JEDDAH — The foreign ministers of the Islamic Cooperation Council (OIC) will meet in Jeddah next week to address pressing issues in member states as well as problems faced by Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries. This is the fifth time Saudi Arabia is hosting the foreign ministers' conference. So far foreign ministers of 25 member countries have confirmed their intentions to participate in the meeting. Iran will send its deputy foreign minister. Syria's membership in the group has been suspended. According to Director of OIC's Information Department Maha Akeel, the core issue to be discussed at the meeting will be Palestine and Al-Quds since Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories have been increasing at “an alarming rate”. She said “important decisions” are expected in this regard. Speaking at a press conference in Jeddah on Tuesday, Akeel said there will be a special session on the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) where Muslims have been “massively displaced and barbarically annihilated.” An OIC mission visited displaced Muslims and refugees in the country and has prepared a report. The OIC's independent Permanent Human Rights Commission will also present a report and recommendations to the meeting. Muslims officially constitute 15 percent of the population in the Central African Republic. However, OIC estimates put the figure at 20 to 25 percent. OIC envoys said Muslims in the country have been forced to move out to rural areas. Groups of Muslims were seen crossing forests to reach safety. Many of them are living in camps that lack “water, food and healthcare.” “The onset of the rainy season has brought greater suffering to the displaced. Some of them have died from snakebites during the dangerous trek of nearly three months through forests,” said Wajdi Sindi, a member of the OIC mission. He said at least 1 million Muslims have been affected by the crisis. The capital Bangui itself used to have 250,000 Muslims, whose number has now dwindled to 2,000. Most of the Muslims remaining in the city have abandoned their homes and sought refuge in mosques. Some 600,000 Muslims have been displaced in the country and many of them are moving toward the borders of Chad and Cameroon, Sindi said. He said at least 400 mosques have been destroyed. The OIC is calling on member countries to raise $10.5 million in urgent aid to help the displaced Muslims of the Central African Republic. Other top issues on the agenda include Mali, Somalia, Kashmir and Myanmar, Akeel said. The Syrian crisis will also be in the spotlight at the ministerial meeting and the announcement of an OIC contract group for Syria is expected, said Akeel. She said the Boko Haram and its organized terrorist activities in Nigeria will also be discussed. “It looks like extremism is growing and this will affect not only Nigeria but also the region in general,” added Akeel. She said an OIC delegation already visited Nigeria to assess the situation and offer necessary support to bring development to the northeastern region of the country. She further said that the OIC would draw up a strategic plan to fight extremism and terrorism in Nigeria. The situations in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan will also be looked into at the meeting. Among the main economic issues to be discussed at the meeting will be “unifying the classification and stamping of Halal food and products.” The meeting will also discuss Islamophobia and ways to enhance cultural exchanges between OIC member countries.
