Committee on Muslim Communities and Minorities Hold its First Meeting

Committee on Muslim Communities and Minorities Hold its First Meeting

The Committee on Muslim Communities and Minorities, subsidiary of the PUIC Standing Specialized Committee on Political Affairs and Foreign Relations held its first meeting on Friday, 27 May, 2022, in Ankara, Republic or Turkiye.

The meeting witnessed a wide-range exchange of views on the future work of the Committee which was formed as per resolution of the 16th Session of the PUIC Conference, held in Istanbul on 10 December 2021.

Those who made interventions were unanimous on affirming the importance of establishing this committee in order to be a PUIC tool for contributing to the protection of the rights of these minorities and extending a helping hand to them pursuant to the obligation of Islamic brotherhood.

They expressed their deep concern about the incidents of hatred and Islamophobia targeting Muslims, particularly in European states.

They called on non-Muslim States to put an end to discrimination, and amend their legislations accordingly.

They considered that the Committee is concerned with events in occupied Palestine, especially the systematic destruction of Islamic antiquities and sanctities, and pursuing a policy which constitutes the extreme kinds of hatred and Islamophobia.

They also spoke about the suffering of the Rohingya, Muslim Uighur minority in China, as well as, the suffering of Muslims in India, especially those in Kashmir region, and the ordeal of Muslims in the Central African Republic.

During the meeting, Prof. Orhan Atalay, delegate of Turkiye and Rapporteur of the Committee, spoke about the broad lines of the draft report which he intends to present to the next Conference about the issues on human rights.

H.E. Mr. Mouhamed Khouraichi Niass, the PUIC Secretary General affirmed that the rights of the Palestinian people are the rights of the entire Islamic Ummah, and that the Palestinian cause is in at the forefront of PUIC action.

1 June 2022