Turkiye Calls for Joint Stance to Ease Sufferings of Muslims

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The Turkish foreign minister has called for collective efforts to protect the rights of Muslims and ease the sufferings they face across the globe, including in Palestine, Kashmir and Cyprus.

Addressing the Islamabad meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mevlut Cavusoglu touched upon issues ranging from Islamophobia to the plight of Uyghur Muslims and from the war in Ukraine to the suffering of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

The minister said that the OIC exists for a common cause, and, it is only when the Muslim bloc acts as a single entity that it helps protect the rights of subjugated Muslim communities in different parts of the world.

He also said Muslim Turks in Cyprus have been denied their fundamental rights for five decades, as well as “Muslim brothers and sisters” in Indian occupied Kashmir.

Drawing to the plight of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, Cavusoglu said the persecuted Muslim community should not be left alone.

“In China, Uyghur Turks and other Muslims are having difficulties in protecting their cultural identity and rights,” he said.

Citing a saying of Prophet Muhammad that calls for unity among Muslims, he said the miseries of Uyghur Muslims and Turkish Muslims in Cyprus must not be ignored just because “you have good relations with that country”- a thinly veiled reference to good relations between China and Pakistan.

“We don’t want you to spoil your relations with that country. But you should use these good relations to improve the situation in which the Uyghur community is living,” he urged his Pakistani hosts and counterparts.

Also mentioning the recent hijab ban in some Indian states, Cavusoglu regretted that Muslim women are denied the right to cover their heads.

Cavusoglu also regretted the rise of Islamophobia in Europe.

Referring to the racist reporting about the refugees from the Middle East and Afghanistan during the ongoing war in Ukraine, Cavusoglu said Russia’s war on its neighbor has revealed the double standards across the world as conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Yemen have continued for years and refugees from these parts of the world have never been welcomed in Europe.

“For us, blood in Kharkiv (Ukraine) and blood in Aleppo (Syria) is the same because this is what our civilization requires,” he said.

Cavusoglu urged self-criticism to solve the problems of the Muslim worldwide.

“Who is responsible for the current conditions of Muslim Ummah? Blaming others for that is very easy but it will not help. Today, we should be self-critics, and try to see how can we fix ourselves,” he said.

Cavusoglu met several counterparts after the conference, including Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

“We had a very constructive and fruitful meeting to normalize our relations… and cooperate to work together,” he said.

On the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Cavusoglu said Turkish humanitarian organizations are already working there and Ankara has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and provided financial assistance through the UN and non-governmental organizations.

“We have not recognized the Taliban administration but we advise everyone to be engaged with it,” he said.

He also said the Turkish Maarif Foundation has opened its schools and two more schools for girls are opening in Kabul soon.

“If the country (Afghanistan) collapses (again), the cost will be much more,” Cavusoglu warned.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, he said they are working to achieve a cease-fire, and Turkiye is in contact with both sides as the civilians are paying the price in war.