His Excellency the Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Ali Larijani affirmed that the most important cause in the Islamic world is Palestine and confronting the Zionist regime. He expressed his conviction that Muslims face several challenges in the various political, cultural, social and economic fields. In his interview with the “PUIC” His Excellency underscored that “Islamic cooperation” is a noble Islamic value, advocated by our Holy Quran. In his interview His Excellency also addressed the concept of parliamentary diplomacy, role of parliaments in contemporary life, economic development, facing natural disasters, Islamophobia, and cultural and economic relations with Western Countries.
Exerts of the interview:

PUIC: How do you evaluate the performance of the Union to advance joint Islamic Parliamentary Action?

Dr. Larijani: Generally PUIC performance has been positive. I would like to note that prior to the establishment of the Union Islamic Parliaments had no continuous organizational connection. Under the PUIC this connection exists and it is working very well. I am of the view that holding regular meetings, without interruption, whatsoever, is one of the most positive achievements of this Union. It provides an opportunity for collective and bilateral meetings of Speakers of parliaments and parliamentary delegations.
The most important cause in the Islamic World is that of Palestine and confronting the Zionist regime. In this regard, the PUIC has taken good steps such as convening extraordinary conferences at the level of Speakers who adopted significant resolutions.
I think this Union will furnish opportunities for joint Islamic action in the future, of which we have to avail ourselves.

PUIC: The Islamic World is facing challenges in many fields. In your opinion what are the most outstanding challenges, and how can Muslims confront and address them?

Dr. Larijani: Yes, we Muslims are facing several challenges in the political, cultural, social and economic fields.
Firstly-In the economic field Muslims are faced with the issue of “national models” to achieve development because it is not feasible to employ imported models in this respect due to the fact that they do not take into consideration the economic, social and cultural specificities of our countries. The challenges connected with this field is that of the elimination of poverty and combating corruption.
Secondly – In the socio – cultural field we are faced with the phenomenon of Islamophobia and attempts at propagating unrealistic images of Islam. In this juncture, I stress the necessity of doubling efforts of Muslims to combat negative actions by some Muslims which result in a distorted image of Islam shown to the outside world.
The crystallization of our ideas in the cultural field must reflect total commitment to the noble Islamic values and principles, together with the sound interaction with world events but from an Islamic and human perspective.
Thirdly- The most important challenge facing us in the political field is to maintain the cause of Palestine as the focus and pivot of our attention and never stray away from it until the realization of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. In this context it may be pointed out that parliaments of Muslim Countries and the PUIC have special role to play.

PUIC: In your opinion what are the strategies on which economic cooperation among members may be built?

Dr. Larijani: Cooperation is a noble Islamic concept which our tolerant religion encourages us to maintain. Islam advocates cooperation in good and piety and avoid collaboration in aggression as some misguided Muslims do. The PUIC may organize economic meetings with specific agenda. Then it may refer the conclusions of these meetings to parliaments for consideration and enactment of appropriate laws thereon.
As I have mentioned previously poverty, underdevelopment and corruption of bureaucracy are among the most important challenges that face the Islamic World. In this regard some Muslim parliaments have taken good steps to confront these challenges. Other Muslim parliaments may benefit from this experience due to the relative similarity that exists between Islamic communities.
As regards natural disasters, which impact economic developments, among other factors, Islamic states ought to allocate items in their budgets for this purpose. In case these funds have not been utilized they may be transferred to next year’s budget.

PUIC: what is the significance of Parliamentary Diplomacy, and what is the role of parliaments in general?

Dr. Larijani: Parliamentary Diplomacy has become an important issue in international relations in our contemporary world. It plays a complementary role to other aspects of diplomacy.
Parliaments represent their Peoples and have strong ties with them. The MPs are fully cognizant of the views and aspirations of those whom they represent. On the other hand parliaments have strong legal connection with the executive organs of the state. They enact legislations, monitor government performance and hold government officials accountable. Parliaments have tools that enable them to deliver the views and hopes of peoples to governments and urge them to take them into consideration when formulating executive policies in the country. Hence another dimension of the significance of parliaments. Contact among parliaments mean contact among different peoples. The PUIC may play a role in this regard by constituting specialized working groups composed of members of parliaments to maintain contact with others in different fields.

PUIC: What is your view about Islamophobia?

Dr. Larijani: Islamophobia is born out of the hatred harboured by some groups in the Western World who believed that their interests are in conflict with the interests of Muslim communities. Therefore these hate-groups avail themselves of every opportunity to carry out their designs against Islam and Muslims. It is incumbent on us to initiate large-scale cultural action in order to eliminate extremism in our own countries because the behavior of zealots in these countries provide pretexts for hostile groups to launch hate campaigns against Islam and Muslims.
On the other hand, it is possible at the same time to enhance cultural and political relations with Western countries to explain facts to their citizens and seek to weed out practices perpetrated by extremists. The PUIC , for example, may convene joint conferences that bring together fair-minded scholars from the West and their counterparts in the Islamic World aimed at creating a positive atmosphere of cooperation and solidarity among all human beings which will help to achieve sustainable peace and justice in the world.

PUIC: How do you evaluate the status of implementing the resolutions and recommendations adopted by the PUIC Organs?

Dr. Larijani: During the process of adopting resolutions and decisions, PUIC Members, in general, and the General Secretariat must pay attention to the ability of implementing these resolutions and decisions. In general team work and the implementation of its decisions is a difficult matter all over the world. However , the issue which is more important than implementing resolutions is to create a harmonious atmosphere among Muslims which facilitates the implementation of resolutions. It is also beneficial to follow up the implementation of resolutions and declare the results to all the PUIC members when they meet. Furthermore, Members must recognize, upon adoption of resolutions, their abilities to implement them.