No week passes without the OIC not having to condemn a blast here or a killing there. The Muslim world, indeed the entire world, lives with news of terrorist incidents at an unprecedented rate. This pathological phenomenon requires a remedy with all available means in order to undercut its ideological underpinnings.

The OIC and all its organs are aware of the size of the risk capable of causing havoc in the Member States and soiling the reputation of the Muslim civilization. This is why the OIC, having been at the forefront of the battle against terrorism, came up with an idea to address the phenomenon at the level of ideology, jurisprudence and culture. The OIC was among the first to take a unified position against this phenomenon by adopting a Code of Conduct for Combating International Terrorism and the Covenant to Combat International Terrorism in 1994 and 1999 respectively.

The challenges OIC Member States and the Muslim communities in general face these days are no longer limited to those of fighting poverty, unemployment and disease, improving living conditions or catching up with modernity and modern technology. Rather, the bigger challenges entail how to preserve the stability of states and Muslim communities in confronting intellectual conflicts giving birth to ideas and ideologies that nowadays negatively affect the security and stability of these states.

The Islamic values of love, coexistence and peace, considered part of the ethical fabric of the Muslim community, have gone with the winds. Trust has reduced, as have the notions of brotherhood and cooperation on righteousness and piety. This raises an existential question about the future and place of the ummah among the nations of the world and its anticipated role in the maintenance of global peace and stability.

One of the clearest manifestations of these challenges is the unprecedented rise in the rate of violence in Muslim states and communities. The geography of violence has widened to include a large part of the Muslim world, with violence and armed conflicts becoming an ongoing phenomenon revolving in a vicious cycle.

Intellectual factors remain one of the most important causes of this blind violence which is relentlessly attacking the Islamic ummah. Violence feeds off extremist ideas, religious edicts that are either not based on rules or are weird, in addition to bigoted views that are based on incitement, labeling people with disbelief, misguidance, and transgression and on allowing the shedding of peoples’ blood here and there.

This unfortunately tragic situation has continued to lead to the defamation of the image of Islam in the world.  The religion of mercy has become vulnerable to allegations of terrorism, with some equating the Muslim to a terrorist. Islamic values such as love, mercy, kindness, peace, justice, tolerance and coexistence have become mere claims that need to be proven to the world.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as unified voice and the umbrella organisation of all Muslim world feels a sense of responsibility towards this tragic situation. The OIC believes that efforts to find an intellectual and dialogue platform among Muslims in order to spread moderation and coexistence are a step dictated by the sad Islamic reality. Given its position and responsibility, the OIC recognizes that containing extremist and weird thoughts within the Islamic body can only occur through concerted intellectual and cultural effort among the thinkers, scholars, leaders and institutions of the Member States. Hence the establishment of a Centre for Dialogue, Peace and Understanding.

At a time when Islam is being accused of terrorism the OIC raises the original voices that emanate from the history and civilization of the Muslims.

Achieving global peace where man will find his freedom, dignity and prosperity remains a goal to which Islam and other religions and world cultures aspire. Here comes the importance of containing the dangers threatening mankind in today’s world. This includes those ideas that cause confusion and violence throughout the Muslim world today and have no regard for sanctity or agreement.

The launching of Center for Dialogue, Peace and Understanding is the OIC’s contribution to creating a common ground for scholars and thinkers to address the intellectual challenges and their violent consequences in the Muslim world. This Centre is also a unique step towards discarding erroneous image of Islam that is being presented in the world and consolidating in its place the image of the religion through its intrinsic values of peace, security, openness and coexistence.

The Centre will disseminate moderate Islamic thoughts and combat radicalized and weird propositions that soil the image of Islam and stoke sectarian conflicts and grinding wars among Muslims. The Centre is a forum for scholars and thinkers through which they will spread their ideas, which will bring them together for symposia, specialized conferences and public meetings in order to create greater rapprochement and find appropriate ground to unite their intellectual efforts of containing radical ideas that stoke violence and tendency in the member states.

It would also monitor, follow up, deconstruct terrorist literatures or narratives that have the character of violent extremism, and coordinate the efforts made by Member States to contain radical ideological trends leading to terrorism.

The Centre will offer positive alternatives and disseminate concepts encouraging peaceful coexistence and building world peace on the values of justice, equality and human rights. In seeking to combat extremism and terrorism, the Centre tries to present positive thought to create a better world. It will seek to create greater interdependence and engagement among scholars of text and context and create common ground to confront the intellectual challenges facing Member States and targeting their security and stability.

*Mr. Bashir Ansari is the Director of Dialogue and Outreach Department at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.