Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 02/11/2017
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called for finding appropriate ways to protect the remaining Islamic cultural heritage against loss and neglect. It also called to adapt these ways to the international initiatives and mechanisms for the preservation of cultural heritage as a whole and to save, restore and protect the endangered heritage in Islamic countries.
H.E. Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, the OIC Secretary General, stated this at the International Conference on “Islamic Action for the Protection of Cultural Heritage”, organized by the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in cooperation with the OIC General Secretariat, and ISESCO on 1-2 November 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.
In his address, delivered by Mrs. Mehla Ahmed Talebna, General Director of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs in the OIC, Al-Othaimeen called on the participants to develop OIC cultural policies and plans in the field of cultural heritage protection for adoption at the 10th Conference of Ministers of Culture organized by ISESCO in Khartoum, Sudan, on 21-23 November 2017.
He stressed that the OIC has committed itself to being a stronghold and protector of the world and Islamic cultural heritage and identity and it accorded the highest priority to the protection of the cultural heritage and Holy Places.
Al-Othaimeen pointed out that the preservation, protection and enrichment of the cultural heritage would contribute to countering the phenomenon of distorting the image of Islam and deterring the fierce attacks of Islamophobia preachers, provided its optimal use to spread the deep-rooted noble Islamic values as proven by the scientific and cultural evidence of the cultural heritage in the Muslim World.
