JEDDAH, Dec 6: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have expressed the hope that the Muslim leadership will be able to develop a consensus on a ‘realistic’ programme enabling the Ummah to face the challenges it is confronting in the 21st century while seeking dialogue with the West to remove misperceptions about Islam.

In his inaugural address at the preparatory meeting of the OIC foreign ministers on Tuesday on the eve of the 3rd extraordinary summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the programme was based on the challenges facing the Muslim world and means to confront it.

He said leaders would consider the Makkah Declaration before its formal announcement by the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

The programme is based on the recommendations of the Muslim scholars and suggests ways to tackle the problems facing the Muslim world, he said. These problems, he pointed out, included the “vicious attacks from enemies as well as the deviant ideas from some Muslims.”

The document underscores the importance of correcting wrong ideas about Islam and advocates dialogue with others in a rational and wise manner, he said.

Organization of Islamic Conference Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that Saudi Arabia would consult with other member states before approving the declaration.

He warned against the phenomenon of Islam-phobia and said it had become an obstacle in a proper understanding of Islam and Muslims.

“We cannot view this phenomenon without linking it with the phenomenon of the international terrorism, which has defamed the Muslims despite the fact that most of the Muslim countries are victims of this phenomenon.”

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said the summit would take into account the challenges faced by the Ummah in the post-9/11 era and develop a consensus on ways to tackle the issues.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting held to finalize agenda for Wednesday’s summit, Mr Kasuri said that practical measures would be taken to deal with issues of sectarianism, terrorism, economic and trade collaboration between member states, besides misperceptions about Islam.

The summit will also issue a 10-year action plan and a communiqué charting a course of action for the 1.4 billion Muslims.

He said Pakistan had always played a key role in upholding the cause of the Ummah and would make contributions to make the summit a success.—APP

Syed Rashid Husain adds: Meanwhile, sources said that the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference may be renamed as the ‘Organization of the Islamic Countries’ during the two-day summit.

Some 50 heads of state and government, including President Pervez Musharraf and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reached Jeddah on Tuesday.

President Musharraf’s idea of ‘enlightened moderation’ has been welcomed by most of the member states and will be one of the major themes during deliberations.

The summit is the first official visit of the new the Iranian leader after he took over presidency. Mr Ahmadinejad is expected to allay fears in the Arab world that Iran is trying to ferment unrest in Iraq to bring the Baghdad government under its influence.

Last month, Saudi King Abdullah told a London-based daily: “The result of the war in Iraq has been to the benefit of the Iranian regime.”

However, Tehran has reportedly sought Riyadh’s support in the face of the US pressure over its suspected nuclear programme.

Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi is not coming to attend the summit.

Though the issues of Palestine, Iraq and Kashmir may not come up for deliberation as part of the formal agenda, yet informally these would continue to haunt the minds of the Muslim leaders.

The idea of forming a force from Muslim countries to replace the foreign troops in Iraq would also come up for discussion, the OIC secretary-general confirmed.

A delegation from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference is also in Jeddah with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at its head. They would be interacting with Muslim leaders, including President Musharraf, and present their case before them. The recently proposed ideas of self-governance and demilitarization of Kashmir would come up for discussion.

Increasing economic coordination and integration within the Muslim world is also one of the major targets of the roadmap being discussed in Makkah. OIC member countries constitute about 22 per cent of the world population. However, their cumulative share in the global GDP is believed to be just 5 per cent and their share in the international trade is only 8 per cent.

King Abdullah will also lay the foundation of the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Wednesday.