Sushma Swaraj targets Pakistan on terror in OIC address

New Delhi: Hailing Islam as a religion of peace, quoting from the Holy Quran and pointing out that “none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence”, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday indirectly hit out at Pakistan by asserting that countries which provide “shelter and funding to terrorists” should be globally told “to dismantle terrorist camps”. Her comments came during a historic address, a first by a Indian minister, as a “guest of honour” at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In comments significant in the context of the Indo-Pak tension after the Pulwama attack, Ms Swaraj told representatives of of 57 Islamic countries that the war against terrorism, which destabilises regions and puts the world at great peril, is not against any religion.

India’s participation in OIC foreign minister’s meeting in Abu Dhabi (UAE) came despite a strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Ms Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary.

“Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion,” she said, without mentioning Pakistan during her nearly 17-minute speech.

Describing Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India as victims of terrorism, she said, “This menace can not be fought, only through military, intelligence or diplomatic means but needs to be countered through the strengths of our values, and the real message of religion”.

Significantly, in a marked departure from the hostility between India and the OIC as a forum previously due to the Kashmir issue, Ms Swaraj, in a new beginning, hailed the OIC as “an organisation, that has a key role in shaping our world”, adding that “it is a matter of pride for me, and for India, to be invited in this special year, to be your guest of honour, and to be extended a hand of friendship”.

Ms Sawaraj during her address read a verse from the Holy Quran which says,“La Ikrah fiddeen (Let there be no compulsion in religion).”

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, a senior minister in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet who later became the President, was invited to attend the Rabat conference in 1969 but his invitation was rescinded at the last minute at Pakistan’s instance after he arrived in the Moroccan capital. Since then, India has been excluded from all OIC deliberations.

On Friday, New Delhi made sure to reach out and appreciate several Islamic countries such as close west Asian friends Saudi Arabia and host UAE, close friends in the neighbourhood Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran and the Maldives, and even Pakistan’s trusted friend Turkey.

India also did not forget to mention its solidarity with the Palestinian cause which has always been a key issue within the OIC.

There was also no mention of the Kashmir issue nor any direct reference to Pakistan which for the past five decades had poisoned India’s ties with the OIC. It may be recalled that India was all set to join the OIC 50 years ago as a founding member in 1969 when Pakistani military dictator Yahya Khan scuttled the move, raising an anti-India pitch at the forum.

Referring to the diversity in India including in its 185 million Muslims who live in peace with their non-Muslim fellow-countrymen, Ms Swaraj said that “very few Muslims in India have fallen prey to the poisonous propaganda of radical and extremist ideologies”.

Pointing that at 50 the OIC is making a new beginning, she offered India’s cooperation in working to “spread the true meaning and mission of all religions, promote respect for and between faiths, counter the language of hate with the message of harmony, advocate moderation over extremism and pluralism over exclusion…”

 Ms. Swaraj also referred to the enlightened message of peace of the founder of Sikhism and the first Guru of the Sikhs Guru Nanak who lived in the 15th-16th centuries, even as she also mentioned the teachings of the Rig Veda as well as the message of peace put forth decades ago by Mahatma Gandhi.

“This is not a clash of civilisations or cultures, but a contest of ideas and ideals. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often said, it is a struggle between the values of humanism and the forces of inhumanity,” Ms Swaraj said, adding, “Faiths must speak to faiths”.

“I carry the greetings of my Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and 1.3 billion Indians, including more than 185 million Muslim brothers and sisters. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are a microcosm of the diversity of India itself,” the minister said.