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OIC Secretary-General: E-Draw Consolidated Fairness in Pilgrim Selection

The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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OIC Secretary-General: E-Draw Consolidated Fairness in Pilgrim Selection

The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, said that the success of the Hajj seasons every year was “a clear message to all those who question Saudi Arabia’s leading role in serving the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Taha noted that the smart systems developed by the Kingdom allow those wishing to perform the Hajj to register directly to obtain the visas, through an electronic draw that promotes fairness in the selection of the pilgrims, in accordance with the quota dedicated to each country.

Pilgrims services

Taha said that Saudi Arabia was deploying all efforts to provide the needs of the pilgrims through harmonious and organizational procedures and a package of smart systems, including the creation of a government e-portal that allows those wishing to perform the Hajj to register directly to obtain the visas. He stressed that the e-draw process has allowed the fair selection of pilgrims based on the quota of each country, emphasizing that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah was closely coordinating with the relevant bodies to ensure transparency and commitment to the new systems.

The Saudi role

According to the OIC secretary-general, the development of the new systems comes within the framework of the great attention given by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and his Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to providing the best facilities to the pilgrims, which reflects the honorable image of the Kingdom in the service of the Two Holy Mosques.

Taha added that the comprehensive plans within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 enhance the great development projects and the level of services provided to pilgrims.

The success of the Hajj season

Saudi Arabia takes into account the diversity of cultures and languages of pilgrims, through a comprehensive approach aimed at facilitating their performance of rituals without obstacles, the OIC secretary-general told Asharq Al-Awsat.

For example, the Saudi authorities are working on printing and distributing prayer books in all languages, as well as some guide books upon the pilgrims’ departure.

Taha also pointed to the creation of the Islamic electronic library, which contains all the Ministry’s written, read and audio versions of Hajj and Umrah books in different languages.

The OIC secretary-general stressed that Saudi Arabia, with all its concerned agencies, was able to work in full swing according to a clear plan of action for the success of the Hajj season, while providing the necessary care to the pilgrims, beginning with facilitating their access to the holy places, and their performance of the various rituals.

The Kingdom has proven its success by providing and developing the best services to the pilgrims year after year, he underlined, pointing that the country has overcome many challenges faced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, by implementing many preventive measures that have proven successful and feasible.

Hajj and Islamophobia

Taha noted that Muslims of all nationalities, languages, races and colors flock to the greatest gatherings that embody their faith, unity, and the meanings of brotherhood, tolerance and love. These meanings, as Taha said, are meant to highlight the correct image that refutes misconceptions about Islam and Muslims and accusations of terrorism, as Islam condemns all forms of extremism and terrorism.

The OIC and Palestine

Taha asserted that the OIC realized the importance and necessity of contributing to providing economic and humanitarian support to the Palestinian people, as well as political support for their legitimate rights on the international scene.

In this regard, the organization works to enhance the joint responsibility of member-states towards strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and alleviating their suffering, which has recently exacerbated as a result of the Israeli occupation policies based on the seizure of tax funds and illegal confiscation of land and natural resources.

He added that the OIC has maintained coordination and cooperation with its affiliated agencies, especially the Islamic Development Bank, in order to expand the economic empowerment program for the Palestinian people, as well as activating the Development Endowment Fund to support Palestinian refugees, which was established based on a decision issued by the 46th session of the organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers.

The OIC General Secretariat also continues to urge member states to increase their contributions to the budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Taha remarked.

He continued: “The General Secretariat follows up on political and field developments in Palestine and submits periodic reports to member states. It also maintains its contacts and consultations with the official authorities in the State of Palestine in order to coordinate and unify the joint political movements and efforts of the Islamic group in international forums, with the aim of confronting and exposing Israeli violations.”

Meetings with US officials

The OIC secretary-general told Asharq Al-Awsat that he held a session of talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May, as part of the strategic dialogue with the United States.

This dialogue falls within the framework of cooperation with international partners, including non-members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United Nations and other international organizations, with the aim to contribute to enhancing the values of understanding, consolidating the foundations of international peace and security, strengthening the position of the Organization and serving its causes.

Taha noted that his talks with Blinken touched on Palestine and Afghanistan, humanitarian, social and cultural issues, in addition to Islamophobia, the status of Muslim communities and minorities in non-member countries, extremism and terrorism, as well as health and climate.

The strategic dialogue provided the opportunity for the delegation of the General Secretariat to reflect the positions of the organization and highlight its stance on issues of common concern, he stressed, adding that the US side has appreciated the important role of the organization on the international scene.

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Interviews

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
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Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.