The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) says the world needs a clear-cut definition of terrorism to remove any ambiguity and maintain strong consensus on the issue.
In a statement to the third meeting of heads of police organisations and agencies in the OIC member states, Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said this definition should be adopted by the UN global counterterrorism strategy. The OIC had contributed to the strategy.
He said major events were unfolding in the Muslim world, which require enhanced cooperation between states. He said the OIC has always urged its member states to coordinate efforts and collaborate to strengthen international partnerships through the UN, which in September 2011 endorsed the Saudi and OIC-backed initiative to establish an international counterterrorism centre.
He said that the OIC believes that to combat terrorism, it is imperative to address its root causes in a holistic manner with a view to evolving an approach that incorporates the political, economic, social and cultural aspects that underpin it.
Ihsanoglu said the OIC wanted to promote cultural dialogue and positive engagement. This would help to avoid misunderstandings leading to exclusion, alienation, extremism and the growing wave of Islamophobia in parts of the world, all of which contribute to the rise of a sense of estrangement which may in turn induce those who perceive themselves as targets to resort to blind violence.
