The largest bloc representing Islamic countries is meeting in Turkey Thursday, and the vast majority of those nations have united against one of their own members: Iran.
Across the region Arabs are calling for Iran to be expelled from the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a Sunni-heavy group encompassing 57 Muslim countries.
Labeling Iran as the “enemy from within,” Muslim leaders have masked their call for solidarity and unity among Muslims by laying the blame for the region’s security woes at Tehran’s feet. The calls have come from mainly Gulf countries that stand behind Saudi Arabia.
Arab media is reporting that the final statement from the summit will call on Iran to “refrain from interference in internal affairs and respect the sovereignty and independence of neighboring countries,” a direct challenge to Tehran’s sponsoring of militia groups across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen—all countries where Saudi Arabia is also waging a proxy war.
Iran’s participation in the conference has stirred anger among thousands of Arab.
Many consider Iran the main cause of instability in the region, particularly because of its continued support of embattled Bashar al-Assad, as well as its support of the Houthi rebels in Yemen who’ve been fighting pro-Saudi forces for over a year.
“The biggest mockery in the OIC is the presence of the Iran, enemy of the Muslim nation from within,” wrote one Saudi user.
Others accused Iran of “committing crimes against the Sunnis in Iraq and Syria” and wondered “how an Islamic summit can take place when the enemy is among you, Iran is the one killing Muslims everywhere.” Users asked to retweet posts with the hashtag “to support the tens of millions of Sunnis who have “tasted”… poisoning, harassment, and displacement [at the hands of Iran].” Many others shared images and videos blaming Iran for starving children and the destruction in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.
Source: Arab Media, April 14
