The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Extraordinary Summit

MECCA

The 4th Extraordinary Summit organized by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Mecca has concluded. The meeting took place at the invitation of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, but it is known that the Organisation's head, Prof. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, has had a demand in this direction since the day the Arab Spring process began, and especially since the days when the Syrian crisis took a turn for the worse.

We had stressed that the Summit's having convened in such a place, on such a night, carried a very special meaning. Indeed, on this night when the most authentic presence of the Islamic world, its people directly, had gathered in the most sincere feelings, the fact that the leaders accompanied this sacred gathering, that those crowds and their leaders met in the same atmosphere of feeling, had both a completely different meaning and a completely different blessing. In the prayers offered every evening, thanks were given to God that the leaders had gathered for decisions that would be beneficial for the Islamic world, and further prayers were made to God that the decisions they would take would bring good to the whole world, and that He would grant the leaders insight, foresight and affection toward Muslims.

The royal palace where the meeting took place is built on the hill of Abu Qubays and overlooks the Sa'y area, and this hill is the famous hill where the Meccan polytheists gathered to watch the worship of the Muslims, whom they had allowed to perform the Hajj as a result of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. It is for this reason that, at the part of the Sa'y visible from that hill, it was recommended on the Prophet's advice that Muslims perform the hervele. It is also a sunnah that Muslims project an imposing image in the part visible to the polytheists, that is, a kind of perception management.

Another meaning of the Sa'y is that one side of Hagar's face is turned toward God while the other is immersed in worldly busyness to the utmost. She has to find water for her Ishmael; she goes back and forth many times between the hills of Safa and Marwa for Ishmael, who is crying under that scorching heat and whom she thinks is about to die of thirst. Even in this worldly bustle, which she does not neglect, her face is turned toward God. She asks from God. And in the end God sends her the blessed Zamzam, from the place where Ishmael's heel struck.

The OIC Summit was held in the palace that overlooks this place of Sa'y. The fact that a palace of this height was built at this place has undoubtedly been the subject of much debate. It is a sight that never sat well with those making the Hajj pilgrimage, and never will. Admittedly, it is said that in the new expansion project all the tall buildings around the Mosque will be demolished; since the Palace falls on the Sa'y boundary of the Masjid al-Haram, it is not yet known how it will get its share of this expansion.

The Summit, which took place in this spiritual atmosphere, one side of which faces the Kaaba, ended, like the human bustle of the Sa'y, with results befitting the expectations of this atmosphere. Decisions with important consequences for Islamic countries were taken.

At the meeting at which he assessed the results with journalists, President Abdullah Gül said that these results were beneficial in every respect. He stated that a meeting had taken place that offered very good cohesion, cooperation and confidence-building among Muslim countries.

First of all, on the occasion of this meeting, existing cooperation was reviewed in bilateral contacts with the presidents of many countries, and situations were assessed for new relations. Abdullah Gül made special reference to his talks, above all with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and with the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Bahrain and Palestine.

In the plenary, the issues of Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan and Sudan were specially addressed, and everyone who spoke made special reference to the interest Turkey has shown in all these areas, conveying their appreciation. The interest Turkey has shown in Myanmar also drew great appreciation, and, at Turkey's request as well, it was decided to form a contact group for aid to Myanmar. This was one of the important agenda items of the meeting.

President Gül said that one of the things expected from this meeting by Turkey was a decision on Syria to suspend its membership. This decision was taken, and moreover, contrary to expectation, there was no serious objection to it from Iran. Because, according to Gül, Iran too has increasingly come to see that the situation in Syria is unsustainable neither for the Syrian people nor even for its own interests. It has also seen how hard it is to resist something on which all Islamic countries agree.

Asked what kind of consequences the suspension of Syria's membership in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation could have, Gül said that it means a certification that the legitimacy of Syria's current regime has completely ended. This truly has an important consequence. It has become official that a regime able to inflict unimaginable levels of violence on its own people with the weapons in its hands has ended its function as a state, even if it can sustain that capacity for violence. The Syrian regime has no meaning left beyond that of an armed network that no one in the Islamic world recognizes, with which no one establishes relations, and which no one respects.

Having come to this point perhaps does not mean having neutralized that armed force, but having neutralized it as a state means its end.

Gül, who particularly underlined that the resistance in Syria has no ideological side, said: "If the prime minister of a country has abandoned that country, this is a matter not of an ideological group but of the people. Those who began this struggle are the generals and members of the Syrian army. It is very important to see this point." This observation constituted an important answer to claims that the elements fighting against Assad consist of certain narrow ideological groups. Indeed, the majority of the elements now fighting in Syria consist of those who have left the regular army. Very broad segments of society are now showing a common will against Assad. Whether the opposition has united among itself is a separate problem, but a sufficiently insistent partnership has now formed around the view that Assad should go.

Gül, who said that Islamic countries no longer have any hesitation about Assad's going in Syria, related that, looking at the Iraqi experience, he also gave some warnings at the Summit meeting regarding the post-Assad situation. In Iraq, after Saddam, the institutions of the army or the government, products of years of experience, social memory and balance, were completely destroyed. This created a great void in society. This void still cannot be filled. The same mistake must not be made in Syria; institutions should be preserved, and of course special attention had to be paid to the historical fabric.

There are also points Gül touched on especially regarding sectarianism, and let us continue relaying them later, together with the extremely beneficial developments that occurred in this direction at the OIC meeting.