His Excellency Hamid Karzai

President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

In the

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

My brother, His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade

Excellencies heads of states and governments, brothers and sisters.

السلام و علیکم و رحمت الله و برکاته

I am delighted to be in this historic event and to meet, once again, my brothers the leaders of the Islamic countries. I wish to sincerely thank my brother President Abdoulaye Wade and the brotherly people of Senegal for their warm hospitality accorded to me and my delegation.

Allow me to express my [deepest] gratitude to my brother Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi, the Prime Minister of Malaysia and president of the 10^th Session of the Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference for his hard work in promoting and bringing together the Islamic Ummah.

The Extra ordinary Summit of the Conference in Mecca Mukarrammah, at the invitation of His Majesty Khadem el Haramain-e-Sharifain Malik Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud provided an excellent opportunity to discuss challenges facing the Islamic world and also to come up with the 10 Year Progamme Plan of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank, once again, my brother His Majesty Khadem-el-Haramain-e-Sharifain.

I also wish to congratulate His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade President of the brotherly country of Senegal for assuming the presidency of the 11^th Session of the Summit of the Heads of Islamic countries and wish him all the success. My thanks and appreciation also goes to my brother Professor Ehsan Uglu and the entire organizing team of the conference secretariat for their excellent work in making this conference possible.

Brothers and Sisters!

The 11^th Summit of the Conference has recognized and praised Afghanistan’s achievements in the past six years, while renewing its commitment and support to the people and Government of Afghanistan. I am deeply grateful.

It is my hope that the Conference of the scholars of the Islamic world, schedule to be held in Afghanistan will provide an opportunity for our Ulema/scholars  to discuss and debate issues confronting the Islamic world and in particular highlight the viewpoints and analysis of the Muslims in the struggle against terrorism.

The United Nations’s cultural organization (UNESCO) has selected the Ghazi city of Afghanistan as a cultural capital of the Islamic world for the year 2013.  From this ancient city rose famous scholars, poets and thinkers (Farzana?) whose contributions at their time were pioneering in such areas as medicine, astronomy, and philosophy and reason. In the 11^th and 12^th centuries Ghanzi inspired and influenced learning across the Islamic world. This era is recognized as one of the most significant periods of the Islamic civilization. While I thank UNESCO and ISSESCO I also wish to invite the Islamic countries to join us in celebrating that year in an appropriate way.

Mr. President, brothers and sisters!

In the past six years, Afghanistan was able to have significant achievements in reconstruction, economic growth and rebuilding our national and state institutions. Today more than 5.8 million boys and girls are attending schools. Despite a quarter century of war and destruction, our roads network has been rebuilt. Child mortality reduced by about 25.7 percent. This is in the backdrop of the fact that in 2002 only 8 percent of Afghans had access to basic health services while today 81 percent have access to health services in the proximity of their homes and villages.

We have come a long way in strengthening the current elected political order, based on the wishes of the people and restoration of our sovereignty. We have made tremendous sacrifices. However, in attaining our desired justice, sustainable peace and bringing an end to [foreign] interference and terrorism in Afghanistan we have still a long and challenging way to go.

The people of Afghanistan, in defense of the beliefs and dignity of the Islamic world, have made many sacrifices. The way the Islamic world stood by us in our Jihad against communism, we hope you will assist us in the same order in our struggle against terrorism and the Jihad to rebuild Afghanistan.

I had wished to see the challenge of fighting against terrorism, in an appropriate fashion, addressed in the OIC Secretary General’s report. Today, terrorism takes the lives of tens of women, children and civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algiers and other Islamic countries. First and foremost, it is out duty as Muslims to have a clear stance in recognizing this challenge and fight against it effectively.

The fight against terrorism, a menace that uses our beliefs and religion to justify killing thousands of innocent people is primarily the responsibility of us Muslims. The vast majority of victims of terrorism are innocent Muslims. This is proven by the martyrdom of thousands of innocents in Kandahar, Kabul, Islamabad, Istanbul, Bali and Algiers. They kill women, children and scholars/ulema while they destroy our homes, religious and secular schools and even our mosques. Terrorists kill innocent people all over the world, wrongfully, in the name of Islam. The trails of killers go from New York to London and Madrid while the holly religion of Islam is being maligned for such barbaric acts by terrorists and extremists. It is upon us, the Islamic countries, to recognize the danger of terrorism as a deadly threat and fight an effective war against it.

