backing Iraq. Again, the OIC was marginalized, and was really a non-player since the issue was being played on a broader strategic chessboard with big stakes all around. In the last decade, OIC membership has grown with the break-up of the Soviet Union leading to new Muslim states like Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Likewise, the first Muslim-majority state has emerged in Europe - the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. But the OIC's role remains limited. Yet is the fastest growing religion in such diverse continents as Africa and North America. In the future, the OIC can play a substantive, even meaningful role if it is pro-active in three areas. First, it needs to be active in resolving issues concerning Muslims like Palestine, Afghanistan and Kashmir, mediating conflicts, alleviating human suffering, providing succor for refugees. Second, the OIC can play a lead role in issues impinging on the future of Muslims, like a coordinated media strategy to raise awareness of problems and issues facing them, countering media negativism on Islam, promoting scientific and technological know- how and education among Muslims. For instance, the OIC Commission on Science and Technology has among its largest donors some of its poorest members like Pakistan and Bangladesh. Finally, the OIC needs to mobilize the 10 million Muslims living in Europe and North America in an organized manner. They are a strong constituency promoting Islamic causes and they now have "indigenous" celebrities - including popular sports personalities in the United States, such as former world boxing champion Muhammad Ali, the Algerian-origin, French world-class football player Zinedane Zidane or the British former singer Cat Stevens who converted to Islam and is now Yusuf Islam. What is significant is that at the beginning of the 21st Century, Islam is now part of mainstream Western society, with a presence spread all across Asia and Africa. The OIC, if it can get its act together, can make a difference by channeling such vast numbers to promote and project a better image of Islam and at the same time protect the interests of Muslims. (Inter Press Service)

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