APA-Banjul (The Gambia) The 15th summit of Muslim leaders ended in Banjul, The Gambia on Sunday with a call on member states to banish Islamophobia from the consciousness of the contemporary world.
Islamophobia is the expression of irrational distrust or prejudice against Islam or Muslims who are blamed for terrorism.
This tendency has gained currency among non-Muslims since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington byindividuals who had identified with the Islamic faith.
Known as the Banjul Declaration, the pronouncements which also encapsulate other urgent themes of contemporary interest, demands the establisment of a body within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secratariat dedicated to fighting such negative stereotypes against Islam and Muslims around the world.
Delegates at the summit believe that Islamophobia had led to irrational fear of Muslims and the tragic misrepresentation of Islam as a religion which otherwise enjoins peace and tolerance not only among its 18 billion adherents but also with non-Muslims.
It is not clear what the composition of this body will look like but Gambian President Adama Barrow as new OIC chair, has vowed to embark on dialogue during his three-year tenure to foster greater understanding not only among member nations but also with non-member countries.
The declaration also called for greater support to the long suffering Palestininians against the disproportionate use of force by Israel and diplomatic offensives to bring about a two-state solution which has proved elusive for the past 75 years.
The declaration resulted from two days of closed-door meeting by eight heads of state from The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Republic of Northern Cyprus and Sudan.
Important players within the OIC such as Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Iran were represented by foreign ministers with strong delegations to the summit.
It was the third in sub-Saharan Africa since those hosted by Senegal in 1991 and 2008.
The two-day summit was under the theme ‘Enhancing Unity and Solidarity Through Dialogue For Sustainable Development’.
The Eurasian country of Azerbaijan has been unveiled as the 16th host of the OIC summit in 2027.
WN/as/APA