OIC Steps in Handling Islamophobia and Extremism

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), represented by the Ministry of Dialogue and Outreach, has made efforts to promote dialogue, outreach, and fight against terrorism and extremism.

The OIC also established the Voice of Wisdom Center to counter extremist discourse.

Reporting from the Saudi Gazette on Thursday, the promotion is carried out through social media outlets and highlights the concept of moderation and right as taught in the Quran and Prophet Muhammad Shalallahu alaihi wasallam in building inner and external peace and review as a noble model to realize the message of brotherhood among mankind.

This center also helps demonstrate the tolerant philosophy of Islam in unclear issues that contribute to misunderstandings of Islam, reviewing the successful pioneers and expertise of member countries in fighting terrorism so as to achieve a unified image of a joint mechanism to combat this phenomenon.

The OIC helps formulate policies and practical steps to instill the value of tolerance in Islamic society, fight extremism, and provide recommendations to the Secretariat General for adoption in the draft of the organization’s periodic conferences.

This organization carries out various activities in the context of combating extremism and terrorism, such as holding consultation meetings with delegations of member countries and various symposiums on the efforts of member countries and their organizations to combat extremism and terrorism at the secretariat headquarters.

The workshop was organized by the Department in coordination with the Center for Global Engagement (GEC) of the United States Department of State, where one of the outcomes of the workshop was to train relevant departments to understand social analysis and statistics that affect the work of sites and how to use analysis to increase content and engagement with users.

It also outlines how to monitor and modify the overall strategy and objectives of messages posted on social media platforms.

This organization also concentrates its efforts, through the Islamophobia Observatory which monitors incidents, feelings and criminal incidents against Muslims on a daily basis and monitors all issues related to negative or positive phenomena of Islamophobia around the world.

They do this by gathering the necessary information from trusted sources and accredited networks and providing reports on the status and trends of Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims worldwide, as well as preparing an annual report on the state of Islamophobia for submission to the Conference of Foreign Ministers of member countries.

This report is submitted before coordination with other departments such as political affairs, Muslim minorities and the OIC Permanent Independent Human Rights Commission on issues related to Islamophobia.

The Dialogue and Outreach Department also organizes workshops to evaluate the Islamophobia Observatory and contributes to the success of many Islamophobia-related events in other secretariats or countries.

Regarding dialogue, the department organizes interfaith dialogue events and highlights the role of religious leaders in peace and reconciliation processes, where in December 2017, the Department partnered with various stakeholders including governments, international organizations, think tanks, academic institutions, and civil society organizations.

This month a joint initiative was carried out with the King Abdullah International Center for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), the Interreligious Council of Thailand (IRC), the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP) in Thailand, Mahidol University and Fatoni University, holding a strategic workshop in Bangkok.

This interfaith event brings together civil society and religious leaders, policy makers, and government representatives to identify challenges facing religious communities in South and Southeast Asia.

he Department in collaboration with KAICIID held a workshop entitled “Together for Diversity and Promoting Inter-Religious Dialogue”, in the Indonesian Capital City, Jakarta, between 18-19 December 2019 with the aim of enriching intercultural dialogue, increasing understanding among adherents of religions and civilizations, and preventing or reduce conflict in Southeast Asia.

The workshop brought together participants from political decision makers and religious leaders from Buddhist and Islamic backgrounds from Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

In the future, the department aims to organize conferences and workshops for Islamic-Orthodox dialogue, Muslim-Buddhist dialogue, Islamic-Protestant dialogue, Islamic-Catholic dialogue and Islamic-Chinese dialogue, as well as Islamic-Islamic dialogue in many societies. (T/RE1)

https://www.republika.co.id/berita/rlhdfs320/mengenal-lebih-dekat-derap-langkah-oki-tangani-islamofobia-dan-ekstremisme

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)