Jakarta, NU Online
Visiting chairman of the Iranian Judicial Agency Ayatollah Sayeed Ahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi said here Friday a block of Islamic countries was needed to solve problems in the Muslim world.

Moslem countries have been facing problems and disputes, and thus they have to unite to prevent outsiders from interfering in the Moslem world, Sahahrudi said, adding that he believed that a block of Moslem countries would guarantee the interest of the Islamic community.

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According to him, unity of Islamic countries is of great importance to answer various questions and to give an understanding about the true definition of terrorism, terrorist acts, terrorism eradication and human rights.

On the existing organizations of Islamic countries like the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) and the Arab League, Shahrudi said these organizations were unable to solve problems being faced by Islamic countries.

They did not manage to settle the problems because they lacked the powers and acted in a more according to protocol but the results of the action were not concrete, he said. He hoped the expected block of Islamic countries would be formed with greater authority.

He cited as an eaxmple that in the past European countries were always in dispute, but they now managed to live in harmony in the European Union (EU). He however admitted that forming a block of Islamic countries would take a long time because many factors like political and economic aspects must be discussed first.

For the purpose, Shahrudi said he had submitted the plan to a number of countries he had visited including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia. Shahrudi said he had submitted the plan to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who praised the plan, but he still needed a follow-up talk about it.

Shahrudi arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday (March 7) to meet a number of national figures including the president, the chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (biggest Moslem organization in Indonesia), and the chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI).

On the first day of his visit, he had the occasion to deliver a general lecture to University of Indonesia (UI) students on human rights in Islam. Shahrudi is here in the company of Iran’s Supreme Court Chairman Ayatollah Hussein Mofid and Justice Minister Gholam Hussein Elham. (ant/mad)