REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Deputy House Speaker Fahri Hamzah has urged the leaders of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries to not become mere spectators when Muslims across the world are facing problems.

Hamzah made the statement while speaking as leader of the Indonesian delegation at the 11th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC (PUIC) held in Baghdad, Iraq.

So far, Muslim majority countries appear to be adopting a passive stance and are independent, he stated before delegations from 31 countries.

He called on fellow legislators from other OIC member states to push their national leaders to adopt a stronger stance in deciding the future of Muslim majority countries.

During the Baghdad meeting, efforts to fight terrorism and violence were discussed.

The politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) urged Muslims countries in the transitional period toward democracy to follow Indonesia's example in developing a democratic nation in line with the people's aspirations.

He also remarked that Indonesia was ready to host the 13th Meeting of the PUIC in 2018.

In the meantime, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported that at the conclusion of the meeting on Sunday (Jan. 24), the conference issued a Baghdad Declaration that calls for combating terrorism, renouncing violence and extremism in Muslim nations, and defusing tensions among them.

The Declaration, read by Mohammad Bahr Al-Oloum, the PUIC Rapporteur, called for promoting the culture of moderation, dialog, and tackling racial and sectarian polarization.

The OIC member states' lawmakers also called for "respecting Iraq's sovereignty," and barring any external meddling in its domestic affairs.

The Muslim countries emphatically rejected Israeli expansionist settlement schemes, calling for cessation of all forms of settlement activities and measures intended to alter the legal status of the Holy City of Jerusalem.

The OIC called on the United Nations Security Council to act quickly to remove the settlements in the occupied territories.

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