Muslims Demand Permanent Seat on UN Security Council

(Sanaa, Yemen) There are 57 countries represented in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) which meets regularly to discuss solidarity and mutual interests. Yesterday, the organization met, opening with a statement by Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Salient points include:

Honourable Ministers,

In the face of the intensification of Islamophobia in the West, I have seen it as a duty to launch a campaign against this detestable phenomenon, and We have approached the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva in this connection. We succeeded to have the Committee adopt a resolution prohibiting defamation of religions, in particular Islam, as well as linking it with terrorism. We also took the campaign to the United Nations General Assembly asking it to make efforts in this regard. In the same vein, we went to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and managed to convince it to place the matter in its agenda and admitted that defamation of Islam has become a fundamental challenge in the field of human rights in Europe.

Since the enlargement of the Security Council has become a pressing issue in the agenda of the United Nations, we have made extensive efforts in concert with the Islamic Group at the United Nations in New York to ensure a permanent representation for the Muslim world in the Security Council. For the Muslim world, that is one fifth of the world's population, cannot remain excluded from the activities of the Security Council which assumes a fundamental role in keeping security and peace in the world.

In summary, the OIC has proposed to the UN and the European Organization for Security and Cooperation that measures be legislated to prohibit people from voicing a dislike for Islam coupled with a demand for permanent Muslim representation on the UN Security Council.

Interestingly, the 'Islamophobia' that the Secretary-General discussed was also addressed recently by Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar at a seminar on Islam and international politics in Kuala Lumpur. It's notable that in neither speech was there a hint that Islamophobia is the direct result of actions by the followers of Islam. All dialogue regarding Islamophobia ignores terrorism, Wahabism, Sharia law, honor killings, and the lack of freedom and democracy while pointing to a perception problem among Western nations that must be prohibited. A campaign to outlaw Islamophobia has been launched. No mention has been made about the possibility that Islamophobia is a perception with a sound basis.

At the same time, the Secretary-General demands a "permanent representation for the Islamic world on the UN Security Council." No specific countries, however, were identified as candidates for the permanent seat.

It's encouraging that the people of Islam recognize and are concerned that they are seen negatively by the West. However, my take is that no rules or laws will ever impact the level of Islamophobia as long as the Muslim world views terrorism as an integral aspect of diplomacy. It also seems illogical to award a permanent seat on the Security Council to any country that silently, without condemnation, accepts terrorism as a substitute for statesmanship.