December 22, 2019
Check-book diplomacy over shadow’s Mini Islamic summit in Kuala Lumpur
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday (Dec 21) confirmed what was reported by media earlier that Saudi Arabia pressured Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan to boycott the Kuala Lumpur mini Islamic summit called by Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammad from December 18 to 21.
Interestingly, Pakistan was one of the first countries with which Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad shared his plans for holding the summit when he met Prime Minister Imran Khan along with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September last.
Turkish President Erdogan was quoted as saying that Saudi Arabia threatened Pakistan with extreme measures, including the imposition of economic sanctions on the country and deportation of its citizens working in the Kingdom, to stop it from attending the Kuala Lumpur Summit.
“Unfortunately, we see that Saudi Arabia pressures Pakistan. Now, there are promises that the country has given to Pakistan regarding the central bank. However, more than that, there are 4 million Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia. They (threaten by saying that they) would send (Pakistanis) back and re-employ Bangladeshi people instead,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah. The comments regarding the non-participation of Pakistan in the summit were made by the Turkish president in a conversation with journalists in Kuala Lumpur.
According to the Sabah report, Erdogan said it was not the first time that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had put pressure on a country for doing or not doing certain things. He added that the kingdom has also threatened to withdraw money it had deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia denies pressurizing Pakistan
Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia denied Saturday that it pressurized and threatened Pakistan to refrain from participating in the Kuala Lumpur Summit.
A press release issued by the Saudi embassy in Islamabad said: "The embassy affirms that the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Islamic Republic of Pakistan are superior to the language of threat.
"The brotherly relations between the countries are long-standing and strategic based on trust, understanding and mutual respect, and the two countries enjoy a consensus of views on most regional and international issues, especially the issues of the Islamic nation."
The statement added that Saudi Arabia has always "stood with Pakistan during difficult times based on fraternal relations". "We strive always to stand with Pakistan to be a successful and stable country," the embassy added.
While not directly addressing the Turkish president's statement, the Foreign Office in response to questions from the media said that Pakistan did not participate in the Kuala Lumpur summit because "time and efforts were needed to address the concerns of major Muslim countries regarding possible division in the Ummah".
"Pakistan will continue to work for the unity and solidarity of the Ummah, which is indispensable for effectively addressing the challenges faced by the Muslim world," the FO spokesperson said in a brief statement.
Muslim nations consider gold, barter trade to beat sanctions
Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are considering trading among themselves in gold and through a barter system as a hedge against any future economic sanctions on them, Reuters news agency quoted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad as saying on Saturday.
At the end of an Islamic summit in Malaysia, Mahathir praised Iran and Qatar for withstanding economic embargoes and said it was important for the Muslim world to be self-reliant to face future threats.
“With the world witnessing nations making unilateral decisions to impose such punitive measures, Malaysia and other nations must always bear in mind that it can be imposed on any of us,” Mahathir said.
“I have suggested that we re-visit the idea of trading using the gold dinar and barter trade among us,” Mahathir said, referring to the Islamic medieval gold coin. We are seriously looking into this and we hope that we will be able to find a mechanism to put it into effect.”
Turkish President Erdogan also said Turkey will continue its cooperation with Malaysia, Qatar, and Iran over both regional and international issues, underlining the importance of unity in the Islamic world. “During the Kuala Lumpur summit we had the chance to discuss the challenges that the Islamic world faces with the participation of the presidents of Turkey, Malaysia, Qatar, and Iran as well as many other high-level representatives from various countries,” Erdoğan said.
Muslims’ fate not in hands of 5 countries
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Kuala Lumpur Summit ,Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the fate of the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims is no longer in the hands of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Erdogan reiterated that the world is bigger than five, referring to the five permanent UN Security Council members, whose veto power could prove catastrophic for smaller nations. “The world is bigger than five” is a famous slogan repeatedly used by Erdogan to criticize the permanent council members — China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.
Erdogan also said that Turkey did not bow to pressure to silence it, including a coup attempt, economic terror and slander. “As they try to silence Turkey, we insist on calling attention to Palestine, Gaza, the Rohingya, Libya, Somalia and Syria,” he stressed.
"That is what we hope to do. We want to save ourselves and the Muslim ummah and we will persevere in this effort. We hope from this point onwards, our other Muslim brethren will see for themselves that what we intend to do is to unite the ummah on strategic and advanced technologies," he said.
'KL Summit' undergoes name change to 'Perdana Dialogue'
The Kuala Lumpur Summit, a platform to discuss issues faced by Muslim countries, will be known as the Perdana Dialogue from now on, Perak's Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah told the closing session of the summit.
"This is, I believe, a hugely significant name change – reaffirming this summit's commitment to the power of collaboration and conversation, while at the same time emphasizing the responsibility that befalls us all, to ensure that the outcomes of these discussions are implemented without delay," he said.
Apparently change of name came in response to criticism that the Kuala Lumpur Summit is a bid to replace the Sudia-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
On his part, Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad said Saturday the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 will not replace any other platform for Muslims nor does it intend to create different categories, classes or undermine other Muslim nations.
He said some had misunderstood the intentions behind the KL Summit – intentionally or otherwise – and the negative opinions were misplaced and not justified.
He said while it may not allay some of the suspicions and opposition, he reiterated that the summit was mainly focused on its objectives of finding solutions and programs to assist the ummah.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofameric.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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