person:iyad madani

SECRETARY GENERAL OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION COUNCIL: MY VISIT TO JERUSLAEM IS NORMALIZAITON WITH AL QSA, JERUSALEM AND JERUSALEMITES

Director general of the Islamic Cooperation Council Iyad Madani urged Muslims to visit Jerusalem and its holy sites yesterday, confirming that his visit was ‘normalization’ with Al Aqsa, with East Jerusalem and with Jerusalemites. In a speech before the committee for Islamic, economic and cultural affairs of the Council in Jeddah, Madani said such a visit, was completion of the holy pilgrimage visits to the three most important mosques in Islam. He said the consensus by the Islamic “Fiqih” group for visiting Jerusalem should encourage “all Muslim peoples to visit Jerusalem.” In response to his criticizers, Madani said this was ‘normalization with Al Aqsa and Jerusalem” and that this visit was the right of every Muslim. (Al Quds)

Iyad Madani took over on Wednesday as the 10th Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He succeeds Turkey’s Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who served as the head of the 57-member grouping of Islamic countries for nine years.

Addressing a function at the headquarters of the OIC on the occasion, Madani thanked the member countries for the trust reposed in him to lead the pan-Islamic body over the next five years. He also thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Saudi Arabia for nominating him to the prestigious post. “I would strive to translate this trust into action through exerting relentless efforts to serve the Muslim Ummah and their genuine causes,” he said.

Earlier, addressing a function held to bid farewell Ihsanoglu, Madani emphasized that the OIC “is living in a multi-polar world and needs to adjust to that reality.” He noted that all the past secretaries general contributed to the OIC in accordance with the dynamics of his time and that the OIC would continue to remember their contributions and tireless efforts.

The 12th Islamic Summit held in Cairo in February 2013 elected Madani as the new secretary-general of the organization.

Madani, who is the first Saudi to fill this key post, served as minister of Haj and minister of culture and information from until 2009.

Madani was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Knowledge Economic City in March 2012. He also served as vice president of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Foundation for Housing Development.

Madani was the first editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette.