Oman takes part in 15th Islamic Summit Conference
The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs represented Oman at the 15th session of the Islamic Summit Conference in the Gambian capital Banjul.
Oman’s delegation was headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Saeed Al Maamari, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs.
At the beginning of his speech, the Minister conveyed the greetings of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said and his sincere wishes for the success of the conference’s work.
He said: “The slogan of this summit, ‘Promoting unity and solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development', comes at the right time. It is a very important topic and it calls on all of us in the Islamic world to deepen our cooperation and strengthen the ties that unite us in our common endeavour towards achieving a prosperous present and the sustainable future of our peoples and the peoples of the entire world.”
He said the summit comes as the world is still burdened with issues, conflicts and crises in addition to the repercussions of climate change. He said there was an urgent need to mitigate its effects, heal sectarian and religious divisions, close the digital, food and medicine gaps and meet challenges so everyone can benefit from justice and constructive international cooperation.
The Minister said the Islamic world today has great responsibilities that require it to redouble efforts and adopt effective initiatives and policies to confront common challenges, unify positions and intensify joint action to combat the scourges of extremism, terrorism, discrimination, hatred and Islamophobia and to promote the values of tolerance and coexistence in the world.
He said the region is witnessing tension and a military escalation that threaten its safety and stability as a natural outcome of the brutal Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and its repercussions which Oman has repeatedly warned against.
He said the international community had failed to stop the war and to deter Israel from its continued violations of international law. The United Nations Security Council was unable to adopt resolutions recognising the State of Palestine despite the global consensus on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
The Minister said Oman remained firm in supporting Palestine during international and regional meetings at all levels. It has opened dialogues with various countries of the world to stop the war and presented its oral argument before the International Court of Justice in February regarding Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He said: “There is great certainty that the death of innocent, honourable people in Palestine will not be in vain and that the scales of divine justice will not fail this steadfast people. The banner of truth will fly in the sky of the independent Palestinian state – with God’s help and success.
“Today's interconnected world is made more complex and turbulent by crises and challenges, which makes awakening the human conscience and renewing our commitment to common values indispensable necessities to preserve the humanity that unites us and to preserve what remains of morality and compassion.”
The Minister concluded his speech by saying that an alert conscience is enough to remind a person that he is part of the fabric of this vast world, belongs to humanity and works for his fellow man wherever he is.
He said that awakening the human conscience means resetting the moral compass to push humanity to work towards building a world of justice, mercy and peace: “Man, by his normal nature, is born to embrace the spirit of collective humanity, and by nature is capable of feeling for others, enhancing empathy and compassion among people based on the belief that the present is the foundation of the future.”
The conference, held over two days, discussed a number of topics including the situation of Islamic societies in non-member countries, combating hate speech and Islamophobia, economic, humanitarian, social and cultural challenges in addition to strengthening international dialogue.
This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.