"Peace and Harmony" in the OIC

The rise of Islamic extremism is putting increasing pressure on Christians in Muslim countries, who are the victims of murder, violence and discrimination. Christians are now considered the most persecuted religious group around the world.

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In many countries through the Muslim world, religion has gained influence over governmental policy in the last two decades. The militant Islamist group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, while Islamist militias are fighting the governments of Nigeria and the Philippines. Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen have fallen to a large extent into the hands of Islamists. And where Islamists are not yet in power, secular governing parties are trying to outstrip the more religious groups in a rush to the right.

While there are both Muslim and non-Muslim countries on the list of offenders, a review of the report shows that a majority of the countries where Christians are persecuted are member states of the Organization of the Islamic conference (OIC).

According the OIC website, “The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world and ensuring [sic] to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.” [italics added] The contradiction between this claim and the facts on the ground is straightforward.

Against this backdrop: In October, the Christian Science Monitor reported on the OIC’s push in the UN for a legally binding international treaty against blasphemy. This is in addition to the resolutions they regularly pass—successfully—on the issue. In 2006, the IHEU noted that another OIC anti-blasphemy proposal would have given justification for Muslim violence—as in the Mohammed cartoon riots several years back—without actually promoting human rights.

The recent study shows that there are a number of OIC states who support inter-religious reconciliation. However, against the backdrop of the anti-blasphemy measures in the UN—along with years of persecution of religious minorities—it’s apparent that the majority are less interested in “peace and harmony” than in promoting an Islamist agenda which could ultimately impact our free speech at home, while the plight of religious minorities worsens around the world.