An extraordinary event! Really?

Journalists must have gleefully discarded their thesaurus when describing the latest Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca. Extraordinary is a word you’ll most encounter. Why not? Like Bani-s (tribes) of old, 57 Muslim nations gathered in the shade of the Holy Ka’aba to talk shop.

Do any of the leaders remember the six-year ban on the hajj (pilgrimage) by Saud bin Abdul Aziz when his band of fighters conquered Mecca and Medina in the nineteenth century? I doubt it. All water under the bridge.

Or that French paratroopers had been allowed into the Haramain to quash a rebellion against Saud rule in 1979? Again, let old dogs die.

After all, Saudi Arabia did not spare a single cent (small change in the oil-rich kingdom) in preparing for the event. And there’s a new Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques at the helm- King Abdullah- the Caliph who’s not quite there yet.

I’m joking, of course. Muslims have had no Caliph (leader) since the Ottomans vacated the seat early in the twentieth century. But the OIC determined that there should be some movement on an:

1.Islamic Court of Justice- which for some mysterious reason, has never gained much popularity before this. Conceivably, Muslim criminals like Usama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri will be placed in its docks. The problem, of course, is determining which stream of Islam gets to try whom. Sunni, Shia and Salafist are the main contenders. In an age where each schism lays claim to the mantle of orthodoxy that is embodied in the title Ahle-Sunnah-Waal-Jemmaah, the decision on which group should set the agenda might just shelve this idea for several more centuries.

2. Islamic Fiqh Council- for issuance of authoritative Fiqh (jurisprudence) for the whole Muslim Ummah.

After fighting tooth and nail against George Bush’s characterization of the war on terror as being a question of "You’re either with us or against us", the OIC, many of whose members have recently been introduced to suicide bombing, finally understands the stakes.

"OIC leaders called for ‘combating the preachers of sedition and deviation, who aim to distort the peaceful principles of Islam’.

The spirit that made the Amman Initiative in July 2005 a success was certainly much in evidence here. Aside from ringing calls for "moderation" to be the defining attribute of all Muslims, the OIC recognized the need to "to combat poverty, illiteracy and corruption in the Muslim world".

Unfortunately, constant irritants like Kashmir, Palestine and Iraq received very little attention.

While Jordan, the most recent victim of terrorism, has adopted a hardline stance against terrorism, Qatar, interestingly enough, argued for milder language to be used in the final statement of the OIC summit.  The atrocious logic being: tough wording might be interpreted as yielding to American pressure. By the by, Qatar just allowed a church to be built within its borders. It’s the first one.

2005 is certainly an auspicious year. I wonder if Christmas will be allowed in Saudi Arabia next year.

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