The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) must reform itself to help prevent the "downward slide" of the Islamic world, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told foreign ministers of the 57-member grouping in Islamabad Tuesday, DPA reported. "We must face the fact that the disparity with the Western world is increasing, not decreasing," Musharraf said at the start of a three-day conference covering a range of international issues and proposals for the OIC's development. "At present we are failing in this knowledge-driven world," he said, stressing that the OIC needed to become capable of promoting science and technology and enhancing trade among member states. Musharraf proposed revamping the OIC charter and boosting the organization's financial clout under a new name. If each member donated 0.01 per cent of its GDP, this would add more than 200 million US dollars to its budget, he told delegates at the Jinnah Convention centre in the Pakistani capital. OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the Muslim world was facing a defining moment in its history and that the organization was striving to promote Islamic solidarity, bring member states closer and unify their stands internally. "We are doing our best to defend Islam as a revealed faith and as a radiant civilization, shedding light on its values, most prominent among them moderation, peace, tolerance and diversity," he said.
