African economies, crises in spotlight at Islamic summit, first on the continent in 14 years
The sidewalk cement is still being poured and the street lamps installed. One of the world's poorest countries is scrambling to prepare for visitors from some of the richest when Muslim leaders gather in Africa this week for the first time in 14 years.
The business of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference -- the world's largest Islamic grouping -- is traditionally dominated by the Arab League, Arab oil and conflict in the Middle East. But more than 40 heads of state will convene in Dakar on Thursday and Friday as oil from Nigeria is increasingly an alternative to Middle Eastern crude and as conflicts in Sudan and Chad have become the focus of urgent international missions.
On the eve of the summit, Senegal has organized a meeting Wednesday between the leaders of Chad and Sudan. The two Muslim countries regularly accuse each other of fomenting rebellion across their shared border, worsening an already bloody conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region.
The Senegalese hosts hope to see the Chadian and Sudanese presidents agree to implement earlier accords that have promised, but failed to produce, peace.
"It's not about Darfur, it's about the relationship between the two countries. That needs to be fixed. And once it is fixed, then we will see very clearly how to deal with the rest," Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio said.
Gadio said both countries have already agreed in principle to a draft agreement.
While the deal would only be a small step toward solving the chaotic bloodshed of Darfur, it offers an optimistic note for OIC members. Other conflicts in the Muslim world seem even more intractable.
The protracted war in Iraq is destabilizing the Middle East, while a peace deal between Israel and Palestine feels further away than it has in more than a decade.
Both conflicts have soured relations between the U.S. and the Islamic world. But OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told The Associated Press he saw a chance for improvement in Washington's decision to appoint an official envoy to the summit for the first time.
"There are plenty of problems and misunderstandings. But still there is plenty of potential for cooperation," Ihsanoglu said.
The U.S. government has said it appointed Texas entrepreneur Sada Cumber to the Islamic group "to promote mutual understanding and dialogue between the United States and Muslim communities."
Ihsanoglu said the OIC's position on issues like the Palestine-Israel conflict are often misrepresented in the United States.
"We want (Cumber) to listen and learn," Ihsanoglu said.
Cumber may hear a lot about what Muslim leaders see as ignorance of their religion in the West. At the summit, delegations will consider a report compiled for the OIC that is an attempt to comprehensively record anti-Islamic speech and action around the world.
"The Islamophobes remain free to carry on their assault due to absence of necessary legal measures against the misuse or abuse of the right to freedom of expression," charges the report. The report does not give details on what legal action should be taken.
The report comes as Muslims are increasingly demanding redress for perceived slights by taking to the streets. Over the weekend, thousands of Afghan students burned Danish and Dutch flags to protest an upcoming Dutch film and a political cartoon in Danish newspapers' seen as mocking Islam.
Such debates seem remote in Senegal and much of sub-Saharan Africa, where a moderate Islam dominates and few nations are Islamic states even if many have large Muslim populations.
Senegal recognizes both Muslim and Catholic holy days as state holidays.
For Africa, the issues are more economic. The 27 African members of the OIC include some of the world's poorest countries, many of them campaigning in Asia and the Middle East for investment.
"We talk about Islamic solidarity all the time. So let's put it into action by having a new form of economic partnership," Senegal's Gadio said. One of Senegal's proposals in Africa has been a coalition of non-oil-producing states that would campaign for price ceilings for poor countries.
Senegal's GDP is about US$1,700 per person, ranking it in the bottom fourth of the world's nations. Fellow OIC member Qatar boasts a per capita GDP of $75,900, nearly twice that of the United States and second only to Luxembourg.
Also on the agenda are plans to combat poverty in the Muslim world and a proposal for a special program for the development of Africa.
Some Islamic scholars say it's time for Arabs to start taking Africa more seriously as economic and political partners.
"If the conference is just another form of the Arab League, it's useless," says Souleymane Bachir Diagne of Columbia University.
The OIC was founded in 1969 in response to an arson attack on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The group -- which aims to promote Islamic unity and serve a voice for the Muslim world -- traditionally holds summits every three years. (****)