Makkah – HM King Mohammed VI addressed a speech to the 4th Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held on 14 and August 15 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Here follows the full text of the royal speech which was read Wednesday by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid.
“Praise be to God May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference,
Your Excellency, Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, President of the Eleventh Islamic Summit,
Your Majesties, Your Excellencies,Your Highnesses,
Your Excellency, Mr. Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,
It gives me great pleasure to express my most sincere gratitude and appreciation to my revered brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for having kindly convened this extraordinary summit in Makkah.
This commendable initiative attests to his wisdom, foresight, high-mindedness and sincere keenness to preserve the unity of the Muslim Ummah, defend its just causes and build a better future for our countries.
I should also like to thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the people of our sister nation, Saudi Arabia, for kindly hosting this summit.
The convening of this important summit in the current exceptional circumstances and at such a difficult, complex juncture – at both regional and international levels – shows how keen we all are to pursue our joint consultation on critical issues. It also shows that we are determined to maintain our solidarity and remain committed to a wise course of action in the framework of a realistic vision, showing a firm will to advance the interests of our Muslim Ummah and rise to the security, development and cultural challenges facing it.
The current phase the Islamic world is going through requires all of us to mobilize our energies and manage our human and natural resources properly in order to fulfill our peoples’ aspirations for a better future in which they can enjoy freedom, peace and dignity, and devote their creative energies to taking on the challenges of comprehensive development.
Your Majesties, Your Excellencies,Your Highnesses,
The world around us is changing at a rapid pace. Every day, we are expected to strive doubly hard to find bold, relevant answers to the challenges facing us, especially as those answers can no longer be delayed or put on hold.
We are called upon, in this regard, to build the relations between the countries of our Muslim Ummah on solid, stable foundations in a world which has become increasingly competitive and which is dominated by major economies. Consequently, we are left with a single option: further our common interests, ensure the best possible investment of available resources and promote our entrepreneurial spirit in order to open up new prospects for economic and scientific cooperation. This should enable us to expand our experience and to ensure more efficient mobilization and use of our wealth and of our natural and human resources.
This can be achieved only through an economic partnership based on the promotion of inter-Islamic trade as a prelude to establishing a free economic zone that would serve as the cornerstone for the emergence of an Islamic Common Market. Needless to say, economic integration is, today, the solid basis of any international regional bloc.
Your Majesties, Your Excellencies,Your Highnesses,
One of the greatest challenges the Muslim world is currently facing is the hostile campaign against our tolerant faith. It seeks to tarnish the image of Islam and undermine its sacred values. This campaign has become more conspicuous in some Western media. Therefore, the media in Islamic countries should play an active part in correcting the distorted, stereotypical depiction of Islam and bring our faith’s tolerant principles and lofty ethical values into the global spotlight.
The success of the Islamic media in this crucial mission hinges on their ability to connect with the Western way of thinking in order to refute the allegations and fabrications circulated by certain parties. Indeed, some media go so far as to call Islam a religion of terrorism, aggression and intolerance because of the unacceptable practices of a small minority of people who claim to be Muslims; this is happening despite the Islamic world’s active involvement in the international efforts to combat terrorism, and although neither the hideous scourge of terrorism nor the various extremist trends that exist today can be attributed to a given religion or country.
Changing this negative image of Islam and Muslims must be accompanied by the consolidation of the channels for dialogue and communication between different civilizations, cultures and faiths on an equal basis, making sure there is mutual respect for the cultural identity and specific features of different peoples and nations. At the same time, Muslims should develop their resources and expand their cooperation and solidarity, in accordance with the ideals of our tolerant Islamic faith and in keeping with the words of the Almighty: “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves”. The Word of God is Truth.
Your Majesties, Your Excellencies,Your Highnesses,
The major challenges facing the Muslim world are matched only by the protracted or current political crises in our region. These crises make it incumbent on us to adopt a homogeneous, responsible solidarity-based approach to address them.
In this respect, we are following with deep concern the serious developments in Syria as the Syrian regime continues to target innocent civilians and refuses to respond to the legitimate demands of this brotherly Arab people.
In keeping with the duty of solidarity, given also that we are part of the international community and considering the critical nature of the historical juncture at which Syria finds itself today, we ask for an immediate end to the violence that is claiming many Syrian lives each day. The situation portends dire consequences for this sister Arab nation and exposes this entire sensitive region to further tragedies.
