OIC's call
Islam, unlike other religions, strictly adheres to prayers being offered in a totally peaceful atmosphere and in complete silence signifying voluntary surrender to Almighty and it cannot be a religion that would promote violence and terrorism, as propagated by the West. Rather, Islam preaches and follows a peaceful propagation of the tenets of the religion and peaceful co-existence right from the days of the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh).
But the world powers pursuing an anti-Islamic agenda have conspired to provoke Muslims to violently react to terrorist actions of the powers that be. Islam had faced constant attacks since it was created "but in recent years the phenomenon has assumed alarming proportions and has become a major cause of concern for the Muslim world." The anti-Islamic forces, cutting across their religious contours and variations join together to use the occasion to denounce Islam and insult Muslims and try to finish off Islam by engineering conversions to other religions, have been at work for ages. But the Sept 11 event in the USA has been used by all these anti-Islamic forces to slam Islam and torture and kill Muslims all over the world. The civilized world, the West, has been in the forefront of this evil practice, known as Islamophobia.
Last week, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) called on Europe and America to take stronger measures against 'Islamophobia' in a report prepared for a summit of the group's 57 members in Dakar and warned that an "alarming" rise in anti-Islamic insults and attacks in the West has become a threat to international security. This monitoring group has requested Europe and North America to do more, through laws and social action, to protect Muslims from threats and discrimination and prevent insults against Islam's religious symbols. When the West behaves well, the rest of the world would follow suit. They acknowledge that many Muslim countries are themselves victims of terror and active partners of the international community in combating terror and extremism.
The report the OIC has prepared has added that Muslims in many parts of the world, in the West in particular, are being stereotyped, profiled and subjected to various forms of discriminatory treatment. It called on OIC member states to "step up their counter-measures by keeping the pressure on the international community at multilateral and bilateral forums." The OIC said the Muslim world must launch a campaign to show that it is a "moderate, peaceful and tolerant" religion, closely monitor and raise the alert over anti-Islamic incidents and organise more inter-faith initiatives. Victims of Islamophobia must be encouraged and given necessary help to file complaints.
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