Every religion stands for peace and compassion

I carry the greetings of my Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and 1.3 billion Indians, including more than 185 million Muslim brothers and sisters. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are a microcosm of the diversity of India. They speak Tamil and Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, Bangla and Bhojpuri or any of the numerous languages of India.

They have diverse culinary tastes, myriad choices of traditional attire, and they maintain strong cultural and linguistic heritage of the regions they love and have lived for generations. They practice their respective beliefs and live in harmony with each other and with their non-Muslim brethren. It is this appreciation of diversity and co-existence, that has ensured that very few Muslims in India have fallen prey to the poisonous propaganda of radical and extremist ideologies.

The OIC members constitute more than one fourth of the members of the United Nations, and nearly a quarter of the humanity. It is an organisation, that has a key role in shaping our world. It brings together nations, on the foundation of a common faith, but also by a shared desire for a better future for their people.

(i) From Southeast Asia to the shores of Latin America; 

(ii) From the steppes of Central Asia to the vast expanse of the African continent;

(iii) From South Asia to the great arc of West Asia and North Africa, the nations represented here, also reflect a magnificent diversity of language and literature, customs and culture, history and heritage.

India shares much with you. Many of us saw, the light of freedom and the bright ray of hope at the same time. We have worked together, to fashion global institutions, into representative platforms, defined not by the interest of a few, but the voice of all sections of humanity. We have together struggled for a world, where access to resources, markets and opportunities is fair and balanced.

Nations to our east, Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, are important pillars of India’s Act East Policy, and of our broader engagement in the Indo Pacific Region. In our neighbourhood, with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Maldives, we have ties, forged in:

(i) Our shared struggles and sacrifices, 

(ii) In the immeasurable warmth of our hearts, and 

(iii) In our unwavering commitment to the security and prosperity of our people and region.

In Central Asia, we are rebuilding our relationship along new routes of possibilities. We do this, especially with and through Iran, a country, with which we not only share civilisational and cultural links, but a partnership, that is vital for stability and prosperity in our region.

In West Asia, our solidarity with the aspirations of the Palestinian people have remained unwavering.

Our international journey was often pursued in close partnership with Egypt. Iraq and India have stood together in our triumphs and trials. We have with great admiration supported Jordan’s efforts in strengthening the voices of moderation and building bridges of understanding between faiths. 

Further to the West, with nations like Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, we work for a shared desire for a more inclusive world. With Turkey, a nation, with which, we have many strands of connected history, we are imparting new momentum to our ties. Our many friends from Africa are here.

It is a friendship of deep emotional bond that comes from shared struggle for freedom, and for a voice and a place in the world. Today, on the foundations of that extraordinary heritage, India and Africa have launched a new partnership of prosperity in the dynamic African continent. 

Here in our neighbourhood of the Gulf Region, our relationships are as old as time. Presently, the Gulf Region is our largest market, supplier of energy and source of remittances. But now our relationship is much more than that, thanks to the extraordinary effort and attention by the Prime Minister and the leadership of the region.

It is an indispensable strategic and security partnership, and a natural economic partnership, of immense value, to our nations, and for our shared region. Today, we all live in a world of sweeping changes, and multiple challenges, that happen, but rarely in history. 

The centre of gravity of the global economy is moving to Asia. The international order we are familiar with, is changing. Freedom, opportunities, connectivity, health, education and prosperity are more widespread than ever before.

The time it takes nations to lift people out of poverty, is getting shorter. Digital revolution has created unprecedented opportunities to empower people and transform our economies. Yet, we also live on the edge of uncertainty. Tensions, turbulence, disputes, violence, dislocation, displacement are also at a high. Conflicts, within and between societies are rising.

We are also seeing the human and economic costs of climate change. And, we are witnessing the terrible daily destruction, in senseless terrorist violence. It is destroying lives, destabilising regions, and putting the world at great peril. Its lethality is increasing. In the rich diversity of Southeast Asia, in West Asia, and the Gulf, in North Africa, and Sahel region, in Europe, and North America, in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and, India, we see the terrible face of terror.

Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be. Just as Islam literally means peace, none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence. Similarly, every religion in the world stands for peace, compassion and brotherhood.

Edited excerpts from a speech by India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj at the 46th session of Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in UAE, March 1.