What the Kuala Lumpur Summit promises

Last week, at a kind of Mini Islamic Summit gathered in Kuala Lumpur on the initiative of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, vital questions for Muslims were raised. The most crucial question, formulated by President Erdoğan, was how Muslims could have fallen so far behind in today's world despite all the means, wealth, and cultural and geographic advantages they possess.

The decisions taken at the meeting proposed leaving that question behind and coordinating serious work on how Muslims will take the place they deserve in the world we live in and in the future of this world, and how Islam can be effective in the world with its values that center on peace, justice and human dignity.

Why the Islamic world has fallen behind, and why it is in this state today, is indeed clear enough in all its dimensions. What is needed to set this situation right is to create well-intentioned and sincere initiatives and togetherness. Of course, it is not possible to say that the rulers of the Islamic world feel this problem in the same way. That is why the initiative of those who feel it, in time, sets in motion those who do not and gathers them around one banner.

It was decided to establish joint working groups and an issue-tracking system among the participating countries concerning all the areas identified at the Kuala Lumpur Summit.

There was a declaration that the Summit's chairman Mahathir Mohamad issued under his own signature at the end of the meetings. The most striking part of this declaration was that, by emphasizing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the D8 previously launched by the late Necmettin Erbakan, it stressed that the Summit is not an alternative to the efforts toward economic cooperation of such existing alliances among Islamic countries but a strategic cooperation that seeks to complement them, and that it invited all Muslims, countries and actors to join them.

The full text of the declaration is as follows:

n We recall the previous Kuala Lumpur Summit conferences, chaired by Mahathir Bin Mohammed, with the aim of establishing an international multi-sector dialogue platform to open all possible avenues to alleviate the consequences of the disasters affecting the Islamic Ummah.

To undertake the collective responsibility for the progress of the ummah through the Summit's seven interrelated and mutually supporting principles. These seven principles: sustainable development, integrity and good governance, culture and identity, peace, justice and freedom, sovereignty, security and defense, trade and investment, technology and governance.

To stress the importance of strong cooperation in the economic field and of benefiting from technology in the most important areas in order to overcome the problems faced by the Islamic nation.

Stressing that the Summit is a strategic cooperation that seeks to complement the efforts toward economic cooperation of existing alliances among Islamic countries such as the OIC and D8, we invite all Muslims, countries and actors to take part in the future activities of the Kuala Lumpur Summit, which from 2020 will take the name Perdana Global Peace Foundation for Dialogue of Civilizations.

Therefore

1. We are determined to implement the practical solutions endorsed by the Summit, with the vision of reviving Islamic civilization, which has won the great admiration of nations, in order to improve the present state of the ummah and to widen access to economic development, science, technology and innovation for future generations.

2. We reaffirm our commitment to build an ummah that lives in true freedom, within the framework of dignity and prosperity, that has the highest level of education and skills for better social and economic opportunities, that promotes peace and justice, and that contributes to the service of the international community.

3. We appreciate the role and effort that each member of the ummah, regardless of differences and diversity, has put forward in order to realize the aim of reviving Islamic civilization and for the ultimate interest of the ummah.

4. We express our resolve, as Muslims, to increase solidarity among ourselves and to pool our strength and resources aimed at raising, modernizing and innovating new approaches that seek solutions to the problems faced by the ummah, based on the creedal foundations of Islam and under the guidance of the Holy Qur'an.

5. We stress the importance of identifying the development needs of Islamic countries, of creating opportunities in the fields of economy, trade and investment, industry, scientific research and Islamic finance products, of keeping up with technological developments in various key areas, of combating corruption, of establishing good governance, and of addressing the threats of the identity crisis and Islamophobia.

6. We commit to pursuing a multi-disciplinary approach that encourages the exchange of ideas, discussion, policy-making and recommendations. In this context, we invite all actors in the Islamic world (Muslim academics, governmental bodies, NGOs, business organizations, institutions, organizations and individuals in the philanthropic field, development agencies, think tanks, universities, civil society within its general framework) to participate in the summit and to contribute to its future activities and discussions.

7. We pledge to strive to realize the aims and goals of the Kuala Lumpur Summit, united by a common resolve to revive Islamic civilization for the present and future generations of the ummah.