The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting and Extraordinary Summit will be held on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey, with the delegates mainly discussing the implications of the recognition by the United States of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as a capital of Israel.
“The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States will hold an extraordinary meeting on the same morning to discuss the move in a unified and coordinated manner in the face of these developments affecting the occupied city of Al-Quds and its historical, legal and political status,” reads a brief on OIC website.
Uganda is a member of OIC, having joined the organisaton in 1974, three years after Idi Amin, a Muslim, had deposed Milton Obote to become president for eight years.
Recently, the OIC expressed deep regret over US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his orders to move his country’s embassy to the city, which constitutes a provocation of Muslims’ sentiments.
The grouping, which acts as a voice for Islamic countries, rejected Trump’s decision as a violation of the political, legal and historical status of the city of Jerusalem, adding that it was a clear defiance of international laws and resolutions, a departure from the international consensus on the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the requirements of peace in general.
The OIC also insisted that the decision does not only threaten the Arab and Islamic identity of Al-Quds, but also the Christian identity of the city, stressing Muslims’ eternal attachment to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the centrality of the cause of Al-Quds to the Islamic Ummah. It stressed commitment to working with the international community and to supporting the Arab and international efforts to achieve peace based on the two-state solution, the establishment of the State of Palestine with Al-Quds as its capital and the end of the Israeli occupation.
The OIC reaffirmed its firm stance towards Al-Quds, considered as an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967. It also stressed that Trump’s decision on the status of Jerusalem will not give legitimacy to the Israeli occupation and will not change the reality of the city nor its history and identity.
Uganda, which enjoys a cordial relationship with both the OIC and the State of Israel, now finds itself in a tricky situation. Analysts say it is hard to know which side the Kampala government falls much as it is a member of the OIC. “Uganda is in a tricky situation especially at the time when the country is exporting migrant labour to the Arab states and at the same time seeking for investors from the region,” a prominent political scientist says.
Uganda has gained the establishment of Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), construction of the Masindi-Hoima road and implementation of the National Development Plan as a result of its membership to OIC. IUIU still receives considerable support from some of the Islamic countries.
In 2016 Uganda was to get Shs3 trillion from OIC as contribution towards rural electrification, construction of hospitals, technical schools and roads. The money was mainly to be sourced through the Islamic Development Bank.
