Full text of the Royal speech to the 12th session of the OIC Summit

PERSISMA, Cairo, 06-02-2013 – HM King Mohammed VI addressed a speech to the participants in the 12th session of the Islamic conference summit which opened Wednesday in Cairo. Here follows the full text of the Royal speech that was read out by the head of government, Abdelilah Benkirane:

Praise be to God

May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin

Your Excellency President Mohamed Morsi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Chairman of the Twelfth Islamic Summit Conference,

Your Excellency President Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, Chairman of the Eleventh Islamic Summit Conference,

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Your Highnesses,

Mr. Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I, first, express my sincere thanks and gratitude to His Excellency President Mohamed Morsi for inviting us to this Summit, and to the Egyptian people for their warm reception and customary hospitality.

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Your Highnesses,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world today is in the throes of complex crises. The ideals ​​of tolerance and coexistence and the right to differ are being grossly violated. At the same time, we are witnessing some of the worst manifestations of extremism and exclusion as well as the distortion of values and frames of reference. As a result, our world is now wide open to all forms of violence and to the proliferation of hotbeds of tension and terrorist activities. Given this worsening situation on the one hand and our Ummah’s civilizational mission on the other, the Islamic countries are today called upon to make a bold, concrete contribution that provides answers to current questions and concerns, and that helps ensure progress and prosperity for all peoples, guided by the values of coexistence, equality and concord.

The Muslim Ummah cannot make such a contribution unless it gives concrete substance to the ideals underpinning its sacred guiding values, strengthens social bonds, promotes its cultural achievements as well as the genius of its people, and fosters tolerant attitudes towards all faiths and cultures. It is therefore important for such a contribution to serve as a model that can stand up to the test of positive interaction and constructive dialogue with the world around us, its regional groups, economic blocs, faiths and cultures.

Such a model will not succeed without our collective involvement to give it tangible meaning. To do so, we have to build on our vast, diverse and complementary natural and human resources, rely on our own capacities and stop justifying our crises by pinning the blame on external reasons or factors. I call on our Organization to give shape to such a model contribution, to which Morocco pledges to be wholeheartedly committed.

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Your Highnesses,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Palestinian cause, which led to the decision taken in Rabat, in 1969, to create our Organization, continues to be at the heart of our concerns and is the essence of our action, especially in light of Israel’s continuing intransigence and its blatant violation of the norms and principles of international law.

In this regard, I commend the UN General Assembly’s decision to grant Palestine non-member observer State status, an achievement we owe to His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas’s unrelenting efforts and to the Palestinian people’s brave struggle to set up their independent, unified and fully viable state, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

To build on this important, historic accomplishment, we all have to support current efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation and unity, and to put the Palestinian house in order. In this respect, we welcome the current contacts between the parties concerned as well as their decisions, and wish to commend their resolve to surmount all obstacles impeding an agreement and to overcome differences by building on earlier initiatives, those undertaken by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, or the current one launched by the sister nation Egypt.

As President of the Al-Quds Committee, I wish to express my receptiveness to the “Rabat Call” addressed to me recently by all Palestinian stakeholders, and wish to urge the parties concerned to respond positively to all reconciliation efforts.

That is the most effective reaction to the Israeli government’s aggressive, unilateral practices against the Palestinians, which consist in speeding up the construction of settlements and their unacceptable expansion.

Consistent with my responsibilities as President of the Al-Quds Committee, I shall spare no effort to pursue my untiring endeavors to sensitize the influential international players and put an end to the Israeli government’s repeated aggressions against various religious monuments as part of a deliberate plan for the Judaization of East Jerusalem and the obliteration of its identity. Through Bayt Mal Al Quds, we will also carry on with the implementation of concrete projects that directly benefit the inhabitants of the holy city. As part of these endeavors and in the wake of the recent Israeli aggressive attacks against the inhabitants of Gaza, a field hospital providing the necessary medical services was set up in that city.

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Your Highnesses,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since the outbreak of the crisis in Syria, the Kingdom of Morocco has been actively involved in the international efforts aimed at finding a political solution to this horrendous crisis – a solution that puts an end to the spiral of violence and helps the Syrian people achieve their legitimate aspirations for freedom and for the preservation of their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In this regard, we welcome the conclusions of the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People, held recently in Morocco, and the growing support for the desired political solution. Uppermost in my mind is the humanitarian situation. This is the reason why Morocco set up a multi-disciplinary field hospital in the Zaatari camp, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which I made a point of visiting. Moreover, we have provided humanitarian aid in both Jordan and Turkey to alleviate the suffering of Syrian refugees.

Given the tragic, constantly deteriorating situation in Syria, which is calling out to the conscience of mankind, no hesitation or procrastination is acceptable any longer. The international community is now duty-bound to support the political transition process, with the participation of the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Your Highnesses,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Once again, I wish to condemn all terrorist acts that are based on excommunication and exclusion, or that seek to sow the seeds of discord. These violent practices are simply incompatible with the tolerant values of Islam.

Morocco warned the international community, years ago, of the perils looming over the Sahel and Sahara region. The sister nation, Mali, has recently seen some of the worst manifestations of extremism, terrorism and separatism. Armed radical groups, mostly foreign, illegally and aggressively assailed a fully sovereign country, wreaking havoc and destroying symbols of the cultural heritage of that country, especially in Timbuktu, the spiritual capital of Mali, in an attempt to impose their obscurantist ideology and undermine the Islamic values to which the Malian people have invariably been committed since time immemorial.

Acting as a sovereign country, this sister nation embarked on the course of action it deemed necessary, after appealing to the Security Council, which adopted the right decision to support Mali in its efforts to preserve its unity and sovereignty.

Thus, in response to the emergency appeal made by the Malian authorities, and given the armed terrorist groups’ progression in their bid to control the entire country and force its population into submission, French troops, supported by Malian and African forces, intervened quickly and effectively.

It was this firm reaction which made it possible to check the invasion of Southern Mali and to put an end to it. This was later followed by the liberation of Northern Mali, with its cities steeped in history, its Muslim populations and its religious monuments which attest to the Malian people’s longstanding adherence to Islam, as represented by the city of Timbuktu – one of the most ancient seats of Islamic civilization. The intervention was carried out in accordance with the aims targeted by the relevant United Nations resolutions.

To complete the mission of supporting the sister nation, the Republic of Mali, and in keeping with the same principles of international legitimacy, African volunteer troops will be deployed in the next phase to preserve security and ensure the country’s stability.

The threat and its implications extend beyond the borders of the sister nation Mali to all countries in the region, and the aim is to destabilize them and undermine their unity. As we can see, this is a general problem, and as such it calls for a comprehensive solution within the framework of international legitimacy – a solution that builds on resolute, consistent and coherent international efforts and on the use of all means of prevention and support, both from the political and security perspective.

Given the longstanding historical relations, strong brotherly African bonds and distinctive cultural values shared with the countries of the Sahel and Sahara region, the Kingdom of Morocco will not hesitate to show its solidarity with them as they protect their sovereignty and uphold their national choices against all forms of terrorism committed, allegedly, in the name of Islam, a faith which does not condone any deliberate aggression against people or the things they hold sacred.

Your Majesties,

Your Excellencies,

Your Highnesses,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Having always made every effort to ensure that Muslims close ranks, promote constructive dialogue and uphold moderation, Morocco affirms its commitment to solidarity with all sister nations in their just causes. It reiterates its resolve to contribute to all measures that promote our unity and solidarity in order to serve the Ummah’s common interests.

Before concluding, I pray that Almighty God grant us success to fulfill our peoples’ aspirations for progress, glory and a dignified life.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.