OIC head awarded Life-Long Success Award

Secretary General of Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and previous US Defense Minister William Cohen were awarded the "Life-long Success Award" by the East West Institute in Washington, Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday. Speaking at the ceremony White House ex-National Security Advisor James Jones said, "In an era when intolerance and armed conflicts are all too common, Secretary General Ishanoglu has been an unfailing advocate of tolerance and the peaceful resolution of conflicts." Receiving his award, Ihsanoglu said, " In my vision for future I believe it is important to reflect upon the challenges facing the Muslim world today." "These remain the scourge of radicalism and extremism which still pervades many societies. If we do not succeed in meeting these challenges the whole world faces conflict and turmoil," added Ihsanoglu. Ihsanoglu also stated that the international community had to understand the value of political stability, social cohesion and how to transform societies through good governance and democracy. He added that he had worked to make the OIC an agent of moderation and modernization in the Muslim world dedicated to identifying the root causes which in most of the cases relate to socio-economic grievances, perceptions of injustice and international double standards. Ihsanoglu defined his future vision to include the empowerment of women, youth and civil society in the Muslim world. "To this end, I believe the friendship of the peoples of the USA and of the Muslim World is more vital than ever. We need to better inform our peoples about each other. We should not allow hate mongers, either individuals or groups to tarnish our mutual perceptions at a time when we need to work harder to further improve understanding and cooperation between our peoples."