Islamophobia High on OIC Summit

11 March 2008

Riyadh-With drawings blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and a documentary desecrating the holy Quran, alarming Islamophobia in the West will be high on the agenda of the Muslim leaders' upcoming Summit.

"We have to resolve the issue of Islamophobia through a committed political dialogue and a historical reconciliation between Islam and the West," Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said.

He said when the leaders of the 57 member states meet in Senegal on Thursday, March 13, they will discuss the first report of an Islamophobia monitoring committee, OIC secretariat said in a press release.

"They will be expected to take appropriate decisions against such acts of Islamophobia."

Denmark's main dailies reprinted on February 13, a cartoon blaspheming the great Prophet Mohammad (SA).

Ihsanoglu said that the cartoon and the documentary are "specifically designed to insult the most sacred symbols of Islam." "They violate international legal instruments that prohibit insult and offence of religious beliefs of others and cannot be condoned under freedom of expression."

The OIC chief cited an urgent necessity for the international community to either strengthen the existing international legal instruments or enact new ones to include preventive measures against insulting or offending religious values and sentiments, the secretariat said.