RELIGION > What the Koran Say Senegal Braces To Host Islamic World Posted by Sheka Tarawalie (State House Press Secretary) at the Ngor Diarama Hotel, Dakar, Senegal on Feb 22, 2008, 01:01

If there’s a West African city that does not sleep at the moment, it is the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Roads are being constructed and reconstructed, streets are being electrified, buildings are rising everywhere, beaches are being cleared, traffic rules are being revisited, hotels are being equipped – day and night – and the atmosphere is well charged in anticipation of the hosting of the 11^th summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

The second largest world organization after the United Nations, the OIC summit has kept the Senegalese people upbeat. It could not be held here in 2006 for lack of adequate preparation, but now the country is head-over-heels to demonstrate how ready it is for the summit. In every nook and cranny of Dakar, one gets the impression of a nation under construction.

At a press conference held at the Terri-bou Beach Hotel yesterday 20^th February 2008, organisers were optimistic that at least 30 Heads of States will be in attendance and a general roll call of more than five thousand guests. At least five hotels have been booked by the Senegalese government and two off-shore ships have been hired for accommodation, one of which with modern state-of-the-art equipment is specifically meant to house journalists.

President Ernest Bai Koroma already enjoys excellent bilateral relations with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, and officials here believe attending this conference will certainly strengthen those relations. According to Abdul Karim Diouf of the National Agency for the Organization of the Islamic Conference (ANOCI), President Wade identifies himself with President Koroma because both of them came from the Opposition to take up the mantle of leadership in their respective countries. “President Koroma has a lot to learn from Senegal, and our President believes he is sincere in his determination to transform Sierra Leone,” Diouf noted. The Director General of the Senegalese Radio and Television, Babacar Diagne, in an exclusive interview, appealed to independent/private Sierra Leonean journalists to attend and cover the conference (details of registration/accreditation and methods of payment can be found in wwwocidakar2008.com).

Sierra Leone herself joined the OIC in 1972 under the APC government of Late President Siaka Stevens who was himself a Christian but wanted to create brotherliness with other countries as Sierra Leone had a higher percentage of Muslims. The country gained prominence at OIC circles during the tenure of her first Muslim President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who received a lot of support from the 57-member organization during ad after his exile days in Guinea.

President Ernest Koroma is a Christian, but has no reservations to represent his country at the summit. He is expected to attend the conference with a delegation including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Presidential Affairs, and the Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, together with representatives of the Sierra Leone Muslim community.

The conference is scheduled to take place at the King Fahad Complex/ Meridian Presidential Hotel from 8^th to 15^th February 2008.  By the end of the summit, Senegal will formally assume the chairmanship of the organization.

Senegal, with a 95 per cent Muslim population, first hosted the summit in 1992. The country boasts of being one of the most stable democracies in Africa.

Among expected visiting Heads of State are Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinajad and Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi. US President George Bush, recognizing the importance of the organization to world peace, is yet to name an envoy to the OIC as promised in a speech on 27^th June 2007.