Muslim Economic Union: Good idea that needs visionary Leadership which is not available at present

Musharraf for mechanism to reconcile Muslims, non-Muslims
Daily Times, November 7, 2006
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf on Monday proposed the establishment of an international dispute mechanism to resolve the political issues of the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

President Musharraf proposed this at the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) and urged the United States and the European Union (EU) to play active roles in solving the lingering Palestine issue, which is negatively affecting world peace.

“The Palestine issue has become the core issue of the Muslim world and has led to war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Musharraf addressing the second WIEF on Monday on the topic of ‘Challenges for Muslim Leadership in a Globalised World’. The president stressed the need for resolution of the Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan issues as imperative to world peace, which, in turn, would guarantee economic development in the world.

Musharraf also stressed the importance of Muslim countries empowering women – both politically and economically – in their efforts to develop.

He said it was easy to tackle terrorism, but very difficult weed out the roots of extremism, adding that that extremism could be curtailed by resolving the Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan issues.

The president also requested the EU to step forward and play an active role in resolving the political issues of the Muslim World.

Musharraf said that to solve its problems, the Muslim Ummah would have to adopt a path of enlightened moderation.

“We need to inform the world about the reality of Islam,” he told the meeting, adding, “Semiliterate clerics who hold sway over the masses (have contributed) to the rise of extremism in the Muslim world as opposed to moderation. This is the unfortunate reality because this is the critical malaise which spawns terrorism.” President Musharraf also called for an Islamic Economic Union and Islamic Fund to develop the economies of poor Muslim countries and also called for the restructuring of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and Islamic Development Bank.

When asked about the prospects of creating the Islamic Economic Union, Musharraf said that every Muslim country needs to individually introduce good governance and economic reforms and then to initiate collective reforms, including social, economic and administrative reforms. According to Musharraf, this would precede the establishment of an Islamic Economic Union, which would play an active role in the economic development of the Muslim world.

After President Musharraf’s address, a discussion was held among the panellists. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawai said that he agreed with President Musharraf on the setting up of an effective international dispute resolution mechanism to solve issues such as Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. He also underscored the change in office of the OIC and called for an OIC effective role in resolving the issues of Muslim countries.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that leadership and commitment were the key to success in strengthening economies. He said also that reforms take time to be implemented and that this process moves on. Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawk said that unless the Palestine issue is resolved, no peace could prevail.