While addressing the 48th session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers’ Conference in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Çavuşoğlu said: “We heard those saying ‘This is not the Middle East, this is not Afghanistan. Why is blood spilled?’ For us, the blood spilled in Kharkiv and the blood spilled in Aleppo are equal.”
The top diplomat also reiterated the need to adopt a common stance against the challenges that the Muslim world faces.
“The theme of our meeting is ‘Partnership for Unity, Justice and Development.’ This theme should not be just a slogan, it should be filled with concrete steps. Because we only succeed when we are united,” he said.
During the @OIC_OCI conference in Islamabad, the Turkish Foreign Minister @MevlutCavusoglu has raised Turkey's concern about the ongoing #Uyghurgenocide.
He has also urged the OIC to address this issue, to uphold the values of Islam and the organisation. https://t.co/bKZvMuaoit
— World Uyghur Congress (@UyghurCongress) March 22, 2022
Çavuşoğlu also called on the Muslim world to question itself. “The 14 centuries-old culture, art, civilization, science and wisdom of Islam are waiting to be rediscovered. The classical centers of our civilizations, such as Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo and Kabul were destroyed. They lost their identity. The names of many Islamic countries became associated with war, terror, suffering and massacres,” he said.
Underlining that Muslim Turks, who have been in Western Thrace for seven centuries and in Cyprus for five, are deprived of their basic rights in the 21st century, Çavuşoğlu said: “The fundamental rights of our brothers and sisters in Kashmir are being violated. Islamophobia is on the rise in Europe. In China, Uyghur Turks and other Muslims face difficulties in protecting their religious rights and cultural identities. The headscarf right is denied in India, one of the countries hosting the highest number of Muslims. The Rohingya no longer even attract the attention of the world. Brotherly blood continues to flow in Libya, Syria and Yemen.”
Stating that one should not blame others for the situation in the Islamic world, Çavuşoğlu said: “It is easiest to blame others. So what does that change? What can we change by blaming others? We must first call ourselves to account … We say let’s use our good relations to improve the situation of Muslim societies. As the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, we know that we all exist for our common cause. Its duty is to be the common voice of the Islamic world in these cases.”
On the sidelines of the meeting, Çavuşoğlu also held face-to-face meetings to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues with top diplomats of various countries including Turkmenistan, Thailand, Guinea and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
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