Brothers and sisters!

We in Afghanistan, having suffered from terrorism firsthand and out of Islamic brotherhood, are concerned about the outbreak of terrorism and violence in the brotherly country of Pakistan. We see our security and stability in that of Pakistan and therefore strongly condemn terrorist acts against it. We would like to build on the existing environment of goodwill between our two countries and strengthen cooperation in fighting the common threat of international terrorism.

Afghanistan is concerned at the continuation of hardship and suffering in Palestine. We demand an end to attacks and occupation directed against Palestinian people and territories. We strongly support the establishment of a Palestinian state and implementation of the United Nations resolutions. 

For Iraq, we would like to see increased security, and their national unity and territorial integrity preserved.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen!

The holy religion of Islam forbids insult and desecration of the beliefs of non-Muslims. We are deeply troubled by the continued insults and disrespect against our holy prophet (peace be upon him) exhibited by some media organizations. It takes our collective call and resolve to end such acts of ignorance.

Afghanistan is concerned at the spread of Islamophobia in some parts of the world. Islam has dealt with the followers of other religions in peace and harmony. Non-Muslims were not persecuted under the Islamic andalusia. The Ottomans treated non-Muslims in the territories under its control in Eastern Europe and Greece with respect and dignity.

Peaceful coexistence in our global village where followers of various religions and civilizations live side by side requires the Islamic world to choose dialogue, cooperation and unity with others. Therefore, we should engage with the world around us in an open and constructive dialogue in order to put to an end prejudice and misjudgments about us and also our own pre-judging of others with an aim to contribute to a peaceful world for all.

Brothers and sisters!

In spite of a glorious past, Islamic countries are faced with poverty, backwardness and weakness of scientific and scholarly institutions.  Poverty and lack of a clear foresight for a hopeful future derails our youth and encourage extremist tendencies.

Millions of Muslim youth across the world are deprived from the wealth of knowledge, education and gainful employment. Illiteracy and deprivation are reasons enough to deliver our youth in the hands of extremists so they can turn them into intolerant elements in direct contradiction to the humane and peaceful nature of Islam.

As outlined in the 10 year action plan of the OIC it is our responsibility to effectively use our capabilities to fight against illiteracy, eradicate poverty and provide means for a comfortable life for our citizens. The existing institutions within the OIC framework and other educational institutions must act in concert to promote learning in our own countries and also contribute in connecting the world citizens through cultural and academic exchanges.

Excellencies, ladies and Gentlemen!

The current needs and aspirations of the Islamic Ummah for a happy and prosperous life require us to cooperate with each other more than ever before.  Strengthening the Organization of the Islamic Conference, as a body to bring cohesion among Muslims and also as an institution to resolve disputes and conflicts can contribute to unity of the Islamic Ummah.

Islamic countries are rich with young population, and vast economic and specialized capacities. We, in our territories, control the most important and strategic resources of the world. We must take our resources seriously and coordinate our policies more closely in the areas of fighting terrorism, building strong economies, poverty eradication and the struggle against illiteracy.

Unfortunately, in one hand we are faced with illiteracy and weakness of our educational institutions on the other hand our educated and qualified people are leaving for a better life elsewhere. The increasing problem of brain-drain (flight of brains) poses a serious challenge in our quest to acquire modern sciences and technology. We must create suitable employment opportunities in order to stop the flight of our scholars and educated people. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the OIC and the Islamic Development Bank can both serve as effective institutions to promote commerce and economic exchanges among Islamic countries. I believe the Islamic countries must open up their markets to one another and allow their fellow Muslim countries to benefit from their technological advances in a reciprocal order.  Free people to people exchanges, promoting tourism, and encouraging investment are effective means to bring our nations together.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen!

At this point I would like to come back to the issue of terrorism as a defining challenge to the Islamic world. Fight against terrorism is primarily the responsibility of us the Islamic nations. We must destroy the financial resources, training centers and ideological basis of terrorism, no matter wherever they are.  I believe any delay or complacency towards terrorism can threaten the security of Islamic countries more than anything else.  We owe it to our future generations to rise up to the challenge of ensuring a life without fear and terrorism to the Islamic Ummah the way it is our responsibility to ensure all this to our citizens.

In closing, I once again pray before the Almightily Allah for the happiness and prosperity of the Islamic Ummah and wish that the lands of Islam are the lands of peace, reconciliation and brotherhood.