Yousef Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

:: The Islamic Ummah is going through a critical stage where solidarity is needed for the preservation of its rights, said Yousef Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), at the 46th session of the OIC General Secretariat which took place in Jeddah recently.

“(There is) no doubt the Islamic Ummah is going through a critical stage with a number of states in the grip of political changes and others battered by other storms of economic crises and thrust against serious security challenges,” Al-Othaimeen said, according to the OIC website.

He said there is a need for Islamic solidarity that may rally our forces, safeguard the rights of our Ummah, lend support to its causes and respond to the aspirations of its peoples.”

“Our people look for support for their causes; it (OIC) has been entrusted with a momentous responsibility that commands it to honor that trust,” he said.

He called on member states to support the OIC in all possible manners, so that it may be able to respond to the fast-paced developments and deal with full realism, sagacity and valor with the challenges facing the member states.

He said the OIC represents the voice of moderation in the face of extremist ideologies.