The results of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit held in Istanbul last week might invite critical developments. First of all, bringing together such a significant summit with broad participation only several days after U.S. President Donald Trump's provocative announcement that Jerusalem will be recognized as the capital of Israel displays great organizational ability and persuasiveness.
In the scope of such a substantial development for the Muslim world, Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the initiative and acted as the leader of the Muslim communities despite the Arab administrations. If all the Muslim communities went to the polls today to elect a leader, Erdoğan would win in a landslide victory. The latest research by the Pew Research Center also verifies that.
Unfortunately, in many Arab countries, the administrations are detached from their own people, with some even hostile toward them. The most explicit examples of that are Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Both countries are completely controlled by the U.S. They sided with Israel in the Jerusalem crisis, which leads to a gradually widening gap between the administrations and their bases. This gap might create a new Arab spring one day.
During the historical summit in Istanbul, in which the representatives of 49 out of 57 member countries were present, Trump's announcement was declared null and void while the state of Palestine and its capital east Jerusalem were recognized. Unfortunately, an occupied region is in question. East Jerusalem does not have the infrastructure required to be a capital city but even this symbolic step gives a crucial message to the entire world. With this message, it has been made clear that the borders of 1967 might come into effect again. It must be noted that Hamas previously announced that they would declare a state of Palestine based on the borders of 1967 this year.
Also, the entire world has been called to recognize the state of Palestine, which was declared in 1988, while the U.N. and other international organizations have been urged to take action with regard to supporting the Palestinian state and its agents. The OIC summit achieved to mobilize the U.N. in a short time. On Sunday, it was announced that the Jerusalem issue would be discussed at the U.N. Security Council this week. According to the draft prepared before the meeting, the U.N. objects the U.S.'s decision, stating, "Any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded."
The U.N. Security Council considered a draft resolution that calls all the countries to prevent opening a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. Of course, this draft did not pass since the U.S. used its veto power as a permanent member; however, the U.S. will diverge from the other countries and be left alone in its standpoint. And this is exactly what the U.N. is aiming for. On Dec. 8, the U.N. Security Council condemned the U.S.'s move on Jerusalem as 14 of the 15 Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, outnumbering the U.S.
In a nutshell, Trump could not draw support from anyone but Israel with regard to the Jerusalem issue. The Muslim world has been able to give a timely response with Erdoğan's initiative, which also mobilized the U.N. Although Arabic administrations ostensibly function as the satellites of Washington, Muslim communities can mobilize and raise awareness.
I think this wrong decision will be rescinded after the U.S. considers the harm it can cause. Trump has signed a document that has been presented to every U.S. president once every six months since 1995. It will not be a surprise if he postpones the issue by signing it again after six months.
