Speech by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on March 22, 2022

Honorable
foreign minister of China Wang Yi royal highnesses, honorable foreign ministers
excellences, the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will
deliver the keynote address. Ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by extending a
warm welcome to you on this 48th meeting of the OIC's foreign ministers, which
is taking place in Islamabad as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of our
independence. The people of Pakistan are delighted that you are all here, and
on this momentous occasion, I would like to extend a special congrats to our
OIC members because of a recent achievement declaring March 15 as a day to
combat Islam phobia, but I want to remind people why that day, in New Zealand,
was when a shooter entered a mosque and killed 50 people. He did so because he
believed that all Muslims were terrorists. Where did this Islam phobia
originate from and why was it allowed to continue growing after September 11?
Unfortunately, this narrative of Islamic terrorism and Islamic radicalized
radicalism has persisted since the events of September 11, 2001. Respected
foreign ministers, I spent a significant portion of my life in England
traversing the globe as an international athlete, and I understand western civilization
perhaps far better than most people because I attended university there and
then. As a result, this narrative continued unchecked.

I used to
spend the summer months in England enjoying sports. The reason this
islamophobia had persisted after 9/11 was because "I'm sorry to say that
we the Muslim countries did not do anything to check this wrong narrative how
can any religion have anything to do with terrorism how was Islam equated with
terrorism and once that happened how is the man in the street and western
countries how is he supposed to differentiate between a moderate Muslim on this
but instead, a lot of heads of state kept saying that Islam is not the religion
of terrorism"

After
September 11, when he was the head of state for Islam, he created the term
"enlightened moderation." The term "enlightened moderation"
was used to placate those who were linking Islam to terrorism, but I still have
no idea what it means. As a result, there was the unfortunate misconception
that there are various varieties of Islam—some are radical, some are moderate,
and some are liberal—rather than the singular Islam of the prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu Alaihi, which prevails in every human community.

You have
your pacifists. Your liberals are there. You have your traditionalists. You
have your devotees. Every human community recognizes that the individual who
entered the mosque in New Zealand was obviously not a regular person, therefore
why wasn't their religion used to identify any other human communities? The
biggest mistake we made was not challenging this narrative, and guess who
suffered? Muslims living in western countries continued to suffer as any
incident would occur, any terrorist incident by a Muslim. 1.5 billion People
were labelled by these terms, and I believe they should always be
self-Therefore, this was one of the worst times for Muslims living in
non-Muslim countries. Then, in 1989, there was a book called "Satanic
Verse" written by a Muslim who knew because he was one. I still remember
people being petrified in Pakistan that "I hope there was no Pakistani
involved how could we respond how could the whole community be responsible for
some fanatical deed by some extremists." constructing an intellectual
argument to try to explain to them why we feel why are we so hurt when a holy
prophet is mocked why does it hurt us so much knowing the western societies I
knew why they couldn't understand because they don't treat religion like we do
Jesus Christ is not treated the way we in the west are treated our holy prophet
here so they couldn't understand what was going on why were the demonstrations
why were there So the Muslim world is intolerable and doesn't allow for the
freedom of speech, so they were able to denigrate our religion, but there
wasn't a cogent response from the Muslim world, so we kept in the cycle every
few years there would be some cartoons insulting cartoons against our prophet
every few years there would be something insulting him, and we would respond,
but there would be some act of extremists they wouldn't respond to, so this
islamophobia cycle kept getting worse and worse.

I'm glad
that islamophobia has finally been acknowledged as a reality and that action
needs to be taken to combat it. Honorable foreign ministers, let me just say
that when I first entered politics 25 years ago, I was concerned about two
things: first, I saw how islamophobia was growing in western societies, and
second, I wanted to know why my country was experiencing such discrimination I
entered politics 25 years ago with the intention of serving the state of
Medina, just for this solemn assembly.

