Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that the West has hatched plots to spread Islamophobia in a bid to block growing conversion to Islam, and demanded the Muslim nations to take collective action to defuse these plots.
Speaking in a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here in Tehran on Monday, Ihsanoglu cautioned that spreading “Islamophobia, insulting Islamic values and sparking and spreading hatred for Islam are high on the agenda of the West, and urged the entire Muslim states to take established, and institutionalized collective measures” to confront the western plots in this regard.
He further elaborated on the OIC’s activities and plans to counter Islamophobia, insult to Islamic values and resolve Muslim issues such as Palestine, and called Iran’s supports and activities in these grounds as “highly crucial”.
The OIC chief also appreciated the Islamic Republic of Iran for its continued supports for the OIC and its valuable role in different OIC plans and programs.
He also underlined that the member states’ enhanced activity to materialize the organization’s goals is a basic need and necessity.
Ihsanoglu came to Tehran to attend an OIC Tourism Ministers meeting on Sunday. The three-day meeting kicked off work in the Iranian capital yesterday to explore ways to boost cooperation among the member states.
Ministers and representatives from 30 member states are present at the 7th OIC Tourism Ministers Conference. Tourism ministers from Iraq, Algeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Mali, Guinea, Lebanon, Syria, Cameroon, Senegal and Uganda are attending the event to finalize proposals suggested by their experts.
The first conference of the OIC members on tourism dubbed ‘the Islamic Countries’ Healthy and Secure Tourism’ ended in Iran’s Northeastern city of Mashhad on November 4, 2010.