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Saudi King Abdullah tells OIC summit bloody violence due to Muslim division

15 August 2012 04:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, of Saudi Arabia, told a summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), held in Mecca -- the birthplace of Islam --, that the violence that is claiming Muslim lives across the globe was due to division of the Islamic world, APA reports quoting Al Arabia.

â€œBecause of division, the blood of the Muslim nation is shedding,â€ King Abdullah said the summitâ€™s opening speech.

He called for cooperation between Muslim states as a way to safeguard â€œthe dignity and history of Muslims.â€

He also called for the establishment of a center of dialogue between Islamic doctrines.

The OIC represents 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide and that it is holding a meeting Tuesday night in Mecca, the holiest Islamic city, is of particular significance â€“the 26th of the holy month of Ramadan is the night when the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed, according to Muslim tradition.

Foreign ministers who held a preparatory meeting on Monday recommended the suspension of Syriaâ€™s membership, the OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose country has openly criticized the push to suspend Syria, is attending the extraordinary meeting.

It was proposed by Saudi King Abdullah, who is pushing to mobilize support for the Syrian opposition fighters.

Tensions had been simmering for months between Sunni-dominated Gulf States and Shiite-dominated Iran, as both long-standing regional rivals had taken opposite stances on the uprising in Syria, which topped the summitâ€™s agenda.

The United States said that Rashad Hussain, its special envoy to the OIC, would take also part in the Mecca summit as an observer and hold meetings with other delegates on the sidelines.

His attendance â€œdemonstrates the United Statesâ€™ commitment to working with our partners in the international community to support the aspirations of the Syrian people and bring additional pressure to bear on the Assad regime,â€ a State Department statement said Monday.

Iran is the Syrian regimeâ€™s biggest regional ally and has pledged its full support for embattled President Bashar al-Assad in his fight to remain in power, though it denies providing him with soldiers or arms.

Tehran accuses Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey of arming and financing the mainly Sunni Syrian rebels against Assad, who hails from the Alawite minority â€“an off-shoot of Shiite Islam.

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia, which hosts the headquarters of the OIC based in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, has openly called for arming Syrian rebels.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Monday assured reporters that â€œwe are on track for increasing and improving the level of relations with Saudi Arabia.â€

However, the Iranian minister criticized the move to suspend Syriaâ€™s membership of the OIC.

â€œWe certainly do not agree with the suspension of any OIC member,â€ Salehi said after the meeting.

â€œThe suspension of its membership does not really resolve the issue and is not in line with the OIC charter,â€ he said. â€œWe have to look for other ways, means and mechanisms for resolving conflicts and crises.â€

Salehi called for â€œpaving the way for a meeting between the opposition and the Syrian government so they can negotiate with the help of others to reach a Syrian-Syrian solution.â€

But apparently, most OIC members disagreed with Iran.

â€œThe decision has been agreed upon based on consensus with an absolute majorityâ€ in favor of suspending Syriaâ€™s membership, Ihsanoglu said.

It will be put to heads of state at their summit in Mecca, which will continue on Wednesday, for â€œfinal approval,â€ he added.

Sources close to the meeting said that only Iran and Algeria were against the recommendation. Syria had no representatives at the meeting.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Ahmed Taieb, a top Saudi foreign ministry official told AFP that â€œsome delegatesâ€ were calling for further steps against Damascus by â€œdemanding that the current president step down and preparing for a post-Assad transition period.â€

Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem hailed the suspension as â€œa strong message to the Syrian regime on the importance of listening to the will of the people and their demands for freedom, justice and dignity.â€