We call upon the international community to shoulder its responsibility in full and to take effective, concrete measures to protect civilians from slaughter, displacement and the gross, systematic violation of basic human rights.
We must also strive doubly hard to ensure political power transition in Syria that enables the Syrian people to open up a new chapter in their history and achieve their legitimate aspirations for dignity and freedom, and for progress and social justice.
From an early stage, Morocco has been actively involved in Arab, Islamic and international efforts to achieve a peaceful, political solution to the crisis in Syria. My country will continue to coordinate and consult with Arab and Islamic countries as well as with influential international players to find a solution to this crisis that would bring about a new political era in which all of the nation’s forces and all components of the Syrian people would be involved. The aim is to safeguard Syria’s unity, stability and territorial integrity.
Because of the worsening humanitarian situation and the growing numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, the Kingdom of Morocco has sent nearly 155 tons of food supplies and set up, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a multi-disciplinary field hospital which provides medical and surgical specialties, in order to assist the Syrian refugees who cross into Jordan.
This initiative falls within the framework of the enduring ties of solidarity and cooperation with our sister nation, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It reflects the Kingdom of Morocco’s keenness to support Jordan’s efforts to receive and assist refugees fleeing the violence in their country.
This humanitarian aid is yet another example of Morocco’s support for and full solidarity with the Syrian people. Through this, my country seeks to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, especially at this critical juncture.
As regards the conflicts affecting sister Islamic nations, like Mali, Somalia, the Sudan and Afghanistan, we urge the parties and factions concerned to opt for dialogue and reconciliation in order to overcome their disputes and safeguard the sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity of these sister nations.
Your Majesties, Your Excellencies,Your Highnesses,
Our preoccupation with the political crises affecting some Muslim countries – as serious as they may be – should not obscure the need to keep the Palestinian question at the forefront of our concerns and priorities since it is the core issue of the conflict in the Middle East.
The situation in the Palestinian territories and the outcome of the peace process, which is the result of the systematic Israeli practices towards the Palestinian people, of the blatant Israeli violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy and of Israel’s ignoring all calls for peace, require us to take firm initiatives, adopt practical measures and provide the necessary resources to support the steadfast struggle of the Palestinian people and their National Authority, so that the Palestinians may recover their legitimate rights and establish their independent state, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital.
In accordance with the responsibilities entrusted to me as President of the Al Quds Committee, I shall spare no effort to remain actively engaged with influential international parties and other peace-loving forces to put an end to the Israeli government’s persistent dodging of the obligations it has under the relevant international legitimacy resolutions and the agreements signed, to compel Israel to respect the Arab, Islamic and Christian character of the city of Jerusalem, to stop the policy of settlement and Judaization, to refrain from stripping the inhabitants of Jerusalem of their right to reside in Al Quds Al Sharif, and to end the successive violations of the sanctity of the Al Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic monuments.
Your Majesties, Your Excellencies,Your Highnesses,
The Kingdom of Morocco reaffirms its support for all well-meaning initiatives which are aimed at promoting joint Islamic action in all sectors, and revamping the Organization of Islamic Cooperation so that it may play an active, influential role in the international arena, while implementing the OIC Ten-Year Program of Action adopted by the Third Islamic Summit held here in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and which seeks to bolster the Organization’s structures and mechanisms.
Morocco has spared no effort to harness its energies in order to support Islamic unity, promote rational, constructive dialogue and solidarity with sister Islamic nations concerning all our crucial issues, and serve the objectives of peace, stability and comprehensive human development. My country pledges, once again, to remain deeply committed to this constructive course of action and to contribute to all beneficial actions and initiatives that are designed to help us enhance our unity, close our ranks, serve the common interests of our Ummah and achieve its security, stability and invulnerability.
Before concluding, I should like to express, once again, my sincere thanks and gratitude to my dearest, venerable brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for his praiseworthy efforts to safeguard the unity of our Ummah and defend its causes. In these blessed days of the holy month of Ramadan, I pray that Almighty God grant us success, guide our steps and help us to achieve the progress, glory and dignity our peoples are yearning for. May He assist us in our efforts to achieve the well-being of our Ummah, which the Almighty has made the best nation evolved for mankind.
Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.”
