Discussion

Abstract

The formation of the two international organizations, Mu’tamar al’ Alam al-Jslami and Rabitat al- ’A lam al-Jslami needs to be seen in the light of the circumstances in which they have been created. The Mu ’tamar’s priority lies with the political and social issues of Muslims. As mentioned earlier, the Mu’tamar came into existence soon after the fall of Khilāfah, and tried to fill the vacuum. In its approach to political issues, the Mu ’tamar took an anti-colonial stand and a panIslamic attitude. The anti-colonial stand became more visible when it began to criticize the Balfour Declaration, which supported a homeland for the Jews in Palestine. Its opposition to a Jewish state became vigorous after the creation of Israel. The pan-Islamic idea of the Mu’tamar became increasingly irrelevant, mainly because of the growing nationstate and nationalist feelings amongst the Muslims. Mu ’tamar received a further setback when the concept of nationhood was introduced by the Arab nationalists like Michel Aflaq, which gained ground in Syria and Iraq, or socialists, and the Arab nationalist message preached by Nasser. ‘Co-operation’ between Muslims and Christians seems to have existed on the ground even against the political trend of the time, which was fragile. However, Mu ’tamar wanted co-operation between the Christian and Muslim religious leaders which was the best option for Mu ’tamar. The Ulamā were not ready to co-operate.