King Mohammed VI of Morocco has called on Arab states to wage a constructive jihad to build confidence, and put their house in order so that they may solve their own problems, away from any external influences.
“The constructive jihad is jihad vis-a-vis ourselves to build confidence; jihad to put our house in order so that we may solve our problems among ourselves, away from any external influences that only complicate matters and delay problem-solving, which only leads to a waste of effort, energies and resources,” stated the King in a speech to the 27th Arab Summit which started proceedings in Nouakchott on Monday.
Pointing out that the Arab World is caught in a vicious circle, he said this is also “one of the main factors which have eroded our ability to resolve Arab issues – such as the crises in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon – and to deal effectively and judiciously with the phenomenon of terrorism, which is ruining the minds of some of our citizens and undermining our countries’ security and safety.”
In his speech that was read out by Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, King Mohammed VI insisted on the plague of terrorism, deploring the fact that Arab States have failed “to be at the forefront of those who are developing multi-dimensional strategies and effective, practical plans to confront this destructive scourge, of which we are the source as well as the target.”
He also deplored the Arab world’s inability to refute, through appropriate means, the biased interpretations and false arguments put forward by extremists and terrorists who continue to distort pristine Islamic faith, the religion of moderation, to justify their criminal acts against individuals and nations.
The Sovereign underlined that Arab states, “the torch-bearers of a message of enlightenment,” are duty-bound to continue to interact with other nations, for the good of mankind, before he called for pooling efforts to fight terrorism and achieve security. “It would, indeed, be a mistake to think one can single-handedly, merely through one’s own resources, shield oneself from terrorism, without cooperating and coordinating action in the region and with the world around us,” he said.
“As we all know, terrorism is a cross-border phenomenon, and the only way to defeat it is by working together to achieve security and promote development,” King Mohammed VI insisted.
Making the case for Arab unity, the Sovereign pointed out that “what matters, above all, is to embed in our collective consciousness the firm belief that unity is absolutely necessary if we want to rise to the cultural challenge which consists in building modern states rooted in civic values, the rule of law and commitment to territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”