Let me just
say that there has never been a more just and humane state in the history of
mankind. Unfortunately, our children don't know about it, and we in Muslim
countries don't even know that the prophets created the modern state. Forget
about western nations or non-Muslims; how would they know about it if we don't
know that the prophets established a state that served as the basis for one of
the greatest civilizations in human history for the following few hundred
years? And I'm glad that Foreign Minister Wang Yi is here because I want people
to understand what caused this great revolution, one of the greatest
revolutions of all time, the state of Medina. Number one, Our Prophet was Given
the Title of Ramatulla Mean Mercy for Mankind Not Mercy for Muslims He Came as
a Mercy for Mankind He Came to Unite Mankind Not Divide Mankind Allah for
Muslims Does Not Cause This Great Revolution What Was It Number Two Our Prophet
Was Given the Title of Ramatulla Mean Mercy for Man The charter of Medina was
signed with Jews, Christians, Sabians, and pagans all becoming members of a
human community. We Muslims don't even realize that in the 10 years between the
prophet's arrival in Medina and his departure from this world, there were only
about 1200 people who were present. Most people believe that it was
accomplished through conquests and the use of force It's the state of Madina he
creates best rule of law the foundation of a civilized society is rule of law
he's saying creates that even if my daughter commits a crime she will be
punished no one is above law he's saying many nations before you have been
destroyed where the powerful crooks were exempt were given immunity and poor
crooks were put into jail if you look at the world right now excellences I can
tell you just look at all the poor be upon him foretold nearly 1500 A fact-type
panel report by the secretary-general of the United Nations stated, and this
will shock you all, that every year 1.6 trillion dollars leave the poor
countries and end up in tax havens, and in the developed world 1.6 trillion
dollars. Just imagine what this means for the developing world, which is poor
not because they lack resources but because they cannot put full criminals on
jail time two of the first four khalifas and two of the first four heads of
state of Medina established the system of rule of law with no one above them The
fourth khalifa, one of Islam's most revered and respected figures, lost a case
against a Jewish citizen because the judge rejected his son's testimony. This
was the justice system in place at the time, which laid the groundwork for this
great civilization. What does it demonstrate? First and foremost, it
demonstrates that minorities were treated equally before the law and there was
no discrimination. Secondly, it demonstrates that there was no prejudice
against Jews the of Britain took years to complete before they could actually
establish a state under the rule of law, this is what happened in the state of
Medina. It was ahead of its time and then it was the first welfare state in
human history that cared for its weak, orphaned, widowed, and poor people. It
was also the state where pensions were first introduced, caring for the
elderly. It was a compassionate state where they tried to please Traveling to
Scandinavia I see what a welfare state should look like all over the Muslim
world when I see how they care for the weak. In fact, there are times when I
feel sad because some of them care for their animals better than we do our
human beings. Also, keep in mind that Ramatulamin means that no matter who
heard his message, any human community will prosper because he was for all of
humanity and brought the message of mercy. If you look at Switzerland in the
20th century, you can see what a welfare state should look like the medina
model will thrive and then pursue knowledge He quoted a foreign proverb that
stated that, even if one had to risk their lives to travel to China in order to
learn and pursue knowledge, one should do so because, at the time, China was
the center of knowledge. Therefore, he said, one should pursue knowledge from
birth to death. He is a part of this great knowledge to examine the situation
in the Muslim world, the top scientists studying evolution for hundreds of
years were Muslims because they believed seeking knowledge was a sacred duty.
To this day, how much do we still seek knowledge while receiving so much in
return? Everywhere Muslims are, our women are imprisoned, denied rights, and
occasionally, it almost seems like we've invaded Afghani women must be freed It
was a revolutionary act by a prophet that women were given inheritance rights;
they were empowered in Europe even 100 years ago; women barely got their
inheritance rights 1500 years ago; there was no other reason besides to
liberate the women; no one seems to know why women are still imprisoned today In
Pakistan, we discovered that 70% of women do not receive inheritance rights, so
we specifically had to pass a law to ensure enforcement that women must receive
their inheritance rights. Unfortunately, this and cultural issues are equated
to we are religion we cannot explain sometimes western people claim they
confuse culture with religion. 1500 years have passed, and no one knows these
slaves as honorable foreign ministers nowhere in human history has this
happened that slaves received inheritance rights and became monarchs The
Prophet advised to treat your slaves like family members best to free them if
not treat them as equal family members, so he was the greatest human being that
ever stepped foot they'll never be a human being like them. The Mamrooks were
slaves who became kings in Egypt and India. If you read the book The Arab
Conquest, you will learn that everyone who was close to the prophet became a
leader. Unfortunately, generations have not understood this, and neither have
we been able to communicate it to anyone else Let's not conflate Muslim
imperialism with the ten years of the prophet and Medina; that was not what the
prophet taught, and the Muslims did not go around the world-conquering; rather,
honorable foreign ministers, the entire revolution was based on ideas, and one
of the OIC's ideas is to uphold Islamic values. Now, however, I will say
