MAKKAH, 22 October 2006 "” As a skeptical world waits to see the outcome of the signing of the Makkah Declaration, those scholars who were at Al-Safa Palace late on Friday night are already speeding back to their communities to disseminate crucial details concerning the agreement. It is terrible that this year has seen such an upsurge in inter-Muslim violence in Iraq but finally perhaps sanity has prevailed and there is the potential to stop the sectarian bloodshed.

 

As Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), rightly pointed out, Friday was certainly an auspicious night to sign the Makkah Declaration. Buses of journalists had been brought to Makkah from Jeddah and the Iraqi journalists in the media contingent were in a somber mood. Rather than being relieved at being away from the violence of their native land, the Iraqis were extremely worried about their families back home. Some had mobile phones glued to their ears, feverishly attempting to call relatives and friends to ascertain their safety after the attacks of that afternoon. It was not an easy process due to the severe network congestion on both sides of the calls.

 

The Iraqi people are quite cultured and well-educated in general, so in an extremely cognizant fashion, the Iraqi journalists were able to discuss the crisis that has gripped their nation.

Members of Iraq's media are forthcoming and forthright in describing the misery that has overtaken their major cities. They will discuss anything as long as they are not quoted. All agreed that the occupation of Iraq is a problem not a solution and that this situation is made worse by outside interference from other interested parties. The media feel that there is an imperial game under way that pits one community against the other, resulting in tragedy.

When the media arrived in Makkah on Friday, we had to wait to meet the scholars because they were in audience with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. After iftar, all was ready and we were put through an extremely thorough security check before being allowed to enter Al-Safa Palace.

 

Makkah was a beehive of activity as this was one of the final nights of Ramadan, but inside the palace there was a sense of serenity.

 

Exiting the elevator on the 15th floor, we immediately entered a hall facing the Grand Mosque. The Holy Kaaba was before us in all its glory, engulfed in a swirl of humanity. The group became silent at this display of true majesty, and in a short while the call came for prayer.

As it was the 29th of Ramadan, during the Taraweeh prayer the imam recited the final chapters of the Holy Qur'an. This was followed by supplication, during which the imam broke down in tears several times. He was beseeching Allah to help Muslims everywhere and the Iraqis in our group became very emotional when the imam implored Allah to end the violence there.

 

The actual signing of the Makkah Declaration took place in a hall overlooking the Grand Mosque. The scholars were seated along the walls in the hall, with the journalists ranged across from them. In the center of the room a table had been placed at which Ihsanoglu took up his position, with an empty chair on either side of him. One could not ignore the symbolism of Ihsanoglu seated with the holiest place in Islam as a backdrop.

 

The names of the scholars were called, two by two, one Sunni and one Shiite at a time. They approached the table together, each taking a chair and then proceeding to sign the Makkah Declaration.

 

The mood was very solemn. One by one the Shiite scholars in their turbans and seeping black robes sat at a table with the Sunni scholars in their mishlahs and traditional head scarves. A total of 14 scholars from each sect signed the document. It was a very impressive ceremony. Everyone present was aware that lives depended on the terms and conditions in the declaration being fulfilled. Nearly every paragraph of the declaration cited a verse from the Qur'an as the basis for the required action.

 

There is pessimism that the Makkah Declaration is nothing but a piece of paper. Such an attitude is to be expected after everything that has happened in Iraq in the last years. But on Friday night there was also a glimmer of hope in that room overlooking the Kaaba.

It is well-known that in Islam every action depends on the intention behind it. The OIC secretary-general pointed out that from the very outset the Makkah Declaration was created and agreed to with pure, positive intentions to stop the raging bloodshed between the two Muslim communities.

 

May the spirit of the holy month and the action of scholars and leaders working for the good of the Ummah see those intentions to fruition