something entirely different I bring this up in front of this august assembly
because when I first became prime minister, I asked the police head what the
crime chart looked like. I feel that Islamic principles have never been in such
danger as they are now. I was shocked to learn that sex crimes, including child
abuse and rape, are the crimes that are increasing most quickly in this nation.
After conducting further research, we learned that children are now able to
access pornographic material on their mobile phones, which has never happened
in human history It is crucial that this not happen since the content available
is doing havoc in our society without our knowledge. For example, parents have
no idea what happens when a youngster enters his room or what he's watching on
his phone. One of the most important things about Islam is that our religion
protects the family system. We have values like respect for parents and
teachers but the culture lacks these values. In the august forum, we should
plan how to combat this because it is already having a significant impact. There
is a rise in divorces. We all know that the more vulgarity the more permissive
society becomes, the more it affects the family system It is being transmitted
via social media We must carefully consider how we will safeguard future
generations. I established a Rahmatullah, or authority of scholars, in
Pakistan. How can we present a different viewpoint in our children's cartoons
is the central concern. How can we protect our kids from this unpredictable
social media revolution since kids start getting influenced at that age? How do
we know where it is going, I thought I should bring it up at this meeting
because we need to start considering alternative media and how Honorable
foreign ministers, we have failed both the Palestinians and the people of
Kashmir. We can't block social media, but we can offer our children the tools
they need to be ethical and moral adults. One of these issues is Palestine, and
the other is Kashmir. I regret to inform you that despite the fact that there
are 1.5 billion people, we have had no impact at all since those in power don't
take us seriously We are not discussing the conquest of any nation; rather, we
are merely discussing the human rights of the people of Palestine and Kashmir.
International law is on their side, and United Nations Security Council
resolutions supported their right to self-determination in Kashmir. The
international community promised them the right to determine their own fate
through a plebiscite, but that right was never granted to them. In fact, India
illegally removed Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019, but nothing
happened because they feel no pressure and believe we can make a resolution and
go back to business as usual. I'm not referring to changing our foreign policy
policies All of our nations have different foreign policies, but when it comes
to fundamental issues, I'm pleading with the OIC that without a united front,
abuses like those occurring in Palestine — where open robbery is taking place —
will continue. The only hope I have is that thanks to social media, for the
first time in western nations, awareness of what is happening to the poor
Palestinians is growing. This is much more than the UIC; it's the spread of
information via mobile phones to the population of an occupied territory Since
Israel is not being pressured by India because they believe we are useless,
honorable foreign ministers, India is changing the demographics of Kashmir by
turning Muslims from the majority to a minority by bringing in settlers from
outside. Let me just say that I'm afraid the direction the world is going is
bad. A cold war is on the verge of breaking out, and there's a danger that we
1.5 billion people will see the world split into blocks. If we don't band
together and adopt a united stance, we won't get anywhere I travel to Ukraine I
only want to talk about Afghanistan. Stabilizing Afghanistan is crucial because
no nation has suffered as much as the people of Afghanistan during the past 40
years of fighting; now, the only threat is instability Now, Afghanistan is that
through the sanctions and not non-recognition they might end up having a
humanitarian crisis already the people are below the poverty line already there
is a brain drain happening so it's very important that we assist the people of
Afghanistan and I say this because a stable Afghanistan is the only way I
repeat the only way we are going to be able to stop international terrorism
from Afghan soil no other country is going to be able to able to do that
concern for global terrorism The people of Afghanistan are very proud,
independent-minded people who have always fought for their sovereignty for
hundreds of years; they do not like the idea that someone is dictating to them,
so I would caution anyone who knows the affluent character to please do not
push them to do things where they feel that the sovereignty is being
threatened. Instead, I would say let's help them, let's encourage them, let's
get them involved Finally, I arrive in Ukraine and I'm like, "I think
everyone here and the rest of the world is worried about what's going on there.
May I suggest that the OIC during its discussions with the foreign ministers
think about how we can mediate how we can bring about a ceasefire how can try
and put an end to the conflict since we at one point represent 1.5 billion
people?" I'm going to beat his Excellency after this, I want to talk about
how the OIC and China might intervene to attempt to prevent the confrontation
that would arise if things continue as they are. It will have significant
effects on the remaining world we already suffer from rising oil prices, gas
prices, and wheat prices as a result of this war, and if it continues, things
will only get worse. As a result, I would caution the foreign minister, Shah
Mahmud Qureshi, to speak with other non-partisan nations about how we are in a
unique position to be able to influence this conflict but given the direction
the world is taking, it is crucial that we band together and take a stand on a
few fundamental issues. Let's avoid getting sucked into any confrontations;
instead, we should remain a block and demonstrate our strength in bringing
about peace.